Heres some times, thoughts, questions, etc. regarding my first time to
the drag strip. First, lemme get the timeslips and explanations out of the
way, and then I've got a few questions at the end which hopefully someone
can help me with.
The timeslips will show me on top, and whoever I happened to be running
against on the bottom. Then, I'll give any applicable descriptions or
explanations.
Run #1:
E/T 16.063
Trap Speed 85.06
Reation Time 0.975
Short Time 2.314
Result lose
E/T 15.032
Trap Speed 90.54
Reation Time 0.655
Short Time 2.279
Result win
This was my very first run ever. As it turns out, it was (by far) the best
of the night. Maybe someone can help me to figure out why? (see end of
this post)
I was running against an old mustang or a chevy nova type; I didn't
really pay attention. I forgot to shut my side windows, so they were open
during this run. I spun the tires in 1st and 2nd.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #2
E/T 16.252
Trap Speed 84.74
Reation Time 0.918
Short Time 2.421
Result win
E/T 13.875
Trap Speed 101.35
Reation Time 0.463
Short Time 2.155
Result redlight
Ran against a mustang. I spun the tires in 1st and 2nd.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #3
E/T 16.396
Trap Speed 83.02
Reation Time 1.236
Short Time 2.405
Result lose
E/T 14.869
Trap Speed 83.02
Reation Time 0.893
Short Time 2.207
Result win
This run was against Bill. (He was running w/o nitrous) I spun the tires
in 1st and second, and missed the shift into 4th. I happened to notice
that my temp meter said 67 degrees F.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #4
E/T 16.307
Trap Speed 84.58
Reation Time 0.961
Short Time 2.410
Result win
E/T 17.001
Trap Speed 81.22
Reation Time 0.826
Short Time 2.690
Result lose
Ran against a v6 shortbed Dak. I was surprised at how well he kept up. I
looked at his engine later, and it looked stock to me. Usual 1-2 tire spin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #5
E/T 16.375
Trap Speed 84.42
Reation Time 0.666
Short Time 2.511
Result win
E/T 16.360
Trap Speed 80.78
Reation Time 0.742
Short Time 2.318
Result lose
This one was against a full size chevy. (a blazer, I think) This was an
exciting race! I left first, but he jumped ahead of me, only to have me
catch him at the end and pass him at the last possible moment. This
timeslip confused me at first because his E/T is actually faster than mine,
yet I won. Then, I looked at the reaction times. I added them up and when
you include the reaction time, my run was shorter than his. This really
emphasized the importance of a good reaction time to me. If his reaction
time was just .062 seconds faster, he would have won! Usual 1-2 wheel
spin. Right after this run, I was talking to Bill and his thermometer said
58 degrees F, 97% humidity.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #6
Dial in 16.30
E/T 16.689
Trap Speed 84.11
Reation Time 0.706
Short Time 2.794
Result lose
Dial in 15.62
E/T 15.884
Trap Speed 86.37
Reation Time 0.732
Short Time 2.674
Result win
This was the first bracket/elimination race. All of the others are time
trials. I was running against an orange Ford. I got beat pretty badly due
to my horrible time. I'm still not sure what happened. I can't really
pinpoint one thing that caused the loss. I guess I was probably just a
little sloppy all the way around. Usual 1-2 tire spin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #7
E/T 16.488
Trap Speed 83.48
Reation Time 1.531
Short Time 2.435
Result win
E/T 0.000
Trap Speed 0.00
Reation Time 0.000
Short Time 0.000
Result lose
Back to time trials after being eliminated in the first round. Doh! This
one was weird, because I staged, and was waiting for the guy beside me to
stage, but he never pulled in and they started the tree! I was practically
staring at the green light going, "Duhhhh...". Needless to say, my R/T
sucked. I wasn't prepared at all, and I bogged in 1st.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #8
E/T 16.457
Trap Speed 83.79
Reation Time 0.642
Short Time 2.412
Result win
E/T 27.446
Trap Speed 41.78
Reation Time 0.267
Short Time 2.679
Result lose
This one was against an 80's Daytona. He redlighted and shut down; drove
slowly down the track. I went to the wall, same as always. :-)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #9
E/T 16.482
Trap Speed 83.48
Reation Time 0.805
Short Time 2.452
Result win
E/T 17.893
Trap Speed 75.63
Reation Time 0.609
Short Time 2.606
Result lose
This one was against an older v6 shortbed Dakota. (I think it had
100,000 or 200,000 miles on the clock.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Run #10
E/T 16.413
Trap Speed 83.33
Reation Time 0.622
Short Time 2.400
Result win
E/T 17.814
Trap Speed 75.37
Reation Time 0.508
Short Time 2.549
Result lose
This was against the same v6 Dakota as the last run. The driver was an
older guy (in his 60's or 70's I would guess) Check out his R/T!! :-) It
was his first night racing too. Unlike me, he made it past the 1st round
of eliminations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My averages for the night: 16.39@84mph, R/T: .910, short time: 2.46
7 wins, 3 losses
Not that its statistically important or anything, but here's the
averages for the cars that ran against me:
15.62@71.61mph, R/T: .570, short time: 2.22
3 wins, 7 losses (2 due to redlight)
Well, those are the timeslips. My very first one set me up for a big
fall; I was expecting to run a 17 or 18 (heavy club cab) but I whip off a
16.063. I was very happy as I figured it would only get better as I got
more experience, but it just went slower and slower from there. I can't
think of anything I did differently though; as far as actual driving goes.
One thing that I *did* do differently just doesn't make any sense to me.
For my very first run, I was preoccupied with other things, and I had my
side windows open. I'm not sure about my second run, but for all my other
runs, I had the side windows closed and the back window open. As I was
thinking about it today, the thought struck me that if you look at the
times and the things I did differently, it appears as if shutting the
windows slowed me down! Wouldn't having the windows open create more drag?
Thats what I was figuring, so I had the windows shut. What do you think
about this? What affect could the side windows have on this? One thing is
for sure, the next time I go, I am going to do a few runs with the windows
down and see what happens to my time!
I'm hoping that the reason my ET's kept going up all night was due to
the humidity rising, and not my truck wearing out. :-)
Another thing I am going to do differently is to run with less fuel in
the tank. I had just over half a tank which would be over 60lbs. I
noticed Bill put some gas into his Dak when he arrived. I forgot to ask,
but I suspect his tank was almost bone dry. (Unless it was an octane
increasing additive or something.) I'm going to try this next time too.
(Bill, I noticed your windshield washer fluid was almost full though!) ;-)
My last 2 runs were done with the tailgate down. As you can see, it
didn't seem to make any difference at all. I was going to fold my mirrors
in, but I wanted to get times that would be representative of the truck's
"normal configuration" I'm not sure how much of a difference that would
have made.
Question: Is "short time" the 60 foot time? What good is it? That is,
what information does it provide that can help me to determine how to run
better?
Another Question: How do these times compare to the other Club Cabs out
there? I don't remember seeing very many (any?) times posted for '96 Club
Cabs, and one of the reasons I went up there was to get some numbers from a
100% stock engine before making any mods. I've got some heavy steel bed
rails and a Reese Class IV hitch which probably hindered my times a bit,
but whaddya gonna do? :-)
I'm sure I have more questions, but that's all I can think of at the
moment. :-)
All in all, a very fun night! I'm going back as soon as possible! :-)
-Jon-
.--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu -- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---.
| DoD# 1038, EAA# 518210, NMA# 117376, USUA# A46209, KotWitDoDFAQ, RP-SEL |
| '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT Club Cab, '96 Kolb FireFly 447 (#FF019) |
`-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
I do not speak for the SUNY College at Fredonia; any opinions are my own.
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