I know I don't have a Lightning, but this seems to be the best place for this.

I'm going to the track tomorrow night (Friday Aug 1) and needed a couple questions answered. I have read some of the racing tips threads before but most of them seem to be for L's. I'm running in a 99 4X4 Scab 5.4, not quite the same.

Here are some of my questions if you can help me out, or feel free to tell me anything else I might need to know. This is my first time out as well, won't be launching from N.

1) O/D on or off?
2) Rear tire PSI?
3) Tires are kinda low on tread, traction is sometimes a problem, will launching in 4HI then switching back to 2wd be a problem? (Elec shift on fly)
4) Should I remove the spare to reduce weight, or leave it for more weight, better traction?
5) Tailgate up, down, or off if I have time?

I think that's it for now, thanks for any help.

 

'Racn:

The OD will not come into play. Leave it on, as this is one fewer thing to worry about when you head to the line.

Run your rear tire PSI at whatever the recommended pressure is. Others will advise differently, but with a stiff-sidewalled street radial tire, softening the tires only serves to give you two tiny contact patches over the sidewalls (like having four bicycle tires on the rear - two for each wheel). Air the fronts up to maximum for reduced rolling resistance, fold your mirrors in, and unscrew your antenna if you're really motivated.

Run in 2WD. Switching on the fly sounds like a very bad idea, for a number of reasons. If you have a limited slip rear end, you shouldn't have too much trouble with wheelspin.

The spare is a coin toss, but with the relative little power offered by the NA 5.4, you shouldn't need too much traction help and might opt to remove. However, this is cheating (when you brag about how fast your truck is, it should be representative of street trim, in my opinion).

By all means, tailgate up, no matter what anyone tells you. Trust me.

 

Thanks for the info. The truck is not limited slip, unfortunately, but it does have the 3.73 gears. Also, no spare is pretty much representative of street trim cause i usually don't have it with me, it's 2" smaller than the tires I have now, and I'm going to 35's soon, 31.6" won't help too much.

Good call on the mirrors, takes about 20 sec and couldn't hurt anything.

 

Raw egg between foot and throttle, that's the ticket.

My bud has a 4.6 NASCAR edition (one-wheel peel machine), and he has to launch it pretty easy.

 

I'll try different things for the launch since I'll be making a few runs. First time I figure I'll mash it just cause I'll be really excited, after I get that out of the system I'll ease into it.

 

Chief:

Buy a G-Tech and practice the 0-60.

Or just listen for the squeal and practice a lot. The G-Tech method helps a bunch.

 

If you have time try:
OD off
4Hi (Mash the gas)
Tailgate off
Remove spare
Remember the first "Hot Rodders" ? No fenders. No running boards. No bumpers...Lighter is faster
Tailgate and spare is a tenth
Play with the pressures too.

Be sure and report back in after

Most important: Have fun

 

Chief:

The OD is a red herring. You will get nowhere near OD with a NA 5.4.

Engaging the 4WD will kill your time due to parasitic drag. We played with my brother's Dodge and it was worth about a second/4 MPH.

The tailgate removal will save you some weight (60 lb - possibly as much as 0.04 sec), but will cost you dearly in aerodynamics (1-2 MPH, trust me).

The spare only helps, but is cheating.

I saw an internet article where they cut a Nissan 4 cylinder Sentra right down to the unibody and sat on a 5 gallon bucket. Ran around 14 flat/97 at 1800 pounds, but SO FUGGING WHAT?