D-Day had his first, long awaited drag race down here in South West Florida. Mother nature was not cooperating, 100% humidity due to rain minutes before opening and 82 degrees, but what the he11, I didn't care - this was my first race.

Well as I am sure many of you can remember your first time lossing your virginity on the track, the hearting is pumping, palms shaking, stomach in knots, etc. .................all I can say is I WANT MORE, it was an absolute blast!!!

I don't have a scanner to post the slips, I ran three times the second run was my best and I won each time, but I was not matched with any realistic contenders (stock L, camaro and a Ram 1500). No offense to our stock L brothers, but when you're pumping out 496/562 it's not a fair match up.

I was using my brand new Hoosiers, 28x10x16 and I don't have a clue of how you northern boys run on 19 - 20lbs of air pressure. I started at 15 and then dropped to 12 for my 2nd and 3rd run. At 15 lbs I broke loose at the line. Keep in mind, the track was borderline dry after the rain. The grounds crew worked for 30 minutes trying to sweep and dry the track - so it was very challenging to hook well.

My reaction times ranged from .95 to my best at .66. My 60ft runs sucked, 1.80, 1.78 and on my best run the 60ft did not record. Regardless, in each run I ended up at 88.60, 88.70 and 88.95 mph all of which landed me in the 7.8487 range for time.

Considering the conditions and my first time I was really happy - had to have a couple beers just to settle down. Any way - obviously I can't wait to get to a quarter mile. My beast and the KB seemed to build power the faster and longer I headed down the track - here's hoping for some eleven's in Bradenton.

Thanks to all my L brothers who helped me get this far, John at JLP, Tom at Outrageous, Tim, Paul & Keith at REM, Sal at PSP and of course the "Zoo" crew in Miami. Everything held together and I am hooked! Oh, can't forget - Rob02 - brother every time you complain about the snow, know I am complaining about the %$#@!*$ humidity. LOL


D-Day

 

I look forward to seeing you turn that beast loose at Bradenton. I will try to get a few pictures of you going through the traps. With a low to mid 11 on the clock!!!

 

Was this @ Immokalee?? How does that track hook??

Does it get packed???

JC

 

thanks guys,

JC - yes the track is Immokalee, the track under normal conditions has a pretty good reputation for hooking, but last night was terrible after the rain. All the guys who knew what they were doing were shocked that the owner kept the track open it had rained so much. Just to give you another reference on time:

L #2 - '02, only a 2lb upper ran 9's, no slicks.

L #3 - '02, 2lb upper, 4lb lower, ran 8's, hoosiers.

As far as crowded goes, being my first time it didn't seem bad at all inbetween runs I had to wait, maybe 20 minutes. It is test and tune on Wednesdays, everything from pro's, ricers, stock vehicles to the local Fort Myers SVT club. It was great!

D-Day

 

Congrats Dan for finally getting that beast to the track.

When I dynoed 492/572 I was running 1.8x -60's and 7.8 -7.9 @ 88-89 mph, I did get a 1.72 -60' once but didnt get to finish the run.

Oh, I also run 16 psi in my Hoosiers

Congrats again

 

Dan,
Congrats on your runs! Do you have a stall converter? I'm guessing from your 60' times that you do not.

Bro, a converter will offer no change in the normal driving characteristics of the truck, BUT at the track, it will enable the motor to get into its power/torque band MUCH more quickly. Which will in turn, enable the truck to take better advantage of the slicks!

I promise you that, at your power levels, a converter will drop your 60' times into the mid 1.6's at LEAST, which will translate into 7.50-7.60 1/8 mile time slips (which are high 11 second 1/4 passes). Just thought I'd run that past ya. Goodluck at FFW!

Later,
Rob

BTW...I offer this advice because I was RIGHT where you are, and those are the gains that I saw. I realize that everyone's trucks are a little different, but that should get you in the ballpark!

 

Rob, I like the sound of that. And you are right I do not have the stall converter. What brand name, model stall converter did you go with and how much to buy and install?

Thanks for the advice!

Dan

 

way to go DAN THE MAN

Welcome to the


Thats a nice 12

 

I agree with Rob about the converter, that is why I installed a stall while I had the motor out.
I felt like the lack of a stall was what was holding my truck back from getting my 60's down to the 1.6 range.
I can wait to get to the track and see what kind of improvemnets it will make.
I went with the Factory Tech Total Domination Billet Converter

 

Dan,

I'm currently running the PI 2400 RPM Stall. For a street driven truck, I believe most would agree that 2400rpm is plenty. There are several different manufacturers of converters out there, such as Art Carr, Level 10, Factory Tech, PI, etc..etc...

It's just a matter of preference as to which one you go with. You will not believe how much harder your truck will come out of the hole on slicks at the track. You'll have to play with the launch RPM a little, but once you hit that sweet spot on a well prepped track, you'll damn near pee on yourself.

I usually leave between 1200-1800, depending upon how well the track is hooking. By leaving at a lower rpm, it allows the converter to "flash", which will put the motor instantaneously in her peak torqueband, she will then proceed to PULL HER *** OFF!

Hope this helps, and get ready to hold on!!
Rob

 

Sounds like you had a great time

Just remember a day at the track......beats a day at work

I run 20 in my Hoosiers, but I heat the crap out of them. With a stock convertor, Iam running 1.60-1.66 short times

 

BUT WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO BEAT ME GATOR ???

 

Great advice and thank you. I put a call in yesterday to my local tuner for his opinion, but I would rather hear from the pro's! If this is what it is going to take to get into the 11's then consider it done before Bradenton. Sounds like I will just be forced back to Immokolee to practice with my new converter.

What I don't understand is - with a torque converter installed how does it not change your regular driving - wouldn't your L come off the line really hard all the time? OR, is this "flashing" the method of engaging the torque converter, during racing only?

Forgive me I am still learning!

Thanks!!!

D-Day

 

Dan,
Under normal driving conditions(on your radials), there is minimal difference, in terms of driving characteristics. Whether or not you have the stall, if you're trying to launch hard on your radials, you're still gonna have to modulate the throttle somewhat in an effort to keep from turning the tires into an instantaneous ball of smoke.

The stall will simply require a little more "modulation" on an aggressive launch(on radials). HOWEVER, as I mentioned before, the stall really shines on slicks! Hope this helps.

Later,
Rob