I want to drag race my Regal.

[MrSony]

What would I need? Does anyone who drag races regularly know what I would need to pass tech for a street driven almost bone stock car? It will be at Cedar Falls, IA in october at some point. My math and one spirited run with a crappy app that goes off of a GPS on my phone says my car is 15.0-15.6 at 92-90mph. I want to see how accurate that is, plus drag racing is cool and it's on my bucket list to drag race a car I built. Also should I do a one wheel burnout, or not risk breaking my rear in half and the embarrassment? This will be in mid-late october after I fix up all of the leaky bits and get exhaust on the damn thing. Also, will they let me run basically open exhaust with just my manifolds and downpipes? lol

Any input is appreciated as always.

 

[Kwik_Cutty88]

I've run my car as a one wheel at the track. I really don't care what people think at the track. I'm not there to impress anyone, just have some fun and get some more seat time. I don't think I'd worry about breaking the 7.5 with a one tire fire, it probably won't hook up hard enough to do that. Anyways, with tech as long as the car isn't a basket case you should be ok. As long as it doesn't leak, you have a battery hold down, proper seat belts, you should be ok. Be honest with the tech guys, and they will usually treat you good. I'd suggest giving you car a good once over before you go. Are all your fluids full? Are the lug nuts tight? Tire pressures ok? That sort of thing. You will also need a SNELL approved (not DOT) helmet. Maybe watch some videos on youtube about staging the car, and about the two types of tree starting (drop down vs. pro tree). If its a street night type event, you will probably be running a drop down tree. You can PM me if you want, I love to talk drag racing lol.

 

[MrSony]

I've run my car as a one wheel at the track. I really don't care what people think at the track. I'm not there to impress anyone, just have some fun and get some more seat time. I don't think I'd worry about breaking the 7.5 with a one tire fire, it probably won't hook up hard enough to do that. Anyways, with tech as long as the car isn't a basket case you should be ok. As long as it doesn't leak, you have a battery hold down, proper seat belts, you should be ok. Be honest with the tech guys, and they will usually treat you good. I'd suggest giving you car a good once over before you go. Are all your fluids full? Are the lug nuts tight? Tire pressures ok? That sort of thing. You will also need a SNELL approved (not DOT) helmet. Maybe watch some videos on youtube about staging the car, and about the two types of tree starting (drop down vs. pro tree). If its a street night type event, you will probably be running a drop down tree. You can PM me if you want, I love to talk drag racing lol.

thanks man. and will pm once I get closer to the drag day.

 

[MrSony]

I've run my car as a one wheel at the track. I really don't care what people think at the track. I'm not there to impress anyone, just have some fun and get some more seat time. I don't think I'd worry about breaking the 7.5 with a one tire fire, it probably won't hook up hard enough to do that. Anyways, with tech as long as the car isn't a basket case you should be ok. As long as it doesn't leak, you have a battery hold down, proper seat belts, you should be ok. Be honest with the tech guys, and they will usually treat you good. I'd suggest giving you car a good once over before you go. Are all your fluids full? Are the lug nuts tight? Tire pressures ok? That sort of thing. You will also need a SNELL approved (not DOT) helmet. Maybe watch some videos on youtube about staging the car, and about the two types of tree starting (drop down vs. pro tree). If its a street night type event, you will probably be running a drop down tree. You can PM me if you want, I love to talk drag racing lol.

I plan on fixing all the leaky bits over the weekend, oil change, carb rebuild, all that stuff also.

 

[UNGN]

Without a posi, put a right side airbag in the right spring and pump it up until it launchs without spinning.

Any dripping fluid will get you booted. Make sure your battery is held down. Tech is usually pretty lax for street cars not running 11's.

 

[lilbowtie]

Basically you can run as is, a radiator overflow bottle is needed and they like to see dual springs on your throttle return. Stock seat belts required and a helmet for your own safety (not required). Make sure your neutral safety switch is working, you need long pants closed shoes w/socks. Unless your running slicks stay away from the burn out (drive around the water box) - your tires will hold water in the threads and hurt more than help. You can do a dry hop to clean the tires. You can run open exh after the down pipes - I would run through the exh, your not going to gain anything - I run full exh on my 11.20 car. Before you go to a track check their web site and their rules.

 

[olds307 and 403]

Depends on the track. Only water is another of our rules, no antifreeze and a DOT/Snell helmet is mandatory. Otherwise same rules as above. Plus the car must only start in neutral or park. Good Luck.

 

[UNGN]

Unless your exhaust totally sucks, it won't slow you down... and if your exhaust totally sucks, make it not suck.

Open headers on a 15 second car will get a lot of people laughing at you behind your back. They'll be cool talking to you, but their eyes will roll as soon as their heads turn.

Everybody has a story about a 15 second car with "400 hp" (owner claimed) where the owner took the hood off for a run to reduce weight and break into the 14's (with 400 HP).

Don't be that guy.

 

[454GrandPrix]

Calling your track ahead of time is a great idea. However, don't be surprised if there are no serious requirements for a 15-second car.

Earlier in my life, I spent five years drag racing my turbocharged 1989 Dodge Caravan at RMR in Salt Lake City. Like most sanctioned drag strips, RMR followed NHRA policy as a general rule. Back then, I did not need a helmet until I ran 13.99 or faster (though I believe the NHRA has pushed that requirement back further, meaning you may not need a helmet now until you go even faster).

Because I campaigned in my track's Street Legal bracket series, we were allowed to run coolant. Most "street nights" will allow coolant; I also raced my minivan at drag strips in Nevada, Ohio and Michigan where coolant was completely legal.

If you're running street tires, driving around the water box is definitely a good idea--not only for you, but also for your fellow racers (who will greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness). Your open differential is going to make launching tricky. I could go into detail with ideas about adjusting tire pressure, weight balance, suspension pre-loading and so on but you really have no business getting into all that with a peg leg out back. For now, just focus on learning the general drag strip procedure.

Oh, and that reminds me of the best advice for someone new to drag racing: always follow the instructions of the officials. Watch each one of them very carefully. They will signal you when to pull forward out of the staging lanes, when to stop, when to enter (or go around) the water box, when to begin your burnout, when to stage, etc. Ignoring and/or disobeying any one of these commands is a sure-fire way to get yourself booted from the track. Before you even make a single pass, it might be worthwhile to park your car, walk up to the starting line, and just watch how things happen for a dozen cars or so.

I hope this info is helpful. Drag racing is a great way to get to know your car better, and it can be a lot of fun.

 

[MrSony]

Basically you can run as is, a radiator overflow bottle is needed and they like to see dual springs on your throttle return. Stock seat belts required and a helmet for your own safety (not required). Make sure your neutral safety switch is working, you need long pants closed shoes w/socks. Unless your running slicks stay away from the burn out (drive around the water box) - your tires will hold water in the threads and hurt more than help. You can do a dry hop to clean the tires. You can run open exh after the down pipes - I would run through the exh, your not going to gain anything - I run full exh on my 11.20 car. Before you go to a track check their web site and their rules.

Well you see, all the exhaust I have is downpipes. I was just gonna toss on a pair of walker quiet flow mufflers to drive out there (two hour drive) and if they'll let me and i have time take em off for the pass.