Made it to the track today to finish the NHRA licensing passes. Needed two sub 10 seconds runs. Didn't have the time that
motorheadmike did (fortunately haha), but managed to get in two sub 10 runs and drove the car on the trailer with no real issues.
The bad - filled the tank with E last night and didn't tighten the cap (oops) and managed to lose some gas on the 2nd run when it hooked. That was resolved by twisting the cap another full turn until it clicked
. On the last run one of my hood latches loosened and wouldn't latch for the tow home - no big deal. Other than that, no other issues.
1st run :
I turned it up for the 1st run with the idea that the prep was fresh/decent/better than it would be later. Ummm, too much. I had the tire pressure to 17, which is more than I usually run. I hit at 9 psi and 18 degrees. Between the tires, that I don't think hurt that much, and the added power on the hit it was too much. Still went fast after lifting at the top of 1st gear - 139mph. And I hit the boost cut 8.5 seconds in because I'm a ding-a-ling. I had it set to 22,5 psi for some reason - it was obvious when it reverted to spring pressure and dumped the exhaust pressure - I thought I blew a hose off lol. Another
moment.
2nd run :
I took out another 3 degrees and launched at 4.5 or so psi of boost after dropping the tires to 15psi. It felt great, but only a 1.56 60'. Of course I spilled gas launching. Ran a PB of 9.785 at just under 141mph. Just need another one.
3rd run :
Tires shook hard. I believe because I lightened up the compression on the shocks thinking it would help me squat better and I WAS WRONG. More on the shocks in a bit. Had a 1.60 60'and despite lifting to stop the shake ran a 10.01 at 141.20. You can imagine my comments at .02 seconds from a 9.99 that I needed for the 2nd sub 10 sec pass. I was shocked it went that fast after lifting, but still not a 9.
4th run :
Tires just started to shake at the top of 1st for a split second and then they dug in and it ran it ran another PB (barely) of 9.748 at 141.5. But that was it! The second licensing pass below 10 seconds - what a relief
I increased the boost incrementally through 2nd through 4th runs. Not by a lot, but enough to figure out how much dome pressure is needed. It seems that 15 psi of dome pressure equates into the dome pressure plus 7, i.e. 15 psi of dome = 22 psi of boost, 16 dome = 23 boost, 17.5 dome = 24.5 boost, etc. So I had plenty of time to make a 5th run and I set the dome pressure to run within 1/2 a psi of my map sensor - 26.2 psi of boost. I made another shock adjustment. I wanted that 9.4-9.6 run (mid 9 that's in my thread's name) ...............and............I bumped through the lights - WTF. Oh well, my mission was accomplished. I left track elated and relieved.
wingnutks advised of changing up my shock settings by a bunch. And damn, HE WAS RIGHT! Thanks to him for the advice. I increased my rebound by double from 6 to 12 and the back end stayed down. The 1st two runs I set the compression to 3 and that worked. then I thought about, incorrectly I'll add, and loosened (decreased) the compression from 3 to 1 and it shook the tires hard. Then on the 4th run I set it to 2 and it barely shook. Lesson learned. I have a big thanks to
wingnutks for the advice.
I have a couple of sensor gremlins to chase away with my Pre IC temp and pressure, still have to tie down the front end, and install the 4 bar map. But for now I'm onto a bit of street driving to prove it out for Drag Week (and to enjoy it of course.) And I'm adding a pre-stage button to limit my rpm's, and changing my trans brake switch to push on/push off switch - no more bumping through the lights.
