My First Drag Strip Experience

[That Ozzy Guy]

hey guys. thought some of my old friends here would be interested in my little write up. i went to the drags last night and it was so much fun. can't wait to go back.

http://streetrats.net/news.php?extend.9

:classic:

[Murph]

Great time there George! That's pretty nuts in a little car like the zed!

I'm looking forward to hitting the strip here again when my new motor is in, though I wont be running anywhere near that fast. The other thing is our strip here has pretty poor traction.....I struggle to better a 2.4 60'.

[That Ozzy Guy]

mate, i think i might be going out in my 1.3L 1982 Corolla next time just for kicks. try to get below a 20 second pass! there were guys there driving just normal holdens and one guy was running consistent 17 second passes with a Corolla Seca and he was having a ball.

[Murph]

Likewise I've been tempted to take my 1.2L Sunny out there to race against my mates 1.2L '76 Corolla. Shitter car races are the best!

[Tommo560]

i get an error from that link:

Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded in /home/gamers4/public_html/streetrats/e107_plugins/log/logs/logi_143.2006.php on line 83

and i cant even open http://streetrats.net same thing, it gives a timeout error.

Tom.

[That Ozzy Guy]

thanks. found a problem with a file. all fixed now.

[g72s20]

That's a good read George! My first thoughts were "I hope the car is sorted safetywise for those E.T's and speeds"!. For a first timer that is incredible. When you start pulling 11's at 125mph+ you discover all sorts of things about the physics and dynamics of your car at speed...and how any small unplanned change in these can lead to your role changing from driver to unwilling passenger... in a blink. If I sound like your old granny I apologize... It's just that I did enjoy being a track crash rescue and fire marshal for a few years, and there was nothing like the drags(my favourite!) to keep you on your toes. Haven't done it for years now, politics has changed it ...somewhat:(

Sounds like you've already discovered there is more to a successful run than just "4000 launch!....7000 change!....7000 change!"

How much can you tell us about the setup of the Z? I'd like to get along to WSID one Wed. night just to see you run.

Running the Corollas and such may not be much to watch but when your involved in a few heads up runs who gives a bugger. If you ever get along to the test N tune days there used to be more competitors than spectators, which was great! you'd get a few mates out there running all sorts of machinery from bog stock to you name it. There is nothing quite like being involved:classic:

Good luck with it George and I look forward to your further adventures....but stay out of the sand trap eh?

Cheers,

Jim.

[7240z]

12.346-122.97

11.001-125.71

11.565-124.89

11.170-124.64

10.186-131.81

Hi George! Were these your times in your Z?? What kind of setup do you have??? Hey guys! Are these numbers right? These aren't that bad at all if the Z can do this?

[That Ozzy Guy]

my times were:

12.346@122.97

11.001@125.71

11.565@124.89

11.170@124.64

11.048@125.05 mate driving

12.161@122.83 mate driving

11.309@124.88 mate drivng

10.990@125.67

thanks for your concern Jim, it's not a game and i don't treat it as such. the car felt very safe, staight and slowed down very well (umm, i unintentionally tested the limits on my first run )

as for setup, well she's a bit of a circuit car that got lost on the way to EC and kept driving to WSID slowly i'm going to set her up for the drag strip. i need some baggy street slicks, possibly play with new suspension all round, diff gearing, a cowl bonnet (hood for our yank friends) to get a higher riser on the carby and the biggest problem, a cage. now i don't mind spending the money on the cage but our state has seen fit to make them illegal and my car is all street legal right now. i don't get that. a safety feature that's illegal but it's illegal to race without one. go figure. i can also shave some weight if i want to get serious but no need for that, i'm just having fun for now.

i guess the main figures are 500hp, 490tq, 3.5 diff, 4.5 converter and 1250kg with me in it.

the most exciting part for me is seeing these figures in such a bad drag setup. i can't wait to see what she's capable of with some work. it will be a while before i'm allowed to go back. i have to save up a fair bit of money for a cage :cross-eye

just as a sidenote, the 240 was a big hit out there. so many people came up to us for a chat and a look. we have to get some more of these cars out there! too many holdens and fords at the moment.

[Tommo560]

You can get class b concessional liscenses with a cage but that means to and from workshop or events only. you know i think if you get one of those you'll be spending a lot of time driving to a "mates workshop to get some help with the setup". .

my initial thoughts were also that a cage for racing is street illegal is a load of rubbish, but i guess that makes sense because its not that it isn't safe, although fire and rescue did try to tell my mate that the front arms of the cage meant that if they had to use jaws of life it'd take longer, but hey, atleast you'd still be alive behind the wheel.

anyways i digress, i think that the real reason they are not legal is because they are legal for the track. personally i see it as a tactic by the police to keep race cars off the street because hey, its not that its gonna stop or corner any better, or that the guy driving it is actually going to know how to drive, but its fast and the driver might be tempted to test his RACE CAR on the street even though its the people with real track cars that know the danger of going fast on a public road and are the most responsible. So NOOOOOOOOO we cant have that on the road.

anyway, my 2 cents

Tom.

[Z Kid]

Well done on the times, as for the cage on the street, as someone who has been in a bit of a crash with a cage and cracked my helmet, I would cringe to think what would have happened to the old watermelon if I wasnt wearing a helmet and my head had struck the barwork.I beleive this is their logic, a cage without a helmet is far less safe than no cage without a helmet. Might be time to make the call as to whether the car is going to be a race car or a street car sadly.

Chris