Topic: going to the dragstrip

[Konrad]

I have a completely stock 2007 gt and I have been convinced to take it to the friday street legals for fun at the local dragstrip. I have the stock pirelli p zero nero tires on it. I am not supposed to do a burnout with those to heat then up, right? Do those tires have the best traction at normal temperature? I feel pretty limited by the tires actually because I have practiced my launch a couple times and found that it is hard to not allow too much wheelspin and at the same time not let the engine bog down. Any other tips to do with anything else would also be welcome.

[Goblin]

ill trade you two cars for your stock gt 

[Konrad]

Lol what 2 cars?

[Goblin]

cool 05 vic and 90 stang with a 347 stroker....

[Soaring]

You are going to get some burnout  at launch with those tires simply because they are street tires and not race radials.   One thing you can do to limit the amount of burnout is to lower the air pressure in your rear tires to something like 22-23 lbs.  One thing you want to avoid though is the water trough just before entering the launch site.  Go around it. 
Here is a must read before you go to the strip.
http://www.vortexbuicks-etc.com/beginner.htm

[Konrad]

Thanks for the article. It was helpful.
Anyhow, I went to the races today for the first time. My car is completely stock.
On the first run I had too much wheelspin and even missed the shift into third. Here's the numbers:
R/T:  0.560
1/4mile: 15.52
MPH: 93.39

On the second run I went with almost no wheelspin which was better.
R/T: 0.514
1/4: 15.02
MPH: 97.74

On the third run I had a really good reaction time and I was overall quite happy about it.
R/T: 0.270
1/4: 14.46
MPH: 101.67

The fourth and final run my r/t wasn't so great but i ran the best time all night.
R/T: 0.524
1/4: 14.02
MPH: 99.60

With a better r/t I would have broken into the 13s I think. I also smoked a yellow SN95 on the last one. All in all, it was a lot of fun.

[Soaring]

Yeah, drag strip racing is a lot of fun, but your car doesn't like it.  The quickest way to a fast death for any car is by racing them.  If this is your fun car, and not one you depend on to get to work, and if you can repair it yourself, and have deep pockets, then keep racing it.  Otherwise, decide if you want to walk to work/school or drive a cool Mustang.     14.02 is a damn good time for a stocker.  Put a blower on her, and some drag radials, and you will see 13's all day long.