Tricks To Improve 60' Time???

[thump426er]

Alright, first I'm new to the strip, and for that matter new to the car. 2 month old LS3, other than a short shift kit car is stone stock. Meaning other than the short shift kit and fresh oil and filter, nothing added or altered from the day I drove it off the lot,,,,, well, ok, I painted the stock rims black.

Anyway, been to the track 2 times now and have run a total of 9 passes so I realize there is lot for me to gain just in learning the car, lights, etc but what are the tricks to getting this car to lauch and get decent 60' times? Searching I see things posted here and there, could we compile some of these tricks/skills here in hopes to help me and others?

Out of these 9 passes I'm averaging 2.5 second 60' with a best of 2.36 which seems to be a far cry from what people are getting here. The 2.36 run not coincidentally netted me my best 1/4 mile time and mph of 14.26 @ 103.11 (corrected using dragtimes is 13.50 @ 109 , track elev 3380', 57.2F, 77%, 29.83in for a DA of 4325'). I'm guessing even a few tenths of a second reduction in my 60' would do wonders for the 1/4 time and mph.

I learned the hard way to stay out of the water box, but even still I seem to spin for a fair distance. The run above I tried launching at ~1600 rpm and bogged but it got my best results so far. Last night I felt I had some good launches with relatively minimal spin but still could only muster up a best 60' of 2.47. Air pressure is 32psi.

I have a set of Pfadt trailing arms in the garage waiting to go on and am willing to try drag radials but I would like to sort out my skills first before I start adding mechanical help (but btw, what are some good mechanical aides for 60' success???). Hoping those of you with skills can post some tips for me to experiment with.

Thanks for any input here.

[Ron66Vette&10SS]

Out of curiosity, what kind of '60ft times did you get with Launch Control?

[Paul Huizenga]

Well, learning to launch your car at the drag strip on street tires is, frankly, a skill that's probably not worth acquiring. You will ALWAYS need to ease the car out of the hole, even with a perfect technique. As an added benefit, a really good, hard launch on street tires will actually pull rubber off the starting line, which is not a great way to make friends with the track regulars. Invest in drag radials and don't look back.

[thump426er]

Originally Posted by Ron66Vette&10SS

Out of curiosity, what kind of '60ft times did you get with Launch Control?

For me with launch control is 2.4 - 2.5 with the one bogged start of 2.3. I guess I dont have the ease it out part down yet, too much spin.

[flyby]

Like Paul said, get a set of drag radials. If you want improved 60' times you need better traction, drag radials will do the trick.

[thump426er]

How are the guys on the fast list (and lots of others) getting 2 second times with the stock tires? I'm willing to try the DR's but was hoping to wait until the stocks are done, which leaves me trying to get the best out of the stockers.

[thump426er]

hmmmmm, just found this thread http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30849 and it turns out when the one time I tried LC I effed the procedure. Guess I'll try the right way next time and see what that does for me..... then DR's.

[Speed74SS]

What psi are you guys running for drag radials? This is my first time drag racing with drag radials. I had the psi set at 20psi but they looked pretty low, so I didn't take any more air out. I ran a 12.1 @117 last night on my 20" tires with drag radials and was getting consistent 1.95 - 2.07 60' times. I should be running mid 11's, if I can run a decent 60'.

[GMRULZ]

Drag radials, and a tune to get rid of the torque management. Find the sweet spot rpm launch range with trial and error at the track. slip the clutch slowly out of the hole don`t just sidestep, that shocks the drivline, let the clutch soak up some of that hit.

[paul2010]

You really need to press and hold the traction button for 10 seconds and turn all off. Drag radials need to be around 18 psi. I would try no more then 24 psi with stock tires. The burn out in the water is important you need to heat up the tires. Once you heat the tires up you will want to try launching at 1500 to 2000 rpms. You will however run the risk of breaking something in the drive train. There are a lot of people who haven't though.

Speed those are some good times! You need to let more air out of the tires and get them very hot. More practice and you will be right there in the 11s. Your mphs are right where they need to be for 11s.

[Speed74SS]

Originally Posted by paul2010

You really need to press and hold the traction button for 10 seconds and turn all off. Drag radials need to be around 18 psi. I would try no more then 24 psi with stock tires. The burn out in the water is important you need to heat up the tires. Once you heat the tires up you will want to try launching at 1500 to 2000 rpms. You will however run the risk of breaking something in the drive train. There are a lot of people who haven't though.

Speed those are some good times! You need to let more air out of the tires and get them very hot. More practice and you will be right there in the 11s. Your mphs are right where they need to be for 11s.

I always turn off everything when I drive

I figured I would need to let more air out of the tires. This was our last Test & Tune night for the year, so I will have to wait until next year:( Maybe I will try 16-18psi next time on the DR's. They weren't really putting the water down in the burnout box last night, which kind of ticked me off. I was able to heat up the tires a little bit but not as much as I wanted to. The track prep was terrible last night. I was trying to launch between 1500-2000 rpms but without the tires heated I was still spinning at the line. Thx for the heads up - I will try and improve on those 60's next year