ZL1 No Traction @ Launch; Gravel Imbedded in Tire?

[naromando]

Alright guys... I'd appreciate any helpful tips here. Take it easy on me... it was my first time to even be @ a drag strip, let alone to race at one.

2014 ZL1 M6. Stock Goodyear tires. No performance mods.
Bandimere DA ~8040' from what I could find online.

I made the FIRST drag strip pass of my life last night in my ZL1.
It timed at a 13.885 and 2.2 60'.

I then proceeded to make 4 more passes through the night. Each pass ET and 60' was progressively much worse with my 5th pass being a 16.771 with a 3.7 60' .

I've NEVER had an issue hooking up on the street when practicing launches, but I COULD NOT keep the wheels from spinning at launch on the track. I tried all nannies off, PTM4, PTM3, & PTM2. On my 5th pass I didn't even rev it up at the line in PTM3 and just tried to take off normally at lower RPM to see if I could keep from spinning and it spun just as bad if not worse than the other times. I felt the wheels spin a bit even when shifting into 3rd which usually doesn't happen when I'm accelerating hard. Even when leaving the parking lot at the end of the night it was slipping much more than I've ever noticed.

The other racers said the track was well prepared (I have nothing to compare it to since I've never ran before), especially with Mopar NHRA Nationals there last weekend, so that wasn't the problem. Especially since everyone else seemed to be running good times.

I'm definitely not ruling out operator error, but I do feel confident launching it on the street and my first pass wasn't god awful for 8040' DA.

I did notice one abnormal thing with my tires after my first pass: I did my burnout prior to the first run to warm up the tires. I didn't think it was over excessive, but probably more than was needed. When I got out of the car after first pass, the rear tires had gravel actually imbedded into the rubber. I did much shorter burn outs prior to pass 2, 3, and 4. The gravel imbedded in my rear tires seemed to increase after each pass. I didn't think to take a picture of the tires until I was at a gas station about 30 miles towards home. There was much more gravel in the tires prior to leaving the strip and driving for a bit.

I've attached the picture... Has anyone else ever had this happen to them? Do you think the gravel was playing a large part in traction issues? It makes sense to me that it could have been a factor since traction progressively got worse as I got more gravel in the tires. I would think that if there was enough stuck in the tire that it would greatly reduce the friction.

[mrvenicess]

The gravel is probably being picked up by your hot and sticky tires on the return road. Just do a quick burnout before each run to clean them off. Launch just off of idle then mash it. Hold down the tc button for 7 seconds to turn all nannies off. Practice practice practice!!

[naromando]

Originally Posted by mrvenicess

The gravel is probably being picked up by your hot and sticky tires on the return road. Just do a quick burnout before each run to clean them off. Launch just off of idle then mash it. Hold down the tc button for 7 seconds to turn all nannies off. Practice practice practice!!

None of the other cars were picking this gravel up. Did I overheat them?

[digdeep0169]

backup into water just a tad, spin em, roll out, then do a quick surface clean burnout… don't roast your street tires… it buys you nothing. if the track is prepped well, you should stick out of the hole