My first run at calder

[T3rminator]

Well...thought I'd take the leap and join the 1/4 mile club.......
Took the ute (BA XR8 MK1 man) down to calder tonight. What can I say? It was awesome fun!!

My first run (which was my worse) was an embarassing 15.48s @ 100.25MPH :togo: . hmmmmmm
Second run (which was my best) was an mediocre 14.47s @ 102.01MPH.
Trouble is I don't know what I did differently!
I had 6 runs in total.

My 60' leaves a lot to be desired, averaging 2.6s with the worse being 3s LOL!
(Anyone got any tips on how I can improve this? I kept loosing traction)

Most distracting thing was the helmet...it muffed out all the sound and made it very difficult to "feel" the car to get a good take off. Another distracting thing was my heart pumping at 200bpm lol.

I ran the car as I would drive it everyday, with spare tyre still on and crap like melways, emergency toolkit, water bottle, CDs, coins tucked in the car. Also left the tornaue cover on.

PS. Apart from "show" what is the purpose of ripping a burnout before making a run? All 6 times I just drove to the staging lights without doing the burn out. Would doing a burn out make your tyre stickier?

PPS. Do most people change into 4th gear before crossing the finish line? I found that my 3rd gear hits the rev limiter just a tad before the finish line.

[rodderz]

Dont worry mate, the 1st time almost always ends up being not what you expected. You will only get better every time you go out and you learn more all the time.

Some have found a big burnout is better traction, some have said nothing. I found a smaller one in 2nd gear worked best for me last year when i last went out at calder. Just ride the clutch a bit off the line at around 2500-3000rpm then once it's rolling drop it all the way out. As for your 3rd gear, if you have to change into 4th just before the finish it may actuially lose time

[Walkinshaw]

Your MPH is indicating you should beable to run a 13.7 time.

With regards to burnouts, most street tyres will loose traction once hot as they become slippery not sticky.

Its all practice mate!!



Well done for giving it a hell of a go.

[SpoolMan]

well done, you had a go your 60 footer will need work...on street tryes should do a little burn out get rid of the stones gravel etc: and the water off the tyres..
i use an open face helmet....
did you enjoy it?

[T3rminator]

All I can say is that it is a lot more difficult than it looks from the hill top but it is also a lot more fun! Before this I never really understood why people spent friday nights driving their cars down a strip lol...

Hope to join the rest of yas sometime in the near future...but for now...my baby needs a rest


PS. I felt better at the end of the night when I saw WRXs running 14.8s :P

[Quadcams]

Well done fullthrottle not easy in the manuals, its good fun isnt it also watch out its very addictive lol.

[jonbays]

Don't worry it really is harder than it looks and a lot of people who have never tried will be telling you how fast there car is but just ignore them.

As said before your TS is good which means your ute ahs the power to weight ratio to do well in the mid 13's.

The 60' is where its all at and this is where you need some more practise. Trying too hard is the common mistake. Traction is king and if you can get the balance right with the tyres chirping for grip not squealing with wheelspin you will get the 60' down into the 2.10 area for sure with raod tyres. That alone will get you into the 13 second bracket.

You know that If I can get a 2.36 in my auto wagon if you held your nerve you could just drive off normally and beat that. I know the heart pumping feeling too though and its harder to do than say.

[DOC]

Well done, it wont be long before your FULLTHROTTLE down the line and posting some good times'

Originally Posted by Walkinshaw

Your MPH is indicating you should beable to run a 13.7 time.
.

For a novice can someone please explain how the MPH would equate to a 13.7 run? whats the maths calc on this.

Pete

[wild6]

when i ran my 13.9 at heathcote i only got 98 mph so u should be well into the 13's

[Quadcams]

Originally Posted by DOC

Well done, it wont be long before your FULLTHROTTLE down the line and posting some good times'



For a novice can someone please explain how the MPH would equate to a 13.7 run? whats the maths calc on this.

Pete

Your mph will always be within a couple of miles of each other (on a good run), shows your power also your potential ET. Myself still learning have found a good way to see how your car compares to other cars of the same type. have a look at my sig. same MPH but a 13.3 with a 2.025 60' I have found for every 1 tenth off 60' take 2 tenths aleast off your ET. Also its hard to compare MPH in different climates, alot of variables.
Also Doc I have seen heaps of cars say doing 130mph but only doing mid 11's but another car with same mph doing mid 10's more to the potential of that MPH. I saw a table somewere that show every mph from 100 to 150+ mph and estimated optimum ET but its very rough there are alot of variable in the equation, if you like to dragrace prepare to do alot of number crunching.
Hope that helps maybe someone can explain better.

[galaxy xr8]

Well done mate, it's all good fun and with practise you will get better, that's the answer, practise.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by fullthrottle

Well...thought I'd take the leap and join the 1/4 mile club.......
Took the ute (BA XR8 MK1 man) down to calder tonight. What can I say? It was awesome fun!!

My first run (which was my worse) was an embarassing 15.48s @ 100.25MPH :togo: . hmmmmmm
Second run (which was my best) was an mediocre 14.47s @ 102.01MPH.
Trouble is I don't know what I did differently!
I had 6 runs in total.

My 60' leaves a lot to be desired, averaging 2.6s with the worse being 3s LOL!
(Anyone got any tips on how I can improve this? I kept loosing traction)

Most distracting thing was the helmet...it muffed out all the sound and made it very difficult to "feel" the car to get a good take off. Another distracting thing was my heart pumping at 200bpm lol.

I ran the car as I would drive it everyday, with spare tyre still on and crap like melways, emergency toolkit, water bottle, CDs, coins tucked in the car. Also left the tornaue cover on.

PS. Apart from "show" what is the purpose of ripping a burnout before making a run? All 6 times I just drove to the staging lights without doing the burn out. Would doing a burn out make your tyre stickier?

PPS. Do most people change into 4th gear before crossing the finish line? I found that my 3rd gear hits the rev limiter just a tad before the finish line.

If you drove straight through the water and onto the line, your tyres would have been a bit wet. That would definately explain the poor traction. You need a small burnout the clean and warm the tyres.

[ratter]

Congrats on giving it a go



Actually 102 mph is good for a 12.7 according to the moroso speed calculator

[T3rminator]

I'll be stoked if I can get it down to 13.7 in it's current form. The only way I'm gonna get close to that is to improve on the 60'.
Being the first time at the track I didn't go with much of a plan, it was pretty much suck it and see.

Next time I go I'll start playing around with different launch methods and see how that goes.

What method do most people use on the BA XR8 manuals to achieve a good time? Slip or Dump and at what revs?

[Citric GT]

Good on ya mate!

You'll find it addictive and want to start modding the car too!

Funny thing is that when I went to WSID for the first time, my best run was the first. I've never been able to beat it. The first one was 15.238 and the best since that was 15.253. Being auto its easy and consistant, but in a manual you'll just have to keep practising till you get the right launch technique.

Good luck:eclipsee_

[Quadcams]

Originally Posted by fullthrottle

I'll be stoked if I can get it down to 13.7 in it's current form. The only way I'm gonna get close to that is to improve on the 60'.
Being the first time at the track I didn't go with much of a plan, it was pretty much suck it and see.

Next time I go I'll start playing around with different launch methods and see how that goes.

What method do most people use on the BA XR8 manuals to achieve a good time? Slip or Dump and at what revs?

Mate easyier said than done but the best advice I got good tyres or street drive it off the line dont throw all you cards on the table at once.
Practice makes prefect well we are human so thats not possible he he lol.
Good luck mate!!

Fogot to say on street tyres 2000 to 2200rpm i was getting 2.1 60' any more wheel spin and drag radials well I will get back to you on that lol.

[Chris]

send a PM to Kev, he's the XR8 manual ute launch king, with 1.8 60's, what he doesn't know about launching a BA ute isn't worth knowing.....

Originally Posted by fullthrottle

Well...thought I'd take the leap and join the 1/4 mile club.......
Took the ute (BA XR8 MK1 man) down to calder tonight. What can I say? It was awesome fun!!

My first run (which was my worse) was an embarassing 15.48s @ 100.25MPH :togo: . hmmmmmm
Second run (which was my best) was an mediocre 14.47s @ 102.01MPH.
Trouble is I don't know what I did differently!
I had 6 runs in total.

My 60' leaves a lot to be desired, averaging 2.6s with the worse being 3s LOL!
(Anyone got any tips on how I can improve this? I kept loosing traction)

Well done for having a go and being honest enough to post the times! As already said at 102mph, a 13 is a definate with a decent launch.

[Paolo]

Nice times. Always do a skid... Also cause its fun :P

[T3rminator]

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd let you know I ventured out again lastnight. (yes it is addictive) Again ran the car as was without removing anything. Only change is that I had the underdrives fitted at G&D during the week. And this time did small burnouts prior to a run which helped traction 10 fold.

Result...improved my PB to 14.121 @ 101.1 MPH with a 2.229 60'. My goal was to crack 13s (i would have been happy with 13.9999999) so that was a bugga. Had 6 runs and 3 of them were 14.1s so it was pretty consistant. Not sure if I'll be able to get it under 14. Either I need to improve my 60' again OR remove the spare tyre, jack and drop the tail gate (not really my initial plan).

Another "problem" that impacts time on these utes is the gear ratios. I hit the rev limiter on 3rd gear about 20metres before the finish line. This happens on all my runs and my MPHs have ranged from 102.01 to 99.35. The rev limiter surge kills the end of the run. I tried shifting into 4th on one of the runs lastnight (cant remember which one) and surprisingly it didnt kill the MPH or the ET...so that might be worth experimenting next.

[FTGAutosalvage]

maybe you should try shifting a little ealier into 4th remember your power is not at the rev limiter. just a thought.

i was out at calder last night aswell in the Nissan Patrol
run a 15.1 @88.3mph 60' 2.13 i found i just run out of go.
quick launch but geared to low to get it up to the 100mph mark.

[Quadcams]

Originally Posted by fullthrottle

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd let you know I ventured out again lastnight. (yes it is addictive) Again ran the car as was without removing anything. Only change is that I had the underdrives fitted at G&D during the week. And this time did small burnouts prior to a run which helped traction 10 fold.

Result...improved my PB to 14.121 @ 101.1 MPH with a 2.229 60'. My goal was to crack 13s (i would have been happy with 13.9999999) so that was a bugga. Had 6 runs and 3 of them were 14.1s so it was pretty consistant. Not sure if I'll be able to get it under 14. Either I need to improve my 60' again OR remove the spare tyre, jack and drop the tail gate (not really my initial plan).

Another "problem" that impacts time on these utes is the gear ratios. I hit the rev limiter on 3rd gear about 20metres before the finish line. This happens on all my runs and my MPHs have ranged from 102.01 to 99.35. The rev limiter surge kills the end of the run. I tried shifting into 4th on one of the runs lastnight (cant remember which one) and surprisingly it didnt kill the MPH or the ET...so that might be worth experimenting next.

Mate keep at it you should crack 13's no worries if you get you 60' down to around 2.1.

[TruBlu351]

Mate, 13.9's are good to go in your combo. Just got to get the "perfect" launch. Play with different launch rpms and the way you slip the clutch.

Did you try playing with tyre pressures? Let a little air out (~10psi), you may find that LITTLE bit of extra traction for a 2.1 60 footer.

The low profile tyres are generally harder to launch due to the stiff sidewalls.

[T3rminator]

Nah haven't tried playing with tyre pressure. It's currently set to factory recommendations, which I think is around 25psi for the rears. I wasn't loosing any traction on take off...although lost traction when shifting into 2nd.

I basically just drove it off the line. Thought about reving it to 3000RPM and letting it slip but the thought of a burnt clutch and a $1,500 upgrade didnt really appeal LOL. Sometimes I wish I had the auto (someone shoot me for saying that)

PS. When I took delivery of my ute they wrongly ordered in an auto. They gave me the offer of taking it but I declined and insisted on the manual. :nutsycuck

[TruBlu351]

A standard vehicle has 32 psi in the tyres. You have 17" wheels right? I think you'll find they're up around 40'ish psi?