Drag Racing

[Zeinheiger]

Hey guys, i know some of you have been to the drags and I plan to go on this Saturday to get some base results back from my Aurion... Before I start fiddling and modding it.

I live 3 minutes from Calder Park Raceway and I've never been to take my own car out there before, so I thought it might be a bit of fun

Basically I'm asking for any tips, I'm a noob to this and basically I don't wanna embarrass myself too much...

And also where can I grab a cheap helmet? (inb4 eBay, I will be buying this tomorrow, I have 2 days, not enough time for postage) cheapest ADR approved helmet I can get would be great

Are things like these ADR approved?^

[DJKOR]

I swear I had a good post about this somewhere, but even I can't find it, so it looks like I shall start from scratch.

Firstly with regards to the helmet, unfortunately the answer I have is eBay. That's where I got mine for at a good price. I can't really provide any information on stores otherwise. As for being ADR approved, a helmet like that can be, but you need to confirm that with the markings on the helmet because you can quite easily get one that looks the same but isn't.

Now for the tips. Please excuse me for going though some pointers which may already be known to you from watching drag racing, but to cover the topic for the ones that don't know much about drag racing, I will mention them. Now seeing that it is your first time, the first thing you need to do is clear your mind of that concern. Everyone that has drag raced has always had a first time. You can't really go wrong, especially with an automatic like the Aurion which is just point and shoot.

So when you get there, you would enter the staging lanes where you wait till it's your turn. As people have their go, you will eventually progress from the staging lanes into the burnout area then the actual racing lane where you approach the starting line and the Christmas Tree. If you are on street tires, I would completely avoid the burnout all-together because this can actually be more negative to your traction.

As you slowly approach the start line, it is good practice to get the first staging light lit (the very top one) and then stop there and allow the person next to you (if there is anyone) to get their first staging light lit. Then you can edge forward ever so slightly till the second staging light is lit (the second light down). Once the person in the lane next to you and yourself have both staging lights lit, the countdown will begin. The lights go down the tree through three yellow lights then the green light.

To get a feel for it, for the purposes of getting just a time, you do not need to worry about the getting off the line once the light turns green, but rather focus on your own driving. The timing will not start until you actually leave the line so you can sit there as long as you need, but a few seconds at most is advisable so as to not annoy anyone.

For the Aurion, I will tell you that once you are ready to go, just take your foot off the brake and push that accelerator down as fast as you can. From a standstill like that, you don't need to worry about breaking traction because you will be quite surprised at just how sticky the track surface is. After that, you just keep your foot down and your car aimed in a straight line down the lane. Once you pass the lights at the end of the lane, you can then proceed to slowing down. Firm application of the brakes for pulses of a couple of seconds each would be the best way to do this in combination with down-shifting in 'S' mode. Once you have slowed down and have reached the end, you just follow the road around to return back to the start again and you can collect your time slip to see how you went.

And that's basically it. You have then completed one run down the drag strip and you can now give it another shot to try and get a better time.

You can either work on improving your reaction time or your ET... or both. Once hint with getting a better reaction time; aim to get your foot off the brake and foot down on the accelerator the moment that the third yellow light illuminates. Due to your own reaction time combined with the delay in getting the car to start rolling, your car would end up leaving the line rather close to when the light is green without leaving too early.

For improving your ET on the Aurion, it comes down to getting the perfect balance of stalling it up (applying throttle while your left foot is on the brake). Getting the right combination can vary depending on the track and weather conditions, so there is a lot of experimenting. A good starting point here is to stall it up to about 1400-1500RPM, and then the moment you are ready to leave, take your left foot off the brake while applying throttle gradual at first then as fast as you can. It's hard to explain this one, but it will click when you try it. It may or may not work for you, but it gives you the opportunity to learn how it reacts and from there on, you can work on refining your technique.

[Ronnyboy]

Nice write up Daryl :)

[Zeinheiger]

Daryl thanks so much for all that info, good write up mate

I feel like an idiot in saying this, but if you didn't tell me about how the staging lights worked, I would have made a complete ***** of myself somehow, I'll have to try and see what I can pull off on my first run... I'm hoping for less than 15.00 and I'll be happy, then I'll work from there

And unfortunately won't be doing it this weekend anymore, I'll now be working the Saturday :(

It will have to be 18th Feb or March 4th the next 2 Friday Night Off Street Legals

At least this will give me time to source a decent cheap eBay helmet

Thanks Daryl once again... You're a champ

[johnnieboi]

I have an M2R half face helmet like that one also, but i use my on track. Not sure if you need full face for Drags, anyone confirm this?

Got mine from ebay for $25.00 rrp $75 FTW! Was ADR approved, just do some research first before you get one. You'd be shattered if you got knocked back because you didnt have an approved helmet on the day.

[Zeinheiger]

I'd assume that if you can use a half face on track that it should be fine on the strip, just been looking through some drag vids and people are using the half face.. So I assume it's ok...

eBay here I come

[LFT-OOF]

Nice write up Daryl :)

+1