HoozyerdaddyC63

So I went to the track this weekend for the first time. I must say it is like crack although I've never tried it before.

First I'd like to give a shout out to JRCART (Jim), Rich, and Matt for all their help and guidance. I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to show me the ropes. It made my first experience the best it could have been.

I made four runs and won 3 out of 4. I lost to JRCART. His CLK63 Black Series is sick.

Anyway, my times weren't the best, but I'm a beginner and that's ok. I started off with a slow R/T and 1/4 and things seemed to get better as I got more tips from the guys.

I have the Eurocharged v3Tune, AFE Pro Dry S filters and charcoals removed. I was running on 1/2 tank of 93 octane gas and the temps were ranging between 94-96 degrees with my car's ambient temp sensor reading 106 degrees. The DA was +3750 ft at 1:06 PM an hour after this run. Also, I would estimate the total weight of car + driver to be just under 4100 lbs.

I'll show you my first and then my best time slip so you can see the difference between my first and third run.

I'm on the left lane here.


Here is my third run and my best time. I'm in the right lane here.


You can see I improved my R/T and 60' times so I am happy about that.

My overall time is something I am able to live with, but would be much happier in the low 12's or high 11's since I have the tune and filters.

I'm going to head back to Byron Dragway this weekend and try it again. The temps should be cooler and I have a better idea of what I am supposed to do so that should help too.

Question for all of you who have raced before. I am going to reapply the tune and reset the tcu. Do you think I should do it once I get to the track or on the way out to the track?

It's a 1.5 hour drive and I don't know if that means my car will not adapt well beforehand.

propain

Congrats on your first time to the track! Fun isnt it?!?!


How many passes did you get to make? What kind of times was CART running?

Guilty

11.015?

propain

Im sure better than that.

HoozyerdaddyC63

Thanks. I got a total of 4 passes. The only race I lost was to JRCART and that was the first one.

It was his first run with the car back and he missed two shifts. In the end he got a 10.60 with a broken belt 1/2 way down the track. His car is unbelievable. Loud and fast.

It didn't help us that the temps were mid 90's and DA was +3750 ft., but it certainly was fun and I am forever hooked.

One thing is for certain, showing up there, my car sounded like it had an electric engine compared to the others. It was very intimidating to say the least.

One of the guys I beat came up and asked me if I had a V6. Compared to his car mine sounded like a pin dropping in a haystack. I had my best time against him and came from behind to beat him in the end.

I can't wait to go back next week with more experience and practice my launches more. I'm looking at MBH for headers, mids and x-pipe as well. We'll see if it works out and I can get something to test soon. I'll be posting my slips here.

Here's a shot of JRCART's broken belt.

propain

Ick still breaking belts huh. Wow 10.6 in that DA breaking the belt half way down the track is just amazing. Hopefully he comes to MIR in November. I am dying to see what that care is capable of.

You got the itch now. 4 passes is not nearly enough. You need to go to a private track rental and get 40! You will improve so much and really learn what the car likes an how to launch it in the sweet spot.

HoozyerdaddyC63

Any tips you can give me? I've learned about the tree lights and launching on the third light, stalling to 2k RPM and lowering tire pressure.

I also let go on my first run before the 1/4 mile marker. I didn't know where to stop and just let off gas when I got to the signs. Now I run straight through them and another 100 ft or so at full speed before slowing down.

propain

Sure.

The best RPM to launch the C63 is about 1600. 2K is to high and you will bog. It also seems to hiccup the tranny when shifting into 2nd. Obviously setting to S mode in auto is the way to go if you are still learning the car. Use M mode 1st to warm up the drags. Then switch to S mode and use the shifter to put it into 1. So you should be S1. Stall to 1600 RPM. You want to properly time the third light. Your RT is still a bit high. I think my RT in the below vid was .110 and still not great. All depends on the timing of the lights. Pro tree is .400 per light.

Your 60' needs work. Are you using drag radials? You want to stall it and then hit the gas as your lifting the break at the same time. It gives you a nice sling shot effect and will improve your 60'.

When you get all of that down and feel comfy on the track switch to manual mode and you will improve your times a bit more. In M mode you need to shift at about 6100 RPM or you will hit the rev limiter.

Keep an eye at your speedometer. Figure run the car until you hit about 130 and then let off. Its nice if you have a vbox in the car so you can also time your 60-130 runs.

PSI should be about 20. What are your mods? Stock?

Get everything out of your car... including the spare tire. Buy a lightweight battery too. That will save you over 100 pounds right there.

HoozyerdaddyC63

Those are some great tips. I used to go all out when picking up a new hobby, but not any more. I found it is better to slowly get into it so you can find out more about what you're purchasing and the reasons why and can make better decisions and planning about the future of your hobby.

I've looked into the vbox, but couldn't justify the purchase at the time since I didn't see myself hitting the track a lot. Now I have a different feeling about the track , but I'd rather spend my money on headers and exhaust next. As for hitting 130, I'm not sure I could before I would have to start slowing down to pull off. My highest trap of the 4 passes was 110 mph. the others were 109 mph.

I'll get it for next race season for sure since I don't plan on driving my car this winter if there is snow.

The car is EC v3 tuned with afe pro dry s filters and charcoals removed and 93 octane fuel. I'm also using the stock Pirelli All Season P-Zero's. I was planning on upgrading the tires to Michelin PSS once I go through this pair.

As far as shifting goes. I didn't fully understand the S1 part. Do you mean to go into Sport mode and manually put the car in S1 vs just going into S mode and it being in S1?

For some reason I thought it was bad to do that without shifting it yourself to move it up to the next gear. Can you explain that part a little further?

Thanks again for the tips. These are great to reference as I continue going forward.

propain

The DA is your biggest problem. In better DA you will be more like 118.

I just meant put it in S mode and manually drop the gear down to 1st so it reads S1. S1 will shift automatically when it reaches redline and continue to shift on its own. It will avoid an early shift out of 1st as well.

Invest in some drag radials and a spare set of LW rims for them. It will improve your 60 dramatically.

The EC tune is good but if you go headers I would switch out to an OE tune or another tune that is more aggressive.

Also consider using race fuel even if you dont have a race map. You will see gains from it as well. Also make sure you dont just put in race fuel and hit the track. This wont give the ECU enough time to adapt to the added octane unless you make 15+ passes.

HoozyerdaddyC63

Thanks for clarifying about S mode. I'm hoping for the lightweight rims next summer.

As far as race fuel goes, is it best to fill up before driving to the track or continuously add race fuel to the mix during the week leading up to the mix?

Quicktwinturbo

Let me know if you are going back to the strip sometime this year. I would love to join y'all!

Merc63

If you are doing 1.9s on street tires, that is really good. I have Hooisers and Im only in the 1.8s 60'. Hard to get much lower than that with ****ty DA and a 4000lbs car with a stall of 1800rpm.

Here's a copy of my slip, we are running similar conditions (DA 4000ft). Don't expect to see times like some of these guys running in the winter and in negative DA, it wont happen.



Im on the right 1021.

For comparison sake, the car in the left lane is my partners 06 Dodge Viper and it has a full race exhaust (headers), revised intake, tune, Drag tires and throttle body. Its a very fast car. Stock Vipers are running 12.0 and slower at this track.


Long tube headers with no cats really awakens these cars, you will see lots of improvement. Mix in a race gas tune, which is good for another .1-.2.

Driving in Manual mode is mandatory for the quicker times, you need to learn where to shift and get used to that. It shifts faster in M mode.

HoozyerdaddyC63

I'm going back this weekend for sure and then again in a few weeks, after I get the headers installed.

What do you feel is the best way to practice the manual shifting. I'd like to practice launching and shifting outside the drag strip, but I'm afraid I'd probably get arrested.

Merc63

Always be driving in manual mode so you get used to the shifting delay. Hammer it in first gear at the lights and get that 1st to 2nd shift down pat, which is the hardest. The rest are easy.

dodger63

Damn that silver c63 in the video walked you

Nachtsturm

Pretty cool, you should join me and some others when we head out later this month.

On my clk55, shifting manually consistently produced slower times compared to just leaving it in D.

gthal

Oh, when you said "track", you meant drag strip

HoozyerdaddyC63

Haha. He sure did. It was a CLK63 Black Series with 1000 hp driven by JRCART.

That car is BADASS from fender to fender. I was just in awe of how cool it was. He's done so many mods to that car it's amazing.

I'm going racing with him again and I will gladly line up against him to see his tail lights.

HoozyerdaddyC63

That would be fun. Where do you guys race?

Yea, sorry, I didn't think of that until now. Should I change the title?

gthal

No. I'm just being a little facetious On MBWorld, Track/drag strip are interchangeable. Many other places, a track means a road course.

BenzoBoi

Nice run for your first time out! Everyone has to start somewhere. Hope you like it enough to head out again and try to better your time. Going to the track with those guys will make you want to mod ASAP to try and get faster and faster.

Drag racing...it's a hell of a drug!

propain

It sure did! I held my own for tune only though.

propain

Time your gas tank so you are pretty much out of regular fuel about 1/2 hour away from the track. Pull over, put in 5 gallons of race fuel and beat the **** out of it all the way to the track. You should be at about 1/4 of a tank left. That should get you about 6-10 passes before you need to fill up again. Drop in another 5 gallons of race fuel and you are good to go.

Make sure you bring enough fuel to get to you to a gas station when leaving.

propain

He meant the silver car in my video. Its his!