My car is slow & I am lame

fry · Apr 7, 2011

This is kind of a long story, so bare with me!

My boyfriend's family is strictly team chevy, so they constantly give me hell about owning a ford. Well, his stepdad has a '78 Camaro. It's strictly a drag car, it's not even street legal so they trailer it everywhere. It's an awesome car, and fast as hell. I talk a lot of shit though, so they always tell me to take it to the track. I was always convinced "I don't care what wants to race me, I'll run it even if I lose because its better to be a loser than a chicken". Tonight, we finally took it to the track.

I've never raced before, so I was freaking out when we got there. I went down the track be myself when we got there. I shifted super early and waited too late after the lights changed. Later my bf's stepdad took the camaro down by itself, I looked at my bf and was like NO. I don't think his front tires touched the track at all in the 1/8 mile. I went down the track one more time and shifted better but I still didn't do good. It was really hard to stay focused on the lights, track, shifting, whatever. I would have raced my bf's stepdad at the end just for the hell of it but the wind was really bad by then. I made it down the track twice without crashin and burnin, so it was a success even though my car is slow as hell. Someone took pictures of me racing but idk who so I guess no pictures, but here are sexy gas station pics for no reason.

Then theres my crappy timesss.

5.0kid · Apr 7, 2011

haha, wow loving the 40mph ending! but in reality, i've never raced and i dont know how well i could even do. its great to get out there and try it though! did you have fun? cause thats what it should be about, not just times!

Untame-d · Apr 7, 2011

It thought you just smacked your car up? I didn't really read too much into that other thread..

vermilion · Apr 7, 2011

quick turn around i see.

MustangChris · Apr 7, 2011

off to a good start!

just keep practicing.

C(gt)rey · Apr 7, 2011

MustangChris said:
off to a good start! just keep practicing.

Practice makes perfect, I remember the first time I ran down the track, in bone stock 2006 charger I was scared to death, but less than a year later I was running mid to high 10s in my moms boyfriends Javelin now its just second nature.

itsblue95 · Apr 7, 2011

Atleast you have something To go off of now

fry · Apr 7, 2011

thanks yall! i did have a blast! i did just bang my car up, but it was strictly cosmetic. the car is running better than ever now that everything under the hood is fixed, for the time being

. it was great on the track too, it didn't run hot at all. and yeah, i only ran the 1/8 mile and just coasted the rest of the way lol. my boyfriend's family is heading to another track on the 17th and invited me, so i'm really excited.

i've always hung out at our local drag strip but never actually raced. i think i would've done a lot better there my first time. theres a world of difference between the darlington drag strip and the backwoods one in my hometown.

det_riot · Apr 7, 2011

let that bitch rip and take her full throttle down the track! how else are you gonna know what it's full potential is =p once you're comfortable though, there's no need to rush a good thing....

ademily87 · Apr 7, 2011

How fast have you got your car up to? Are you scared of it?

rick focks · Apr 7, 2011

at the end of the day you don't face the social stigma of driving a camaro, you win

fry · Apr 7, 2011

i've driven this car a little over 120 before, but that was on a back road where there was nothing to hit. now that i've gone a couple of times though, i feel like i wouldn't be nervous.

ademily87 · Apr 7, 2011

fry said:
i've driven this car a little over 120 before, but that was on a back road where there was nothing to hit. now that i've gone a couple of times though, i feel like i wouldn't be nervous.

Well keep on keepin on girl!! Lol a few more runs at the track and you'll be good to go.

It might not be too smart but i drive everything like I stole it when I first buy it. Get a good feel for it. Hell I'm more comfortable at high speeds and turns in my 17 year old f150 than I was in my mach 1. Lol mainly cause I've been driving that truck for 10+ years lol

Venom351R · Apr 11, 2011

First step is to stay in the throttle the whole way. its a lot safer going fast at the track then it is on a back road. your car wont veer off and smack the wall or anything just keep the wheel straight and you will be fine. once you get used to going fast you can concentrate more on launching the car and getting the 60' time lower. For your first time there a 2.5 is not all that bad on street tires, Ive seen worse by far.

Dont worry so much about when you leave once the light turns green, your time does not start until you move so dont worry so much as far as trying to cut a good light. When you are at the light just block everything out, make sure the radio is off and just concentrate on launching the car and the shifting, shifting faster will help as well.

fry · Apr 12, 2011

Thanks, I'm probably not gonna take it to the track again until the fall though. Need to fix shit. :angry7:

mygreengt · Apr 12, 2011

RICK FOCKS said:
at the end of the day you don't face the social stigma of driving a camaro, you win

LOL

NCMystic · Apr 12, 2011

first time i took my cobra to the track i dropped from mid 19's to low 14's within 10 runs. just keep practicing, street tires make it way tough too, were you having traction issues beyond 2nd gear?

there are a number of threads i've read on how to launch better on street tires at the track which may give you some helpful hints, really not the same world as dropping the hammer on the street.