Best drag launch for ATX?

[Tygen1]

I don't burn out, just spin the tires. It helps to bring them up to operating tempature, clear them of debrie and helps me get a feel for how they will grab. I just let them spin until they start to grab, then let off.
I used to do burn outs, old school train of thought was to spin them up till they just start to smoke. I had ok success with that. But then I read in a hard core drag racing magazine about thier burn out technique, the spin them till they grab technique. So I tried it, it worked much better, more consistant and grabed harder. Of course this is for street tires, not drag radials or slicks.
The water on the rack deal??? Not sure were that comes from, maybe their track has a river to cross before the burn out box. Most tracks just spritz some water down to make it easier to get them tires spinning.

[ChrisZX2]

I found that with my ATX, stalling at any rpm hurt my time, don’t know why as there was no wheel spin. My best combo was to simply floor it off the line in 1st, letting it shift at about 7000, then taking 2nd all the way to redline as I crossed the finish line (I never made it to 3rd).

Here’s my best time, with the mods in my sig, (including heavy 17’s), with no jack or spare tire, and half a tank of gas.

60’…..........2.636
1/8…….......11.286
1/8 mph…...63.48
1/4……….....17.498
1/4 mph…….77.66

Also remember this was my first time at the track.

[ChillinZX]

... and you have mods done too... I would get rid of the 17's for starters, that right there will get you (back) into the high 16's. I went from 14.7 to 15.5 mainly because I went from 16's to 17's and raced with them (along with some personal weight gain in a year and learning to hold certain rpms and shift right again since I rarely drive my zx2 ever).

[potatoman]

I don't burn out, just spin the tires. It helps to bring them up to operating tempature, clear them of debrie and helps me get a feel for how they will grab. I just let them spin until they start to grab, then let off.
I used to do burn outs, old school train of thought was to spin them up till they just start to smoke. I had ok success with that. But then I read in a hard core drag racing magazine about thier burn out technique, the spin them till they grab technique. So I tried it, it worked much better, more consistant and grabed harder. Of course this is for street tires, not drag radials or slicks.
The water on the rack deal??? Not sure were that comes from, maybe their track has a river to cross before the burn out box. Most tracks just spritz some water down to make it easier to get them tires spinning.

yea those places that i read that said to "drive around" the burn out box. at the track here A. u cant bc u would run over people and shit B. its kind wet but no standing water. lol so idk where that came from either

so u just get in the box and punch it til they grip then let off?

[Tygen1]

so u just get in the box and punch it til they grip then let off?

Yep.

[potatoman]

sweet ill try that next time. so it sounds like no stalling and just punching it is the best then

[5Speed]

Imagine that an ATX in the 15's with a few bolt-on's....

I'm impressed by this thread because 1/2 the people on this forum can't drive an MTX worth shit to even get in the 15's in a manual.

I'm interested in two weeks once my car is out to drag it on the track see how it works out. I'm running 16x7 slipstreams on 205/45 Kumho 712's.

[Tygen1]

Good luck!

It's 15.69 now

Just follow the recomendations for launching and shifting the ATX and you should do alright. Also, because tire spin is not an issue, I jack up the PSI to 50 I got some other tricks also, but I can't give them all away and have you tuned guys beating my times!

[5Speed]

I'm starting out with my street tune 7K upshifts, but i have a feeling without a cam gear on the intake side i'll have to go to 7300 up shifts because of the power band.

That's a danm good time for an automatic, I remember back in the day Jaybird's 16.1 was the fastest time.

[Tygen1]

Jaybird lives not far from me, he's itching to go back now that I've broken into the 15's He should definatly run faster than me, he's got a tune, bored throttle body, intake cam etc...

One other secret to my fast time....it was 38 degrees that day

[5Speed]

38 Degrees? LMAO! No wonder!

[The_underclassman]

Tygen, what kind of tires are you running for your times?

[Tygen1]

What ever is cheap Yokahama Avid TRZ, hard tire, 80,000 mile tread wear with deep tread, great for snow and hydroplaning resistance...this is important in the Northeast. Tire spin is not an issue with the ATX. The gearing is so high and the torque converter flashes at such a low speed that a litte tire spin would help. The track has so much traction that I can't get any tire spin at all, on the street I get just a little and it feels like it pulls out of the hole stronger. I'm running POT's also, so the mixture is too rich at such low rpm so I get a bit of a bog when I floor it. I might see another tenth if I can get this worked out.

The low temps definatly help a lot. I need to go when it's a bit warmer and see how much of a loss there is, I'd expect at least a half a second.

There's a couple more trick's I'd like to try. I think it is possible, with just bolt ons, to go four tenths quicker....Maybe 15.299 is possible??? Would it look funny if I was running doughnut spares on the rear

Someday I'll reveal all my secrets, which really aren't secrets at all, everyone knows this stuff, I just try and put it all together when the conditions are most favorable. I'm still pinning for a 32 degree day with a tail wind

[The_underclassman]

You can run the donut spares on the rear, but you'll need tires rated for speeds above 55mph! I see a lot of corvettes and gtos using this method. Yes, I'd use it if I could.
I'm going to rotate my tires and maybe I'll get a bit more traction. I wheel spin a bit when I launch, but then again, I had the wrong method. I would stall the converter pretty high and floor it on the green. This thread has given me quite a few tips, so I'll try it out and see how I do

[5Speed]

Don't stall the converter much above it's stall speed. ~1200rpm is optimal on our 4EAT-F Transmissions IMO. High Tire pressures, and 14-15" wheel sizes are optimal with small diameter tires. 205/50R15 or even M/T makes a 205/50R14. I'm using a 205/45zr16 which is 23.1" diamter. stock 185/65r15 are 23.7 diameter. Smaller tire effectively creates a shorter final drive also a 14-15" Wheels keeps down on the rotating mass.

For Reference:
185/65R15-23.7" Diameter = 3.84(Final Drive)
205/45R16-23.3" Diameter = 3.90(Final Drive)
205/50R15-23.1" Diameter = 3.94(Final Drive)
205/50R14-22.1" Diameter = 4.12(Final Drive)

Shorter Final Drive, improves acceleration and increases power due to torque multiplication through the gears.

If someone could swap the differential from a 91-96 LX 1.9L Escort they came with 4.08 Ring and Pinion from the Factory, then throw on some Low diamter tires and you could land up with a final drive of 4.38. This would make the auto really fly down the track.