I know that alot of the people on the forum are not into drag racing and mainly into road course racing, but I have got a couple questions about how everyone launchs the RX-8 when drag racing. I know there are some threads on the RX-8 times but there aren't alot of in depth discussion on the launchs and techniques. What pressure do you have tires at? What RPM are you launching at? Do you slip the clutch or dump it? What are your experiences with wheel spin and hop? How do you prevent wheel hop and spin? Right now at my local 1/8th mile track I have been launching at 4500 rpm and have had some bad spin and hops through first gear and I am running an average of 10.2 to 10.4 times, my best time thus far is 9.8. I have read of polak and other people running 9.3s in an 1/8th mile, what do you guys suggest I do? Thanks for the help in advance, I really appreciate the help.

 

anybody have any pointers?

 

last tiem i went to a 1/8 mile track (long tiem ago) in my 8 i got times of 10.6 10.3 10.0 and the 9.6. everytime i launched i lowered the rpm's down...started at 8500......last time was at 3k..but the track wasnt' very good. still had some wheel hop down in 1st.

if you got some sticky tires (or lower the tire pressure you can launch higher)...my tire pressure was also 32psi on all 4 tires.

all things being optimal i believe you should launch the car at abotu 5k - 5.5k (when you hit max torque in the 8 i forget the exact number)...adn slip the clutch a lill...i don't mean ride the hell out of it...bc/ then it's good bye clutch :D. this is jsut my thought son it though...i'm sure someone knowledgable will post soon...hehe least i hope so b/c i am curious as well :D

 

on a side note how you you liek teh apexi rsm? do you have to g-unit with it?

about how accurate is it..i heard it's good and have been looking to buy one...but haven't heard any feedback of it from any 8 owners :D

 

I never installed it, I did have the G-Unit, I just recently sold the two of them on ebay.

 

Still hoping for some advice, I am just looking for someone to say I did it this way and it worked the best for me and nothing broke.

 

I might head up to Moroso next Wed. with the 8. I'm not looking to run any decent times as I'll be on my 19's, I just want to get a feel for how the 8 launches at the track. I will try to lower my tire pressure a bit, but can't do it too much as I've barely got any sidewall with the 19's. I'm going to try and pick up a set of 17" wheels and some drag radials soon though. That should be fun.

 

cool good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

Still looking for help.

 

Well Saturday I am going to the Kumho Street Warriorz event at Rockingham, the local Quarter mile, I will have my Turbo on by then so comparing to my other times will be difficult but I will try launching at 6000 RPM rather than 4000 RPM. I will let you guys know who it goes.

 

Do NOT slip the clutch, dump it with the engine rev'd to at least 7000 rpm

you'll get a bit of wheel hop but it usualy is nothing to be concerned about

if you spin it hard the rear end tends to move to the right, might require just a touch of countersteer

edit: didn't see that you have a turbo, you may need to drop the revs on launch dependent on how much rear tire grip you have

 

What was your best time?

 

Biggest thing to remember....unless you are racing for money, Reaction times mean DICK.

Sit there, at the green, as long as it takes for you to get a GOOD launch...60-ft time is key to a good E/T.

 

Very true, my first few runs of the night I always wait for the green and just make sure to get a good launch. I almost always get very low 1.8 60' times, when I'm trying to nail a nice RT it's almost always like 1.88. Seems like nothing but every little bit counts :p I still haven't gotten any closer than .014 from a perfect light but I've only gone for it maybe 10 times.

 

For what he's practicing for, RT and 60 foot times are the ones that count.

I would like to see his 60 foot times, though.

 

bring back some timeslips

 

No im just wondering what his best 1/4mile time is, I disagree with the way he's recomending launching there, whether its for 60ft times or RT's.

 

I know that's what you're saying. What I'm saying is that he's not going to have 1/4 mile times to give you. Sooner or later he will have RT and 60 foot times.

 

you did see that i quoted "teamrx8" not "horse" right?

 

no experience in drag racing but I've been using the gtech for some time now. it might not be accurate but you can see your own results getting better at least

that said, you can understand I don't change tire pressure everytime I run. I have 36psi. I also use the same road, my own little 'dragstrip' which I visit late at night of course. road quality is bad so I found out that dropping the clutch (don't feather it!) at ~5k is the best...
on the dragstrip you have to rev higher, about 6.5k or 7k, because tires grip and the engine has no power to get you going. trust me on this or your 60ft time will be awful...

since the road I use is bad, I go sideways with 2nd gear too. what I do, to avoid loosing time (and wheel hoping) is not applying full throttle. find the spot where you have a balance between traction and wheelspin with maximun result... you have to do a lot of runs to get it right

you can chop off tenths of a sec by doing good shifts. no lift off makes a difference but it will kill the tranny eventually...

for good times you'd better get rid of your stock tires. I'm not stock, but with the 040 in a bad condition (16k miles) I managed a quarter mile at 14.49@97mph on that crappy road. I think its good. with my newly arrived coilovers and a set of good tires I hope I can drop it even more... you can check my other times in my garage.
hope I helped

 

yes, and clyde was referring to me

I don't have any times yet, I have only been practicing my launch and 1-2 shift

what do you recommend then

 

where you located i'll be glad to show you how its done

 

well I suppose I'll have to see where the track is in this area, I just moved here recently

 

I glad to finally see some responses, thanks guys I'll try both feathering and dumping the clutch, we'll see how it goes.

 

I was only talking about NA cars, with a Tubro you could probably do great just launching at 5000k with a quick release, also do a short burnout b4 your run to warm up the tires, your probably going to break them loose in 2nd and 3rd gear if they don't put any sticky stuff on the track.