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Racing/modding your MK3 for newbies at the drag strip

42K views 74 replies 28 participants last post by  marcmann982 
#1 · (Edited)
I am getting slammed with PMs about the turbo thread so here goes some answers.



If you want to go fast at the drag strip read on. This doesn’t apply to everyone and if you don’t agree that doesn’t mean you or I are wrong.

First of all make a realistic goal for your car and budget. Realize a MK3 is not an ideal car to drag race with and it was not designed for that use. But you can make it a good performer at the strip while retaining the great characteristics the car has(ie quiet,comfortable,great cruising GT). If you choice to drag race that doesn’t mean you are wrong. Just be prepared for the car’s shortcomings to present themselves.
For a track only car-using a MK3 is not ideal and there are much better choices. Make sure whatever your goals are that your fuel and driveline needs are in line with your horsepower goals as well.

Make sure your car is up the task of going fast. If you have mechanical problems-fix them. Things like bad valve seals,lack of tune up,excessive blowby,oil consumption,slipping clutches and coolant/oil leaks are a recipe for more problems. Fix them!!!

Learn how to drive. If you can’t get a low to mid 15 sec ET out of a turbo stick MK3 regardless of year and location(high elevations will be slower) its either you or the car. The car is getting old-it may need some things. Address them.

Shortblock. If you do a leakdown test or have determined its time for a rebuild spend the money and do it right. Make a realistic goal and address the shortcomings of the design when it comes time to build up. Machine work and engine shops are like body and paint. No deals here. You get what you pay for. Get your motor done by someone who does high performance stuff and get references. The fast people will know the best local people for you to go to. A stock replacement place will not yield the best results. This is why some cars run better than others with the same combo.

Cylinder head-min requirement. A 3 angle valve job,test to see if head is within specs and new valve seals regardless if the old ones look okay. If you have the money and are looking to go really fast porting and polishing is well worth it. Make sure the heads are flowed before and after. Having cousin Vinny do them is a no no. Get a pro to do it or someone who has done many 7M heads.
Portmatching the gaskets on the exhaust manifold,intake manifold and cylinder head is worth the efforts. Sneaky too.

Synthetics-use them. Everywhere. Period. If car is leaking oil-fix the problem. The added cost is nothing compared to the benefits and HP gain. Synthetic blends are a waste.


Mods:

I feel if you want power more than stock this is the base for it. Full exhaust(meaning cat back and a down pipe),o2 housing,electronic boost controller,1 piece driveshaft,some sort of blow off valve(SAAB-no-fresh MK4-okay and cheap),synthetics,a real boost guage,autolight 3923 plugs with a smaller gap by about .10 over 11psi,bypassed fuel restrictor,K&N filtercharger kit,Walbo Pump(MK4 TT is good but pricey) and a FCD. Start with a good motor and then go intake and exhaust. Will be like a different car and will be reliable. Plus they support future modifications very well.


If you go crazy and use piggy backs before running the car have it tuned by a pro. The piggy backs make the car run rich to keep you from getting in trouble. They can help make serious power. Get help doing this. Don't get into the hype of peak HP. Its highly misleading. A car with a well tuned layout will waste one with even 100 MOR peak HP. TUNE the car!!

Lowing springs.sway bars, bigger wheels and tires. Keep in mind while they make the car handle better and look better they will hamper you at the strip. Pull out those sawblades you have been trying to sell for the last 5 years and mount some BFG drag radials for the track instead of those 18” rims with the 1” tall profile which is a big reason why your sixty foots flirt with the 2.5 range.

Going to the drag strip:

If you can-avoid the test and tune nights. Most tracks are not prepped and most of the people there are running street tires not to mention spilling water etc… everywhere. Go on a Saturday or event day. You will get more runs in and the track will be prepped. True its more money but in the long run its better than the 15$ you spend on Fridays for 2-4 crappy runs.

Prep-make sure you car is up to the task mechanically. If anything is wrong-it will get worse. Take all trash and junk out of the car. This adds weight. Take the spare tire and jack out-about 40 pounds.

Make sure the hood and roof are waxed and clean-that way the air velocity picks up. Don’t laugh-old timers do it


Limit runs-make sure you do it on a cool motor. Ice down the upper intake with a towel. Worth an easy 2 tenths or more over a hot motor. Have your buddies push that whale to the burnout box. While doing a burnout run the heater full blast. Make sure you don’t spill any water-7Ms,1Js have places for water to sit and on the launch can come flying out which can ruin it for you and other after you.


Tires-leave the street radials home and get some drag radials. If you car is a stick try 15psi and work your way down to 11psi. Too many factors to say which is best but the autos due to less drive line shock will like more PSI than the stick. Nittos like lots of heat-fry them. BFGS don’t-generate some smoke. If you have to run street radials make sure both are at the same psi.

Over inflate your front tires by about 10psi at the track for less rolling resistance.

Burnout-avoid getting the front tires in the water-you will ruin the track and the box. Get the rear tires barely touching the water and do a quick spin. Then move out and burn them up. The tech guys will guide you through this. Move up to the starting line while spinning once the tires are hot. You want to retain the heat in the tire. Dry hops are stupid-avoid them.


Staging-try to run after a slick equipped car-this will put some rubber down on the track. Also look for the groove and try to line up your tires with that(its indented-you want your rear tires to go through it). Stage shallow as possible-this will give you a rolling start. Could be a the difference between 13.9 and 14.0

Learn how to powershift-2 tenths. Be advised it can kill the tranny. The stick tranny is not stout.

Run the heater full blast on the return road.


Have friend’s video tape you so you can study your launch. The 60ft times are the most important. You need them in the 2.0-1.8 range depending on mods and tires.

Make notes on shift points and see if car picks up changing them.

Drink alcohol later not while racing. Its plain stupid.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
good info. :bigthumb:

Just curious, do you run with stock sway bars, or with the sway bars removed (front/back or both?)



For those with street tires:

air them down to 15-20psi. Mark the location of the valve stem on the sidewall with chalk. When you get back to the pits, make sure the chalk mark is still lined up with the valve stem. With khumo 712's, I noticed the bead will slip 1/4"-1" per run -- this can tear up the bead so add a little more pressure if you notice it (I haven't had that problem with any other tires).

You do not need to do a massive burnout on street tires. Overheating them will actually decrease their grip. Just do a quick spin to clear off rocks/debris. Because its only a quick spin, I don't recomend backing into the water, but instead doing it dry. Mike's advice to follow a car with slicks is good for 2 reasons -- they lay some rubber down, AND they generally don't drag water all over like many other racers do.

For reaction times -- with my car, I usually go the as the last yellow lights up. Do not wait until you see green before you go
 
#7 ·
Taking the front bar off will help but its a PITA to do with the motor in the car
I think airing down street radials to 15-20psi doesn't work well because of the stiff sidewall. Never worked for me but then again there are a lot of tires I have not tried in the last 11 years of drag racing.
 
#11 ·
Very good thread!

thanks for the info!:bigthumb:
 
#12 ·
man someone pay Mike some MONEY for dropping all that knowledge!!!

;)

anyone who aspires to drag race their MK3 should read carefully and learn from someone who knows what they're talking about. Back when i first started drag racing my MK3, I had learn all of this by myself.

Much respect to ya Mike :)
 
#14 ·
I should rephrase-BIGGER swaybars especially on the front can hurt you. Most of them are not hollow like the stocker so it addes weight.

High powered cars like Orin actually need a bigger one in the rear because at high speeds with slicks it can get hairy at the end of the track.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Thanks Leng,Fred but I am far from a Pro.
Just want to see more guys in the 11s and 12s this year with simple combos. The potential is there.

Maybe Chucky Doll and Blackhatch can post their secrets on launching.
 
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#16 ·
Mike, again you are correct. I tried multiple settings with the rear combinations and since the car is lowered I noticed during the launch the inner tire is all that is left on the pavement. This doesn't help with lowering the sixty foot. However, I did have fun with my 7M beginnings with the stock suspension and got 1:9 sixty foots on BF Goofey Comp T/As. Best info I cn give is to get s much practice as possible. I have watch some video recordings of my runs nd didn't hear the blow off vlve between shifts during runs on my 5spd.
 
#18 ·
OB1JZA70 said:
I have watch some video recordings of my runs nd didn't hear the blow off vlve between shifts during runs on my 5spd.
very godly

:hail:


Man, all the beans are being spilled...

pulling fast times still comes down to focus, determination, ability to adapt and adjust (both car and driver), and to some extent, talent.
 
#22 ·
What's the best way to launch a 5-speed? I'm GUESSING that holding the revs around 3,000 then stick your foot to the floor and feather out the clutch on the last orange light before the green? Let's assume we're talking basic mods and stock-width wheels with street tires.
 
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#23 ·
paddlenbike said:
What's the best way to launch a 5-speed? I'm GUESSING that holding the revs around 3,000 then stick your foot to the floor and feather out the clutch on the last orange light before the green? Let's assume we're talking basic mods and stock-width wheels with street tires.
This is somewhat correct depending on your clutch life. Just let your clutch foot lift as normal street driving nd you will engge smoothly. Remember we hve a 3500+ car with a I6 that does produce torque until boost is present. Unlike the pro mods or drgster that hve ton of torque off idle and can just pop the clutch. As I mentioned before, practice, practice and then when you got it down, Practice some more!

Orin B Sr
 
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#24 · (Edited)
ahh... ive been waiting for a thread like this to share my experiences....

first off... thanks mike for all the info...

- about the launches... my personal best with my mkiii was a 2.0... this was with 275/40/17 radial tires... i drove around the burnout box and just did a quick spin... DONT SMOKE YOUR STREET TIRES... i experimented myself... i noticed a .2 sec dropon my 60ft when doing a big smokey... i know everyone wants to show off but its not worth it... my fav rpm was about 3350... give or take 100 rpm's... i had a centerforce dual friction at the time so you have to slip accordingly... if you ever watch nhra races you will hear them talk about the cluch the most.... unless you have a built auto then the clutch will be your main concern for launching... if the track is hot and slick you will have to slip more to avoid wheel spin/hop... if its nice and cool with some good rubber down you can let her rip and get max power/boost to the track quicker... also different kind of clutches slip different than others...i know i was runnin 15psi on stock ct and when i would slip it perfectly you can feel it... the tires make a few rotations slipping then they catch... im sure bigger turbo/psi you will have more lag so less slip more throttle... its all in the feel.. you know when you make a good launch... but with the irs and weight it is sometimes had to do and takes practice... i would go find an empty country road and practice on there.. of course different types of raod surface will give you different results but practice is practice.... also.. the stock irs has its limitations for launching... when you put alot of power down, the car squats, and the wheels bow out.. causing wheel spin/hop... there are ways arround it but not alot... one of the reasons that a solid rear axle is better for launching...

- shifting... if you have a good 5spd tranny then you can powershift like i did... the biggest way to tell if you are doing it good is if your faster than the bov... the quickest way i have found is when its that time to shift... pull it out of gear as your pushing the clucth in.. this way your not waiting for it... so time it perfectly as the shifter is in neutral you just got the clutch in.. then pop it in and let that thing out as fast as you can..and get back on the gas... i dont reccomend WOT shifts... i experimented with this too and i would hit the rev limiter everytime then when i would let the clutch back out the revs would be bouncing down causing power/boost loss... now your clutch slipping isnt over yet... i know with my car on a hot track when i would shift into second the ass end was everywhere!... slip the clutch like you did on the launch when going into second... there is a lot of power being transmitted in this gear change and it is vital for good e.t.'s... after that unlees you have some mad hp then powershifting should do fine in the rest of the gears... if you are serious into drag racing dont be afraid to beat that tranny... its gonna pay off untill you break it.. but like i said if you are seriosuly into this.. your gonna break stuff.. tranny, axle's, rear ends,..ect... no your limits and drive/race accordingly...

-weight reduction..... this is a big issue to alot of drag racers... and also how you get fast honda's... 200whp in a 2000lb car is fast... 200whp in a 3500lb car is slow.... so anywas like mike stated.. take out the spare/jack and all that usless shit... especially an loose objects rolling arround.... not only for weight but saftey.... if you lose it and hit the wall going 100mph an screwdiver could kill ya... so take all of the useless stuff outta the car... make it as bare as possible... once again this goes back to how far you wanna go... you can take out seats, carpet, cd player... pretty much anything to make it lighter helps...

- bad weight reduction.... when i set my personal best... 13.1@105... this was full weight... i didnt take out anything... so the next time i went to the track, i stripped almost anything... i took out everything in the rear, seats, trim, carpet, pass seat, ect... and belive it or not... that 150-200 lbs actually slowed me down by .1 sec... the loss was in the 60ft.. same track and conditions but all 6 runs i did with that setup, i couldnt get that 60ft down... it was because i didnt have enuff weight over the rear tires... my trap went from 105 to 107 because of the less weight but i didnt have that extra grip... so this gets into suspension.

suspension... this is also a big part that i never got to expariment with... (BHG).. so i think im gonna skip messing with the stock irs and wasting my time with that and do a live rear end swap... most likely gonna back-half the car with tube chassis, tubbed with a 4-link 9" quick change diff... this will all come in time because its gonna be alot of time and money... but i will post results when i do..

sorry for this being so long... i just really enjoy drag racing and im trying to overcome the mkiii's disadvantages and prove to people that it can be a great drag car...
 
#25 ·
i don't recommend powershifting our MK3's at all man. I powershifted my MK3 and cracked a flywheel. We have too much power/torque and it creates too much driveline shock.

With our MK3's, you should practice to the point where you can speed shift (let off throttle between shifts) as fast as you can power shift (throttle on). I know my speed-shifts are as fast as my powershifts by observing how much revs drop between changing gears and by listening to the tone of my exhaust. Kinda hard to explain. Anyhow, this will create less stress on the drive-train.

Another thing about drag racing: when I switched over to NItto drag radials and ran consistent mid 12's, I broke my stock motor mounts. I mean, they ripped right in half. I believe they ripped not from my launches, but from my shifts to 2nd gear. In 2nd the drag radials have enough grip to just make the car squat and GO. Prolly the speed at which I shift to 2nd also.

I then went to solid motor mounts and BFG drag radials, and I've been threatening 11's with my lil pea-shooter. But guess what? The R-154 can't take it anymore. I'm guessing the stress/shock that the old rubber motor mounts used to take away is being absorbed by the tranny now. So my tranny crapped out.

Anyhow those are some bottle-necks and problems. That's been my experience anyhow.

If you guys want to know how to drive a manual transmission car, go to the Drag Racing forum and check out some of Ryan Woon's videos. That dude can FLAT OUT drive. It's crazy! I appreciate good driving :)
 
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#26 ·
MKIIISupraGuy had some great points...

yeah solid motor mounts are deffinately a good idea.. or if your puttin a motor in, its a good idea to atleast get new ones... or.. i learned a good trick from some uscle car guys.. you can chain the block down to reduce twisting....

and with the powershifting, it all goes back to how far do you wanna take it? if you have the money and can afford to break shit then have at it... if its your everyday driver then dont drag it at all... just gotta think smart with it...
 
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