miata2fast

iTrader: (2)

It would have been in the stock location. It may not have been set correctly from factory, because the car was hard to push by hand. I used plumb bobs and a straight edge on the floor. I measured the distance between the front of the wheel and the back of the wheel to the marking on the floor. I adjusted it until the distance was the same (front and back). After the adjustment the car was easier to push so it just took less power to propel it down the track. I do not think it helped or hurt the traction.

The car went from 14.0's at 94.something mph before the adjustment, to a best of 13.89 at 96mph after the adjustment.

It may not help you much if your car is close to zero, but it is worth a try.

I doubt that the NA stops would hurt you much, it never hurt me. I have run a best 60' of 1.71 when the car had nitrous.

Good luck

Gotpsi?

iTrader: (5)

Im not bashing you shock settings just making sure everyone understands that it should not be your goal to squat at all. It is very difficult to get away from in IRS cars, and set up to drag is about the only thing its good for. If you look at a car with a really good drag set up it will not squat at all. YouTube - capri drag launch check out this link, other than almost flipping over backwards his rear seems to be set up right. in the slow motion you can actually see the rear tires push down into the asphalt as soon as the torque is transfered and the tire actually compresses, not the suspension. Here is another good one right around the 41 sec area. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryDYY...eature=related Just to note both cars are strait axle cars but both are set up fairly well, and show a good launch. even with the entire weight of the car they dont squat.

dvcn

iTrader: (7)

That car does squat. At 9 seconds into the video notice that the tire disappears into the wheel well, you can only see wheel. When you run 8-12psi on a tall soft sidewall tire, I'll argue that the tire becomes part of the suspension.

Anything that is not solid has to compress/rebound at some point, it's just the nature of things. I'm not saying that it is good or bad. It just happens.

I totally agree that IRS is not the way to go for drag racing. I agree that the stock architecture of the miata suspension is not set up for drag racing. I also agree that squatting and lifting the front/front wheels is energy that is not used to make the car go forward.

I am just reporting what has worked/not worked for me. As with everything, I am just one data point out of thousands (millions).

miata2fast

iTrader: (2)

Your set up is working pretty darn good.

As for the IRS/straight axle issue, I would think that with more people trying different things, one could go real fast with the IRS. Hell, it is what came with the car, might as well maximize the performance.

JayL

iTrader: (12)

You also have to look at the type of tires those cars are running in the videos. Not to mention that those are more purpose built cars setup for drag racing. Every Miata owner that I have met runs their car at the strip the same way they run it on the street.

Gotpsi?

iTrader: (5)

Im not trying to say anything bad about your results or set up. I dont even have any for my miata. I was just stating what is and is not correct for a launch so others dont get confused or go the wrong way with how they try to get there car to launch.

Gotpsi?

iTrader: (5)

This is the statement that caused my concern, not your set up or time.

jayc72

iTrader: (14)

My comment was concerned with weight transfer.

magnamx-5

iTrader: (7)

ahem hey guys we are kind of shitting on this thread of kickassness maybe if Joe or someone with mod powers is watching we can shift the drag racing technique discusion to a new thread. Seriusly lol we are quiviling over symantics here.

Gotpsi?

iTrader: (5)

I'm done, I'm not on this forum to discuss drag racing. I was just trying to help

jayc72

iTrader: (14)

Yes, lets stop the flow of interesting information. I'm not into drag racing (obviously) and am quite happy to have my assumptions challenged, hence why I'm reading/posting. Why would a mod need to moderate this?

magnamx-5

iTrader: (7)

its not about being against the flow of info but we are detracting from the original post. Moving the discusion to another thread would clean things up imo.

miata2fast

iTrader: (2)

dvcn
when you say corded do you mean the tires are shot? The mile per hour you have posted is enough to put you in the 11's. That is damn good. How tall is that tire, and what gear ratio are you running? What is your shift and max rpm? Have you ever considered running slicks?

dvcn

iTrader: (7)

The tires have a build date of 2003. They are pretty much useless unless you REALLY heat them up(Still waiting for the line lock video so you can see my definition of heating tires up). The tires are bald with slight evidence of tread on the outside 3/4" of the tire. They are 225/50-15 BFG old style drag radials. I'm running a 4.10 Torsen out of a 96 and a 6sp(thanks Ben!). The rev limiter is set at 7300, the shift light at 7000. I was watching the wideband so hard that I hit the rev limiter twice on the run which didn't really help the ET.


I would run fresh drag radials before slicks, they stick amazingly good. I'm not making nearly enough power to require real slicks. I had an NA 1985 RX-7 that ran a 13.53 on 205/60-14 Nankangs. With Mickey Thompson ET Drags, launching on the rev limter at 9300rpms I ran a 13.7. It's embarrassing to bog. There are people running in the 8's with drag radials so they are sufficient for most street cars. Besides, it's fun to drive 90 miles round trip to the track and get 26mpg+.

ApexOnYou is the man. He ran that 11.99 on street tires. Amazing. Check out his videos and what he has done. Breaking into the 11's is serious.

miata2fast

iTrader: (2)

I have been running the Nitto drag radials, and have gone pretty fast with them. I hate the tire hop I get with them however. I can literally feel the car shaking apart. Do you experience that problem? Maybe I should try a different brand.

You are producing plenty of power and torque to use slicks.

I run slicks on my car now, and it is smooth as silk when I launch. My car is not nearly as fast as yours, but I get great 60' times. I have had some bog, but I can correct it by adding air preasure in small increments until the car spins just enough to keep it in the power band. I get the best 60' times with a tiny bit of spin. I have always gone faster on slicks than on drag radials. Practice and patients is what it takes regardless of what you use, but slicks seems to be the user freindly of the choices, as long as the tire is sized correctly. Small cars need small tires. I consider using drag radials as advanced drag racing. It is more of a challenge to get them to work properly.

The best part of drag racing is the kick in the *** feeling you get at the launch with a tire that works. Try it sometime.

dvcn

iTrader: (7)

Another video, same run but different angle. The two miatae that line up before me are SSM autox friends. Left lane is a bone stock MSM and the right lane is an NB w/ coldside blower (and probably a burnt valve, it's way down on power).

The burnout wasn't nearly as good as I thought it was. I'll do better next time.




Video was shot by a friend who autox's his 500whp sleeper S2k. It was his bachelor party at the track.

gospeed81

iTrader: (51)

Awesome vid. I think a lot of people don't realize how hard it is to ride a bike fast. Still an awesome win.

miata2fast

iTrader: (2)

Great video. Not a bad burnout either.

I am suprised that they allow bikes to run against cars at your track. They are not allowed at the tracks I have been to here in Florida. I guess it is a saftey issue.

There is nothing better than beating a motorcycle. It is usually pretty hard to out run one.

ZX-Tex

iTrader: (15)

What are you talking about?! It was a cool burnout.

Speaking of which, what is the etiquette with the burnout water box at SAR? They made me drive around it. But then can I back up to get the rear tires wet?

ZX-Tex

iTrader: (15)

Gobs of them are there every time I have been, everything from stock UJMs to slammed turbo busas. In fact I have run my 1997 ZX-9R there before, stock configuration. Best I could do was an 11.01.