Do - It - Yourself Dragstrip (hmmmmm)

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Do - It - Yourself Dragstrip (hmmmmm)

Postby joels_vega » Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:37 pm

I was looking for a way to get 1/4 mile times/alternative to dragstrips.

(Example)The closest dragstrip is a 200 mile round trip... (Expenses: Gas, time, $5 hotdogs/Cokes, wear and tear on tow vehicle, tow trailer.
About $1000 plus for: rollbar/Cage, SFI rated helmet, $50 daily race fee/$80 for weekend, $20 daily fee per family member, fire$uit, 5-point harness,
transmission shield, waiting in line, joy of sweating in your helmet/gloves/suit, etc..........)

Below is a neat article from Car and Driver on performance timers. In a nutshell they work. Prices $90 to $1000 dollars and are very accurate -- within
.05 mph and .03 seconds in quarter mile! * If you average your times it will be even more accurate.

Do Inexpensive Performance Meters Work? - Feature
The makers of these compact devices suggest they're as accurate as more expensive test gear. To find out, we put seven of them through our wringer.
May 2005
Go to:
http://www.caranddriver.com
Type in "performance timers" in the search box in upper right Search Box


(Tip) Try your local airport or ? You can ask the owner/manager/security guard/Janitor for permission ... "Need to check out new ...." or "...testing purposes."

Here's another timer for $99

Amazon.com: K.A.T. Matrix 3-Axis Car Performance Accelerometer ...The K.A.T. Matrix 3-Axis Car Performance Accelerometer features 3-axis measurement with error compensation and displays 1/2-inch character sizes on a 3 -inch ...
Go to:
http://www.amazon.com
Type in "kat matrix 3-axis" in upper Search Box
Future car will look like this guy's cool Pro-Street Vega.
(Free) Photo customizing at phixr.com
"...act like men, be strong." (1Corinthians 16:13)
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Re: Do - It - Yourself Dragstrip (hmmmmm)

Postby spencerforhire » Sun Feb 20, 2011 1:08 pm

There is another way to get 1/4 mile times even when your local strip is under a foot of snow; a couple of years ago Mustang Dynamometer released "DragSim" software for their chassis dynos that is accurate to 1/10th of a second for et and 1 mph for trap speed, plus reaction and 60ft. times. If you're fortunate to have a High Performace shop in your area that has a newer Mustang dyno, you could be in luck. Considering where I live, think how lucky I am to have access to one about 10 miles away! My drag car project will no doubt be run on the dyno to get the bugs out before it goes to the strip(2 hours away).

http://mustangdyne.com/dynamometers/md-500.html
The "fleet"-
72 Vega HB Drag Car -383/'Glide/9"(9.35@146.19)(5.94@117.28 1/8th)
77 Vega Estate wagon- project(someday)will have TPI305/T-5, S-10 spindles/axles
76 Vega GT- 400/4spd/9" retired from active duty(rusty)
06 Silverado 2WD ex.cab daily
03 Silverado 2WD ex.cab (retired)
06 Haulin' 20ft enclosed car transporter
06 GMC Canyon Shop truck
07 Colorado project( 5.3 4L60e swap)
99 Saturn SL1- wife's car
01 Saturn SC2- son's project
07 Saturn Ion Redline project
and 4 more Saturn "parts cars"
Note- the very act of listing all of these has made me realize I have some kind of problem.....

Visit http://www.spencerforhire.ca
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Re: Do - It - Yourself Dragstrip (hmmmmm)

Postby joels_vega » Sun Feb 20, 2011 2:20 pm

spencerforhire
killer looking Vega you got there :th:
That may be a better idea.........safe.........Zero ticket risk.........Zero Rollcage/Helmet/Trans shield/Tech line/other NHRA requirements!...
test anytime 24/7/365....and can get a Performance-Tune also on your car...[me likee]
Those dynos seem to cost around $140k...

Here's some approximate prices for dyno testing (from 2 different websites):

1. Depends where you live. $75 will get 5 pulls with a/f [air-fuel] reading. $150 hour for dyno tune. Just depends, try find reputation before price.

2. A basic dyno check of a Mustang is $85 for 3 runs with a printout of Horsepower, Torque, Boost (when applicable) and Air/Fuel ratio (tailpipe probe). A/F readings can be taken from the midpipe for an additional $30. All other vehicles are $120 to $150. (Mustangs cost less because our datalogging equipment and dyno straps are already configured for them.) Time about 30 minutes.

Typical dyno T--U--N--I--N--G costs are as follows:

Hardware required: SCT chip $269 (plus $30.00 to install the chip) or SCT XCalibrator-3 Flash tuner $379
Dyno Tuning: Most dyno tune rates fall into one of four categories:
$250 (manual trans)/$300 (Automatic trans)... Basic Naturally Aspirated (NA) tune with minor bolt-ons (stock cylinder heads & cams).
$350 ... Typical “heads/cam/intake” (HCI) combinations, cars with larger than stock fuel injectors, cams or cylinder heads that aren't stock.
$425... Supercharged vehicles or any combination requiring 50lb or larger injectors, race vehicles with 3000+ stall converters.
Time about 3-5 hours.

mustang dyno locator link for 50 states: http://www.mustangdyne.com/LocatorPages/DynLocator.htm
Last edited by joels_vega on Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Future car will look like this guy's cool Pro-Street Vega.
(Free) Photo customizing at phixr.com
"...act like men, be strong." (1Corinthians 16:13)
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Re: Do - It - Yourself Dragstrip (hmmmmm)

Postby Fastmax32168 » Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:50 pm

I have a G-tech I have used for years. I have never actually measured its accuracy against a 1/4 mile track, but i can tell you that it is consistent and repeatable. I find it a great tool when trying to determine if my latest round of mods accomplished anything.
Roy
80 Monza Cabriolet coupe
94 Corvette Convertible LT-1 500+ HP
Trailblazer EXT LS6 powered
1991 K1500 6.0 LS swapped
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Re: Do - It - Yourself Dragstrip (hmmmmm)

Postby chevy art » Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:58 pm

i have one of those right here in my hometown and was always too dumb to use it. thought never even crossed my mind. now im thinking art
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Re: Do - It - Yourself Dragstrip (hmmmmm)

Postby m@ikel » Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:00 pm

Fastmax32168 wrote:I have a G-tech I have used for years. I have never actually measured its accuracy against a 1/4 mile track, but i can tell you that it is consistent and repeatable. I find it a great tool when trying to determine if my latest round of mods accomplished anything.
Roy


I do too, but i *did* check it against official timing on a run what you brung night.
i did several runs, adapting the pitchfactor of the gtech to the car. getting it into the hundreds accurate.

if your cars lifts it's front wheels it's harder/impossible with a g-meter..

I run my g-tech (before it got stolen) on a mile stretch of road in two directions, averageing out the results, and eliminating road skew, wind etc.. ( my 'normal' test road is nice , flat and horizontal, results both ways are identical on a low-wind day)

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