I've been dying to get to the track for the first time for so long, but have been so busy and the weather has been so lousy I didn't make it until last night. Still it was overcast and in the low sixties and at night. This was at the WIR in Kaukauna, WI. It was a Test n' Tune night, but out of over a hundred plus cars I was literally in the only mopar muscle car. There was a nice guy behind me driving a Neon.
Anyway, for a total newbie pulling up to the line in front of a hundred people in a GL probably brings some expectation, but I just shut everything out of my mind and focused. Unfortunately, nobody I knew could make it and come along so I have no video. The first run I did a nice long smoky burn out (these were MT ET drag radials at 18psi). From 2nd I rolled into 3rd (manually shifting an automatic here). Some other folks there said I should run those MTs at 12psi. I keep hearing different things. MT's tech line said 18, so not to over complicate things and create too many variables I left it at 18 for the three runs I got in.
Anyhow, the other guy double-bulbed me. I staged, the lights started going yellow, I put my foot into it a bit to get the RPMs up and took off on the last yellow. The guy in the Neon behind me was watching. He later said in classic Mopar fashion the whole car raised up about half a foot when I launched. I had no wheel hop or tire spinning. I'm not sure what "hooking" feels like yet. Anyway, I had my shift dial set at 5300 on the tac on my steering column, so that by the time the car actually shifted from 1st, which is what I started in, and into second the car would actually (I hoped) shift at about 5500.
I have to say between trying to pay attention to the keeping straight and watching the tac I can see manually shifting will take some practice. Once I was flying down the track it was just me and no distractions. What an awesome feeling. I went through the traps at 110mph. Last weekend I had taken the car out to practice on back roads and wound it out to 145mph so 110 hardly seemed like much and felt pretty stable.
One thing I didn't monkey with was the slide-a-links setup on the rear suspension, though I did adjust the QA1 shocks to the recommended strip settings.
So here are the times from the 3 runs, somebody tell me what I should focus on improving to get into the high 11s, which is what my goal has been all along:
Run # 1
Reaction: .1591
60ft: 1.7489
1/8 Mile: 7.9331
ET: 12.3350
MPH: 111.65
Run # 2
Reaction: .1973
60ft: 1.8241
1/8 Mile: 7.8387
ET: 12.2168
MPH: 110.83
Run # 3
Reaction: .2520
60ft: 2.1135
1/8 Mile: 8.4855
ET: 12.9618
MPH: 106.67
I HAVE TO SAY, I AM COMPLETELY HOOKED NOW. I just wish the track wasn't an hour away. At least at Kaukauna everyone I met in the staging line was very friendly and helpful. There were also a lot of newbies and the old hands were very understanding when I did something dumb like forget to turn on my taillights on one run. Even the young guys in their ricers weren't jerks, maybe it's just cause it's northern Wisconsin and not New Jersey (no offense).
Just an FYI, these are the details from the engine buildout last year (see:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,36197.180.html). It's a very mild 512 making 542hp at the crank and 612 fpt. Folks there agreed I was borderline on needing a Dana rear (it's an 8 3/4 w/3.55s). I think if I do that I'd have the heads and intake ported, the cam swapped out (and probably a few other needed requirements).
Since it's a street/strip set up and the gas milage right now is actually something I can live with this sounds like something I may do in a year, maybe next season. I'm not sure if it's practical to build something that will get into the high 10s and keep the car streetable.
Thanks for any feedback or advise!
