E-Town and Drag radials

[mpdillon]

Richy,
Thanks so much for letting me borrow your DR's. They made a big difference. My best time was 12.81. That was on the first run and with lots of wheel spin off the line. I noticed the Dr's were more narrow than my street tires. I think the improved times were as much a result of the DR's smaller diameter (effectively reducing the final drive ratio) as to their tread pattern and softer compound.
Was it hot yesterday? Touching those DR's was like putting your hand on soft bubble gum. I only made one run with a burnout. The results were less than spectacular. I lost traction on the launch then backed out of the throttle just a little. At which time the DR's dug-in and the engine bogged down. I had never experienced that sort of drag on the engine before. Add to that having my hand slip off the shifter when going for thrid gear...and well you geussed it a 13.3 ET. That was all for my practice runs. They skipped me for the first practice run. When i asked about it I was told there would be plenty of time to get three runs. They were wrong. Tony, if you read this how about leaving 15 minutes earlier to account for that afternoon traffic on the NJTpke?
I had a first round win. We both broke out but I was a little less broke. We were both on the brakes thru the traps. My reaction times were in the .7 to .9 range all day. Pretty much average for me even though I was focusing on reducing my RT. Well, I red lighted in the second round. It was a .47. That's only .03 off what we all try for ( and some get. Congratulations Tony on a perfect .500!!). So I consider my redlight to be a success. It was a least a two tenths of a second closer to .5 than any other run I have ever made. So with a little more practice... maybe...
Anyway we all had a great time. Hope you can make the next one.
Pat
PS I only attached one general pic. All the others were fuzzy, not properly framed or taken too late.

[Tony B.96LT4]

Pat, I think we would have gotten in the three time shots but they started them earlier than usual. We left early one time and had to wait till after 4:00 to start our time runs so it really depends on the morning session. We will leave earlier the next time though. I don't know when Mike Campbell left but he got in around the same time we did, he went the back way. Congrats on your times(12.8's) and your reaction times will improve. That just takes practice. Thanks again for helping Vince out on the way home, your a class act!;yn

[Richy]

Pat,
Running on the DRs is an entirely different experience.On the street tires,in addtion to the usual side to side motion on upshifting,my car,like most Zs,would hop up & down.This was a killer,sort of like riding a bucking bronco.With the DRs,all that uncontrolled motion has gone and the car goes down the track
straight as an arrow.

Really great of you to help Vince get home.Outstanding example of the camaraderie that exists in CCDV.

Next Challenge is July 26 which is also Vette Magazine day at
Etown.Although the Challenge is an afternoon event,there are
Vette races in the morning as well.Tony & Rose will be on vacation
& I'll lead the gang from Bennigan's at 8AM so we can do all the events.

[mpdillon]

I have a going away dinner for some neibors that we are hosting that evening. But I hope to make the AM session. I'll keep you posted.

[Al Betz]

Pat nice picture of my car :D

[REDGAR]

So are you get a set of drag radials now?

[mpdillon]

New Drag Radials? Absolutely, but I have to wait for business to pick up, way up. Also, as I live so far from everyone else, I need a driver for our suburban to transport these things. By next summer my son will have finished his waiting period for his license. That'll give me a driver and a pit crew all in one. So I am planning on next year. Till then I'll focus on my RT's and not worry about my ET's.

[Mike Campbell]

Pat, you had a good day! I basically noticed that with my DR's that even though they break loose, you never get as much side pull as on your regular tires. I did the same thing as you on my best run of the day when my hand slipped off the shifter going into 3rd. By the way, when we go the back way there are 2 main ways to go. I go that way, mainly to avoid as much of the Jersey Pike as possible. The quickest is to run thru Trenton to 195 & then there's only one stretch on the NJTpke . You guys could still meet at Bennigans, get off at Rt 1, take that up to 95, then 95 to 195 & save yourselves at least 20 miles of that parking lot...;yn

[VetBoyZR1]

Curious why you don't just put the drag radials on at home and drive them over. What are your personal opinions on that? The manufacturer says as long as you are not driving at sustained high speeds (>120) this should not be a problem for the tire. We only hit 70 on the ride over. The biggest issue might be a wet road if you hit rain on the way, due to the limitted wet trraction. The wear due to mileage is probably not even equal to one burnout. Thoughts??

[Richy]

Good question,Carl.I am just afraid of getting a flat with the DRs.They are so soft and my gut feeling is that a screw nail,etc.
that the street tires might reject/tolerate would just be eaten up
by the DRs.Of course,there's no data to back this up,only my
feeling.

[Mike Campbell]

Well Carl, I mount my DR's at home and drive to the track all the time. Of course there's a danger of a flat tire, but, the rubber is soft, not the tire cord. It has to be decent to withstand the low inflation and torque involved in their use. Plus, when you're in a caravan, one of the guys will always help you. As far as the rain....well on the way home Saturday we hit a real nice "gully washer"!!! ;at I had no problems at all with traction, going or stopping. I changed the tires Sunday and cleaned up the car. I think you're okay if you just use common sense.;yn

[Tony B.96LT4]

I have driven on the DR's with no ill effects except that darn low tire pressure light staying on. I believe the tires will last a little longer if you change them at the track. This is my second season on my DR's and they are just now getting bald(chuckle, chuckle) so running them on the street is no longer an option for me.

[wheelz]

I drove on my last years set of Dr's through out the summer i liked em they were so much better then the runflats i went through the season on them and still had some tire left. Now i no longer have runflates which changed the feel of the car and the handling is awesoe now...


Mike