[andrewskaggs]

I went to the Fun Ford Weekend event at Memphis International Raceway this past weekend, and had a pretty good day.

First run off the trailer I set a new personal best for ET and MPH. It ran an 8.26 @ 83.06 MPH with a 1.74 60'. Almost everyone I talk to is amazed that the car runs that well with the limited amount of work I've done to the motor. I'd love to get some 1.6x short times (it's been a 1.72 before), but I know I'm pushing it at my power level.

My car seems to consistently slow down during the course of the day no matter how much I cool it down and I think it's due to the track getting better (really). The track gets better and my car doesn't have the power to keep the wheel speed up, so it bogs a bit. To combat that, I usually try to dial my car up a bit and drive it at the finish line. I've also been struggling with a red light epidemic, so I lowered the pressure in the fronts to 28 lbs for this race.

I was running in Fast Ford, and I got veeery lucky.

In the final round of qualifying, it ran an 8.39. I dialed it up to an 8.42 for the first round. I had a .056 light. I don't know if my opponent had problems or what, but he had a .300 light, so he was way behind at about 600'. I cut 6 mph at the finish line and ran an 8.44. I would've broken out by at least .03 if I'd stayed in it.

Second round, I dialed in at 8.40. I was racing the same guy I beat first round. I cut a .004 light and my opponent went red (felt bad for putting him out twice, but oh well). It's a good thing he did, because the car couldn't run the number and went an 8.46.

Third round, I dialed it in at 8.46. I cut a .011 light and my opponent again went red. The car ran one off at a 8.47.

Semi-finals, I dialed it a 8.47. Cut a .018 light and my opponent (who was a super nice guy that parked right beside us) AGAIN went red. I was having a very hard time seeing the win light (in part because I'm used to looking for it after 1/8 mile and this was a 1/4 mile track and in part because the sun was behind us). I didn't see that he had went red, so I lifted at the end. Based on the numbers at 60' and 330', it looks like the car was going to run dead on.

At this point, I knew my luck was running thin. I was in the finals against a guy I knew from my home track who is a very good racer (his dad won Quick Ford). We agreed to split the pot (and it's a good thing). I left my dial in alone at 8.47 and went waaay red (guess I got nervous). The car ran 3 off at 8.50. When he left he spun the tires and shut it down, so I guess we both lost that round. lol

Sorry for the long post...was just excited to get my first final round appearance and come home with a trophy and some money.

[06VistaBlueGT]

Originally Posted by andrewskaggs I went to the Fun Ford Weekend event at Memphis International Raceway this past weekend, and had a pretty good day. First run off the trailer I set a new personal best for ET and MPH. It ran an 8.26 @ 83.06 MPH with a 1.74 60'. Almost everyone I talk to is amazed that the car runs that well with the limited amount of work I've done to the motor. I'd love to get some 1.6x short times (it's been a 1.72 before), but I know I'm pushing it at my power level. My car seems to consistently slow down during the course of the day no matter how much I cool it down and I think it's due to the track getting better (really). The track gets better and my car doesn't have the power to keep the wheel speed up, so it bogs a bit. To combat that, I usually try to dial my car up a bit and drive it at the finish line. I've also been struggling with a red light epidemic, so I lowered the pressure in the fronts to 28 lbs for this race. I was running in Fast Ford, and I got veeery lucky. In the final round of qualifying, it ran an 8.39. I dialed it up to an 8.42 for the first round. I had a .056 light. I don't know if my opponent had problems or what, but he had a .300 light, so he was way behind at about 600'. I cut 6 mph at the finish line and ran an 8.44. I would've broken out by at least .03 if I'd stayed in it. Second round, I dialed in at 8.40. I was racing the same guy I beat first round. I cut a .004 light and my opponent went red (felt bad for putting him out twice, but oh well). It's a good thing he did, because the car couldn't run the number and went an 8.46. Third round, I dialed it in at 8.46. I cut a .011 light and my opponent again went red. The car ran one off at a 8.47. Semi-finals, I dialed it a 8.47. Cut a .018 light and my opponent (who was a super nice guy that parked right beside us) AGAIN went red. I was having a very hard time seeing the win light (in part because I'm used to looking for it after 1/8 mile and this was a 1/4 mile track and in part because the sun was behind us). I didn't see that he had went red, so I lifted at the end. Based on the numbers at 60' and 330', it looks like the car was going to run dead on. At this point, I knew my luck was running thin. I was in the finals against a guy I knew from my home track who is a very good racer (his dad won Quick Ford). We agreed to split the pot (and it's a good thing). I left my dial in alone at 8.47 and went waaay red (guess I got nervous). The car ran 3 off at 8.50. When he left he spun the tires and shut it down, so I guess we both lost that round. lol Sorry for the long post...was just excited to get my first final round appearance and come home with a trophy and some money.

Awesome job! Red lighting is part of racing. If you don't red light sometimes, you aren't trying. It's nice when you get a string of people red lighting against you. Do you have a weather meter? If not, get one. I use a Kestrel and log my runs. It really helps me dial the car. My guess is the weather conditions were changing throughout the day. Humidity affects my car as much if not more than temp. Also, people are big on DA readings and they do affect the car but other things such as humidity, wind speed/direction, pressure all affect the car. I've had the car slow down even when the DA went down. I think I might get a software called Crew Chief Pro. It works in conjunction with a weather meter to predict your dial ins. From what I am hearing, it is very accurate.

8.26 is a very respectable 1/8 mile especially for a street car. That's what I run in decent conditions. As a matter of a fact, that's what I was dialed in at my local track last weekend. I've had several people ask which supercharger I have. They are surprised when I tell them it's NA.


Again, good job.

[andrewskaggs]

Originally Posted by 06VistaBlueGT Awesome job! Red lighting is part of racing. If you don't red light sometimes, you aren't trying. It's nice when you get a string of people red lighting against you. Do you have a weather meter? If not, get one. I use a Kestrel and log my runs. It really helps me dial the car. My guess is the weather conditions were changing throughout the day. Humidity affects my car as much if not more than temp. Also, people are big on DA readings and they do affect the car but other things such as humidity, wind speed/direction, pressure all affect the car. I've had the car slow down even when the DA went down. I think I might get a software called Crew Chief Pro. It works in conjunction with a weather meter to predict your dial ins. From what I am hearing, it is very accurate. 8.26 is a very respectable 1/8 mile especially for a street car. That's what I run in decent conditions. As a matter of a fact, that's what I was dialed in at my local track last weekend. I've had several people ask which supercharger I have. They are surprised when I tell them it's NA. Again, good job.

Thanks. I don't have a weather meter yet, but it's next on the list of things to get once I get my c4 installed (didn't figure I could take full advantage of it with my inconsistent manual transmission). I'm looking at the Computech RaceAir Pro. I've read some about the Crew Chief Pro as well. It seems to be very configurable and I especially like the paging capability on it. The only thing I don't like is having to either type in the weather conditions or buy an expensive external weather station.

[zinc-vert02]

good job dude

[06VistaBlueGT]

Originally Posted by andrewskaggs Thanks. I don't have a weather meter yet, but it's next on the list of things to get once I get my c4 installed (didn't figure I could take full advantage of it with my inconsistent manual transmission). I'm looking at the Computech RaceAir Pro. I've read some about the Crew Chief Pro as well. It seems to be very configurable and I especially like the paging capability on it. The only thing I don't like is having to either type in the weather conditions or buy an expensive external weather station.

I thought about getting a weather station that the software can read from automatically without typing the data in. Not sure yet if I'm going to do that.

You'll love the auto. When I converted from stick to the TH350, the car slowed down but it's consistency improved greatly. If you aren't getting a trans brake in it, you can do the "poor mans trans brake that I did'. Basically, I have a WOT Box that I only use the 2 step portion of and I have a line lock. I have both of those wired to a momentary toggle switch. I can footbrake the car to about 3200 with my converter so I set my 2 step to 2400 to stay a little bit away from the flash. When my car is staged, I mat the brake, push the toggle to "on", release the brake, then mat the gas. This makes the RPM's come up to 2400 but you are far enough from the converter flash that it will hold the car in place. When you are ready to launch, you release the switch and hold on. This system made my car so consistent that other people are afraid to race me now. lol.

Last weekend at the local 1/4 mile track, I made it to the finals of no box and we split. We never ran it off. My car ran 3 13.05's in a row. It's really discouraging to other racers when you have the bye and run dead on your number lol. The next day I won the dash for cash at the local 1/8 mile track. I dialed 8.30 and ran 8.301. That got me $164. Same day I made it to the semi's in their Pro class. I made $600 that weekend. I'm thinking about just getting a trans brake. I'll be able to launch at a little higher RPM and hopefully improve my times.

[andrewskaggs]

Originally Posted by 06VistaBlueGT I thought about getting a weather station that the software can read from automatically without typing the data in. Not sure yet if I'm going to do that. You'll love the auto. When I converted from stick to the TH350, the car slowed down but it's consistency improved greatly. If you aren't getting a trans brake in it, you can do the "poor mans trans brake that I did'. Basically, I have a WOT Box that I only use the 2 step portion of and I have a line lock. I have both of those wired to a momentary toggle switch. I can footbrake the car to about 3200 with my converter so I set my 2 step to 2400 to stay a little bit away from the flash. When my car is staged, I mat the brake, push the toggle to "on", release the brake, then mat the gas. This makes the RPM's come up to 2400 but you are far enough from the converter flash that it will hold the car in place. When you are ready to launch, you release the switch and hold on. This system made my car so consistent that other people are afraid to race me now. lol. Last weekend at the local 1/4 mile track, I made it to the finals and we split. We never ran it off. My car ran 3 13.05's in a row. It's really discouraging to other racers when you have the buy and run dead on your number lol. The next day I won the dash for cash at the local 1/8 mile track. I dialed 8.30 and ran 8.301. That got me $164. Same day I made it to the semi's in their Pro class. I made $600 that weekend. I'm thinking about just getting a trans brake. I'll be able to launch at a little higher RPM and hopefully improve my times.

If you do wind up getting that software, let me know how you like it. I'm very interested in it...I'm just hesitant to buy it when I don't know anyone running it. I also have to borrow a trailer currently, so setting up a permanent weather station would be difficult.

I'll have a transbrake, but I probably won't race in classes where I can use it much. I'm buying a used PA brake out of my buddy's 65 Mustang. Not sure about where you race, but down here we only have two classes Super Pro and Footbrake. No delay boxes or transbrakes allowed in footbrake.

I've got a 4200 PTC converter sitting in the garage already. I'm curious how high I'll be able to footbrake it before it starts creeping forward.

I think I'm going to continue to run footbrake for awhile. I'm still a greenhorn basically...I've only been racing for a little over a year. I feel like footbrake around here is a little easier, so I want to get some more experience before moving up. I'm buying a Turbo Action Cheetah shifter and I'll put air to it and shift it on RPM for footbrake.

Nice races. Sounds like you've got your car working well. I'm going to try to do the smart thing next season and not change ANYTHING during the year so I can have that kind of consistency.

The purse for this race was $800/$300. We split it even, so I went home with $550. Not bad for spending a day doing something you enjoy!

[06VistaBlueGT]

Originally Posted by andrewskaggs If you do wind up getting that software, let me know how you like it. I'm very interested in it...I'm just hesitant to buy it when I don't know anyone running it. I also have to borrow a trailer currently, so setting up a permanent weather station would be difficult. I'll have a transbrake, but I probably won't race in classes where I can use it much. I'm buying a used PA brake out of my buddy's 65 Mustang. Not sure about where you race, but down here we only have two classes Super Pro and Footbrake. No delay boxes or transbrakes allowed in footbrake. I've got a 4200 PTC converter sitting in the garage already. I'm curious how high I'll be able to footbrake it before it starts creeping forward. I think I'm going to continue to run footbrake for awhile. I'm still a greenhorn basically...I've only been racing for a little over a year. I feel like footbrake around here is a little easier, so I want to get some more experience before moving up. I'm buying a Turbo Action Cheetah shifter and I'll put air to it and shift it on RPM for footbrake. Nice races. Sounds like you've got your car working well. I'm going to try to do the smart thing next season and not change ANYTHING during the year so I can have that kind of consistency. The purse for this race was $800/$300. We split it even, so I went home with $550. Not bad for spending a day doing something you enjoy!

Ahh yeah. I remember talking to you before about that. We have Street, Modified and Top. I went from Street (no electronics) to Modified which is basically everything is allowed except delay boxes, in the middle of the season so I could use the 2 step/line lock combo. I wasn't having much luck foot braking this year. That switch turned my whole season around.

[andrewskaggs]

Here's the video of my 8.26 run and a short clip of my buddy's 65 Mustang carrying the wheels out past 60'.

Fun Ford Weekend 2011 - Memphis International Raceway - YouTube

Fun Ford Weekend 2011 - Memphis International Raceway - YouTube

I was trying to stretch my time trial out to a 1/4 to see if I could get a time, but they didn't have the timing on past 1/8 mile.

[F8L GT]

F8L Approved

[Shaun03GT]

Very nice man! Congrats. Can I ask how much the pot was?

If it makes you feel any better, my best 1/8 is in my avatar. I believe 8.09 @ 91.4mph. So your best 1/8 really isnt that far from mine considering the power difference.

What kind of tires do you run?

[F8L GT]

Originally Posted by Shaun03GT What kind of tires do you run?

same as me

[Shaun03GT]

Im slackin

[F8L GT]

Originally Posted by Shaun03GT Im slackin

Not like you haven't already been told lol


Sent from my HTC Wildfire using AutoGuide App

[andrewskaggs]

It was $800 to win and $300 for second. We split 50/50 so we each left with $550.

I run 26x9x15 Hoosier Drag Slicks.

[BaznastyDave]

Originally Posted by 06VistaBlueGT Awesome job! Red lighting is part of racing. If you don't red light sometimes, you aren't trying. It's nice when you get a string of people red lighting against you. Do you have a weather meter? If not, get one. I use a Kestrel and log my runs. It really helps me dial the car. My guess is the weather conditions were changing throughout the day. Humidity affects my car as much if not more than temp. Also, people are big on DA readings and they do affect the car but other things such as humidity, wind speed/direction, pressure all affect the car. I've had the car slow down even when the DA went down. I think I might get a software called Crew Chief Pro. It works in conjunction with a weather meter to predict your dial ins. From what I am hearing, it is very accurate. 8.26 is a very respectable 1/8 mile especially for a street car. That's what I run in decent conditions. As a matter of a fact, that's what I was dialed in at my local track last weekend. I've had several people ask which supercharger I have. They are surprised when I tell them it's NA.

I love beating cars that I should loose to, last time I went to the track I was beating up on a worked 03 Cobra, a Vette, and a twin turbo'd powerstroke launching in 4x4 pulling low 1.7 60's. Everyone thought I was spraying bc I have NX stickers on my side glass and I had to show em my bottle was empty and that they got beat by a little 281 2V N/A.

[06VistaBlueGT]

Originally Posted by BaznastyDave I love beating cars that I should loose to, last time I went to the track I was beating up on a worked 03 Cobra, a Vette, and a twin turbo'd powerstroke launching in 4x4 pulling low 1.7 60's. Everyone thought I was spraying bc I have NX stickers on my side glass and I had to show em my bottle was empty and that they got beat by a little 281 2V N/A.

Yep, it's great. People used to try and race me. I was the duck. Not anymore. A couple months ago I had a perfect pass. The person I had that pass against just won the IHRA World Championship in Box in Virginia (JP Schuster) over the weekend. My perfect run did more for my reputation at the track than anything else I've ever done.

[69fastback]

This is a good thing to check in lieu of a weather station.

tracks Air Density Online

[andrewskaggs]

Originally Posted by 69fastback This is a good thing to check, I lieu of a weather station. tracks Air Density Online

Great find. Reps.

[andrewskaggs]

A few pictures from the event. Yes, I know I look like a dufus in the last picture.

[RDY4WAR]

Good runs and congrats. I've been considering taking the Focus out for some bracket racing. I average 8.25-8.30 in the 1/8th with 1.8-1.9 60ft and a best of 8.13 @ 87mph with a 1.79 60ft. What's your suspension setup?