Went to the track last night and to say the least I was VERY VERY disappointed. Even though I ran 100 octane w octane booster
My times were as follows: 1st 17.9 (reaction time: 1.236)
2nd 17.5 (.836)
Last 17.1 (.636)

There were civic hatchbacks running 16.5 and accords running 16.9

I realize the better my reaction times get, the better my 1/4 times get but WTF???????? I can probably only shave another .1 or (at best) .2 off my best and final reaction time last night of .636

I also realize that part of owning a big, heavy car like mine is for the luxury AND sport aspect of it. I'm not trying to beat corvettes but I definitely thought I would have been faster than I was. I figured I would do it just for sh*ts and giggles. I kinda wish I never went.

Anyone have any suggestions other than gutting my interior to make it lighter and buying a TLS motor to make it faster??

Thanks!

 

Unfortunately, improving your reaction time won't affect your 1/4 mile times at all. The timer doesn't start until your front tires have rolled far enough to break the light at the starting line. Reaction time is just a measure of how long it took for you to push the gas to start your car rolling. You could sit on the line for 20 seconds before you pressed the gas and your time wouldn't be any different than if you had pushed it right away.

Your times may have been better on the slips where you had a better reaction time, but it wasn't because of your reaction time. It's likely that you just got used to launching and your times dropped from that.

Post your 60' time. That measures how quickly you travel the first 60' and is largely affected by traction.

 

Was VSA off, AC off, Radio off..... Did you use SS or Auto. If you used auto Drop it into 3rd gear. What did you shift at in SS? There are alot of things. You should be at least running high 15 low 16s in you fu(k up....

 

Well maybe ur car was made on a monday, just like mine :p

OR, maybe ur 18s are heavy and slow you down

@cUr@-TL

 

My 60' times were as follows: 17.922 (1/4) = 3.151
17.506 = 2.824
17.162 = 2.687

I don't have VSA and EVERYTHING (AC, radio, etc.) was off. Windows were up, sunroof closed. I used the Sportshift, and shifted right before red line to get the most out of every gear (1-3). 1st and 2nd feel good but when I go to 3rd, it doesn't pull as hard not even close. Should I have just used the Auto like normal driving? I would assume that the SportShift is for this specific purpose, right?

I think the more I practice, the better I'll get.

 

Your TCS was off too? Take out the spare tire? Running on a near empty fuel tank? I personally wouldn't use SS. I find it slower reacting then keeping it in Auto and just flooring it. Sport Shift wasn't really made for racing, its was just invented so you can feel like you're in control but really the computer has the last say in what you do. You running a bone stock 99 TL?

 

humidity!

 

hell yeah, usually i can break my tires hard off the line, but this humidity has slowed me down bad. But shouldnt it have slowed the civics and accords too

 

Buddy --

you gotta post more about track conditions if you want a better answer to your q's...

temp, humidity, elevation, etc....

17.1 strikes me as ridiculously slow .. therefore I am leaning towards agreeing w/ the fellow that suggested that your 18's are slowing you down .. your 60' times are a pretty good indication that you're very slow outta the hole... that's either cuz you're peeling out waaaaay too much, which i doubt, or b/c you have very heavy wheels that bog down the launch. Smaller diameter rims/tires will reduced the gearing of first gear enough to develop more torque .. and improve your 1/4-mile ET...

 

No peel out at all...

Track conditions:

Temp: 75'F
Humidity: 85% (It's been RIDICULOUS) here in the northeast
Elevation: ?????????? Not on Mt. Everest though

I think my wheel/tire setup is was hurting me bad. I guess I probably should have used the auto like usual, huh?

HZM82, see my signature for mods. TSC was off, too.

 

The 60' time is part of your problem. I have driven a lot of cars at the track, but never my TL-S. I would imagine that a good 60' time for one should be around 2.3 or 2.4. Every tenth that you can shave off of your 60' time with a better lauch will make about 2 tenths off of your quarter mile time. In addition, your 18" wheels, have lowered the final drive ratio and slowed your car down. Larger wheels may look good, but they're not good for drag racing.

 

ya go for the engine swap, I'm all about doin engine/tranny swaps on are luxy/sports sedans. I love this forum,add some neons while your at it.

 

Yield2S...

You sound like you have some built up hostility towards tuners. If I were to do a swap, I wouldn't be converting it to a rear wheel drive with a 396 bored-out 60 over. I would do it with the OTHER motor that comes in our car.

I've thought about just getting a TLS instead previous to my visit to the track last night but I like MY CAR.

In conclusion, I really enjoy this forum b/c even though I'm not into hearing about certain things, others are and even though we all like different stuff, we all share one common thing.

Thanks for the input!

 

No one's mentioned the 100octane junk he was running. If you have a stock vehicle, increasing octane will be beneficial, but only to the point where your ECU can compensate by increasing timing to get more power. If the ECU maxes out at say 95octane, any extra octane beyond this could probably slow the car down.

I'd try again with premium fuel, see if it makes a dif. Of course there's lot of other little tricks to get better times:

with practice, you can find the perfect point of traction/wheel spin off the line to get you the best 60ft time.
Run with little fuel, to lighten the car a bit.
Remove spare tire, and anything else that comes out of the car easily.
Sport shift it. The tranny has quicker shifts when in SS mode, and less power is lost in the tranny clutches...
Time your shifts right at or slightly in the redline.
Inflate all tires to 40psi.
Turn off all accessories, especially AC.
Do a run with engine cool, it'll make more power.
Empty your bladder and your bowel, you'll be lighter!!

There's probably a bunch of other little things you can do, this is what I could think of...

Dirk Diggler.

 

other stuff to add / remove
carbon fiber hood
lighter seats
remove all floor mats
all the stuff in your trunk
go on a diet

 

Sounds like you raced here at SIR in Tucson. Your car would be a 17 second car here too! Elevation sucks!

 

First off, don't ever change the octane level right before the race. The computer has to recalibrate itself, and that takes time. I think it hurt you more than help you. How much fuel did you, by the way? 1/4 tank is probably the most ideal amount you want when you're running the 1/4.

Looking at your mods, you have all those, but only a single performance mod (except for the tire). I'm not surprised that you ran a 17.x your first time at the track.

 

Put on your stock wheels to race next time, and go in the fall. Get headers if you can, and make your car as light as possible. Front tire pressure 20, rear 40. You will be in the fifteens. Make sure your VTEC is working too. Good luck.

 

There is no way a stock 99 TL does 17's in the 1/4. Even on a bad day, I can see high 15s or maybe even low 16s.

Like the rest have been saying, there are a lot of variables. Keep trying and you should get faster.