I plan on heading to Mason Dixon this Saturday for T&T.

Besides removing the R headlight, are there any tips on how to launch this pig?

What about tire pressure. Don't think I need to worry about that at this point.

Spare- take off, or leave on?


Anything else?

I'm just looking to get a baseline and better feel for how it does at the track.
Hoping for low 15's...

 

only thing i do is inflate the front tires to max and deflate the rear tires to mid 20's... But I am lazy and too busy to remove a bunch of crap...

 

What are the specs on your truck. You'll be setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect low 15s with a stock truck

 

I think that's why I said, hope, not expect, but thanks for the "tip".

 

A friend of mine has a Red RCSB 04 5.3L with 3.42 gears. All he had installed was the generic 93 Octane tune that came with the Predator. Everything else on the truck was completely stock and nothing was removed. Had a 1/4 tank of gas. It ran 15.10 @90mph, 15.05 @ 90.7mph, and 15.01 @ 91.2mph. He did run these times in Late February of '05. It was a cool night and good air, which is rare down here in South Louisiana, when he ran these times. He didn't drop the tail gate, didn't remove the head light, and didn't change air pressure in tires. All he did was a little burnout, left the truck in drive, staged up, and on the third amber, he tried to push the gas pedal through the floorboard.

Good Luck Will.....let us know the results.

 

one good tip -- take a **** before you run.

seriously, you are gonna get a little nervous and have to pee. take that ****.

other than that, just have fun and leave when you see the third amber light drop down.

 

Ya, i always get a little antsy at the light. Just try and keep yourself calm and focus on launching good. The launch is key. Everything after that is just keeping the pedal down and keeping the truck going straight.

 

eat a banana. I got a cramp last time. Got to the end and my thigh was killing me.

 

Good advice, guys...lol I always hit the head prior to getting in the staging lanes.
The antsy part happens, but for me the worse is lining up next to an open header-wheel-standing beast. I can't even tell if my vehicle's running because they're so loud.

And I agree, a good launch is key. On my previous truck, I got my 60' times down to a 2.09 and my overall time went down by 2/10's.

 

I make a mental list of all the things I need to do but before I go there I would recommend you do this;

Walk the length of the track and look at the pole, the metering lights, the sensor. See where everything is. If you cannot walk along side your track then make a "practice run" and just take off easy and calmly drive down the track. Familiarizing yourself will help, trust me.

Now onto my check list...

Fold in my mirrors,
avoid the water,
dust off the tires-no need to do a big burnout on street tires, it doesn't do anything but a little dusting to dry and warm them.
Get up to the pole. Look out your window and see the sensors, creep up and stop when the first whites light. Then inch by inch creep till the second set lights. Two things here...ONE: it is polite to wait until the 'other' car stages (lights the first set) TWO: don't worry about it. The yellows come once both cars have staged so whoever is staged first will have a little more time to prepare.
Stall up a little, not a huge amount. Do it by ear, say 1000rpms and watch the pole. Yellow....Yellow....yellow/LEAVE!!!!! Don't wait for the green. By the time your foot reacts it will have already greened.
Have a blast and report back! Take some pics too!!