first timer at the track any tips?
 

local track opens up first week of april and my buddy wants me to take my ranger(hes gonna be in his civic hatch) now i dont expect much just want to get comfortable with the whole drag racing scene before i jump in my dads 9 sec mustang. I understand theres a big difference but youve gotta start somewhere right? i spent a lot of time at the track growing up but ive never made a pass

Basically just asking for any tips, cant do a lot to it, can barely afford gas as it is.

what i have to work with:
94 4.0l auto
4x4 splash
dick cepek dc2s
yokahama geolander Mts 31x10.5s
other than that im pretty much bone stock:smileford:

My tips for a budget racer. 93 octane premium gasoline with a clean air filter. Focus on reaction times, you can save half a second if your good at the tree.

you can "back the engine up against the torque converter" or basically the same as power braking to do a burnout but with no wheelspin... makes you already have so many(IDK) RPM at takeoff...

launch in 4wd lol dont listen to me

alright im taking notes lol thanks for the tips keep em coming
-93octane
-clean airfilter
-back engine up against torque converter(i dont have a clue what this means but it sounds good)

im guessing i should probly clean the mud out of the air box when i clean the filter

4low? lol

high unless you want a massive mess to pick up

I would try power braking before you go to the track. When I timed 0-60 in my truck I was a second slower when powerbraking. Might not be the case for you but just something to try.

basically you floor the brake and give it some gas. if you have a tach, get the max RPM without spinning, if you don't have one, just get the engine speed(RPM) up some without spinning... when the light goes green, release the brake and floor the gas all at once... since there was already some RPM built up, the engine doesn't have to build it before takeoff.. you smell what i'm steppin' in?

and, of course, try it before you actually run it... could make you slower... but i used it in my friends ranger with auto... but it needed all the RPMs it could stand...

ok that makes since....basically what i do at stoplights when i get bored lol

Tips for drag racing a stock ranger are wait until green and press the gas.

what is a ballpark time for a 1/4 mile time with the mud tires i have?

two or three minutes...lol... idk, 16-18sec maybe

lol yeah don't expect anything less then 16.

stay in your lane lol

reaction time is key, run some reaction exercises right before race with a buddy, make some up and do them over and over with something green, like a tennis ball, my older college age (at the time) buddies used to do this and swore it cut at least half second off his 4.6Lmustangs time.

i practice my reaction time everytime i am up front at stop lights, horrible on gas and is probly why i average about 8mpg

does it make a difference whether im in drive or od, tailgate up or down, is there any point in removing the spare tire,a/c off im assuming?

Hahaha

You will spin, listen to the engine don’t over rev it, play with the throttle to keep traction.
If you rev up the engine before the green it will add to the spinning, other than holding the brake and push down on the throttle some, so as stated in another post wait for the green, mash the throttle, and let the trans do the shifting.
Second time down the track, if you felt that the engine didn’t rev high enough try manually shifting BUT be careful not to push the shifter to neutral, it CAN happen and again what the rpms of the engine.

Also, feel the launch the first time, if you think the truck didn’t spin too bad and it pulled well you might want to add a little more throttle before the green while holding the foot brake.

4wd, powerbraked. Should get you moving, then just drive. AC off. I don't think removing weight on a stock truck will help you out.

Unless your engine is tuned for 93 octane, it will do nothing for you except possibly slow you a little unless your engine is very carboned up. 89 octane won't hurt and may help a little if your engine is carboned up a little.

I ran a 17.29 bone stock. Launched in 4wd shut it off after the launch. Beat the stupid Base lancer that was in the left lane. The second run i spun hard and got back in it ran like a 18. I may try again this summer I'll run my 93 Tune

Might as well just leave it in 4wd. It's not like it can shift out of it while under power anyways.

Leave when you see the last yellow bulb. If you wait for the green, you will be sitting at the line by yourself. 4WD High. Watch the guy directing you at the line. Roll your windows up.

Why are you guys telling him to leave it in 4 high? That's such a drivetrain loss of power...It's not like rangers are tq monsters. The only reason why diesel guys do that is because they have to. If they took off in 2wd they would be all over the track. They also stay in 4 wheel drive all the way down the track...They have built tranny's that allow then to hold up while doing so.

Switching our trucks trans from 4wd to 2wd at full throttle is not good for them. At all. And vise versa. Oh on top of that your probably looking at losing half a second by doing so why the truck is figuring out it's life to switch in between the two. Not only in general but while you are mashing the throttle.

You have been to the track like you said. I'm sure you have talked and watched many people. You have the gist of what's going on. If it's your first time you are going to get the nervous feeling/rush hoping you will do well. It's normal as for everything you try your 1st time.

Your best bet is to just go out their and have fun and try it out. The more you do it the better you will get.

What you should do:
Wait in line until you are called up. Go around the water pit. NOT threw it. You do not need to do a breakstand (Holding one foot on the break and smashing on the gas and holding it to the ground while your rear tires spin.) You are on stock radial tires. They do not create enough heat that it matters. (that is the reason you don't need to go into the water.) Spinning you tires before you run is only necessary if you have real performance tires and you can get them to spin very well for a good amount of time. Or if you are running drag radials or slicks. With water on your tires it will just make you spin the tires off the line more. Your 60' foot is HUGE in drag racing...From their just pull up to the line. look at the tree. Slowly pull up until you light up both of the staging lights. Once you see those, power break it and and wait till the last yellow lite lights up and hit the gas and go. The 4.0L are not exactly a power house. You will chip off the line and keep your foot slammed on the floor. Do not manually shift gears.That will also add tenths of seconds on to your run. Manually shifting is having the engine in a certain gear that you want it to stay in. More or less for downhills in bad weather conditions. This helps the motor to slow you down. So you are not hitting the breaks and sliding etc. The auto trans shifts faster than you can. Let it do it's job. As far as the overdrive button it does not matter on or off. It's just their as an extra gear for lower rpm when your just cruising on the highway. After the 1320 mark follow the car in front of you and pick up your slip that shows you your time. Because rangers are slow and you probably got beat. lol (Unless your bracket racing in which case the person next to you didn't put the right time on their car. :-P ) Don't feel bad. We all have Rangers and still love them. Fast or not.

THAT'S IT! :-D Just keep it up and you will get better and better. Then as time goes on you will learn the ropes of drag racing. In's and out's

The best way to learn is to do. Over and over.

Hope this helps. Good luck. Let us know what you ran. P.S. Have fun. It is a good time.

If I launched mine in 2wd it would spin. Why not use 4wd. All the mass up front is already spinning. Might as well have it helping/engaged.