anybody take there jcw to the track? i want to go soon, and i want to know what i should expect outa this little monster!






and what rpm do you guys launch at? i just tried 2500 and i basically did a burnout lol. but the tires were cold

 

DNadar,

Do you want to take it to the track or the dragstrip? The track is more about turns and exit speeds, TTO, TBO, car positioning etc (HPDE). You get rolling starts so you don't really have burnouts but you do bounce off the redline. On the dragstrip, that is a whole different story.

There is a section right on the bottom of this forum that gives lots of info about ther track and drag strip.

 

i meant drag strip. tracks are too expensive. (i'm 17, with no job)

 

Have lots of fun at the drag strip.

 

I think I recall motor trend ran a 14.1+ in a clubman.

 

do your parents know that you're taking their brand new 09 JCW to the drags? re-reinforce that clutch too, even with the beefed up clutch, these cars aren't draggers, they're trackers. you can get a good used Cobra for waaaaaaay less that is made for dragging.

 

nope

and i hate mustangs...(no offense to mustang owners, but i grew up with z06's)

 

I agree on one had... the Mini's made for turn'n! But on the other hand the 1/4 mile does a great job at proving out a car's power and drivetrain efficiency. The possibility that this little FWD 1.6L might have the strength to pull the Mini thru the 1/4 mile at or under 14sec sans any further modz than what the factory gave it is pretty big IMO. It took a 4.3L to make that happen in my C43 (until I dropped a 5.4L in it; still, the tranni is really a/the power sap in it).

 

^^ worrd.

just because the mini is more suitable for the track, doesn't mean that it isn't fun on the 1/4 too.

 

I am not saying that it is not fun to drag the little car, just that it was designed for something slightly different. It is like using a .50 to hit one person at close range; it gets the job done, it is not the ideal weapon for the job but in a pinch, it works out just fine.

 

under 14s? wow....can't wait to see a result

 

i went, first time dragging. 15.011@96. i'll go again friday and hopefully get better times.

 

Bummer, and thanx. If you do multiple runs, I'd ask you to do a 2K rpm start, clutch dump. redline 1st & 2nd and about 6300rpm 3rd. Keep the air pressure high in the rear to reduce rear squat on take-off, and lower pressure to 36lb (maybe 34lb?) in the front. If I was going, that's what I'd do. Good luck in any case.

 

I'm not sure that a 15 flat from someone's first drag experience is a "bummer."

Drag times can be very high for people who have never done it. A second can be wasted just off of a bad launch.

To me this is an indication that 14 flat is not a ridiculous guess for our car.

 

huhh??? lol whats this about air pressure and pounds???

i launched at 2000, but i guess i got too much traction. you can tell from the vid that the car doesn't really start going until a little after the launch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3BSnydIoZI

 

Just to help keep weight towards the front in any way possible. You definitely want all the traction you can get. Stock pressure is 38lbs for the runflats. I've found the runflats to have better traction on the roads a bit under. Some who (road) track their car have said 34lbs. But you don't want that in the rear. Then not only will your suspension compress, but your tires will as well, taking a bit more weight off the front tires than if the rear tires were a higher pressure.

 

oh ok you're talking about tire pressure. so this will help me in the quarter mile?

 

yes tire pressure plays a huuuuge role at the strip.

Id probably like to run mine someday, but autoX sounds muuuch more appealing, because you dont need a very fast car to do it.

 

you don't need a fast car to go to the drag strip either. there was a bunch of slower cars there. hell there were jeep cherokees there.

 

15.011 was not a very bad time for any car. There are two Mustang GT's in my neighborhood that can't get out of the 16's at all. I see the 400HP Corvettes are really only doing high 13's and low 14's.most of the time. The last stock Vette I saw on Pinks only turned a low 15 second run. Drag racing depends a lot on whose driving a car and not so much the car at a certain point. I'm pretty sure if Dave let me drive his mustang I could get it a lot quicker then he seems to do.
As far as tire pressure goes. With runflat tires you need to keep the pressure up and never ever run through the water. They don't really get better traction when hot at all. They are just not very good for drag racing. The sidewalls are very stiff and when you let air out when you get on the car the the tire will arch and the actual footprint on the road will be skinnier. (less rubber on the road = less traction) (Wet tire = no traction)
I think 15.011 was very good for his first time out. He will probably be in the 14's the next time out. 96mph was pretty good too.
Not bad at all for a factory stock FWD car that gets around 30MPG and corners better then most anything on the road.
Ronnie948

 

why dont U guys check out the drag racing subforum? altho these arent factory JCWs, there are those with MCSa's with JCW tune kits pulling mid-14 second standing 1/4 mile times, with Derosi pulled a 14.56.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...eeks-back.html

(scroll down)

 

using Dr. O's new shift-point program, it suggests the best point to shift in first gear is 6300 rpm, and then redline 2nd and 3rd. Maybe try that?

 

I haven't tried to launch mine yet. Your 60' time is what's really the killer. A small improvement in the 60' makes a HUGE 1/4 mile difference. I've only run on the drag strip a few times and it was all in my old stroked Mustang. Best pass in it was an 11.935 at 116 mph. Just 350hp and I couldn't launch with the converter I was running. Checking my times from pass to pass, the 60' time vs 1/4 mile time told a lot.

This makes me want to run my JCW on the 1/8 mile track down the road from my house.

 

Ya, I was going to say something about 60' too, but, well, kept it simple. lol

sub-12 w/only 350hp? That had be be one seriously light/lightened car!

 

347 on all motor. I put a custom converter in it and never had the chance to track it after that. It dynoed 350hp/450tq with a blown head gasket between 3&4 and the exhaust valve not opening on #7 (rocker backed off, bad lock). It weighed about 2800#'s and would blow the tires off in any gear up to about 70mph (never tried it above that, too scared too!).

I much prefer slicing through corners in my JCW than blasting down the strip in the 'stang.