Quote:
Originally Posted by Dynamical
In your view, (or whoever knows  ) what is the best mode for someone at the drag strip, with a drag pack and wants all the power and best shifting that can be had in the A10. I only have sport mode (LT1) but the modes confuse me as to what they exactly do. Because I don't have track mode, am I missing out on full power or shifting? Or is the track mode vs sport more of a suspension thing?
I have it in sport, all nannies off with drag pack when going down the 1/4 but I'm still a newbie to these cars. |
LT1's are a little bit of red headed stepchildren in drag racing, they are slightly lighter weight than their SS ZL1 Brothers, but as you mentioned lack driving modes to some extent.
Power wise & shifting you are not missing anything, in fact LT1's are going to be faster than SS's and SS1LE's at relative power levels due to weight differences. Its basically a V6 body with a V8 Engine without all the bells and whistles. However, the SS and SS1LE's will be better at track courses than LT1's due to cooling system differences. But for Drag racing, these cars do not need 3 radiators, one is enough.
Bare in mind gear ratios differ between models, and M6 cars. M6's use 3.73 gears if I remember right, while the LT1 uses a 2.73? and I think the SS uses a 2.85 and I think it varies further between 1LE's and non 1LE? Other people can chime in on those specifics. But gears will change how the A10 performs as well especially at low end.
Ideally weight transfer is important, but and if I'm not mistaken you won't get that on your LT1 until you do aftermarket rear end improvements, specifically one piece axle kits, and suspension. These kits allow you to beef up strength of the rear end for high horsepower applications, and actually encourages weight transfer front to back to a higher degree than stock rear end and suspension. Reduction in wheel hop on drag packs for example is one bonus resulting from that rear end and suspension upgrades.
But big difference between Sport and Track for non MRC is strictly throttle response, amount of pedal to reach WOT. It takes less pedal to reach WOT in sport mode, so if that is all you have, you shouldn't have a problem, it's just a different way to drive.
On MRC cars though Sport, Track and Touring are vastly different as they do involve suspension changes. I think in general, Track has a harder suspension setting since turning performance is more involved. Sport is more of an in between Track and Touring, where little bit light on suspension but stiffer than touring which is more for normal driving and better mpg.
Touring tries to lower your RPM's as much and as quickly as possible - Hence better mpg, than sport or track. Sport and track hold high rpm's longer before shifting if you let off the gas, and performance shift pretty much does the same thing but more aggressively holding higher rpm's because the car thinks its play time and letting off the gas won't be a common occurrence.
In terms of shifting performance, do not use paddle shifters regardless of how many people tell you that you should. The A10 is an amazing transmission and no human can shift better than the A10, and there is a measurable delay in shifting with paddle shifters.
The only time you should be using manual mode and/or paddles shifter is when doing your waterbox burn out or maybe racing on a track course.
That said however, You cannot do a 2nd gear pull on the A10, the trans won't let you shift to 2nd with paddle shifters, once your tires are spinning and you rev the RPM's up higher then you can, but you cannot do a 2nd gear launch in the A10 unless you leave it in 2nd after the burn out if I am not mistaken. Having said that, you are in 2nd gear from a dig in the A10, again DO NOT use paddle shifters, the moment you hit the gas move the stick back to Drive, and let the A10 do what it does best.
Roll racing - Performance Shift mode you'll want to learn how to use that as it is relative to the speed of the vehicle. To enable performance shift at say 50mph, slam the gas pedal to the floor and immediately let off the gas, the car will auto down shift to the lowest possible gear relative to speed and hold it for 7 seconds. Switch stick to manual to continue holding that gear, and as soon as you hit the gas move it back to Drive and let the A10 do its thing.
As it pertains to Drag Racing in particular, I've tried with all nannies off, in sport, and track, ultimately I use track, and I do not turn all nannies off for one reason. Stabilitrak keeps the car going straight, which is something turning all nannies off will not be present. So you fish tailing out of control 90 degrees and slamming into a wall is a consideration with all nannies off. (Knowing when to let off the gas is important with all nannies off.) However, with a drag pack, it might be better to have all nannies off without stabilitrak. I still haven't jumped on a drag pack yet, but want to.
When I drag race at the strip I only double tap TC off which leaves stabilitrak on (keeps the car going straight) I find these cars can work just fine with stabilitrak on and it is safer in general. I hit my best time recently in a 1/4 with Track + Stabilitrak at 11.900 with a 1.9xx 60 foot on street tires. Of course 2 weeks later my engine locked up, still working on getting that taken care of. But, I should be able to do something about it by the end of October.