[cdrptrks]

Main question:
Has anyone else drag raced their SS 1LE with the track alignment? If yes, what was your best time and what track/altitude/DA did you run at?

Misc. other questions & details:
I am curious if I just need more practice/finesse or if maybe the extra rear camber (set to -1.6 degrees) and/or uneven wear on the outer half of each rear tire from some previous track days and autocross runs was making it harder for me to put down the power. Do cars specifically set up for drag racing usually run near 0 rear camber?

I went to the Houston Raceway Park 1/4 mile drag strip in Baytown for the first time in several years on Friday night. This was my first time bringing the Camaro to the drag strip and my previous car that I took there a few times was an automatic with much less horsepower so there were a lot of new variables for me to adjust to.

The best time I could manage was on my last (6th) run: 12.944 seconds at 113.26mph compared to magazine test benchmarks I have seen around 12.5 at 115. The track is 38 feet above sea level and DA at the time was calculated at 993 feet by dragtimes.com. The car's interior was empty except for a small toolbox and the fuel tank was about 1/4 full of premium 93 octane. I spun the tires on every run including my best except for two runs, one where I bogged at the start and the other where I slipped the clutch too long and it smelled like clutch inside the car for a minute after (and wasn't any faster than spinning the tires). Here is the video:


I tried following some of the advice from this post on a few runs but I was only launching between 2k-3.5k rpms. Is launching at 5k+ really safe/advisable with the stock clutch and stock Goodyear Supercar 3 tires?

I used the no lift shift feature with auto rev match enabled and for reference my shift points in mph that I used on the HUD per gear were approximately: 47, 75, 104.

I ran with traction and stability control fully disabled in track mode with suspension and steering set to touring, and exhaust set to track using the screen. If I go back, is it worth trying sport competitive mode or any other mode where the launch control is active?

I saw several other 6th gen Camaros there running drag radials. Maybe this is needed for consistent runs?

I dropped my rear tire pressures down to 25psi and another Camaro guy I talked to was running 20psi on the stock runflats getting times very similar to mine. Any tire pressure advice for the stock Goodyear Supercar 3?

I was going around the water box per advice from a few people I talked to there and doing about a 5 second burnout on the dry pavement before my runs as shown in the video below. One guy I talked to after my last run recommended a longer burnout...does anyone here have any recommendations? Also I saw some people doing burnouts in/near the water box after driving through it and some going around it then backing up to it for their burnout. Is any of that advisable with street tires?


Also I think I got wheel hop at the start of one of the runs. The very beginning of the PDR video below shows the traction/stability control icon appearing although I double checked that both were disabled before each run. Is that the torque management you can't disable without tuning that I read about?


Finally, someone dropped fluid on the track before my last run so there was a 45 minute cleanup delay and I only had a few cars in front of me when they opened back up. Any idea if this would help due to lower engine/transmission temperatures vs. idling for 15 minutes leading up to my previous runs or if any cool down benefits might be cancelled out or outweighed by the tires losing heat? I saw some more serious race cars being pushed so they didn't have to idle much before their runs but I didn't bother trying that with the Camaro. I tried it once with my previous car but it was a pain to do by myself and didn't make much of a time difference.

If you're still reading at this point congrats on your patience and thanks for any advice you may be able to offer.

[TRZ06]

Im not really a drag racer, but I did notice slightly less available rear traction with the track alignment.

You are adding more neg. camber for improved cornering grip, but you do lose a tiny bit of straight line traction, because you have more neg. static camber. Just like everything else, there is a trade-off, nothing is free.

[RolltideSS]

I’ve not been to a drag strip but when having fun at stop lights I find it easier to set off traction control after the track alignment (though this could also be due to it late fall when I got the alignment and covid has limited my driving as it has warmed up). I would expect that the stiff side wall and relatively low profile of the run flats are going to be a hinderance to getting solid traction from a hard launch. The run flat feature might also limit the benefits gained from dropping tire pressures. They are great tires for a road course but seem poorly suited for drag racing. You may also be having some flex in the rear suspension that could be eliminated by subframe inserts or solid mounts; which would increase grip through more controlled weight transfer.

[TRZ06]

Originally Posted by RolltideSS

I’ve not been to a drag strip but when having fun at stop lights I find it easier to set off traction control after the track alignment (though this could also be due to it late fall when I got the alignment and covid has limited my driving as it has warmed up). I would expect that the stiff side wall and relatively low profile of the run flats are going to be a hinderance to getting solid traction from a hard launch. The run flat feature might also limit the benefits gained from dropping tire pressures. They are great tires for a road course but seem poorly suited for drag racing. You may also be having some flex in the rear suspension that could be eliminated by subframe inserts or solid mounts; which would increase grip through more controlled weight transfer.

The 1LE's do NOT come with run-flat tires. They ride on the F1 SC3, which are NOT a run-flat.

[RolltideSS]

Originally Posted by TRZ06

The 1LE's do NOT come with run-flat tires. They ride on the F1 SC3, which are NOT a run-flat.

Wow, that is good to know - not sure how after buying multiple sets of tires I never noticed that.

I still stand by the statement that these tires have stiff side walls and relatively low profile that would limit the grip from a drag racing stand point.

[DorkMissile]

I can say that with my 1LE set to -1.6deg of camper and .5deg of rear toe, I had near perfect tire wear on a set of Nitto 555Rs. Ran them bald and you could just see a faint sign of the very outer groove. Probably 6000 miles of use from the street to 6 or 7 trips to the drag strip.

[7speed]

When I was on OEM tires I used launch control and worked best for me, I was getting 12.7's. But still got same 60ft your getting so your not doing bad. Only thing I see off in your vids is your shifts seems a little slow between gears. Either get off clutch faster or row quicker or both......your rpms shouldn't really drop below 5g in between shifts.

[Xaxas]

Try using the no-lift shift, might shave off a 10th

[cdrptrks]

Originally Posted by 7speed

When I was on OEM tires I used launch control and worked best for me, I was getting 12.7's. But still got same 60ft your getting so your not doing bad. Only thing I see off in your vids is your shifts seems a little slow between gears. Either get off clutch faster or row quicker or both......your rpms shouldn't really drop below 5g in between shifts.

Were you on the track alignment or stock alignment at that point? Also were you in Sport mode with a double tap of the traction control button to engage competitive mode/launch control or using a PTM mode in track mode? Thanks, I will work on faster shifting. I recently found a Camaro SS 1LE 1/4 mile video pointed at the driver and they were shifting a bit faster than me.

Originally Posted by Xaxas

Try using the no-lift shift, might shave off a 10th

Thanks for the suggestion but I was already using it. I tried one run without it that was slower and definitely prefer to use it.

[foshjowler]

A lot of the 60' time has to do with how the track was prepped. Which changes drastically from track to track, night to night, and even between runs. If there was someone in a similar car doing similar times as you, it's a good indication that it was a slower track. The magazines beat on the cars a lot further than most owners will to get the times they do. Also they'll do tons of runs, could be 50+.

[7speed]

Originally Posted by cdrptrks

Were you on the track alignment or stock alignment at that point? Also were you in Sport mode with a double tap of the traction control button to engage competitive mode/launch control or using a PTM mode in track mode? Thanks, I will work on faster shifting. I recently found a Camaro SS 1LE 1/4 mile video pointed at the driver and they were shifting a bit faster than me.

No just regular alignment. I use competitive mode or all off.

[weemus]

Maybe I missed it in your post but did you try the drag launch in track mode?

[cdrptrks]

Originally Posted by weemus

Maybe I missed it in your post but did you try the drag launch in track mode?

No since I had read beforehand that it might pull power during shifts if any wheel slip was detected. Do you recommend a particular PTM mode?