tips for racing off the lights

[sleeka boy]

ive recently just got my p's and my older friends have been asking when am i going to give them a run off the lights so i thought id ask for some tips to give me the edge on them.Wat rpm should i rev to for the launch? and wat rpm should i reach before changing 1st,2nd,3rd,4th gears? Thanx in advance

ps i drive a front wheel drive celica 86 model 2L twin cam

[Peter...]

In all honesty, u don't want to be doing this, imagine the exact opposite of that feeling u get when u first get your p's! The cops will be all too happy to take your license and your car...

But lads will be lads, so go find a quiet stretch of road, and rev the thing out in first, be sure to change at the cutout ( a tach is handy) and see where the motor feels as if it needs an upshift. Different cars respond differently... See if you can time a few different techniques for doing a 0-100 run, and pick the one that consistently gives the best readings.

But u really shouldn't race on the streets, think about the, traffic, the likelehood of people being on the road, and of course the cops...

There... thats the morals taken care of... :D

[Nick]

So you just got your licence and wanna go street racing?

So you just got your gun licence and you wanna go play cowboys and Indians?

Take it from me, I've lost my licence from speeding, it's not nice and it's not cool! The Bus costs more money than fuel money a week for work, your labeled from then on and if you ever have an off and hurt or kill someone you better hope your die too or bubba will try you on for size.

Take it to the track man, really.
It an't worth the shit.

[pearlvk]

Nothin against what nick and peter said but
Fair enough the advice is all good, but he wants advice on racing as well,pod had some, ive had my license for year, just gotta make sure you race in places with no cops, always be on the lookout.Timing the lights is easy, if u dont know, when you see the right-angle light turn red, count 3-2-1, then your light will turn green, well thats what ive learnt, dependant on your car, i rev at 2-2.5 then drop , but not too hard to spin, then hit it. watch out with snappin second, not good to do repeaditevily, cause some gearboxes dont like it (cough aussie4 sp). But have fun with racin from lights, its good fun, but dont worry if you lose, u cant always win, pick fair drags as well. If any one critisises this, tell him more about racing, cause thats all i know. were not talkin 11 second cars here u no.
I dont think he's talkin about goin speeds like 140 n e way, how do u organise a day at the track, how much is that?

Its all in the skill of your driving practice and gear changes

[sleeka boy]

peter_vod69:thanx for the advice mate yea ill do it on a sraight quiet strech of road
peter:well ill take it to the track but this aside wat techniques should i be looking at for giving me a bit of an edge

[sleeka boy]

sorry second part is for nick not peter

[psssi98]

Well said Nick and Peter.....seriously sleeka think about it...just to give your mates a thrill when having a race you risk -
1) Losing your licence;
2) Wrecking your car - even if you didn't hit something think about clutches, gearboxes, diffs etc etc that you can damage
3) Killing an innocent person if they happen to get in your way
4) Killing yourself
5) Killing a mate

Need I go on.....if you wanna race your mates organise to all go to the track or a skidpan one day and do it properly...any wanker can race on the street..real men go to the track!! I know I'd rather be hitting corners at 140kmh on a track than hitting an innocent and wrecking my car in some silly drag against a mate!

[sleeka boy]

pearlvk:this is what i intend to do nuthin hard core just sum fun while speeding to the speed limit then slowing down.Yea the light trick is a beauty i knew that one already.Ill give it a go and see wat i can do thanx again mate

[psssi98]

pearlvk that has gotta win the award for one of the dumbest posts I have read......race where there are no cops..thats fine but what about the unexpected's like pedestrians, other cars etc.
And so you know not all lights are 1-2-3 to green from the other sides red light...trust me I have seen people do this on the wrong lights and end up in the intersection waaayy to soon and come to grief with some other idiot trying to scrape through a red light! Messy! :(
And 2-2.5k for a launch...smirk...your not trying hard enough!
Racing from the lights is fun...til something happens whether it be you break something or break someone, or get caught..you won't think it is fun then!! I am not saying I have never squirted off the lights but only in moderation and I have learnt my lesson nowadays and really don't bother anymore....
Had your licence for a year huh...wow you must be an expert hey!!

*shakes head and walks away*

[pearlvk]

nah thats cool, its why were here, young hoons basically, havin fun, not goin that fast to do serious damage i hope, its all in the fun, of cause they are all worries, but y always be worried, have some fun, thats why uis young guys have cars, too have fun, not to go to the track and shit, our cars arent good enough for that shit, well thats what i think
its good for your selfesteem as well when you win

[sleeka boy]

psssi98:point taken mate i will do just that thanx for putting it in perspective.Im young and seem to forget about what the consequences are.check ya later dude

[pearlvk]

hoy, dont have a go at me, i didnt say im an expert, caus e im not, just tellin him what i do k. well ive never got caught where i go, and that all over the coast, cops arent every place everytime, there are places where noone is around.
where is Shoalhaven
For the lights, just tellin him whats up here
i know im might not be not right, but i still can have an input
of course take into consideration what the guys are saying, as it it common senses, but what does your post say?

[sleeka boy]

pearlvk: yea i know wat ya mean man thanx for ya input.Shoalhaven is 2 hours south of sydney on the coast.

[psssi98]

Yeh I know what is like to just wanna have a bit of fun..I've been there but with the focus on hoons and street racing do you really wanna risk it...plus don't worry how good your car is...point of going to the track is to find its flaws in a safe place and you get to go lots faster than in a traffic light GP....

Sorry to come on a bit heavy but all this racing shit and people getting killed has all become a bit too much nowadays!! Too many wankers who over-estimate their ability!! :(

[pearlvk]

that s cool pss...
how much is day at the track, just wonderin, is it hard to organise?

[sleeka boy]

psssi98 : yea another good point its really not worth risking it.How much is it to go to the track?

[karl_2ltGC]

I should have my P's in a weeks or so, but i wont be doin anything stoopid for a while....mainly due to
1. I want to keeps living
2. I've put too much effort into my car to stack it
3. I Can NOT afford to stack my car.

As for running your mates, you gotta ask yourself, are they realy your mates, and would you trust there gonna drive straight, and not into you or forcing you off the road?

As for were your racing....are your certain there are NO pedestrians, major potholes, animals, other cars, cops ect???

Do you know the road?

I'd much rather run my mates at calder park were i can get a timeslip saying that i beat them, then whenever they start talking shite about there car ect, you just reach for your wallet and pull out that timeslip :D

[Harry]

well grimwolge organised a skidpan day for us qlders at $70 each. 5pm - 9pm with 12 drivers. bargain i say.

pssi - 2-2.5k not trying hard enough? maybe you're not making power early enough;)

but on the whole street racing thing. yeah it's not worth it yadayadayada. but if you get yourself out the back of beyond, there is a certain adrelain thing to it. i guess there is a t the track too, but the track takes time and effort - a lot more than whipping out to buttfu(k nowhere

[Kinks]

I think you should realise that just because you've got your P's does NOT mean you are a competent driver. The RTA's definition of someone good enough to drive on their own is woefully inadequate, it basically means you are able to drive a car around the block and back. It does not mean you can deal with hard acceleration, braking or cornering.

Going out racing your mates is the last thing you should be thinking about. That said, I'm sure you'll do it anyway. Some people want to learn the hard way! The learning curve doesn't slow down for a good 3-4 years of driving, just remember that just because you're not a "Learner" any more that you know everything there is to know about driving.

[psssi98]

Harry - not making power early enough?? No I guess not as my turbo really gives a good hard launch at 3000rpm and above....but you NA boys wouldn't know that boosted feeling!! :p :D

[Tex]

Sleeka, pearlvk, I can guarantee you that in a few years time, when you've got a nice car that you like to cruise in (and has cost you mucho dinero), and are tired of getting harrassed by the Police, and want a place to meet and greet, and look at one another's cars, you will be bitching about the community disliking car enthusiasts.

Guess who a substantial portion of the blame will rest with?

People like you, who are fairly new to driving, and not mature enough to realise that what they are doing makes not just them, but all car enthusiasts a valid target for people who are trying to stop us doing what we love to do.

Like psssi98 and others, I am not saying that I've never raced off the lights, but would strongly urge you not to partake in these acts of highly visible stupidity on public roads. Not even for reasons such as getting caught, or killing yourselves or others, or breaking bits of your cars (although these are all perfectly valid points), but for the effect you're having on the rest of us who are sensible and have trouble enjoying our hobby because the community hates our guts.

If you in turn wish to make youself the pet hate of older car enthusiasts, then by all means continue along your current path. But please, at least put a sticker on your car that tells everyone you're not with the rest of us.

*steps down off soap box*

Tex

[Low Rider]

well im soon to get my p's too and i can tell u now i have always shown hoon tendicies in driving around.

i love having a good drag with someone, it great fun blowing someone off at the lights....but.....i can be pretty dangeorous.

i know when i get my car i will do 95% of my racing on the track and the extra 5% is if ya get some smartarse wanting to race ya that looks like a challange and no traffic is around and its all good i may go for it.

i plan to do all my driving courses before im off my p's and i would love to go out on a skidpad and let loose in my parents car, it would teach u quite a bit on car control and that. but reality is that most of the time it costs to much.

dont go street racing before u get heaps of car contrl expericance atleast.

and this is coming from a soon to be p plater aswell so i know how it feels.

anyone know how much driving courses are worth?

[Beavis]

Just don't go street-racing, period. There's no excuse! Nothing personal against y'all here, but I just can't stand street racing..

[THE ASH]

I just want to congratulate Karl_2LGC on his mature attitude, I hope you back up your wise words when you get out on the street. :) Forget track days, wouldn't Sleeka boy be after a street meet? How much are they down there? Its only $22 bucks up here but people still bitch its too much, I have had as many as 19 runs on 2 of my outings too, better value that way. How many runs do you get for how much?

[buzz]

Sleeka Boy - check the shootout / meet threads; there is a herd / pod / gaggle of us going to Wakefield Park at Goulburn on the 13th of July. If you want to rap out a car, that is a great place for it: No pedestrians, most drivers going in the same direction, plenty of run-off.

It's even more fun in the rain..... costs about $100 for the day for a driver or passenger, free to spectate. BYO helmet.

[Commodore84]

Pearlvk, have you dragged any one off at the lights with your VK?
My friend has just got a standard executive VL and think it can beat any car :rolleyes:

How good you reckon a mannual VK with extractors would go against a auto executive VL (stock standard). Would i have a chance? I'm just talking about a quick stop light drag. Any tips?

Cheers

[karl_2ltGC]

Originally posted by SloVR4
I just want to congratulate Karl_2LGC on his mature attitude, I hope you back up your wise words when you get out on the street. :) Forget track days, wouldn't Sleeka boy be after a street meet? How much are they down there? Its only $22 bucks up here but people still bitch its too much, I have had as many as 19 runs on 2 of my outings too, better value that way. How many runs do you get for how much?

slovr4, i grew up on dirt, so i can handle ,my car 'reasonably' well for someone with my limited driving expierince, but whats glaringly obvious to me is that so many of my friends and other my age i know simply cant drive....

They have no idea when its a good idea to bring the arse out, or when to do something a little crazy and can barely handle it when they do. I've seen some of there moves and there just stupid, not cool or skilled, but stupid, there are several ppl i refuse to get in the car wth.

Its even more obvious in the rain or on dirt, they just dont know how fast is too fast and that realy pisses me off.

I dont drive like a grandma,(even though the car looks like it;) but i go through what can and could happen in my mind before it does, if its wet, or theres a chance that im gonna lose it/get busted/stack i simply WILL drive slowly and hold the urge to punch the loud pedal.

If i feel like doing something stupid(fun) i will atleast minimise the risks to myself and others by doing them at an appropriate time and place. And i dont just look for cars ect, i looks for everything that could become a hazard(even stuff off the road, like trees ect) so i know that if i do fu(k up(which eventually i will) i wont be barreling off the road directly into a tree, or running into the back of a Lexus ect.

The way i see it...il minimise the chances of having a major accident....id rather a spin on a wide empty road, than putting the tail out into another car/pole in peak hour traffic.

Only a week now till i go for my P's.....:D

[sleeka boy]

hey guys u will pleased to hear ive come round on the street racing topic.My school hosted a driver education day and the vidio they showed hit me hard and it made me realise how stupid i was for even considering doing this.Dont worry guys im a track man now so watch out:D

[karl_2ltGC]

Originally posted by sleeka boy
hey guys u will pleased to hear ive come round on the street racing topic.My school hosted a driver education day and the vidio they showed hit me hard and it made me realise how stupid i was for even considering doing this.Dont worry guys im a track man now so watch out:D
Good to hear :D
hehe one of my mates(who can drive, sorta) went out and bought a VN after seeing the RTA drink driving veedeo were some guys puts his VN into an embankment killing his best mate.....

[sleeka boy]

yea its powerfull stuff those videos dont muck around.The one we got shown was from our area where a car crashed with five passengers collided with a tree @ 160km and the result was they all died.It was discusting to watch but reality hit in.IVE SEEN THE LIGHT

[Peter...]

Not meaning to hijack the post or anything but if you beleive everything that woefully inadequate pack of lie-mongering bastards at the RTA sells as gospel, then you are almost as stupid as a street racer...

I find it very interesting that, per capita, the NT quite often has the lowest rate of road fatalities. And with unlimited speed highways! What the...

Just my 2 cents...

:mad:

[karl_2ltGC]

peter_vod69

yes...most of it IS bullshit....

and the whole speed kills thing is mostyl bs too...

but what else would u expect from the RTA or cops

[floody]

Your right, speed kills is mostly crap. If you look at the real stats, not the modified, sampled, averaged press releases, you see that
1.)most pedestrian fatalities/other collsions/spins etc happen at intersections and roundabouts.
2.)most speed cameras are on safe, wide, open straight bits of road with heaps of run off and little in the way of hazards
3.)despite what they say about 50kmh limits fixing the road toll, most fatal accidents still happen far from suburbia, and are due to visibility, pooor roads or markings, driver fatigue or sheer lack of skill, than sheer speed. I also think the 60vs50 argument is crap in terms of reactions etc, i see people being lazier and more rear ending, tailgating especially since 50 zones introduced.
Street racing is bad, if you go out to race, but blasting someone off the line up to say 60 is not the worst ting in the world, jeez, you don't exceed the limit anyway. If you are one of the fools we see on A.C.A in the "youth culture=bad" type stories, I hope you spear into a pole.
Final note-I like speed, I have often gone out late at night far away from people and houses and traffic and wound up the car off the clock, I enjoy going for a quick hack through the twisties late in the evening(because I can use the road, hit apexes etc as I can see the lights coming a lot earlier than I can see cars in the daylight),or on (dry) early mornings, or whenever there are few cars around. I often go fast, but I drive to the conditions and do whats safe, and most of the time the speed signs are pretty right, or optimistic especially in tassie where they have 80kmh limits on roads where even the targa guys struggle to reach that between bends....I normally go slower through there than the signage.
I'm not encouraging racing,but If you are gonna have a go off the lights, just blast to say 60 or 70, then shut off, cruise at the speed limit. A good launch will have a mere chirp of wheelspin and no bogging, and this will be more satisfying than silly speeds in residential zones. If you can only beat a car at high speeds, you aren't beating it. IN a drag acceleration's where its at. So if you beat someone in this "legal" speed window, in the real world your car is better anyhoo
thats my novel on the topic,
cheers,
floody

[Feenix]

If you *really* wanna race that bad, join a race driving club, do some advanced driver training and race driving courses, and DO IT ON THE TRACK!. There are drags on at willowbank at least once a week, and there's frequent sprint events at QLD Raceway for the cornering stuff.

Sure we all like to have a poke on the street, but it'd be a good f@#king idea if you get a clue about how to drive (eg enough experience to get your opens would be a good *start*). I bet your response to that is oh but I do know how to drive. I've seen the way most P platers drive and its amazing they survive. I admit I wasn't Peter Brock either, but I stayed clear of anything that could give me trouble.

[Guido]

Posted by Lowrider
"it great fun blowing someone off at the lights"

...that's this topic in a nutshell isn't it???