Hello fellow Hive mind. This year I was planning on Autoxing the Crown Vic for at least 7 Events with the local club in NC. And then, you know. The club will probably run events 80 miles from Winston-Salem. Since there's no points or Trophies, etc, I'm looking at getting reacquainted with The local Bracket Scene. What ideas do you have for racing a stock P71 Vic? Any and all advice welcome.
Are parts in the budget or not? Bracket racing a stock car, keep your expectations low. It's all about consistency, get your dial in down pat and write it on your window a little lower, then see how many rounds you go. I've seen foot brake cars win the night running 11's in the 1/8th mile.
A steeper rear gear if your spending money but otherwise have fun. Leave the car in drive and just floor it. Pay attention to your dial in and understand most cars will be starting a few seconds behind you. If you do manage to have wheelspin issues you could try a drag radial but a stock p71 on a decent tire shouldn't have many issues with a prepped track.
some tracks run street tire cars in one lane and slicks on the other so pay attention too that. With 4 corner street rubber drive around the burnout box. Back into the box if you feel the car needs a burnout but a normal street tire will carry water forever.
This may seem like stupid advice, but be consistent. Set tire pressure the same, burnout the same, stage the same, breathe the same, shift the same. Watch the weather (DA, temp, humidity), race enough so you know how this effects your setup. With a slow car I liked to dial a hair high so there would be no chance of breaking out. Cut a light and the car chasing would, many times, misjudge the finish and break out.
In reply to dropstep :
The tires I have are a set 225/45/17 Firestone 340 tw, Two 260 Goodyear rsa have are about done 235/55/17, and several 225/60/17 Pirelli P4s at 780 tw. Which ones would you are run on the rears?
The lowest treadwear/baldest generally.
Years ago a fellow won the local bracket series running a step van. It could run consistent 28s all night long.
chada75 said:In reply to dropstep :
The tires I have are a set 225/45/17 Firestone 340 tw, Two 260 Goodyear rsa have are about done 235/55/17, and several 225/60/17 Pirelli P4s at 780 tw. Which ones would you are run on the rears?
235/45 appears to be your shortest. That's what I would go with because your never going to use all the effective gearing you have. As short as you can get without tire spin.
Update. Not a Canoe.
FINALLY made it to Farmington this past Saturday for a car/bike show and test and tune. Getting used to the procedures and what not. Ran the 225/45/17 rears, otherwise, purely stock 2008 P71. Only got three runs on due to the last run burning the #7 Coil. Still outran a Dodge truck. Going to run one more t&t before attending a real race. Thanks for the help and let me know what you all have to say.
With bracket racing, it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as the car is consistent. In fact, a slow-ass, automatic car that can't even spin the tires is the ideal bracket racer. I saw many such vehicles win street tire brackets when I was drag racing in the 90s.
The key is to learn to cut a good light with whatever you're driving, and to learn how to set a good dial in.
The only disadvantage with a slow car is that your opponent will be playing catch up, so it will be hard to judge their position and speed, especially at night. The bigger the ET, and especially MPH disparity, the harder it will be to judge. Simple solution: don't lift... you're probably not going to break out anyway.
Modifying the car to be faster will usually just make it less consistent, especially if wheel spin is the result. The start is 99% of a drag race... anything that makes it harder to be perfect is working against you.
Rodan said:Modifying the car to be faster will usually just make it less consistent, especially if wheel spin is the result. The start is 99% of a drag race... anything that makes it harder to be perfect is working against you.
I learned an important lesson about going faster when I first dabble in Brackets back in 2001-03. A buddy of mine had a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 440 and run 7.90s in the1/8th all day and night. He replaced the engine with a 496ci and was running 7.10s but was horribly inconsistent. He finally got it right after a year.
Any mods I'll do will only be for traction and consistently.
Rodan said:With bracket racing, it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as the car is consistent. In fact, a slow-ass, automatic car that can't even spin the tires is the ideal bracket racer.
A columnist from one of the "big" car magazines wrote a story about this many years ago. He used to travel a lot for his job and would always look to see if there was bracket racing near him. If there was he would rent the same car where ever he was in the country - a base Ford Taurus. He said he could floor it off the line and it wouldn't spin the tires, it shifted at the same rpm every single time and after setting a breakout time he could get incredibly close to that every single time without even trying. He said he would usually place in the top 3 where ever he was. I'm not sure how much fun that would be though.
There was a guy local to me that used to bracket race an old Dodge van-based motorhome. Ran the same 23-second timeslip every single run.
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