Racing experts - best way for a rolling start

[sbkim]

I know street racing is not cool but often I get people wanting to run me on highways. I am curious what you guys recommend. Let's say you are crusing in your mostly stock Gen 1/2 Viper around 50mph in 4th gear (say reving around 2.5k rpm) and some pos vette lines up. Is it better to "stage" by downshifting to 3rd and keeping the revs at around 3-4k rpm and then gunning it in that gear OR do you downshift into 3rd or even 2nd immediately when the race starts? I know our powerband is wide but wasn't sure if it's better to downshift or just gun it in a reasonable gear. Basically, what is the best RPM to start a rolling race?

Looking at my dyno, my torque starts dropping after 4.5k rpm and HP after 5.5k rpm. Tq intersects hP at 5.2k rpm.
Hope my question makes sense....

Thanks

 

[PhoenixGTS]

3,000 rpm is the magic minimum on my car. If I start a race from a roll, 3,000 rpm would be the ideal starting spot as the car goes "on the pipe" around 3,200 rpm and pulls hard for another 2,000 rpm above that. Shifting to the gear that gets me to 3,000 rpm steady is of course going to let me get a better jump than relying on quickly down-shifting when things happen.

 

[sbkim]

PhoenixGTS - thanks for the reply. I wonder if the RPM may be slightly off for my car which has a 3.07 rear end?

 

[Early93Viper]

I have been know to street race from time to time. I always try to race from a stop. I have never lost a race on the street from a stop. The viper launches pretty dam good with a little practice.

But if you are racing from a roll 50 MPH isn't the best. You could down shift to second but you would probably get a little lose if you mashed on the peddle (at 50). And if you went from third you wouldn't be at the ideal revs.

If I was going 50 MPH and a car came beside me that I wanted to race I would probably slow down to 35-40 MPH and race them from there. You can control a race by down shifting (so they know you want to race) and while you down shift just naturaly slow your speed down. Always try and keep a race on your terms.

 

[PhoenixGTS]

PhoenixGTS - thanks for the reply. I wonder if the RPM may be slightly off for my car which has a 3.07 rear end?

No the speed would just be different. Power band is still in same place no matter what the gearing. 3,200-5,000 is fat spot on my car.

 

[2001 GTS]

I prefer going from a 30-35mph roll in first gear on motor or second gear 45mph on the spray...no traction problems with the tires a little warm!

 

[plumcrazy]

allegedly i usually like to keep my car at 3100 at about half throttle/ then as soon as i go WOT the nitrous kicks in and i shift when i see the RPM's at 5000.

bring it up as high as ya need to make your point and then go a little higher in speed to rub it in. this way they will think twice about it next time and they will tell people how much faster YOUR car is than thiers and thier friends car...

 

[Knight Viper]

Street racing isn't a good Idea from that speed you'll be going over 100 just to make your point (time to loose your license). Like what Early93 said; get your speed down to a 30 mph roll or go from a stop. Nothing takes the place of practice, learn to launch your car without smoking your tires or clutch, practice your hard shifts (you don't want to get nervous and go from 3rd to 2nd). and learn where and how your car likes to pull the best, when you get into a race you might not be able to hear your cars motor so learn how to watch your tack (or shift light, easy to install) and shift around 5000-5200. practice makes perfect, you have a lot of power under you and you don’t want to hurt yourself or someone else and you don’t want to go home kicking yourself because you were out driven by someone in a lesser car, albeit you’ll make their day.

 

[plumcrazy]

""when you get into a race you might not be able to hear your cars motor so learn how to watch your tack""

GOOD thing to know when on the street.

and even if on the track, at the 1/4 you WILL be going over 100 mph for sure.

 

[Steamroller]

sbkim... You mentioned, "... Tq intersects hP at 5.2k rpm.". On an interesting side note, torque and horsepower always numerically equal each other at 5,252 RPM, regardless of the particular engine. Thus, your intersection point of 5.2k RPM is shared by everyone's engine, regardless of everyone's particular power/torque curve profiles. Just an FYI.

 

[Paul Hawker]

When doing roll ons, Vipers do better than other cars the higher the speed you start. Many fast street cars run out of accelleration about 120 mph. Vipers run right up to 180 or so without breathing hard.

Even very fast motorcycles loose their edge at higher speeds. Even a 650 will out do a Viper from a start, but from higher speeds they fall short.

Caveat. High speeds runs are dangerous, to yourself and others. Law enforcement frown on these contests too. Be careful out there.

 

[red98RT10]

Not that I condone street racing but since I bought my Viper 4 months ago, I have not had one person want to race! Lots of stares, pictures, etc, but no races. Don't know if it's just because they know they can't win or what.

 

[Early93Viper]

Not that I condone street racing but since I bought my Viper 4 months ago, I have not had one person want to race! Lots of stares, pictures, etc, but no races. Don't know if it's just because they know they can't win or what.

That's interesting. I would say on average I have one person try to race me every OTHER time I go on a drive at night (50% of the time). From mini-vans to Z06s it's not hard to find a race. In fact one time I took my Wife down the main strip (135th street) at 9:00 on a saturday night and 6 or 7 vehicles (cars and bikes) tried to race me within a 20min drive. I obviously didn’t race any of them with the wife in the car. I pick and choose my races very carefully and try not to race much on the street. But I have a lot to pick from.

 

[cagleman]

Good grief I get at least one "tester" everytime I drive...I like to take off from 2nd at about a 30-35 roll...I am not one of those experienced racers...but I do enjoy the learning curve!

 

[1TONY1]

I know street racing is not cool but often I get people wanting to run me on highways. I am curious what you guys recommend. Let's say you are crusing in your mostly stock Gen 1/2 Viper around 50mph in 4th gear (say reving around 2.5k rpm) and some pos vette lines up. Is it better to "stage" by downshifting to 3rd and keeping the revs at around 3-4k rpm and then gunning it in that gear OR do you downshift into 3rd or even 2nd immediately when the race starts? I know our powerband is wide but wasn't sure if it's better to downshift or just gun it in a reasonable gear. Basically, what is the best RPM to start a rolling race?

Looking at my dyno, my torque starts dropping after 4.5k rpm and HP after 5.5k rpm. Tq intersects hP at 5.2k rpm.
Hope my question makes sense....

Thanks

Really....I thought I demonstrated this to you