I actually meant that last comment for Ionbeam, not Dave
Substituting Ionbeam for Dave....
you've got to get that reaction time to .010
On a non-pro NHRA tree in 2004 .500 is a perfect light, that is to say a .499 is a red light. A perfect light for a pro tree was .400 My light at .512 was .012 from perfect. In 2005 NHRA (as opposed to IHRA) changed the way reaction times are displayed to true reaction times -- in 2005 the time slip would have shown .012 as my reaction time. Anytime a driver has reaction times less than .100 it comes at the risk of a few red lights.
got to get that reaction time to .010, and you'll get into the high 10's
Reaction time does not factor into overall Elapsed Time (ET). Your ET doesn't start to be measured until the front wheel breaks the timing light i.e. the vehicle has to move to trip the timer. After the green light comes on I could sit there for 10 minutes before moving and my ET would still be ~11.3 seconds though my competitor would have finished the run 10 minutes earlier :huh: This is why a faster reaction time can be a winner even with a slower ET 'cause your opponent is still sitting there as you pull off.
Why yes! With my car I turn on the first staging light, then slowly roll up until the second staging light comes on, then roll a bit more so that the first staging light almost goes out -- this is called deep staging. With my car I go when the second light goes OFF and typically have reaction times in the .050 range (formerly .550). If I only pull in until the second staging light *just* comes on my reaction time will be >.100 because I have to move farther before the timing light gets tripped. Deep staging helps reaction time and ET but lowers MPH.
On Feejer I roll in until the second staging light just comes on and stop. On Feejer I leave when the third light comes on. The difference between bike and car is how hard they leave the line. My car has 60' times in the 1.8x to 1.9x range (G Tech shows 1.2 Gs and 0-60 in the 4.9 sec range, pretty good for a 4,500 lb 4 door!) but Feejer has sterling 60' times in the 1.6x to 1.7x range.
The uncorrected time slips from my car show as much as a .7 second difference between summer heat and fall cool weather. It also matters what the track temperature and conditions are. I always run .3 to .4 seconds quicker at Lebanon Valley Dragway than New England Dragway. I'm positive I can put Feejer into the 10's at LVD with out having to kill it. I now have runs in the 11.0 sec. range without murdering the clutch or denuding the rear tire. Probably the most effective performance enhancer I can come up with is for me to loose ~60 lbs
Alan
