Chicago half-mile private runway shootout!

Codith, if for whatever reason you can't make it, maybe see if you can transfer your admission to another Riv owner - unless you can get a refund. Hate to see this go to waste. If your car is up to it, I might try to drive and witness this awesome feat!

AA wrote:

Codith, if for whatever reason you can't make it, maybe see if you can transfer your admission to another Riv owner - unless you can get a refund. Hate to see this go to waste. If your car is up to it, I might try to drive and witness this awesome feat!

I didn't mean to shake up like I'm not gonna make it. Unless something really catastrophic happens between now and then I'm racing sunday.
But yeah I know there are no refunds for registration. I'm pretty sure transferring to someone else is possible but yeah, I full well plan to race it even though my car's not really up to par. It's been taking a long time to iron out all the problems with the car and frankly, I'm not sure I can realistically expect it'll ever be 100% to my standards. Right now, I still have the impossible amounts of KR issue, misfiring at different times, a kinda bad head gasket, a grossly underqualified transaxle, and zero freakin' traction with real throttle. I need to buy tires anyway so I'm going with Mickey Thompson ET street radial tires which I plan to run 3 seasons once they get mounted. It doesn't look like they track 1/4 mi times and stuff in this event but it'll still help as my current tires will roast from high speed rolls if you mash the throttle. I've broken them loose just from spraying the 75 shot in the middle of 2nd or 3rd gear so either these tires suck total ass or it's making a lot of torque

The turtle is either gonna go really fast or it's gonna break, very possibly both.

LOL CANNOT WAIT!

TEAM TURTLE

Quote :

I'm not sure I can realistically expect it'll ever be 100% to my standards.

Aint that the truth. But it's fun to keep trying, and using a Riv to reach new heights is a great route to take, IMO. It would be a great challenge to sort out these issues prior to the shootout, to show the other participants what Rivieras are made. If she breaks, you'll fix it; probably learn something in the process. Either way, you do us all proud. Good luck!

For real.

These aren't time trials, are they? Aren't they 1/2 mile duels?

Any idea how they classify cars to make even matches?

They may have HP classes, or like drag racing they ask you to dial in your time, then pair you up with cars having similar capability. Shouldn't be too hard to do. I'm sure if there's a Lambo or Ferrari there, everyone's going to want to race it, even if just to be destroyed!

AA wrote:

or like drag racing they ask you to dial in your time

What does this mean? You tell them your approximate quarter mile time?

A type of competitive drag racing is bracket racing - it isn't about who's fastest, it's who's more consistent. You "dial in" or state a time your car will run, say 14.2. Your car should run close to 14.2, but it can't run any quicker, or else you break out (disqualified). It's like The Price Is Right but in reverse. So a car that dials in 14.20 and runs 14.018 wins against a car that dials in 13.90 and runs a 14.00. If he runs a 13.80 he loses automatically. Faster cars don't win in bracket style drag racing!

So whenever you head to a track, they'll ask your dial in and usually match you up with similar dial ins, but not always. That's why sometimes you see a car wait to launch, so they cross the line at about the same time.

AA wrote:

A type of competitive drag racing is bracket racing - it isn't about who's fastest, it's who's more consistent. You "dial in" or state a time your car will run, say 14.2. Your car should run close to 14.2, but it can't run any quicker, or else you break out (disqualified). It's like The Price Is Right but in reverse. So a car that dials in 14.20 and runs 14.018 wins against a car that dials in 13.90 and runs a 14.00. If he runs a 13.80 he loses automatically. Faster cars don't win in bracket style drag racing!

So whenever you head to a track, they'll ask your dial in and usually match you up with similar dial ins, but not always. That's why sometimes you see a car wait to launch, so they cross the line at about the same time.

Correct. In addition, your dial in is used to program the tree. If an 11.00 car is racing a 14.00 car, the slower car would get the green 3 seconds before the faster car. The faster car must then chase down, and get to the traps before the slower car, and he can't run faster than his 11.00 dial in. Also, in a case like this, reaction time can win or lose the race for you. If in the above example, both cars ran exactly on their dial (highly unlikely), the driver with the better reaction time would win the race. The key to winning in bracket racing is to accurately determine your dial in, and cut a good light. A car running really close to it's dial in (consistently ) with a driver that cuts a mean light will be very difficult to beat. You could have a 9 second car race a 16 second car, and the slower car can win in bracket racing. I've seen it happen. Running faster than your dial is called "breaking out". If both cars break out, the car that breaks out the least wins. There are lots of times where the faster car's driver loses concentration and red lights trying to cut a good light, and loses right then and there.

This is the first time i've heard of this and these rules. It definitely sounds interesting. So the point of bracket racing isn't to beat the other guy, but to get as close to 21 as you can without busting?

Kinda like throwing a cue ball at the other side of the table and getting to come back to the edge without touching?

Is this what is going on in Chicago? A bracket tournament?

No, the shootout is more like an open track day, a test & tune. But they may use dial in or something similar to size up the cars. It's not a race, just a chance to see how fast your car can go - legally,

charlieRobinson wrote:

This is the first time i've heard of this and these rules. It definitely sounds interesting. So the point of bracket racing isn't to beat the other guy, but to get as close to 21 as you can without busting?

No, the idea is to beat the other guy. It just isn't a heads up race. The cars are handicapped according to their predicted speed (dial in). Most all the track racing you see is bracket racing. There may be several classes of bracket racing grouped in E.T. ranges going on a particular day. You are given a chance to sort your car out with several time trials before you are asked for a dial in. Temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity can affect how your car runs that day, and time. If you pick a dial in that is too slow, you risk breaking out and losing. If you pick a dial in that is too fast, you lose advantage. You can change your dial in before every round if you like. Experienced racers will do that for instance, when the temperature changes as you approach nightfall and the sun is going down. The car will go faster under those conditions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket_racing

And then you have your reaction times. The tree is set up with staging lights at the top. This places your car precisely at the starting line. There are 2 sets of double yellow lights for each side of the tree. As you roll forward after the burnout, the front tire trips the "Pre Staged" lights, at that point, you roll forward just a bit more, and that lights the "Staged" lights.When all 4 lights are lit for each driver, the starter hits a button. Their are 3 amber lights, a green, and a red light arranged vertically for each driver. The lights come down in succession starting with the top amber. There is exactly .500 seconds between each amber light, and the green light. You want your car to be moving the instant the green comes on. The computer measures the time between the last amber, and the time your car actually moves. That is your reaction time. Since there is exactly .500 second between the last amber and green light, a perfect reaction time is .500 seconds. Not so easy to attain. You must know your car and practice. If you wait until you see the green come on, your reaction time will be at least 1 second. I usually hit the gas on my GS when I see the glint of that 3rd amber. If you go too soon, the red light comes on, and you lose.

turtleman wrote:

...
I'm going with Mickey Thompson ET street radial tires which I plan to run 3 seasons once they get mounted. It doesn't look like they track 1/4 mi times and stuff in this event but it'll still help as my current tires will roast from high speed rolls if you mash the throttle. I've broken them loose just from spraying the 75 shot in the middle of 2nd or 3rd gear so either these tires suck total ass or it's making a lot of torque

You are going to run the ETs for this event? Have you ever run them before? This is the part where CV shafts usually let go.

But I say go for it!!!

deekster_caddy wrote:

turtleman wrote:

...
I'm going with Mickey Thompson ET street radial tires which I plan to run 3 seasons once they get mounted. It doesn't look like they track 1/4 mi times and stuff in this event but it'll still help as my current tires will roast from high speed rolls if you mash the throttle. I've broken them loose just from spraying the 75 shot in the middle of 2nd or 3rd gear so either these tires suck total ass or it's making a lot of torque

You are going to run the ETs for this event? Have you ever run them before? This is the part where CV shafts usually let go.

But I say go for it!!!

Yeah I realize I'm compromising the only real fuse to obliterating my transaxle but I do not want to just be spinning tires in 1st & 2nd. That's not good for anything. It's going to be a totally different ball game with R compounds I think.
The presumed idea behind running in this event is no staging/no burnouts and awkward stuff like that. I can kinda take it a little easier taking off and just let the car build speed which I feel it's good at.

AA wrote:

They may have HP classes, or like drag racing they ask you to dial in your time, then pair you up with cars having similar capability. Shouldn't be too hard to do. I'm sure if there's a Lambo or Ferrari there, everyone's going to want to race it, even if just to be destroyed!

There used to be an active exotic club here in the desert that used to race quite often, nothing better than destroying them in the 1/4 mile. The only car that beat me was a Mercedes v12 bi turbo. He ran 10.95 to my 10.99. A 1/2 mile race would be a totally different story as my car is built for 1320. Now both tracks have closed, with maybe a chance one might reopen again in the fall. 

That's a good point. A 1/2 race is more about HP and aero than traction and torque.