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| Guide to drag racing in an automatic (v.1)
A lot of people seem to ask about this, so I wrote a little guide. For entertainment purposes only. Feel free to reply with any corrections/modifications/comments/whatever.
Guide to Racing in an Automatic 7th Gen Civic, version 1.1
*I assume no liability for anything you do to, for, or with your car.*
Alright, first things first. The following is the available choices of gears in our cars.
P. Park. Put it here when you're not driving.
R. Reverse. You go backwards.
N. Neutral. The engine revs, but the power does not go to the wheels. Like pressing the clutch on a manual.
D. Normal drive. You get 4 gears plus an overdrive, so it's pretty much like 5 gears.
D3. Drive, except it won't go any higher than 3rd gear. Useful if you don't want to shift into 4th and overdrive. Keeps the rpms higher when you're driving at like 30-40mph, which means you get more instant response when you press the gas down farther, as opposed to if you were in D going the same speed.
2. Second gear only. This option puts you in second gear. It does not start you in one, nor can you get into first gear if you have 2 selected. If you are racing it is not a good idea to start in 2, because you will get very little power off the line.
Now, why did I write that? Because people seem to think that our cars have things like 1, D2, 3, and other weird stuff that I've heard.
Here is the trick to knowing what a gear will do. If it is just a number, you will stay in that gear. If there is a "D" in front of it, you have 1, 2, n up until that number.
Now that we understand how our Automatic Transmission gears work, let's discuss drag racing techniques.
Automatic transmissions know when to shift based on your speed, how far the gas is depressed, and to a lesser extent, rpms. For example, if you start from a stop and press the gas down half way, it might shift from first to second at 3500rpms. If you start from a stop and floor it, it will shift just before redline.
So what's the best way to drag race in an auto as far as gears go? You can put it in D or D3. D3 is ok because if it's a 1/4 mile race, the race will end before you top out 3rd gear so don't worry about it.
So, you've got it in D or D3, and you floor it. If you leave the gas all the way down, it will shift at redline. Do not worry about shifting it manually. Sure, after it switches to 2nd gear you could put it in 2, and you could run it past redline, but why would you want to do that? 1. You lose power past redline. Higher rpms does not necessarily mean more hp and more torque. 2. You greatly increase the chance of destroying your engine if you run it past redline. 3. If you hit the fuel cutoff, you will slow down due to restricted fuel. So, like I said, leave it in D or D3.
Now that you know what to do with the gears, let's look at how to launch in an automatic.
Neutral Drop. This is not your friend. Put the car in neutral and rev the engine to the desired rpm level. Keep your foot on the gas and push it into D. Say goodbye to your transmission.
Brake Torque. Not the best thing you can do to your car, but much better for it than neutral dropping. Keep it in D or D3, hold the brake in with the left foot. Press the gas with your right foot until the desired rpm level. When the light changes or you get the signal to go or whatever, come off the brake and floor it. I don't know what the best rpm level to do this is, but just remember the higher you go and the longer you hold it, the more damage you're doing to your brakes and torque convertor.
Finally, there are a few other things you should know.
Minimize the battery drain. Since you are racing, you need to be able to get the most power out of your car that is possible. This means you need to turn off everything that isn't vital to the engine running. Turn off your defroster, air recirculator, stereo, and most importantly your A/C. A/C is a huge drain on power, to the extent where if you floor it with your A/C on and then turn it off you will feel a boost when you turn it off. Leaving your stereo off not only drains less power, but also allows you to hear your engine better. If you are racing in the day, turn off your headlights. Turn off your foglights if you have them, and turn off anything else aftermarket that you may have installed that drains the battery. (thanks to Cyclosporine for reminding me to include this section).
Let your car warm up. On the left of your console, there is a water temp gauge. When you first start your car it's at the bottom, and after a few minutes it goes up to the middle. It's generally not a good idea to take your engine into high rpms until this needle is in the middle and your engine has had a chance to warm up. If this ever goes more than a little bit above the middle, which is not likely, you shouldn't drive until your engine has a chance to cool down, and if it happens frequently you should take your car in to be looked at.
Minimize your car's weight. This one is obviously easier to implement if you know about the race ahead of time. Lighter cars are obviously easier to accelerate. So, little things you can do that don't require making a huge change or investment are racing with 1/4 tank of gas or less, and taking your spare tire out of the trunk. But make sure you have enough gas to get home, and have a friend come with you to carry your spare in case you end up needing it. Also, if you have huge subs or something in the trunk you should take them out before you go to the track, because they are just extra weight, and you shouldn't have your stereo on during a race anyway.
Finally, don't be stupid by racing in the street. Racing is for the track. The streets are for driving.
IronFist |
and pray to God the other guy or gal's a bad driver, miss a gear or has an automatic also [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]
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