Not with the car, but me as a driver, I STINK. I made 5 passes last night and while I lowered my best time on each pass for some reason I just can't seem to mat it when I engage the transbrake :confused: David, the guy helping me thru the learning process to his credit has the patience of Job, but to prove a point he ran the car ONCE to show me what happens when you do it right and proceeds to ripoff a 5.97 with a 1.28 -60ft with a .525 rt. My best was a 6.08 but here is what's killin me...a .887 rt...now this is probably gonna sound stupid, but I think the only reason this pass was as good as it was is because it was the only time I lined up on another car...a 70 Chevy Nova whick I proceeded to take to the woodshed and spank like a redheaded stepchild...I got a video of of that But the video also shows my inability to lock my leg down on the pedal after engaging the transbrake
it all comes with practice. i'm strictly a footbraker but i think you just need to have more practice and confidence in both the car and the driver. good luck.
I too am going to have to learn how to use the T'brake. It will not be the same as your POWERFUL setup I'm sure. Here's the way my buddy explained it to me: (again, this is on an engine with MUCH LOWER TORQUE THAN YOURS so I'm sure the rules do not apply. I'm guessing you're using a two-step??) Once the brake is engaged, put the accelerator to the floor. The torque converter will only allow the engine rpms to rev up to the converter's stall rpm. The engine has only so much torque (of which the converter magnifies to the nth factor) but the engines torque cannot overcome the stall of the converter. And since the tranny is literally in BOTH Forward and Reverse, it's in a Chinese Finger Cuff and can't go anywhere - until you let off that adrenaline button. (I'm sure I'm gonna be nervous as a you-know-what in church on my first couple of runs. I'll report the findings of my buddy's scenario when I return from that maiden voyage.) BTW, going that quick MUST BE A BLAST!! I have yet to drive a car that was quicker than a 7.0 1/8th and that was fa-uuuuun! I can't imagine a 1.28 60' feels like. Jeez, Louise. Grats on the"W" against brand "x" ! Can't wait to see the video!
Jegs sells those handheld practive trees for about $99! I think you are doing great, Rick! Keep working on it. Seth
Hang In Ther Rick You Will Get It, When I Got My Super Comp License In Fla. We Had Dragsters And The Trans Button Was On The Side By My Knee So When I Let Go I Had To Bring My Hand To The Steering Wheel, It Was Weird Because I Never Really Knew When My Hand Got To The Wheel, It Happens So Fast, Those Cars Were Limited So No One Crashes But I Remember My Times Were 8.90 And Below At About 160mph In The 1/4, Mucho Fun!!!!we Made 6 Full Passes.
We got rained out tonight Don sometimes I feel like I'd be better off footbraking it...I've got every confidence in the car...I'm the one with the problem...I just can't bring myself to stand on the pedal when I engage the T-brake. If I don't lock my leg down at the knee the force of the launch will pull my foot off the pedal. Now I understand why we had to remove the seat that came with the car and put a new seat in, while I was comfortable in the car I couldn't straighten my right leg all the way out. Rick you talk about nervous...I can be bone dry before gettin in the car and look like I just came out of a pool at the end of a pass...everytime I climb in and strap down the butterflies are incredible and the adrenaline rush as the lights start to drop...your eyes get as big around as saucers coming out of the hole. What a rush...having never driven any other car at this speed I can't draw a comparison...so I asked David last night how smooth he thought the car was through an entire pass...he looks me dead in the eye and says, " I'd have no problem gettin in that car and runnin a 4.6 or 4.7, thats how smooth that car is." I look at him and said, "Hey, it's a Maverick, did you expect anything less"
I was going to ask about how straight it goes. That's great news. I've seen low 6 cars look pretty unstable from the start (lot of chassis twist and rail hugging). I'm praying for the guy's life by mid-track (while thinking "LET OUT OF IT MAN, LET OUT!!"). But even with a car as fast as your's AND going straight, I can see where the pucker factor would still be significant. Man, I'm very glad for you.
I uploaded the video...maybe Stefan can get it posted soon...it's a good pass but you can tell by listening I'm not doing what I should be doing. "PUCKER FACTOR" ahahahahaha ....I've got "Buns of Steel" now Rick all I have to do is hold on and keep the wheel straight, she pulls ever so slightly to the left coming out of the hole but somehow manages to correct itself. That is probably just gettin a little air on launch and straightens back out when the front comes back down. I'll tell ya one thing...I'm damn happy it has wheelie bars on it...
Hmmm....what about this quote from the thread about your shakedown passes? " The seat has a permanent crease in it now cuz my butt was clenched so tight" Just a buddy giving a buddy a hard time. Not something I do very often.
I went to high school with... ...the guy driving this car. He told me once that he zones himself out mentally, kind of like meditation prior to a race. It must work, he does well.
Exactly the reason I got buns of steel...anytime I'm in that seat they stay clenched...just more or less. Seth I'll have to reach some sort of comfort level to get in a zone...I'm still way too nervous to get in a zone...If I had to take the wheelie bars off and do stands like that Pony I'd have to put a bed pan under me. Not to mention the car sits way too low to be pulling wheelies...I could easily raise the ride height but I like the energy directed horizontally...not vertically.
All I can say is WOW Rick. You'll get the hang of the transbrake. I'm sure people get about eighty percent of any improvements in their runs from becoming comfortable and figuring out how to drive. Once you're not scared of the car, you'll become more and more likely to pour the coals to it with the brake on. A 1.28 60' time would apply a permanent grin to my face.
Here's the video...Thx alot Stefan.. I had no clue what the Nova would do...while I'm sittin over there waitin for him to finish his little show I'm thinkin thats nice...now light that second bulb and let's see what ya got... http://mmb.maverick.to/gallery/misc.php?do=downloadfile&i=1042 This is where goin vertical will get you in trouble, there was no way he could make up the time he lost.
