It's seriously slippy when there's no rubber on it. Rubber gives the grip, which is why when people keep breaking their cars and they have to keep mopping up; the rubber gets cleaned off and the high powered/traction limited stuff starts to struggle. Best times are always on days when there's been some good track prep and no-one's car's shat itself on the line.

maybe there had been a few breakages before you got on the strip, or maybe they didn't put a lot of effort into track prep the day you were on it. either way santa pod should be a lot grippier (is that even a real word?) than a normal road. after-all it has to deal with 1000+bhp drag cars firing themselves off the line

If their track prep is spot on, and there's some rubber down, then I still think a decent tarmac road surface is grippier if you're using road tyres. That's based on something like 60-odd passes up the strip on road tyres in my squareback and Yoof's GT when it was stock - but it really does depend on the track prep and temp. Even with silly burnouts on road tyres it's hard to get enough heat into them to grip. I often used to put in my best time on my first run after arriving whilst the tyres were still hot from a motorway run and country road ragging session.

With drag slicks it's a different matter. The tarmac at the Pod has to be smooth otherwise it'd tear drag slicks to shreds. With the correct tyres for the surface it's not so bad.

I like how this is made in my name and not guys/nicks or yours

EDIT:

Also, i don't know why it needs a massive technical debate with everyone sticking their finger in for a poke,

My car had A LOT less traction at the strip, on the rubbery surface than it does on the road (where it never spins up)

The same as others, ok?

Edited 23 August, 201214 yr by MaxGT

It's because you have tiny tyres lol. And a gt box!

I think my mk3 must lack power cause you can just launch the fuck out of it

:-D Max doesnt matter whos name it is in , its all relevant .

To be honest this is the way the build threads should work a problem or whatever comes up which becomes a separate thread which keeps all the relevant information in one place .

Secondly every car mentioned in this thread is radically different set up wise , what works for some wont work for others i would be interested to see other timing slips and maybe collate the info and see whats working where .

To be honest this is the way the build threads should work a problem or whatever comes up which becomes a separate thread which keeps all the relevant information in one place .

seconded, moderated to perfection

max it was probably due to you posting the earliest relevant post that it could be separated at

need to get some cheap slicks for mine, was thinking about welded the diff up in my current box too just for one last outing to the pod, its fucked anyway so might as well see if i can kill it properly

Edited 23 August, 201214 yr by Mclovin

And less air in tyres guy hsha

I like how this is made in my name and not guys/nicks or yours

Was just the first post that made sense to split it at. Don't feel special because of it!

Also, i don't know why it needs a massive technical debate with everyone sticking their finger in for a poke

It's always going to start debate when someone dishes out a 'forum fact' that's rather contentious at best; or is lacking in context to convey its original meaning. Intelligent, relevant debate is no bad thing - better than a bullshitting/dick-waving competition! :-D

When i had height adjustable rear dampers, i had them at full height, with shorter springs, to get the 30mm stance i wanted. That is, instead of lowering the suspension by setting them low instead, with longer springs, for 30mm. The ride was the same on smooth surfaces, but firmed up much sooner.

The reason for this was to reduce the level of squatting under hard acceleration, and it was a success to a point.

But by far a bigger success is some serious rear ARB action. I have three rear ARB's, and even powering out of a hard corner, the car is practically in a diving stance instead of squatting. This keeps the shell evenly upright when accelerating, so both front wheels are pressed onto the ground with about the same weight, and even with no LSD it's reluctant to spin up one wheel alone in anything resembling a straight line.

Lotus said they couldn't get the FWD Elan to handle until they'd sorted the rear out first, my own handling has been transformed since sorting mine. If you want front end grip from your FWD, don't forget the rear.

Max if you don't care why then don't read the thread, I'm finding it interesting hearing from people who actually have experience in this field and I'm sure it will be of interest to others too. Although this has got me wondering how my mk2f stuck so well when it was at the pod

At least thanks to this thread I finally have confirmation of what I thought all along, that my stiff suspension wasn't causing my traction problems at GTI fest

My findings with tyres in grip order: Drag Slicks > Road Tyres at 12-15psi > Circuit Slicks at similar pressure.

You'll find with a circuit slick the sidwall is stiff so the footprint of the tyre isn't maximised, also you'll have to do a monster burnout to get them near operating temp.

Road tyres with a warm carcass are good if the pressure can be dropped to 15psi and they're not made of cheese, I've seen R5T do a good low 13 on A539 with minimal pressure in them.

Drag slicks are the ultimate, but you've also got to watch out if they've prepped the track- lots and lots of driveshaft breaking traction!

Big problem at RWYB is people dropping water off the roof of their cars onto the strip, can make things terrible at the start.

When i had height adjustable rear dampers, i had them at full height, with shorter springs, to get the 30mm stance i wanted. That is, instead of lowering the suspension by setting them low instead, with longer springs, for 30mm. The ride was the same on smooth surfaces, but firmed up much sooner.

The reason for this was to reduce the level of squatting under hard acceleration, and it was a success to a point.

But by far a bigger success is some serious rear ARB action. I have three rear ARB's, and even powering out of a hard corner, the car is practically in a diving stance instead of squatting. This keeps the shell evenly upright when accelerating, so both front wheels are pressed onto the ground with about the same weight, and even with no LSD it's reluctant to spin up one wheel alone in anything resembling a straight line.

Lotus said they couldn't get the FWD Elan to handle until they'd sorted the rear out first, my own handling has been transformed since sorting mine. If you want front end grip from your FWD, don't forget the rear.

Rear ARB will make utterly no difference on a drag strip, apart from adding weight, wrong thread?

Deleted the crap- please keep this on topic 'Santa Pod Suspension/Tyres Debate'. PM each other abuse, and start another thread if you want to talk about cars going round corners.

Max if you don't care why then don't read the thread, I'm finding it interesting hearing from people who actually have experience in this field and I'm sure it will be of interest to others too. Although this has got me wondering how my mk2f stuck so well when it was at the pod

At least thanks to this thread I finally have confirmation of what I thought all along, that my stiff suspension wasn't causing my traction problems at GTI fest

My findings with tyres in grip order: Drag Slicks > Road Tyres at 12-15psi > Circuit Slicks at similar pressure.

You'll find with a circuit slick the sidwall is stiff so the footprint of the tyre isn't maximised, also you'll have to do a monster burnout to get them near operating temp.

Road tyres with a warm carcass are good if the pressure can be dropped to 15psi and they're not made of cheese, I've seen R5T do a good low 13 on A539 with minimal pressure in them.

Drag slicks are the ultimate, but you've also got to watch out if they've prepped the track- lots and lots of driveshaft breaking traction!

Big problem at RWYB is people dropping water off the roof of their cars onto the strip, can make things terrible at the start.

When i had height adjustable rear dampers, i had them at full height, with shorter springs, to get the 30mm stance i wanted. That is, instead of lowering the suspension by setting them low instead, with longer springs, for 30mm. The ride was the same on smooth surfaces, but firmed up much sooner.

The reason for this was to reduce the level of squatting under hard acceleration, and it was a success to a point.

But by far a bigger success is some serious rear ARB action. I have three rear ARB's, and even powering out of a hard corner, the car is practically in a diving stance instead of squatting. This keeps the shell evenly upright when accelerating, so both front wheels are pressed onto the ground with about the same weight, and even with no LSD it's reluctant to spin up one wheel alone in anything resembling a straight line.

Lotus said they couldn't get the FWD Elan to handle until they'd sorted the rear out first, my own handling has been transformed since sorting mine. If you want front end grip from your FWD, don't forget the rear.

Rear ARB will make utterly no difference on a drag strip, apart from adding weight, wrong thread?

No.

To say "utterly no difference" is incorrect as well as dismissive, and getting on your high horse in your following post isn't really necessary.

When the car squats, it does not do so perfectly level, not even with fwd. The result is less weight on one front wheel than another. I made it clear already why it helps, even if slightly.

The flat section of a strip doesn't give as much of a problem as the imperfect leveling on most road situations sure, but still there's an element. It has helped gain more off-the-line traction for me. And so I shared it. Is that okay with you?

This place is on its arse.

Literally everyone just wants to get one up on someone else or talk someone down

Max if you don't care why then don't read the thread, I'm finding it interesting hearing from people who actually have experience in this field and I'm sure it will be of interest to others too. Although this has got me wondering how my mk2f stuck so well when it was at the pod

At least thanks to this thread I finally have confirmation of what I thought all along, that my stiff suspension wasn't causing my traction problems at GTI fest

My findings with tyres in grip order: Drag Slicks > Road Tyres at 12-15psi > Circuit Slicks at similar pressure.

You'll find with a circuit slick the sidwall is stiff so the footprint of the tyre isn't maximised, also you'll have to do a monster burnout to get them near operating temp.

Road tyres with a warm carcass are good if the pressure can be dropped to 15psi and they're not made of cheese, I've seen R5T do a good low 13 on A539 with minimal pressure in them.

Drag slicks are the ultimate, but you've also got to watch out if they've prepped the track- lots and lots of driveshaft breaking traction!

Big problem at RWYB is people dropping water off the roof of their cars onto the strip, can make things terrible at the start.

When i had height adjustable rear dampers, i had them at full height, with shorter springs, to get the 30mm stance i wanted. That is, instead of lowering the suspension by setting them low instead, with longer springs, for 30mm. The ride was the same on smooth surfaces, but firmed up much sooner.

The reason for this was to reduce the level of squatting under hard acceleration, and it was a success to a point.

But by far a bigger success is some serious rear ARB action. I have three rear ARB's, and even powering out of a hard corner, the car is practically in a diving stance instead of squatting. This keeps the shell evenly upright when accelerating, so both front wheels are pressed onto the ground with about the same weight, and even with no LSD it's reluctant to spin up one wheel alone in anything resembling a straight line.

Lotus said they couldn't get the FWD Elan to handle until they'd sorted the rear out first, my own handling has been transformed since sorting mine. If you want front end grip from your FWD, don't forget the rear.

Rear ARB will make utterly no difference on a drag strip, apart from adding weight, wrong thread?

No.

To say "utterly no difference" is incorrect as well as dismissive, and getting on your high horse in your following post isn't really necessary.

When the car squats, it does not do so perfectly level, not even with fwd. The result is less weight on one front wheel than another. I made it clear already why it helps, even if slightly.

The flat section of a strip doesn't give as much of a problem as the imperfect leveling on most road situations sure, but still there's an element. It has helped gain more off-the-line traction for me. And so I shared it. Is that okay with you?

We're talking about Santa Pod chap- post your 60ft times with and without the rear ARB.

Look at any really quick FWD drag car, most run cut down rear axles with no ARB (or sway bar in Yank speak) ala:

A conventional ARB is ~ 50lb/in deflection, so when you've got your uber stiff drag spec suspension on (or even uber stiff road going stuff) you've got to deflect a delta of >1" to see a 20kg effective weight transfer to the opposite rear wheel- a gnat's knacker on a front wheel, i.e. 'utterly no difference'.

You take your car to Santa Pod (which is what we're talking about in this thread btw) and launch with the rear ARB and without, post your 60ft times I'll eat my hat if the difference between your three runs for each setups is less than the difference between taking the ARB off and running with it on.

Drag slicks and solid rear suspension = win for Santa Pod, honest.

Yeah!

And a big turbo helps

If it's proven on the strip, fair do's. Remember i'm only 30mm down on the back (if not 20) and i can't compare my experiences to runs of 0-110mph.

Don't you have an ARB axle on your GT, though? Or have you done away with it?