Burnout?
 

Has anybody ever heard of shifting during a burnout hurts the transmission?

Re: Burnout?
 

If it does :confused: I'm in trouble.........

Re: Burnout?
 

Us too!

Re: Burnout?
 

Three speed transmissions should only use 2nd and high in the water. .....the sprag ,or over running clutch in a three speed can be damaged when shocked in the water. .....Other than that , shift away ! ......Tom

Re: Burnout?
 

I would think with basically no load the burnout would be easier on the trans than the actual shifting going down the track.

Re: Burnout?
 

Several years ago I was at West Palm Beach and Roy Hill was down there with his Pro Mod car. He was parked about 50 feet from where I was parked and because I drive Fords he came over and we talked a while. I guess he had a little interest in what I was doing and later after a run he came over and told me I was doing my burnout wrong. He said that most people do. He said that all I needed to do was, in his words, make them round and dry. He also said with a glide do a high gear only burnout and not do it as hard as you see most people do. Starting in high gear has the wheel speed up right away. I started doing my burnouts that way and have been doing them that way ever since. I saw that weekend after doing it my car started being more consistant in 60' and I get great life out of a set of slicks. The harder the burnout, the more of a temperature change in the tire, which over time will change the compound of the tire. I hope this info helps.
Chuck

Re: Burnout?
 

Chuck, Jack Beckman taught us the same thing, and that's precisely what we do as well.

Re: Burnout?
 

I guess I been doing it wrong and better change.

Re: Burnout?
 

Frank Hawley suggests the same procedure :cool:

Re: Burnout?
 

I will continue to do my burnouts " incorrectly" ....I shift immediately into hi and come out of the water at 7500 rpms with a smile on my face you could'nt knock off with a 2x4 !!....Oh, by the way, my 60' rarely varies by more than .001-.002 .......... Not that the "Professional Instructor" method is wrong or right, do the burnout that works for you. .......Some of the most successful Sportsman racers "melt the tires off" ,and are still deadly consistant.......Do the burnout that works best for you and your car. .....Tom

Re: Burnout?
 

Tom, and others, do you use a chip to control burnout RPM? Or do you just mat the gas and go for it? I use a 3-step w/ a 6K chip for the burnout and was wondering if there is a better way. I try not to hit the chip.

Also, does a lot of instant wheel speed help keep the car straight on the burnout? My car is sort of heavy and underpowered and tends to wag it's tail and get out of shape sometimes, limiting the duration and effectiveness of the burmout.

Thanks.

Re: Burnout?
 

my car tends to go sideways if i dont get a good amout of water on both tires or if one tire is sitting in water and one isnt when you start. i zip the motor going through the water so the entire circumfence is covered in water. once i started doing that it helped my car stay straighter. just watch and make sure someone doesnt roll through the water and then another ten feet forward. if you line up in their water tracks they leave it tends to create a funky burnout. generally going sideways is from one tire taking more heat quicker than the other is what i'm getting at.

Re: Burnout?
 

My right foot is my rev limiter in the water ! ....I rarely look at the tach ,but still keep the revs within 1-200 rpm., just tuned into the sound of the motor I guess. ......... Most of the time when a car turns in the water its because the concrete in the burnout box is so wornout that one tire may be in a ditch and the other on a flat surface. ....It takes a severely crooked rear,or an abnormally high amount of preload to turn a car in the water.........My car is usually straight as an arrow ,except for two tracks Maple Grove and Cecil Co. both left lanes. ........the water box guys usually do a good job of keeping you out of the ruts,but I still occasionally get a little sideways.......When that happens ,I just turn the wheel,stand on it ,and provide a "photo oppertunity"! LOL. .....Tom

Re: Burnout?
 

Have always made a burnout in high gear on a glide. Why put additional wear on the high pack with shift.

Re: Burnout?
 

I see a lot of people do that and that is one practice I don't believe in. I will roll through the water as slow as I can so I dont push water out of the water box and then I will pull completely past where it stops. Thats where having a 2 step comes in handy because you can mat the throttle without over reving the engine and be able to get the wheel speed up. The biggest reason I don't believe in spinning the tires in the water box is because what goes up must come down. As you spin the tires the water coming off of your tires is sprayed all into your tubs or wheel wells. Well its only natural that the water is going to drip back down onto your tires at some point, usually after you have staged and up on the 2 step with the car at a nice steady vibration shaking the water back down. Just my 2 cents worth
Chuck

Re: Burnout?
 

You guys make it sound as though your driving through a pond.

I just make it short and sweet..........slicks cost to much.

Re: Burnout?
 

Pond? ....At some tracks is more like a lake!!! .........I agree,I don't flip the tires in the water. ....All it does is throw it up in the tubs and lets it drip down on the slicks. .....Tom

Re: Burnout?
 

couldnt agree more, everything tom said

Re: Burnout?
 

I also agree with Tom, 6500 in burnout with right foot as rev limiter, not that tough to do. Never spin the tires in the water, just roll thru slowly to just past the water and let'r rip. Got scolded very severely for turning the tire in water many years ago when I attended "The Shoes" school, he could be very persuasive. 60's are very consistent.

Re: Burnout?
 

i understand ur view of it throwing water up into the fenderwells. just like the reason you dont go through the water on a street tire. my track seems to think water is gold or something and often the water isnt but about a foot or two across. and if i just roll through it and stop there is about a 50 percent chance i will be sitting on dry tire. however to each his own and whatever works to get a consistent 60' foot is what were all after in the end. how you get it is entirely up to you.

Re: Burnout?
 

A lot of tracks or developing a practice of spraying the area leading up to the water box so that your tires are getting wet even before the box. I think that the reason they do that is to help prevent people from feeling like they need to drag water out of the box to cover the tire, which the guy behind him may not want so the track personnel ends up having to broom of the excess water which in turn slows down the program.
Chuck