Took the Camry to the Drag Strip - Detailed/Long

[rsjyss]

So I took the Camry to the track this evening.

Conditions:

Temp 73 degrees
Baro 30.04 in
Humidity 52%
Track Elevation 325ft approx.

With the above numbers the DA works out to:

Density Altitude 1495 ft

Night Before:


I practiced on the street with traction control disabled. The technique was, initial squeeze to 35-40% throttle and then moderate squeeze to wide open to minimize wheel spin. Using this method I got the perfect amount of wheel spin for an optimal launch. Any faster to WOT, I’d spin the tires and wheel hop to 5000 rpms.

With traction control on, I used the same method as above but just a little bit slower on the throttle to 35-40% and slower to WOT. This way the traction control was on the verge of coming in (light blinking) but not being too intrusive to hurt the launch. But of course the car left softer vs. a traction control disabled good launch.

Day of:

Knowing what I knew the night before, I decided to use a little bit more aggressive traction control disabled method as outlined above.

All passes were done with traction control manually disabled and ¼ tank of 89 octane. Stock weight of a V6 SE Camry + Me (155lbs).

1st Pass

5:03 pm
60’ 2.313
330 6.322
1/8 9.564
MPH 76.10
1000 12.333
¼ 14.677
MPH 95.86

The track was in pretty good condition, so low and behold no wheel spin! Pretty much the car hooked and went. As shown by my pretty crappy 60ft time.

2nd Pass

5:49PM
60’ 2.332
330 6.352
1/8 9.599
MPH 76.01
1000 12.370
¼ 14.718
MPH 95.70

I was a little bit more aggressive on this launch, but due to the long line up to get to the start, the car was warmer and it showed in the slight loss in MPH (power) and overall times.

Side note - oh, between Pass 1 and 2 in the Camry, I made a pass in the GTO and was shocked to run a 2.05 60’! First pass in the GTO was the best 60 for the day! For a 06 GTO that is stock, decent 60’ times are in the 2.15 – 2.19 on stock radials. So that being said, the track was hooking!

3rd Pass

6:37PM

60’ 2.27
330 6.251
1/8 9.467
MPH 76.76
1000 12.211
¼ 14.53
MPH 96.80

This pass the car got a decent cool down and there was less wait, so the car didn’t get too hot.

For those that don’t drag race much, keeping the hood open as much as possible is good and when the car is running, turn on the A/C so the fans kick in earlier to cool the car down. Of course, don’t forget to disable the A/C before the pass.

On this pass, I brought the rev’s up to 1500 rpms and the damn starter held us so long on the tree (6-8 seconds), so I brought it back down to idle (don’t want to overheat the tranny) and then back up again to 1200 rpms. As soon as I saw the last yellow light, instant WOT! Got almost the perfect amount of wheel spin for a good launch. Notice the better 60’ time and overall time. Actually the best of the day!

4th and last Pass

6:57PM

60’ 2.25
330 6.247
1/8 9.479
MPH 76.37
1000 12.237
¼ 14.57
MPH 96.33

As you can see, the previous pass was 20 mins prior so the car didn’t cool down completely. Note the slower interval times and MPH throughout. But the 60’ was a bit better with a 2.25 vs. a 2.27. On this launch I decided to get a little more aggressive and I left at 1700 rpms.

Since the track was hooking, in hind sight…. I should have been much more aggressive and left at 2100-2200 rpms. That probably would’ve yielded me my best 60ft, most likely a 2.20 or so. That being said, with a 2.20 60ft, a good cool down, the car had a 14.45-14.48 in her at about 97-97.5 mph.

I guess the V6 could use a bit more low end torque out of the hole…. Not used to driving a non V8, and or a power adder car. But you can always compensate with a little brake torquing!

The weather conditions were decent (DA of 1495ft) but not optimal, so in better air/DA, she has a little bit more in her.

Hope y’all enjoyed my track day story.

[Rdizzle]

wow, with basic mods those new SE's could run 13's without breakin a sweat. How i love new technology!

Great runs by the way, launching is an art that takes alot of skill to master.

[dayvers]

wow that was a amazing analysis of a great evening my friend. you madam are the epitome of perfection. i enjoyed your breakdown of each pass. please be aware that you have a great car and your gung-ho attitude will take you places that one can only dream of. reach for the stars and your tenacity shall rise upon us.