Ok Saint,
take what I'm posting here as "getting you pointed in the right direction", NOT "the definitive guide to drag racing Cobras"
Traction is obviously Key, and your not going to mess with your Cobra's originality in order to lower your E.T. (suspension, tires wheelbase, offset, etc). So; optimization of the current setup is where you are headed. The best modification you can make to the entire package, is workingwith the big nut behind the steering wheel. Dollar for dollar; this is the one that can drop your times the most, and this is best accomplished by practice, and detailed notes. (more on that later, if you wish).
After you've extracted all you can from the driver, then move to the rest of the package (Car).
staging: Once you've gotten a hundred launches at the track, you'll know where you need to be (deep, short, etc). Go to the 1/8 mile drags for practice, they let you focus on the launch, you'll get lot's more runs in, and there is less wear and tear on the car, plus consumables like tires, fuel,
oil, etc. (yeah; 1/8 drags are kinda dorky, but your there to practice, not socialize........plus you'll be a God to all those kids with their V-tecs. You can pay all your track fees by letting them pose for pictures next to your car
weight transfer: (front to rear, at Launch = traction) When looked at thru a data logger, your weight transfer should look like an inverse bell curve). Since you cannot really do much more than work with tire compound, or sneak a different set of internals into your shocks to alter compression and rebound, we can skip the trunkload of physics that go into this particular section. (mostly)
Tire grip is tire grip. Get the tires to grip as best your wallet can afford, but dont go crazy with the concept, and end up with tires that are TOO soft, because then you will be working on "opposite lock counter steering" versus "drag racing".
OK; sum up this section- locking diff, or spool (track only). sticky tires, shocks that have almost NO compression, and lots of rebound on the front end, combined with rear shocks featuring moderate compression, moderate rebound.
This will get you started. Focus on driving well, and you'll go much quicker. Focus 80% of your cars changes on the little-end of the track, and you'll be more consistent, and financially better-off. Trying to extract better 1/4 times via bernoulli effect related mods on a short wheelbase like the Cobra would be expensive, unsatisfying, and to many Cobra owners: heretical.
hope this helps ya!
Putting HP to the ground!??
being quick (vs. being fast)
Linear Mode
