Texas Mile: Any tips for first timers?

[jaxgt]

I know lots of you guys (and maybe some gals) have run the mile before in your GTs. I've seen some great videos on Youtube. As it is only a week or so away, anyone with any tips for the first timer that I might have missed on while checking out the other threads ?

With anywhere betweeen 550-1000hp and no traction control, as a novice it seems to me the challenge is if you give too much right foot, you will just spin the tires, and if too little right foot, you will hit the 1 mi mark before reaching top speed.

Also, wondering is it challenging to slow down in a 1/2 mi distance whilst going somewhere north of 180-200 mph

Thanks ! See you next week

 

[Mullet]

even at 1000hp once in 3rd all you really have to do is pin the throttle and shift twice. It really is not as a big deal as it seems. Plenty of room to hit the brakes fairly firmly.

in first and second all you are trying to do is limit wheelspin. This is not like a 1/4 run where if you spin the whole run is shot. You can spin quite a bit and only lose 2-5mph at the end.

When I ran my car in March it was 609whp. In first I would slip the clutch some and feather the gas. Once in second it was time for flat footing the gas. I had very little wheelspin at the end of second.

 

[Fubar]

It's pretty anti-climatic. You'll have lots of room to hold the car straight (or shut it down if things go wrong early on), after the 1/4 mark you basically just shift and watch the tach, then shift again... the fun part is hitting brakes on the top side of 170 or 180. I hope we have someone with a camera on the mile side of the track, I want to see those rotors turn red.

This group will not be plagued with technical problems so you we will be able to run as many times as you want. Everyone will get their best times in the morning when the air is cool.

My Texas Mile Tip would be "pray for a tailwind."

 

[BlackICE]

How aggresive do you need to be on the braking assuming about a 200MPH trap speed?

As for 1st and 2nd I will let the DA traction control do its thing and just mash the pedal. :biggrin

 

[jaxgt]

So you got Shadowman's traction control ! You lucky guy !
I for one am excited to hear about it. It's the one thing I still wish my gal had.

 

[centerpunch]

How aggresive do you need to be on the braking assuming about a 200MPH trap speed?

I did the math. If you're going 200 and have 1/2 mile to stop, you need to brake at about .5 G, and you'll stop in about 18 seconds, using up the whole half mile (2640 feet).

If you brake at .6G, you would lose 40 mph every 3 seconds, stop in 15 seconds, and travel 2200 feet.

For reference, a full-out panic stop in a GT is probably about 1.0 g.

 

[Fubar]

How aggresive do you need to be on the braking assuming about a 200MPH trap speed?

There is plenty of room. It was just one of the more exciting parts of the drive for me. Letting the weight shift on the chassis and then really laying on the brakes. I could have been less aggressive but what fun is that?

So you got Shadowman's traction control ! You lucky guy !
I for one am excited to hear about it. It's the one thing I still wish my gal had.

I am also looking forward to this modification. I suspect Shadowman is letting some of the cars get a few miles of testing before the official release of the system.

 

[BlackICE]

I did the math. If you're going 200 and have 1/2 mile to stop, you need to brake at about .5 G, and you'll stop in about 18 seconds, using up the whole half mile (2640 feet).

If you brake at .6G, you would lose 40 mph every 3 seconds, stop in 15 seconds, and travel 2200 feet.

For reference, a full-out panic stop in a GT is probably about 1.0 g.

I thought you were a marketing type, not an engineer.

So I take it the braking zone is 1/2 mile long.

 

[Fast Freddy]

i have stopped my viper from 180 mph to Zero in a 1/4 mile before. i have abs. it is really hard on brakes as it will hot spot your rotors but it can be done. 1/2 mile is plenty of room to stop a GT at speeds of 200 mph and even up to 240 mph.

 

[centerpunch]

I thought you were a marketing type, not an engineer.

So I take it the braking zone is 1/2 mile long.

Engineer by training, kind of a combo mkting/product development guy now.

The Texas Mile site says 1/2 mile braking area.

I've never been to the mile, and don't really understand the attraction, but I'm always up for showing off my 8th grade algebra skills!

 

[Fast Freddy]

good luck to everyone!

 

[DoctorV8]

Mitch,

I suggest you make a couple of runs letting off at the 3/4 mile mark just to get a feel for the what it feels like to slow down from say, 150 mph, and you can subsequently gradually increase your speeds.

Keep in mind that there is no reason to brake to a halt....the turnaround can easily be negotiated at 30-40 mph.

See ya soon!

 

[skyrex]

Everyone who has hit the high dollar mark in their GT will tell you that it is incredibly stable at speed and after the first run you will have no stress about it whatsover. You will have fun, but no stress. It is just doing something new for the first time.

By far the GT is the most capable car I have ever driven and I feel safe in saying you will most likely go faster than you think you will. Jason gave you good advice in that it is not like a 1/4 mile run in that you can spin a bit and not screw up your run. Have a great time and let us know how your runs turn out. :cheers

 

[jaxgt]

Thanks guys. I'm psyched for a fun and safe time. Looking forward to seeing some old and new friends.

 

[TEXAS GT]

I've been to The Mile 4 times over the last 3 years, both spring and fall and made over 30 passes. I've run a GT with a Whipple to 193, another one with twin turbo on pump gas to 203 and finally the twin turbo on race gas to 223 mph. Here's my advice for what it's worth.

Don't worry about getting an aggressive start. Roll out and fully engage your clutch before you nail it. The stock clutch will not take the heat of slipping it and you'll burn it up. I know this from experience and it's why I'm now running a Stillen clutch in the turbo car. Most of you have a lot of driving to do after The Mile and you don't want to mess up the rest of the rally by making your car undriveable.

Watch the big white painted stripes in the track a few hundred yards after the start. They are just at the point you will be shifting to second gear. This is where Gary Javo put PeakCompletions car in the dirt. Although no one is sure these stripes caused it, I have noticed my car get squirrelly if you have a tire on one of these stripes as you punch second gear. You can straddle these stripes as you pass over them so do so to be safe.

Once you're in second and past the stripes just watch the tach and shift wherever you feel comfortable. These cars have rev limiters so you don't need to worry about overrevving and blowing your motor. The closer to redline you shift, the faster your top speed will be. Make a couple of practice passes without pushing too close to redline to get used to how fast the revs build. Redline in first and second gear comes mighty fast in this car!:wink

Once you get into 5th gear forget the tach and concentrate on going straight down the track. You won't need 6th gear.

Hold your foot to the floor until you are well past the 1 mile sign. You've got plenty of room to slow down before the turnaround and you don't want to ruin a good run by lifting early.

Once past the speed traps brake firmly but DO NOT stomp the brake pedal. You can downshift if you want to use engine compression to help slow the car but it's really not necessary. These cars are very stable at these speeds and the track is fairly smooth so stopping is easy but your heart will be pounding and you should even be shouting with excitement. From 200 even a total novice will not have a problem and for those of you capable of 220+ you may need a little more pedal pressure but It's been done plenty of times.

One thing to remember about this track is that it's a very large runway, nice and wide and the turnaround at the end is designed to handle very large airplanes. This means you've got a huge amount of asphalt to make your turn. The way these cars corner, you can easily take the turn at 50+ mph. In fact I find it's part of the fun to carry a lot of speed into the turn. There's so much room that you can't hurt anything even if you spin out.

Now catch your breath and go do it again.:thumbsup

 

[fjpikul]

Keith, are still out of the country?

 

[TEXAS GT]

Keith, are still out of the country?

I won an all expense paid trip to Vienna through Harley-Davidson and we leave on the 15th. I hate not being able to be at a rally in my own back yard but the wifey kinda liked the idea of Austria over Austin.:lol

You guys will have a blast. We'll have to see if my Texas Mile record holds up. I know there's a lot of guys shooting for it.

Maybe a red car will break it, huh Frank?:biggrin

 

[Mullet]

I won an all expense paid trip to Vienna through Harley-Davidson and we leave on the 15th. I hate not being able to be at a rally in my own back yard but the wifey kinda liked the idea of Austria over Austin.:lol

You guys will have a blast. We'll have to see if my Texas Mile record holds up. I know there's a lot of guys shooting for it.

Maybe a red car will break it, huh Frank?:biggrin

If we have a similar tailwind like we did in March I know I will be knocking on the 223.007 mph door. There will be a handful of other guys with bigger hp numbers that will be all over the 220's+.

Ok, for you guys that have not seen it yet here is one of my 195 mph run from March. Listen to my enthusiasm during and after the run......that's pure adreneline talking right there :lol

run starts around the 50 second mark

http://vimeo.com/3912146

 

[jaxgt]

TexasGT - thanks for the great and well thought advice. Much appreciated.

 

[pe2unia]

Clothing at the mile

This is what is posted on the website for clothing. How many are going this route?


4. CLOTHING : Non-synthetic fabric clothing (cotton, wool, leather etc.), covering torso, all arms and all legs, plus "tennis" shoes without holes are the minimum standard. SFI approved driving gloves are REQUIRED. They can be purchased through Summitt Racing and Jegs. Golf gloves are not considered appropriate. NO open toed shoes, shorts, tank

a. REQUIRED FOR VEHICLES THAT WILL RUN AT 190 OR ABOVE and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR ALL OTHER DRIVERS: An SFI 3.2A/1 (or better) Driver's suit and SFI 3.3 Driver's Accessories (shoes, balaclava, gloves, underwear) are highly recommended.