Taking the Titan to drag strip tomorrow night to race a Hemi

[m4ck]

Its my first time to the track so if any of you veterans of the track have any suggestions let me know. I will have my brother film it. I will post it up on my site. I also asked this on my site. I know many members are member here as well. Let me in on any secrets. I want to make this guy cry. He hasn't shut up about his Hemi since he got it.
thanks M4ck

[rholland]

Don't wait on the green light. Leave on the third yellow.

[KL99SEA]

Hemi who? What model truck and does it have any mods? And rholland is right, leave on the 3rd yellow...if you wait for green your reation time will bite. As soon as you see the 3rd yellow let her go. And take of DSC....

[m4ck]

Im pretty sure he doesnt have any mods. Its a 5.7-liter HEMI Quad Cab.

[TriKKy]

The other thing people on here say is that you shouldnt stomp it but instead put it down 3/4 at first, then stomp.

[Half Shovel]

Make sure you let us know who wins!

[JMC]

Your gonna get him bad out of the hole but like Rholland said, "leave on the last yellow" and your reaction time will do the rest. After you beat him once tell him to remove his tailgate...after the second time tell him to remove his spare tire...after the third tell him the next one will cost a C-note

[m4ck]

Heh guys I was wondering that about the spare should I remove it. Or the tailgate or anything like that. Just don't know anything. Is lighter better I assume?

[dman]

Any weight that you can lose will help out...hence losing spare tire and any other hidden items...after all you don't him to make any excuses on your behalf. Also only go with about 1/4 tank of gas...the less the better. You may also want to check around about tire pressures. If I'm not mistaken adjusting up or down (not sure which) may help you out some too.

[Titan Critter]

you may consider putting the tranny in 3rd and keep it there until you need to go 4th. i hear that the gearing makes the hemi quicker at higher speeds. look for some results on car mag websites about 0-30 times, 0-60 times, and 30-60 times. evaluate for yourself the best gearing combinations.

i'd drop the spare tire for sure. good luck, and don't crash!

[GETSOMZ28]

You wont need to go into 4th gear in the 1/4 mile (leaving it in 3rd or D shouldnt matter much, so I am not sure what Titan Critter is saying regarding gearing). Just like it was said above, leave on the last yellow, give it 3/4 throttle and roll into more throttle at higher RPMs, increase front tire pressure to 45psi to decrease rolling resistance, turn off TDC if you have it, and take out unneeded weight (ie spare, jack, etc). Get a couple of shakedown passes before racing the Hemi to get a better feel for your truck.

[phillipyang]

I would say lowering tire pressure in the rear would be best. It helps the truck get a better grip on the road and its best to have the front at 42-45psi.

Gas at 1/4 and lower.

Get rid of the spare tire and jack.

Don't push the throttle down 100%. Only push down to 70-80% then after 2nd and 3rd gear you would push 100%

Plus you have the flowmaster exhaust and i'm sure you will win. Hope the Hemi has 20inch wheels =). The 18's will be very close.

[ciron28]

I've read in the C/D mag that the 0-60 times for the Titan were 7.0 seconds and the Ram 1500 Quad cab was 8.0 seconds. Other mags have similar stats w/the titan being the quickest stock truck out there. (I wasn't including the Silverado SS, SSR, Ram SRT-10, or F-150 Lightning b/c of stock mods)I'm sure you'll win. Good luck!!!!!

[terceltundra]

Smoke that POS dodge! 345hp my arse! Wait until vvt hits the Endurance.

[the head]

If you get a run prior to racing him, try this:

1) When the staging guy waves you forward, drive around the water in the burnout area if you can. Don't back up into the water. If you have to drive straight through the water, go to one side (left or right) and then get into the tire marks that you'll see where everyone has launched. There will be lots of rubber there - a good thing.

2) When you do your burnout, turn off the VDC. Usually I will hit the button while driving up to the burnout box.

3) Manually put the transmission into 1st gear. Do a small burnout, maybe a one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three. It will be enough to clean the dirt and rocks off of it. Right after that, let off the gas and remember to put it back into drive.

4) Proceed to the starting line. Generally I will just idle up and light the first staging light. Then I'll stall it around 1500-1700rpm. Then ease forward to light the second light with just the brakes, holding the rpm.

5) Go on the last amber light.

Now here is where things might be different from what others have said. My truck does not and has never hesitated when stomping full throttle from a dead stop. So try that to see what happens. If it hesitates, then I would suggest the part-throttle start as mentioned previously. If you don't get a chance to try it before racing the guy, try the part-throttle thing but don't wait too long!

Run either 89 or better octane gas - 1/4 tank or less. Remove the spare tire and tailgate, unless hs is running his (it gives one less excuse). I also remove other dead weight like the cleats for the utility bed and floor mats. (I like leaving the baby seat in for effect but that's optional.) Make sure you turn off your A/C. You can also fold in your mirrors.

Traction will be the main issue to find out first. If you can stomp it from a dead stop, AT THE TRACK, with no issues stick with that. A lot of people complain about traction on the street but it is stickier out at the track. I generally run 38psi in the big 18" stock wheels and have yet to have a traction problem. I also just let the thing shift in drive. I have yet to have it shift out of third, even with the nitrous.

Good luck and the quad cabs aren't that quick. Just pay attention to what you're doing and you shouldn't have any problems.