So the local county fair is having 4x4 truck dirt drag races tonight and this is the first time they are hosting the event for as long as I can remember and a couple buddies and me are going to head out and give it a shot. These are not 1/4 mile pavement drags and I'm assuming the track will be around 300 foot, maybe more but I doubt less. Now, I've got a 2500 hd, 6.0 5 speed and other than messing around behind walmart (perfect 1/4 mile stretch) i've never actually been in a fully orchestrated drag race. I will be in 4wd but I'm kinda torn between what gear I need to come out in. 2wd on the street, normal everyday driving, I pull out in 2nd simply because 1st is too low (granny) so I'm thinking 2nd, 4high and side step it high in the rpms then shift into 3rd to cross the finish. If I come out in 1st i'll be doing too much shifting but If i come out in 2nd I'd better damn sure make it count. I've never launched it in 4wd before basically because, IMO, with the 5 speed, dropping the clutch is a little harder on things than having an automatic. I will be dropping the bars and slamming the front to save my TRE's and being on dirt I should get a decent amount of slippage at the wheels but not so much that it will hurt me. I also dont think 4low will be a good idea because again, i'll be in 5th at redline before the finish.

Just looking for a few opinions here, what do you guys think?

 

Where is this at? Hookstown?

 

Na, Westmoreland County Fairgrounds.
Should be interesting. I'll be heading down with an 88 solid axle toy reg cab pickup with a tuned 5.3 and a 4.7 grand cherokee that runs pretty well also.

edit: the tuned 5.3 toy should clean clocks in the street class, if there is such a thing.

 

Hum... side stepping the clutch is gonna but some serious stress on everything.. You will prolly be better off slipping that dude pretty hard. A burnt clutch is easy to replace compared to any of the hard parts in the trans, xcase, Driveshafts, Differentials.. Run it in 4hi and try starting in 2nd and leave at about 4k and slip the clutch hard. if you spin, your not goin anywhere fast...

 

I hear you loud and clear, the problem with that though is the factory clutch is total garbage and is already weak with only 60k on the truck. There is hardly any clamping force in its design, let alone, once it gets the slightest bit warm you're finished. But if you drop it quick it grabs 99% of the time.
I have a feeling that even if i drop it at 5k + its going to slip a little on its own. Unfortunately, no time for testing and tuning, which is why i'm relying on you guys, the pro's.

 

hum.... maybe start gathering parts for an 80E so when you burn that clutch??

Let us know how it works out for ya....

 

I"ll stick with the stick, but thanks for the advice.

 

Well guys, 2nd high would have caused a loss lol. Track was 300 feet like I assumed but it was disc'd up and wet down but still somehow provided a decent amount of bite. 3rd 4low straight shift to 4th was the ticket. I tried 2nd high once and thankfully we BOTH jumped the lights so we quickly stopped, backed up and re-staged. When I dumped it in 2nd high it slipped BAD and didnt break the tires loose at all, but during the re-staging I quickly threw it back into low, 3rd and ended up winning first place out of 14 total competitors. 2nd place went to a 70's jeep wagoneer with a built amc 401, never would have guessed that I'd beat him.

I'll definitely be participating in next years event, for sure.

 

Thats awesome!!
Glad you figured your gearing out. You have a tune on that truck?

 

Yes sir, good ol' blackbear tune, but constantly looking for more lol