Timing lights and the 1/4 mile Rhetorical Question:
If someone were so inclined to block the timing lights from registering the launch for several car lengths at the beginning of the 1/4 mile, how much faster would that make the ET for a high HP TT car in the 1/4 mile?
Can anyone here calculate that?
What if the timing lights were moved closer together at the end, would that make for a faster MPH?
I have never really paid attention to the timing equipment at the 1/4 mile.
Is this possible?
Last edited by Paolo Castellano : July 21st, 2007 at 09:50 AM.
Possible, but highly unlikely. If you just moved the start lights, you would get a lower ET but since the track is now shorter, you would lose MPH. If you moved the top end ones closer together, you would gain MPH I suppose to compensate. All that stuff is precisely calibrated with the timing equipment though, I would think it would take quite a bit of trial and error to get everything ET and MPH wise to come up and match believablely. I wouldn't think any track around would let you mess with their stuff either, especially not during a one day track rental which I think is what you are hinting at...
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1996 Viper GTS UGR 78mm TT
1970 Challenger 572 Hemi
1975 Trailduster Convertible 440 (the tow vehicle!)
If someone were going to do something like that it would be much easier to manipulate the sensors. You could take a couple mirrors and trick the sensors fairly easily. For the starting line you would just block the sensor (like a tire does) until desired time and use a person at the top end of track to wave object in front of sensors. I have seen trash blow in front of sensors and give some crazy MPH and ET's. This would all take a remarkable bit of coordination. I know you are hinting that maybe some of the Supra guys might try such. Right?
Possible, but highly unlikely. If you just moved the start lights, you would get a lower ET but since the track is now shorter, you would lose MPH. If you moved the top end ones closer together, you would gain MPH I suppose to compensate. All that stuff is precisely calibrated with the timing equipment though, I would think it would take quite a bit of trial and error to get everything ET and MPH wise to come up and match believablely. I wouldn't think any track around would let you mess with their stuff either, especially not during a one day track rental which I think is what you are hinting at...
Jim,
My first question was
1. I was asking about blocking the start lights from registering the launch for .1-.2 seconds with, for example, a piece of cardboard for a couple of car lengths and leaving everything else the same.
2. Moving the timing lights closer together at the end to change the MPH.
Like I said, I never really paid attention to the timing equipment and am asking a couple of Rhetorical questions for my own information.
If someone were going to do something like that it would be much easier to manipulate the sensors. You could take a couple mirrors and trick the sensors fairly easily. For the starting line you would just block the sensor (like a tire does) until desired time and use a person at the top end of track to wave object in front of sensors. I have seen trash blow in front of sensors and give some crazy MPH and ET's. This would all take a remarkable bit of coordination. I know you are hinting that maybe some of the Supra guys might try such. Right?
Redline, I am not hinting anybody would do such a thing.
I am just asking more experienced people who know how this stuff works what would happen if you blocked the lights from registering the car leaving for just a tenth or two and how that would calculate in the ET.
Peter Blach had this happen on his Supra. I have an old video where he was running consistent mid-high 9's, then on another pass he ran a 9.30 or something near there. Something blocked the beams, and the rear tires ended up starting the clock after the launch.
It's pretty obvious though if you have a video of the car and the tree.....the car takes off, then the yellows stage lights flash on the tree a split second later. In reality, as soon as the car launches the yellows should flicker.
I think it's very possible. Once when I went racing, there was a very slight tail wind. The tire smoke from my big burn-out was blocking the beams until after I left the line. The boards lit up a 9.6x. The 60' time was screwed up, too. My car only runs mid-high 10's.
If you look at the guys that drag race diesel trucks, they all run the exhaust vertically up behind the cab for this very reason. If they leave the exhaust pipes in their stock locations, the black sooty exhaust blocks the beams and gives inaccurate times.
1. I was asking about blocking the start lights from registering the launch for .1-.2 seconds with, for example, a piece of cardboard for a couple of car lengths and leaving everything else the same.
2. Moving the timing lights closer together at the end to change the MPH.
Like I said, I never really paid attention to the timing equipment and am asking a couple of Rhetorical questions for my own information.
That's all.
paolo,
i think you were going for hypothetical question, rhetorical questions do not require an answer at all
I own a race track. Here are the things that can happen to alter ET.
If a car sits really low to the ground, usually less than 3" the body, oil pan or diaper can actually stage the car, giving a nice fender length out in front. This is usually easy to tell as cars will give unrealistic 60' times. This is good for shaving .1-.2 off your time in the 1/8th
If you're wanting to make a pass and alter the et, the best thing to do is roll the beams. When the light turns green, just inch forward till both pre stage and stage beams go out. Sit there for 2-3 seconds, then launch. The ET will be off, but you can look at a normal pass at the 60' and figure out how much time you killed.
You can't alter MPH. You can take off from 100' down the track and you'll run within 2mph of what you would on a full pass. You're not going to alter MPH.
The last thing you can do is put a stripe taker on your car. It would be ungodly obvious, unless filmed from the back. It's basically a frontal piece that sticks out 1-2' depending on the car. It actually trips the beams at the end of the track. When you combine one of those with a car lower than 3", you can take off .2-.3 if done correctly.
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Free testing for all Viper owners at Piedmont Dragway in NC. We'll be a 1/4 mile track around mid 2008.
When we said that we wanted to see Joe's car run a number this is not what we were talking about. Paolo, you should just concentrate on running a legitimate number instead of trying to figure out how to cheat.
The common denominator to all these things that can mysteriously happen either intentionally or unintentionally to throw off the ET, 60 foot, or MPH is that it's pretty obvious when it happens. Usually its pretty easy to spot in person or on video, not to mention on the timeslip at least one of the numbers won't match up with the others.
When we said that we wanted to see Joe's car run a number this is not what we were talking about. Paolo, you should just concentrate on running a legitimate number instead of trying to figure out how to cheat.
Holy smoke that was a good one
But PLEASE Jason....call my buddy Joseph......not Joe
When we said that we wanted to see Joe's car run a number this is not what we were talking about. Paolo, you should just concentrate on running a legitimate number instead of trying to figure out how to cheat.
Jason, Joseph is in charge of running his# not me.
I will be in charge of running any drag strip#'s I choose to run.
I am not worried about running a # anywhere except at a regular track event where everybody else is running like where Sal and Lee have run legitimate#'s with your systems on their cars.
If someone were so inclined to block the timing lights from registering the launch for several car lengths at the beginning of the 1/4 mile, how much faster would that make the ET for a high HP TT car in the 1/4 mile?
Can anyone here calculate that?
What if the timing lights were moved closer together at the end, would that make for a faster MPH?
I have never really paid attention to the timing equipment at the 1/4 mile.
Is this possible?
seems like you were asking for answers to me.............but you are never wrong, so I am sure you meant rhetorical
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