Bracket Talk
What Track/Air Temperature is Too Cold for Your Car?
October 18, 2018, 08:01 AM
442OLDSWhat Track/Air Temperature is Too Cold for Your Car?
Probably depends on a lot of factors .........
October 18, 2018, 08:06 AM
ferndaleflyerLike maybe the door froze shut and your hands are to cold to get it open......I have raced when it was snowing!!!!!
October 18, 2018, 08:34 AM
Bob NicholsRealistically if the track temp (not air temp) can get /stay 50 deg or above, you have a raceable surface. In the Fall, the air temp can cool off quite low, but the ground temp is still up. In the Spring, the air temp can get up but without sunshine on the track to warm it up, it can be dicey.
October 18, 2018, 09:12 AM
TomRWas racing a dragster at VMP (4.90's) and they were using torches to thaw the waterbox for the final.
My doorcar will work in anything but I will stay home due to the cold before the car has a problem with it.
72 Nova "Hooptie"
October 18, 2018, 10:27 AM
BP758Most bracket cars are fine but faster cars?
My pers motto; Dew on the car? Do not race the car. I've seen too many go on their lid.
Raceless in California!
October 18, 2018, 11:54 AM
Curly1From my experience with my car I would say 60 with the Hoosier tires was real iffy. With the MT tires it was down around 50 degrees but I believe humidity and the dew point are a big factor there. I have seen the track wet a little before it reaches the dew point.
Anyway I think the temp, dew point and tire selection are a part of how cold is too cold. There are other things to like how well your chassis work, how much horsepower etc.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/np3zpruo/"Dunning-Kruger Effect"
-a type of Cognitive bias where people with little expertise or ability assume they have superior expertise or ability. This overestimation occurs as a result of the fact that they do not have enough knowledge to know they don't have enough knowledge.
Before you argue with someone ask yourself, "Is this person mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective?" If not there is no point to argue.
4X NE2 CHAMPION. 2020 TDRA NE2 Champion
October 18, 2018, 12:35 PM
novaX522I was doing 2' plus wheelies at Byron last weekend. Temps in the 40s, cloud cover and old azz Hoosiers.
Rob Livingston
October 18, 2018, 01:27 PM
Lenny5160quote:
Originally posted by novaX522:
I was doing 2' plus wheelies at Byron last weekend. Temps in the 40s, cloud cover and old azz Hoosiers.
I saw a pic of that! Looks like a lot of fun!
Tony Leonard
October 18, 2018, 05:57 PM
BP758What we have found on a track with a transition from cement to asphalt is usually 10 or more deg lower. So if the start line was 50 then the rest of the track is 40. U can launch but if you have big power hang on! She’s headin fer the barn!
Raceless in California!
October 18, 2018, 07:17 PM
Mike BeckBelow 50 with no sun or bad wind, I'm sitting it out.
October 18, 2018, 07:34 PM
Buckyquote:
Originally posted by stk 758 BP!:
Most bracket cars are fine but faster cars?
My pers motto; Dew on the car? Do not race the car. I've seen too many go on their lid.
We would never finish a race here! We get dew late in the rounds just about every weekend.
Humidity obviously plays a role. So does the sun. Byron on a sunny day? 40's. Cordova on a humid night? 50's at least.
Foxtrot Juliet Bravo
October 18, 2018, 07:41 PM
green1At Norwalk for Halloween Classic today temp never got much above 50 but sunny ran 5.21 right straight down the middle in my doorcar and there were cars running a lot faster without issues.
October 18, 2018, 07:47 PM
green1And I just saw post where Ohiomafiawiregire went 4.38 today. Guess it depends on track prep.
October 18, 2018, 09:37 PM
HS professorI think at Piedmont last year or the year before there were two 5 second cars in the final, one a 5.30 car. I think the temps were in the high 30's. They went right down broadway !!!!! Had a few 6.20 cars wreck earlier ............
October 19, 2018, 05:00 AM
bradsc1954I think it depends on the track. I have been to Atco NJ where the temp never got out of the low 30's and I painted a dial-in on the car. If I had those same conditions at New England Dragway, I would stay home.
October 19, 2018, 08:17 AM
TD3550quote:
Originally posted by Bucky:
quote:
Originally posted by stk 758 BP!:
Most bracket cars are fine but faster cars?
My pers motto; Dew on the car? Do not race the car. I've seen too many go on their lid.
We would never finish a race here! We get dew late in the rounds just about every weekend.
Humidity obviously plays a role. So does the sun. Byron on a sunny day? 40's. Cordova on a humid night? 50's at least.
Same here at 66. Temp drops and the dew arrives.
The one year at about the 800 or so, water was actually seeping up due to a heavy rain from the prior days. Only thing i can think of is water table high or poor drainage. I don't dare to go out when the sun goes down between 50-60. I have seen too many wrecks at night there when the dew rolls in.
October 19, 2018, 06:28 PM
Curly1I agree track prep may make a big difference in cold weather but I do not know of anyone here in Texas that has mastered it.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/np3zpruo/"Dunning-Kruger Effect"
-a type of Cognitive bias where people with little expertise or ability assume they have superior expertise or ability. This overestimation occurs as a result of the fact that they do not have enough knowledge to know they don't have enough knowledge.
Before you argue with someone ask yourself, "Is this person mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of a different perspective?" If not there is no point to argue.
4X NE2 CHAMPION. 2020 TDRA NE2 Champion
October 19, 2018, 09:51 PM
green1Never got much above 55 today and several sub 4 passes for the quick race.
October 21, 2018, 08:01 AM
Michael BeardAt the St. Patrick's Classic in March, we were racing on 10-day old concrete at Virginia Motorsports Park. We were the first event on the new surface. Friday, temps had gotten into the mid 30's, and the manager told us the round of 16 in Top was going to be it for the night... then he watched them. Not a wiggle, 4.50 cars printing tickets. He changed his mind and said "Run 'em!" It was 29 degrees in the finals, and the cars were stuck. The incredibly smooth track surface (and low humidity) make all the difference in the world.
Personally, I've scraped ice off the windshield more than once, and with different cars. Frigid temperatures are harder on me than they are the car.
Never had an issue with the cars.
__
Michael Beard - staginglight@gmail.com
Staging Light Graphic Design, Printing & Event Marketing
October 21, 2018, 11:21 AM
BP758quote:
Originally posted by Michael Beard:
At the St. Patrick's Classic in March, we were racing on 10-day old concrete at Virginia Motorsports Park. We were the first event on the new surface. Friday, temps had gotten into the mid 30's, and the manager told us the round of 16 in Top was going to be it for the night... then he watched them. Not a wiggle, 4.50 cars printing tickets. He changed his mind and said "Run 'em!" It was 29 degrees in the finals, and the cars were stuck. The incredibly smooth track surface (and low humidity) make all the difference in the world.
Personally, I've scraped ice off the windshield more than once, and with different cars. Frigid temperatures are harder on me than they are the car.
Never had an issue with the cars.
How fast was the car you were scraping ice off Mike? Dead stuck combo? There are a few areas I don’t play with going fast. One is track temp; high and low. Almost never the starting line, it’s down track. We can run 4.20’s but the car is deadly consistent in 4.30’s.
It’s my job to keep my partner safe in a six second door car. Can’t replace my partner and really don’t want to do costly car repairs for a no brainer. I’m not trying to change your mind or others. I have my data and that’s it. Good luck, be safe and have fun.
Raceless in California!