Drag Race Question - Reaction Time

[Lotsokids]

I saw a video today of a 2016 Camaro that cranked out a 10.6 in the 1/4 mile. That's pretty good, but it appeared to me that the driver was sleeping at the light with .912 reaction time. I made a comment about that on another forum, and someone replied that the reaction time has no effect on ET. He said he could have launched an hour after the green light, and still got the same ET.

I'm very much a novice drag racer, but this seems very strange to me. I know there are very experienced guys here that could explain this better for me. When I'm drag racing my V-Max I try my best to get a good reaction time. For me, R/T and ET are the most important thing I look at.

This is my time slip from last August. My best ET ever was 11.69.

 

[jfeagins]

Reaction time has NO affect on total ET. TRUE. But added together, they can either win, or lose a drag race, depending upon a whole lot of other factors, not the least of which is the other riders, and their reaction times etc....

Clear as mud now?

PS. That 114.43mph isn't all that shabby, but get it up to around 194.75kph, and you'll be hanging alongside most of us other NOVICE riders sitting on OEM stock Vmax's.

My bestest ever times were 11.28-11.30's @ 120-122mph. Sadly, my reaction times are all over the place, and far from consistent, and so, I usually beat myself out of the bracket races.

 

[tothemax93]

The guys right. Your ET, Elasped time. is the actual time it takes you to run the 1/4 or 1/8 whatever. Your reaction time is the length of time it takes for you to react to the green light until you leave the starting line. You can run a faster ET, but if you have a slow reaction time, you can still loose the race.

 

[blaxmax]

I think he would have gotten run over had he waited an hour.
Reaction time doesn't change the ET and a lot of guys running time trials will wait longer than 1 second to avoid an accident running side by side with another racer.
When bracket racing don't worry so much about your ET times getting quicker but concentrate on being consistent with your ET's. Of course your reaction time is your greatest advantage I believe then your consistency.
I see your 60' times are improving.:clapping:

 

[Lotsokids]

I see your 60' times are improving.:clapping:

Thanks for the insight, guys. I guess I was mistaken thinking the clock started ticking when the green light lit.

Yes, those 60' times... I CERTAINLY don't have the quickest bike at the track, but I've never seen another V-Max there (at the Hungarian track). Makes for a good "conversation" piece. If I owned a GSX-R 1000, I would get lost in the crowd of all the others of the same type.

BUT... on the launch, I own the track with the torque of Mr. Max. Even a new BMW 1000RR saw my tail light for a second before he blew me away.
http://vid5.photobucket.com/albums/y177/Lotsokids/Kunmadaras%20Drag%20Races/Vmax_drag_zpsdupndxpg.mp4

I obviously have much to learn. More practice controlling a good launch will help me considerably. There are 3 race events in 2016 here. I've scheduled vacation for each of them.
Oh, did I mention it costs about $23 and a signature on some release forms for me to run my V-Max on a legitimate drag track for 3 days? Try doing THAT in the U.S.

 

[one2dmax]

Racing is fun but for some can be a difficult thing to understand for sure. Reaction times are what wins races period. Examples below.

Bike 1 dials a 10.00
Bike 2 dials a 11.00

Run one:
Bike 2 gets to leave first to make up the difference in their time (this can be complicated by what we call "sand bagging" which we will discuss later).
Bike 1 gets to leave one second later.

Bike 2 runs an 11.01 so nearly a perfect pass
Bike 1 runs a 10.20 so not as close to his "dial"

IF both bikes left with the exact same reaction time then bike 2 would cross the finish line ("stripe") 0.19 seconds before bike 1.
HOWEVER, bike 2 had a .290 reaction time (average guy) to bike 1's .090 reaction time (much better but still not where experts generally get). Usually in practice I tend to get low .100's and sometimes worse because I am more focused on getting the bike dialed in. Under pressure of competition I tend to get .020 or better (but admittedly not every time).

So:
Bike 1 wins because he "left" sooner in relation to his green light even though his bike was not as consistent.
10.20 + .090 = 10.29 total seconds from when his light turned green (and 11.29 from when the light turned green for bike 2).

Bike 2 loses even though he had a nearly perfect pass once he got going.
11.01 + .290 = 11.30 total seconds from when his light turned green.

So, both bikes would have crossed the stripe at almost the exact same time (close enough you could not tell who won until the computer put it up on the screen).


Basically, You HAVE to cross the stripe first in order to win. BUT, if you run faster then you said you could (say 10.90 vs 11.00 dial in) then you are automatically disqualified. Basically you cheated and lied about the bikes potential. So, getting the bike consistent is one factor that needs to happen.

Then you have to really work on the reaction times. If you have a negative reaction time that's an automatic loss as well (Red Light). Basically, that means you cheated by leaving early.

Most people will have decent reaction times by leaving when they see the last yellow light illuminate. Your mind takes some time to realize the light is on, then make your hand move to let out the clutch. Then the bike takes some time for the power to be applied through the clutch and move the front tire out of the "beam" to start the time. Most tracks use .400-.500 seconds between lights for a "full tree" where each yellow light goes in succession.

Usually I run at events that use a "pro tree" meaning all sets of yellow light at once and then turn green. That is harder to get good reaction times since you can't predict when the last yellow is going to light.

 

[blaxmax]

"Pro Tree" is 4/10's and used to be 3/10's.
Sportsman is 5/10's.

 

[Lotsokids]

Usually I run at events that use a "pro tree" meaning all sets of yellow light at once and then turn green. That is harder to get good reaction times since you can't predict when the last yellow is going to light.

Yes, the Pro Tree is what we have here in Hungary.

Usually on day 1 of an event (Friday), there is a practice time before qualification runs. That's a blast because not only can you practice, but you can kind of choose who to run against. A professional "street race" if you will. A few years ago, I ran against a newer Yamaha BT1100 with my old 1988 FJ1200. I beat him so bad, that he went home and I've never seen him again. :confused2:

Thanks again for all the info. I think I should have started this as my career 30 years ago. It's in my blood. I can feel it. Maybe I'll start when I retire [again]. :biglaugh: