Is it best to race on a full tank, half tank, or near empty? I think the car feels more responsive with a full tank and there would be more pressure to shove it into the engine, but it also weighs a lot more. Any ideas? Thanks!

PS By racing I mean the quarter mile.

 

ive noticed that too, bootin round town i can get up and go faster with a full tank than an 1/4 tank

as for a race i would go full since your getting that what feels like a lil more umphf.

 

For drag racing, you want the tank as empty as possible without making the engine starve for fuel and start to cut out. If you're racing in a straight line, less weight = more speed, ALWAYS, and gas weighs ~8 lbs. per gallon. 10 gallons in the tank = 80 lbs. slowing you down.

The ONLY reason to run more gas in the tank at the strip is if you're driving a traction-limited vehicle and the tank is located over the drive wheels, so more weight = more traction (most pickup trucks are a good example). However, our cars are FWD and the tank is in the back, so it doesn't do us any good.

BTW... "more pressure to shove it into the engine"? The fuel is "shoved" into the engine by the fuel pump, which always works the same as long as the tank is not totally empty.

 

Hey my pressure theory was just an idea