ð260:                     HELP -MODE CHOICE HELP
"Quick Compute"      To use this mode, you must know your vehicle's finish-line
                     MPH or RPM, either from track experience or from testing
                     your vehicle at a 1/4 mile strip on the street. In this
                     mode, DragStrip Plus will only calculate your vehicle's
                     E.T., optimum gear ratio, optimum stall point, and
                     horsepower. You will not receive an engine analysis.

                     The advantages of this mode are its speed due to the very
                     minimal amount of data you must supply, and its accuracy.

                     At any time you can change a "Quick Compute" analysis into
                     a "Detailed Analysis" by selecting the "Computer Engine
                     Analysis" option at the "VEHICLE DATA SUMMARY" screen
                     following your vehicle's E.T. results display.

"Detailed Analysis"  To use this mode you must have a detailed knowledge of
                     your combination, including the specs of all major engine
                     and vehicle parts.

                     This mode's main advantage is that DragStrip Plus
 ¯                         MODE CHOICE HELP, page 2
                     will compute everything related to the vehicle's
                     performance:  its finish-line MPH, RPM, E.T., and horse-
                     power, plus provide comprehensive vehicle and engine
                     analyses.

                     You can also, if you so wish, change at any time from this
                     mode to the much simpler "Quick Compute" analysis mode by
                     selecting the "Ignore Engine Data" option at the Vehicle
                     DATA Summary screen following your vehicle's E.T. and
                     engine analysis displays.

"Dyno Approach"      In this mode you supply the vehicle's gross or net
                     horsepower, and DragStrip Plus will compute its E.T.
                     and finish-line MPH based upon the data you supply.

                     The advantages of this mode are its speed due to the
                     minimal amount of data you must provide, and its accuracy
                     (particularly if the horsepower figure you provide is
                     net horsepower).
 ¯                         MODE CHOICE HELP, page 3
                     DragStrip Plus will NOT analyze your engine combination
                     in this mode. However, at any time you can switch to
                     "Detailed Analysis" mode by selecting the "Computer
                     Engine Analysis" option at the "VEHICLE DATA SUMMARY"
                     screen following your E.T. results display.
ð265:                       HELP: FINISH-LINE PH
Enter your vehicle's new finish-line MPH.
ð270:                       HELP -GEAR RATIO HELP
Enter your vehicle's rear end gear ratio. You need not enter the period in the
gear ratio. Enter a gear ratio such as "4.11" as  merely "411".
ð275:                       HELP -TIRE HEIGHT HELP
Enter the diameter, or height of your vehicle's drive wheels in inches, 
including your estimate of your tire's amount of "growth" or "standup". 
DragStrip Plus does not automatically add an allowance for tire growth, so 
you must manually calculate and add this yourself.  

IF YOU DO NOT ACCURATELY ESTIMATE YOUR VEHICLE'S TIRE GROWTH, A NUMBER OF 
DRAGSTRIP PLUS' PREDICTIONS MAY BE INACCURATE, INCLUDING YOUR VEHICLE'S E.T.,
MPH, OPTIMUM GEAR, AND ADVICE SCREEN MESSAGES.

The amount a given tire "grows" varies with tire type and other factors, such
as height and width of the tire, speed of the vehicle, tire air pressure, and
temperature of the track and tires. For example, a hard radial tire on a 80 mph
through the quarter stock production car may grow less than 1/3 inch, while a 
soft slick on a 300 mph Top Fuel Dragster may grow 4-6 inches or more.

Enter a tire diameter such as "28 1/2" as "28.5".
ð280:                       HELP: FINISH-LINE RPM
Enter your vehicle's new finish-line RPM.
ð285:                  HELP -TRANSMISSION/CONVERTER SLIPPAGE
IF YOU HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, enter "0" or "00" for zero percent
transmission & clutch slippage.  Note: DragStrip Plus will automatically adjust
an entry of zero slippage very slightly upwards to ".1" percent slippage.

IF YOU HAVE AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, press <ENTER> to accept the default value
of 10%, unless you suspect your converter's slippage differs from average.

Enter a figure such as "8" or "08" for 8% if your converter is tighter than
average , or "12" if your converter is looser than average.  NOTE: Some types
of convertors can have slip rates as low as 2%.

The best way to determine your transmission & converter's exact slippage is to
take note your vehicle's finish-line MPH and RPM at the track, then use
DragStrip Plus's MPH & RPM Calculator in the "Quick Compute" mode to determine
your correct slip percentage.
ð290:                      HELP -ELEVATION
The higher the track elevation, the less horsepower your engine will make,
and the slower your vehicle will run. The correct elevation is important to
DragStrip Plus for another reason: your vehicle's optimum gear ratio will
change dramatically with changes in elevation.

Enter your track's elevation in feet above sea level. If you believe your
track's elevation is less than 100 feet, but do not know its exact elevation,
enter "0" and press the <ENTER> key (or just press <ENTER> if you have not
inputed an elevation previously).

If you believe your track's elevation is greater than 100 feet, but do not know
its exact elevation, call your track and ask them to provide this information.
ð291:                      HELP: VEHICLE BODY STYLE
Select the body style that best describes your vehicle.

The "Fastback" body style includes relatively sleek and aerodynamic cars such
as the Corvette, Camaro, GT Mustang, Trans Am, Vega, and Monza.

The "Sedan" body style includes relatively large and boxy cars such as the
Chevy II Nova, Nova, Malibu, Fairlane, and Monte Carlo SS.
ð293:                      HELP- AIR TEMPERATURE
The hotter the air temperature, the less horsepower your engine will make, and
the slower your vehicle will run. This is because hotter air is thinner than
cold air, resulting in a smaller intake charge being drawn in by the engine.

Enter the correct air temperature at the time and place your vehicle will run.
Keep in mind that your vehicle's MPH, RPM, horsepower, and DragStrip Plus'
calculation of your combination's "optimum gear ratio" will all be affected by
the air temperature you enter.
ð294:                    HELP- BAROMETRIC AIR PRESSURE
The higher the air pressure, the more horsepower your engine will make, and the
faster your vehicle will run. As the air pressure increases, the atmosphere
increases in density, resulting in a larger intake charge being drawn in by the
engine.

Enter the adjusted barometric air pressure at the time and place of your
vehicle's run. If you do not wish to enter an air pressure value, press the
<ENTER> key.  DragStrip Plus will assume a median value of 30.00 as a basis for
its calculations (unless you have previously entered a different pressure).

Keep in mind that your vehicle's "optimum gear ratio" is affected by the air
pressure you enter.

Enter air pressure values without the decimal point, i.e., enter "30.12" as
"3012".

NOTE: Enter the "adjusted" barometric air pressures, such as those given on
T.V. broadcasts and newspapers, rather than the "absolute" air pressure,
typically used by aviation.
 ¯                    HELP- BAROMETRIC AIR PRESSURE, PAGE 2
In racing weather, adjusted barometric air pressures typically range from
29.90 to 30.50, regardless of elevation, while absolute air pressures readings
range from 27.00 to 31.50, depending upon the current elevation.
ð295:                      HELP- ENGINE TEMPERATURE
The hotter your engine is at launch, the slower your vehicle will run. Select
the engine temperature that best describes your vehicle's condition at launch
according to the following definitions:

 "Cold"     The engine has been allowed to cool overnight, or has been
            completely cooled down with a water hose.

 "Warm"     The engine has air cooled for several hours; or the engine started
            out cold, but the driver did a lengthy series of burnouts or a
            couple of stages prior to launch.

 "Hot"      The engine has air cooled an hour or less between runs.

 "Burning"  Back to back runs, such as when someone makes a hard run down
            the track on a hot summer day, only to drive down the return road,
            pull right back into the staging lanes, and take off again.

NOTE: This information primarily applies to street cars. Because all-out race
cars are typically towed back after each run, they stay cooler than street
 ¯                      HELP -ENGINE TEMPERATURE, page 2
cars and remain "Cold" to "Warm".

Dragsters in particular tend to remain cool, since their engines are fully
exposed to the air. If you run a dragster, choose "Cold".

Press <ENTER> to accept the default if correct, or enter a new value.
ð296:                       HELP -RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Enter the relative humidity at the time and place of your vehicle's run. If
you do not wish to enter the relative humidity, press the <ENTER> key. DragStrip
Plus will assume a median value of 75% as a basis for its calculations (unless
you have previously entered a different humidity value).
ð297:                    HELP -E.T. DISCREPANCY ERRORS
NOTE: At the present time, DragStrip Plus is primarily geared toward 1/4 mile
tracks. The program provides generalized ballpark 60 foot and 1/8 mile E.T.s
and MPHs for the sake of the user's curiosity and reference only. NO ATTEMPT
SHOULD BE MADE TO USE THE 60 FOOT AND 1/8 MILE FIGURES TO OPTIMIZE YOUR
VEHICLE'S COMBINATION. Instead, see the ET Results, Advice and Engine Statistics
screens for specific computer suggestions on how to optimize your combination.
                                -------------
Don't expect DragStrip Plus to always nail on the first try the precise 
performance of the combinations you give it --particularily if the combinations
you enter are someone else's.

In fact, DragStrip Plus will predict a vehicle's E.T. correctly only about
half the time on the first try. The rest of the time you will have to juggle
the vehicle's input data to correct the predicted E.T.

Here are the biggest contributing factors to an incorrectly predicted E.T.,
listed in order of greatest importance and frequency of occurrence:

   1. Engine mis-tuned, mis-assembled, and/or poorly driven. DragStrip Plus
 ¯                   HELP -E.T. DISCREPANCY ERRORS, page 2  
      expects your vehicle to be optimally tuned, assembled, and driven (if you
      have selected "Excellent" or better engine construction quality).

   2. Insufficient fuel delivery to the engine during part or all of the run.

   3. Traction losses incorrectly described to the program (re-read traction
      help).

   4. Camshaft overlap, lobe centers, and/or Cam installation timing unknown or
      incorrectly entered by user.

   5. Vehicle's actual weight differs from that entered into the program.

   6. Air temperature as entered into DragStrip Plus differs significantly from
      the actual air temperature at the time of the vehicle's run.

   7. The engine's actual shift point differs substantially from the shift
      point predicted by the program.
 ¯                   HELP -E.T. DISCREPANCY ERRORS, page 3
While there are several contributing causes to a major shift point discrepancy,
the most common cause is an engine that is seriously overbuilt for its under-
lying capabilities.

For an extreme example, suppose that an otherwise STOCK small block engine was
outfitted with a set of massively ported aluminum heads, .800" lift roller
cam, large tube headers, and a large 1150 CFM Dominator carburetor.

From an airflow capability standpoint, this combination would easily rev to
8000 RPM or higher, but yet if you actually tried to shift it at this point,
the engine would explode. The stock rods, crank, valve train, fuel delivery
system, ignition system, etc., would prevent this engine from being shifted
much higher than 5500 or 6000 RPM, well below this engine's true (combination)
shift point of 8000 RPM.

Since DragStrip Plus takes it for granted that you built your combination in
the optimum manner (if you have selected "Excellent" or better engine
construction quality), its prediction of this engine's shift point would be
way too high (8000 RPM or above), resulting in a E.T. that could easily be off
 ¯                   HELP -E.T. DISCREPANCY ERRORS, page 4
by a second or even more (typically on the slow side).

Short of rebuilding such an engine from scratch, the only other solutions
to this problem would be to either select a different engine construction
quality such as "Poor" or "Satisfactory", and/or manually set the engine's
shift point in DragStrip Plus yourself, thus overriding the program's
predicted shift point. Better than nine times out of ten, this approach will
result in the program forecasting an E.T. that is quite close to actuality. To
manually set your engine's shift point, press <ENTER> until you reach the
"VEHICLE DATA CHANGE SCREEN", then select the shift point option.

Once again, in order to obtain the best results with DragStrip Plus, it is
important that you read and thoroughly understand all Help information provided
by DragStrip Plus for its required data inputs. On-line Help is accessible
throughout the program by pressing the <F1> key, and it should be systematically
consulted until you become thoroughly familiar with this program.

If you cannot correct your vehicle's E.T. by following the steps listed above,
please phone our technical department at any time and leave a description of
 ¯                   HELP -E.T. DISCREPANCY ERRORS, page 5
your problem along with your name and number, or print out your DragStrip Plus
combination analysis and fax it to us, we will be happy to help you resolve
the discrepancy. Our phone numbers will be displayed on your screen as you exit
DragStrip Plus.

Press <ENTER> to continue on to the next screen.

Press <F2> to start a new vehicle.

Press <F4> to access the vehicle database.

Press <F7> to print the current combination in its entirety.

Press <F10> to save the vehicle Database and exit to DragStrip Plus' main menu.

Press <Shift><F1> to see a list of shortcut HOT KEYS around DragStrip Plus.
ð298:                   HELP -DRAGSTRIP PLUS HOT KEYS
Use the following Hot Keys as a short cut to ease your way around DragStrip
Plus:

Press <Ctrl><A> to jump to Advice screen

Press <Ctrl><D> to jump to vehicle DataBase

Press <Ctrl><R> to jump to e.t. Results screen

Press <Ctrl><S> to jump to engine Statistics screen

Press <Ctrl><V> to jump to Vehicle change screen

Press <Ctrl><E> to jump to Engine change screen
ð299:                   HELP -BODY STYLE FRONTAL AREA
Enter your vehicle's total frontal body area, or cross section, in square
feet.

If you do not know or do not wish to enter this figure, press the <ENTER>
key. DragStrip Plus will make an assumption of your vehicle's frontal area
based upon your vehicle's particular body style.
ð999:eof
È

