rizzla

I want to do a little bit of drag racing every once in a while in my stock '03 350z and I was wondering what kind of maintenance should I watch out for. Do I need to do oil changes every time I go to the drags? What about tranny or diff fluids? And basically anything else I should know before I go there and mess up my car?

Sleepiedaze

iTrader: (3)

Fluids, you can change during the regular maintenance cycles.

Do not wheel hop! learn to launch the car with minimal wheel hop. if you have wheel hop get out of the throttle.

rizzla

Might be a dumb question, but how to I avoid wheel hop? I think I've felt that happen when I launched in the streets once or twice. Should I launch at higher RPMS or lower? What is an ideal starting point?

Sleepiedaze

iTrader: (3)

no such thing as ideal starting point. you just need to find something that works for you. every car has different tires, different track temps and different drivers. just go out there and see what works for you. don't worry about fastest time just focus on leaving the line properly and finding a good way to launch. also look around and ask the guys at the track for any pointers.

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

Is it a base model z or does your car have traction control? If equipped you might want to remove your abs fuse at the track if you plan to spin tires. Then again you might want to keep it on so you dont. I would think your normal maintenance would be a o.k. Im sure their are lots of people who launch their cars all the time and beat up on them and dont think twice about doing extra maintenance.

Anyways as for your question about wheel hop if you dont spin the tires the wheels wont hop. Just gotta practice and try not to kill your clutch.

rizzla

Thanks for the reply guys. It's a touring so it has traction control but I can just turn it off before the launch can't I?

I thought a little wheel spin was normal when launching. Also how do I know I'm killing my clutch? Is it it the burning smell?

Thanks again

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

Well if you dump the clutch at say 5k rpm continuously your probably going to shorten its life and its happiness, as well as spin the tires. The traction control botton on the left side doesnt fully disengage the system but I would try both ways with it engaged and disengaged. You might find that you have better times with it on. When your spinning tires your losing time. If you maintain traction for the run your times would be better and the car will not try cutting power with traction control on.

Ive never gone to a track so im just going on what I would do if I was going to go but I would probably remove my spare and only run 1/4 tank of gas. Would probably remove my sub also if I was going to head to the drag strip.

I would also probably launch my car like a big vajayjay because my car is 11 years old and I would be kinda pissed to break something just to be 1/2 second faster at the track. I give props to the guy's that can go out and bash and not worry about the consequences.

OldManZ350

iTrader: (23)

1. A Fresh Motor Oil & Fliter Change is a good Idea. If you're other fluids are getting near time to change, then change before. If not, leave then along.

2. Don't listen to a word from people that don't have any experience on a Drag Strip. It will only cause you to doubt your own driving skills.

3. Seat Time is you're Best Friend. pratice, practice, practice.......

4. Launching the car will be the hardest part, so with a stock Z on street tires you leave @ about 1800-2200rpm, ease out the clutch and be easy on the throttle for about the first 20-30ft or so. (Leave Traction Control OFF) (Rear Tire Pressure about 25psi, Fronts 40-45psi)

5. Get 3-5 runs in before you start to get a little more aggressive......

6. Don't worry about your times, this is just Practice.

7. Save all of you're TimeSlips for reference.

Hope this helps.....

Toneloc

You see anyone do a legitimate burnout on street tires you know instantly they have no idea what their doing. Spin street tires to clean off they do not respond to heat your just wasting tread and gaining no more traction.

Have money for a clutch ready

rizzla

Thanks for pointing that out. I actually don't have any idea what I'm doing hence why I'm asking ...

I'm curious as to why you say have money for a clutch ready? Is it that bad if I don't launch the car at high RPMs?

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Weekly with Drag radials or slicks vs going once a month on street tires will be different. Also DE vs HR if you have a Stick will matter.

As far as oil changes , no big deal, look what us roadcourse guys are doing. We run our cars at high RPM for 30 minutes at a time and 4+ sessions a day vs let's say 8 passes with a total run time of less than 2 minutes a night.

rizzla

Does that mean you roadcourse guys don't do oil changes after each session? If I do go, I'll probably just be safe and do an oil change more often than I do regularly (maybe 3-4 drag nights).

bealljk

iTrader: (13)

If it was me -

#1 - I'd leave traction control on. Leaving it on will ensure you are not spinning/hopping your tires (thus putting the most amount of power to the wheels & ground), Seeing that you're a drag-newb and it doesnt sound like you have much experience racing from the start (not that I do...) but if your back-end gets loose the traction control will save your **** and/or keep your car heading in the right direction and/or keep your rig in your lane.

#2 - change your oil a few hundred miles sooner - maybe 100 miles sooner for every pass you take...this might even be overkill

#3 - keep your car running and possibly pop your hood while you are waiting in line for your next pass - keep the oil and coolant circulating and allow heat the chance to escape your engine bay.

#4 - if you're worried about your ET times, remove any extra weight from the car and keep ~1/2 tank of gas...less weight is a double edge sword bc back end weight will influence the amount of traction between the rear wheels and the pavement.

#5 - keep your run tickets, ask questions if you don't know, make some friends, learn a few new things, ask people about their cars/builds and just go and have fun...

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

I change my oil every 5k miles or 4 days of track use. This weekend I did 103 miles on track, last event I did 186 miles on track. Your couple passes down the drag strip are really nothing.

350zion

iTrader: (58)

This is sound advice!!!

I drag probably every weekend, and don't street my car at all.. I change my oil every 20 passes.. I check the level before every event, also get under the car while it's on my trailer running and look for any leaks (oil/exhaust), suspicious sounds from the motor, tranny and jus have a look around. I'm taking a couple of weeks off right now, to perform some maintenance on the car in my garage which is more detailed.
I have at least 100 passes over the years, and I can't stress enough that seat time is important no matter how long you've been doing it. Don't even worry about RT,ET,MPH. Learn that launch and watch your 60'. You'll learn a lot, jus getting that dialed in...