I own a 08 base Z 6spd manual. I ran it on the 1/4 mile for the first time ever today. I have made passes on the 1/4 mile before but not in the Z. Tonight was the first time. Im pretty disappointed with my times. This is my best time slip of all
R/T .637
60' 2.242
330 6.048
1/8 9.142
mph N/A
1000 11.755
E.T 13.975
MPH 100.1

Now my e36 m3 that was only reflashed and had a cold air intake pulled a 2.1 60' and ran a 13.969. Im wondering why im doing so bad with the Z.....i know my 60' needs to be lowered. But how do i get out of the hole faster? i feel like first gear takes forever. And im pretty sure i need a new launch technique. Any help would be appreciated. BTW the HR is stock.
THANKS!

 

Considering that this was you first trip to the dragstrip don't be so hard on yourself. Nothing wrong with 13.9 seconds.

Sometimes staging pad preparation and conditions (humidity) is just not going to give up 2.0 seconds no matter what you do.

 

BTW post your time slip here: https://my350z.com/forum/drag/233840...ons-stock.html

 

You lost a lot of time somewhere between your 60' and your 330'. It looks like you might have been bogging down the engine, or wasn't shifting fast enough.

Here's a slip of mine with a crappy 60' like yours (worse actually):

60' - 2.282
330 - 5.959 <--- gained .15 on you including 60' time difference
1/8 - 8.997
mph - 81.41
1000 - 11.562 <--- gained another .05
1/4 - 13.747
mph - 102.24

Were your tires spinning on launch? My lousy 60' was from tire spin. If yours was from engine bog, it would explain why I slingshotted past you after the first 60'. It's always better to error on the side of more power.

 

Hey 2007-Z i know the 60' sux. i still dont know what to do about that one. but could it be that the last time between the 60 and 330 was because of excessive wheel spin during 1-2 shift? cuz i did spin a whole lot between that shift. also i felt like after launching the car with a bit of wheel spin, i would get into it but it was sorta like launching it from idle. even with some wheel spin and no noticeble bog it still felt like i made the car pull from idle all the way to redline in first gear. like i said, first felt like it was going forever! thnx for the help!

btw i feel like my time isnt worth putting in the top 25 lol

 

Yeah, that could do it too. Excessive spinning will slow you down as well, but the stored inertia will boost you when the tires finally grab which is why some spin is better than bogging. Ideally you would want to have no spin at all in any gear and no bog either. That means using proper clutch techniques all throughout the run, not just dumping it.

If you didn't spin at all in 1st gear, then you had to bog a little. Otherwise your 60' would've been better. You would've felt the bog within the first second of your launch and your car would've seemed to hesitate slightly.

I've drag raced for a very long time, and I can honestly say the Z is probably the hardest "stock" car to drag race I've ever ran with. It just isn't set up for drag racing from the factory. The tires are the biggest handicap. It's much harder to launch than a Mustang or a Camaro, imo. I also think that the stock clutch is weak for dragging. The times when my launch feels nearly perfect, I can feel the clutch pedal sticking a little (clutch fluid boiling). I've even had it stick to the floor on me a few times from the fluid boiling.

As for your time, it's up to you whether or not you want to post it. It's good enough to make the list and isn't the worst time there. You can always update it as you get better.

 

Hey guys... I am planning my first run on the strip (ever, in any car) tomorrow night. I attempted a couple months ago, but ended up snapping an axle. Any tips on launching would be appreciated. Last time, I was a numb nut and clutch dropped from ~2.5k to 3k rpm. I now have a better clutch that is not like a light switch (ACT Heavy Duty Street), and now i can actually feather the clutch a bit. I have been practicing feathering a little bit at stop signs and such, and it seems i am bogging the engine. In fear of snapping another axle, I am going to continue to feather it, but should I start at a little bit higher RPM, I have been practicing launching at like 2k rpm. Also, do you all have to catch 4th to finish out the 1/4?

Any tips are appreciated... hope I don't break again. Thanks guys!!!

 

2500 rpm is the normal launch point for beginners, then adjust as needed from there. As you get better with the clutch you will probably want to launch at higher rpms. For street tires 2500-3000 is normally good anyway. I can't give you advice on dr's or slicks since I have never used them in a Z.

You will need to shift to 4th gear in the HR 350Z with the stock tranny and rear-end since 3rd gear tops out around 101 mph at 7500 rpms. I even tested it myself once and the speedo was reading 103 while in third gear and was bouncing off the rev limiter (it's safe to assume the speedo is off 2 mph at that speed).

I'd imagine the DE engine models top out even sooner since they have a lower max rpm. But that's just a guess assuming they have the same gearing ratio in the drivetrain (I don't know and have never needed to).

 

i guess i was launching too low......but i feel like 2000 rpm is the max this car with these stock tires could hold traction at. i feel like going higher then 2100rpms or so will just make me spin all the way down the track. maybe im just not using the clutch correctly.....