man, i was all psyched out to race for the first time tonight. i get to the safety guy and he said that since my car was a convertible, i would need a helmet. well, of course i didn't have one so i had to resign myself to watching my fellow clubmates and the g35 club guys run down the tracks. talk about frustrating.

when i left the track, i had so much trapped up adrenaline that wanted to fly it down the freeway so bad.. i didn't. i just dropped my top and cruised home listening to my tunes. oh, well. next time.

sorry about the venting.

 

ok, well i got my helmet, so i did 3 runs tonight. first time EVER drag racing. didnt know what the HELL i was doing, but i had a lot of fun. btw, my car is an auto tranny.

run 1
.911 reaction
2.337 60 ft
9.662 1/8 et
73.90 1/8 mph
14.90 1/4 et
94.51 1/4 mph

run 2
.760 reaction
2.260 60 ft
9.598 1/8 et
73.63 1/8 mph
14.858 1/4 et
94.35 1/4 mph

run 3
.779 reaction
2.248 60 ft
9.606 1/8 et
73.42 1/8 mph
14.875 1/4 et
94.35 1/4 mph

i launched at 2000 rpms for the first and 2500 for the 2nd two. i was shifting at about 6700 rpms.

will shifting at about 6300 rpms decrease my times? my tires seemed to grab pretty quickly off the line on the last two runs, dont know why my 60 ft times are so slow. overall kind of disappointed, but hopefully i can improve.

 

those times and traps are real bad. I think its the vert, I think its just to fat of a car. Anyway your launch isnt that bad, its the car thats slow to be honest. Dont shift at 6300rpm, you still have power to move faster at 6500rpm then at 4900rpm in the next gear, unless your in 5th gear top run speed, that doesnt make a difference. I think you need to loose weight on your car, and do some mods, otherwise the times are expected with the power to weight ration you have.

 

I also see you have an automatic. well what you got is pretty much what you should have.

 

still, i was figuring that even though it is a convertible, coupe autos on this thread are getting very low 14's. i thought i would at least be hitting 14.4-14.5. especially since i got the nismo oil and radiator cap.

i guess i just need more practice.

 

My stock Z coupe runs high 13s. So you should be running low to mid 14s

 

what rpm are you launching at? how did you get your 60 ft down to 2.0? 2500 seemed about right, but i guess i will try 3000 next time.

 

I launched at 1500rpm which got me 2.0 The other run I did from 2k but made me spin more 2.1 Going over 2k will make you spin unless you get sticker tires.

 

thanks for the info. i will try that next time. i never thought about starting at a lower rpm.

 

hawaii has EXTREMELY high elevation. I'd say those times are about right. I got scorched by the sun out there in less than 10 minutes. I'd say you can get a little more out of the car if your 60fts drop a little though. BTW what do you do in hawaii for a living? I'd LOVE to live out there!!

 

i think your getting burned here is because we are so close to the equator? i dont know that stuff, but yeah the "hawaiian sun" is brutal.

i am an x-ray tech training to be an ultrasound tech. the pay is ok, but the cost of living is pretty high.

 

are you heating the tires up a little? if not you need to. with an auto you want to flash the converter, so don't stall it up at all on the line, just mash it halfway until the tires start to hook and then floor it. as far as shifting, i think Jonsilvz can answer that one if you direct the question more towards him.

 

I just brush off the tires before getting to the line. Once the light turns green I floor it. BTW the 350Z has "drive by wire"no cable throttle.

 

Oh manual mode is always quicker. Just shift at 6600rpm. Well my 13.9 I hit the fuel cut(6900) off once going into 2nd.

 

i recommend a nice 5-6 sec burnout on street tires. If i dont do that i am in the 2.1 range for 60's, when i heat them up a bit i consistently go 1.9s.

 

i was looking forward to trying out the tips from you guys. i was going to go tonight, but couldnt find anyone to go with. i guess i will have to wait for next week.

 

don't mean to hijack the thread, but how exactly do you do a burn out? just put it into 1st gear and mash the throttle for a few seconds?

edit: i have a 6mt (to avoid any confusion)

 

to do a burnout on street tires i heel/toe the brake/gas. rev it to 4500+ and dump the clutch. It will feel weird when you first do it, but just practice a little. If you are a little shaky just barely roll back into the water(NOT THE BOX THOUGH) just dampen the tires to make it easier for you.

 

You might want to see exactly where your fuel cut off is .My tach is off by more than 500 rpm's up top . You may be shifting way to early . I didnt find out till I dynoed the car and was looking at the tach .Operator cut me off at 6,500 rpm's and my tach was just passing 7,000 rpm's

 

thanks for the tip. i think mine is about 7000 too. on one run tonight i hit it at about a little past there.

i went again tonight. best was 14.738 @94.96 with a 60 ft of 2.188 secs. getting better. tried different launching rpms and 2000 seemed to work the best for our track for me.

better than last time, and i had 5/8 of a tank of gas compared to 1/4 tank last time. the track was a bit wet from the rain tonight. seems like i can get it to 14.6, but after that, i think i will be stuck.