I decided to give it at try....

It was a hot and humid day... around 90 degress.
It was hot to the point some people including me had
headaches.

Anyhow, the fastest I managed to get was a meager
15.62 @ 91MPH. It was a struggle for some reason.

Anyhow, I wonder if anyone can tell me why I couldn't
get into 2nd gear. This happened to me a few times,
and after a few tries I managed to get it in 2nd.

Throughout the event, I didn't mishift... but I bounced
the limiter during the first couple races because of
problems getting into 2nd.

 

What were your 60' times? If you were shifting ok it's probably your launch slowing you down the most.

 

You ran a mid-15 in a 6mt 350z? The 350z is my first manual car, and I have had it for 1600miles now, and I ran to 100 in a tad under 14 seconds (according to a friends stopwatch). How did you launch? Dump or feather? What RPM? Did you forget to turn off VDC?

 

I hold it at 2k and let off the clutch and floor.

heh.. i kno it's bad, but i got a lil happy with the
throttle in 1st gear.

The best I could get, however, was 15.618 @ 91MPH.
The temps that day was a humid 90 degrees.

If I really wanted to try... I would've pressed down
the pedal instead of punching it in 1st. I couldn't
help but create an awesome display of wheelspin. :-D

i just wonder why i was locked out of 2nd gear during
the first few races.

Acutally... 2nd gear has always been a little hard to
engage since the car was first bought. I'm around
3500 miles so far running Mobil 1 synthetic. I'm sure
it should be fully broken in by now.

Now im back to driving smooth and getting 26 mpg
reported in the tripmeter... i can shift smooth as
long as I don't get locked out.

 

Ooops.. forgot.

My fastest 60' time was 2.359s

And yea.. my launch is pretty slow with all that
wheelspin.

I don't favor these stock 17" tires much... but that
was expected.

 

keep tryin, your times are rough, I ran in cold weather(good for power, but **** for traction) first time, after 2-3000miles on my first sports car or manual car, and didnt pull anything slower than 14.5. work on your shifting when you drive, shifting at 6600 isnt too much different than shifting at 3000, just shift clean, crisp, and fast. clutch in, pull back, clutch out, keep the power up the whole time.

for the launch, hold to about 2000RPMs, thats a nice safe amount, then let off the clutch, but not too fast, as soon as you begin to let off the clutch, and it starts to grab, peddle to the floor, clutch should be nearly out by the time the engine even responds.

most of all, your not in the nhra, meaning your reaction time doesnt matter, best off to sit there for a second or so after the light, let the other guy go, and then go, compose yourself, and NEVER rush, your not racing him, your racing the clock, clock starts when you go.

 

Djtonium,

Where did you race?

I had my first race experience out at Heartland Park, Topeka last week, and it was so-so as well...never really put together a good launch with a strong finish and had trouble getting from 3rd to 4th a few times.

Even killed it on the line on my last run! (oops)

Best time I got was 14.77

 

I forgot what the track was called... something
Kansas International Race Trace. It's way out in
west Wichita.

The track doesn't look so good... but at least there
are no potholes. :-D

My launches were pretty bad... I couldn't help but
have fun with wheelspin.

I'd reduce wheelspin if I liked... eheh. Man it felt
good to be the only 350Z at the track, and lotta
ladiez dropped by asking if they could touch my
car... go figure. 0_o (sorry, didn't get any digits)

 

I raced my girlfriends stock Cavalier yesterday and ran a 15.7 It's good to know the 350 can beat that.

 

I had the same 2nd gear problem (I managed a 14.1 with it though with normal shifting, stock tire pressure, & all weight in the car )

Does your 2nd gear grind? Mine was rough to go into 2nd gear & sometimes it would do a slight grind.

Took it to Nissan & they gave me a new transmission.... Problem is gone

Haven't taken it to the track, but I'm 100% sure I'd be in the 13s

My advice: Take it to the dealer & tell 'em the problem.....

peace & good luck

 

What elevation are you running at? Your 60ft times were not horrible, but it's your trap speed that concerns me. You are at least 6mph slower than any 350z I've seen yet.

 

Sorry for not responding quicker...

I'm in wichita, KS... and it was a pretty darn hot and humid
day out there. Temps were around 90 that day.

My friend was telling me how he and other people were
getting lower than expected times on that day.

As for my tranny... I hardly grind gears at all. However,
2nd gear is usually difficult to get in even when clutch
pedal is fully pushed in. This has been happening since
the car was new. I used to have problems accelerating
smoothly because of 2nd gear. The car jerks easily...
but is smooth in all other gears.

I grind a few times, but it wasn't major. Now I hardly
grind at all.

However, it hurts getting into gear sometimes when you
feel that harsh vibration as if the gears weren't released
all the way. It puts a strain on my wrists.

 

BTW... I'm figuring out when to take my car in. It's got a lil
over 3500 miles since I got it in October. (yea... hardly driven)

I know it's warranty work, but I don't like the fact they'll be
keeping my car. I never trusted Nissan Techs because they
screwed my dad's friend with his Maxima. They also tried
to screw my dad with his Z32... but he was smart enough
to embarass the guy about timing belt change.

1) Rear window rubber seal deforms and holds water...
2) Very minute oil leak out of valve covers...
3) 2nd gear...
4) Hand brake adjustment??
5) What's that loud whirring sound as I accelerate with A/C on?
Is that the electric fans?
6) On 80+ degree days, the Navi door doesn't open all the way.
The stupid thing gets stuck when opening...

Can anyone relate to this? Any suggestions?

 

take it to the dealer,if you don't like that dealer take it to another one

 

I wish... there's only one Nissan dealer here in Wichita.

BTW... my salesman estimated 600-800 to fix a small
paint damage on my rear bumper. The paint just rubbed
off from a small fender bender. Soo I touched it up until
I find a rear bumper that looks good with the kit I'm
getting later.