strip times - what am I doing wrong

Cjanik

long story short: I went to the drag strip last friday, didnt do very good (time-wise). I felt I was doing everything right, tire pressure a little lower, gas half full, no burnouts during launch. Launched at about 5krpm, didnt peel out because I feathered the clutch out the best I could. Did not do a burnout before - as I had stock tires.

forgot to mention my car is 100% stock., sports touring w/ nav. and it was about 50-55 degree's outside the whole night.

I could not, for the love of me, do any better than 14.3. I got my RT down to .2 at one point but it did not help my time (i was actually slower with a faster RT).

school me

tried to make the slips eligible with my photo program, as they were not printed very well, the dark black was my first run, grey was second, and blue-ish was my last run.

also wanted to mention, every single run resulted in 220°+ oil temperatures. I didnt get the limp mode that I am aware of, but it was very annoying to see the temperatures at 220° and above after every single run.

ianthegreat

2.2 60ft isn't the greatest, but maybe your shifting is slow.

What are your shift points? Reason I ask because a stock 370z, running a 14.3 is entirely possible. What I don't understand is the low trap speeds (makes me think you are either shifting early or slow)

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Brazilbro

I run 2.2 60's here at my shitty track but run 13.6-13.8 at 101-103 MPH.. I power shift the shiet outa her though..

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Cjanik

I dont shift until I hit redline. 1st to 3rd, I BARELY get any juice out of 4th gear as redline on 3rd is like 50 feet away from the 1/4 mile mark, but I do shift into 4th.

argh, I should be doing so much better, could it be because of the elevation? I dont know, just trying to justify it. I honestly do not think my shifting is that slow at all.

280z/300zx

Don't feel bad. Vegas speedway sucks big time and this is well known. I ran there with my 6MT touring sport about 3wks ago and my best was 14.8 at 95mph. I was launching at about 3500rpm-4k and getting nothing but wheel hop. I too shifted at redline every shift. To futher support how much this track sucks: friends 04 M3 6speed ran a best of 14.3 at 98mph. My girlfriends 06 Vette automatic ran 13.9 at 103mph. A new camaro with intake, headers, cat delete, and exhuast with drag radials ran a best of 13.4 at unknown mph. An 09 WRX ran a best of 14.5 at 94mph. I could go on. With all these cars they should be posting much better times by at least .5secs or more. LV speedway is notorious for giving crappy times. The elevation of the track doesn't help but the track its self is not prepped very well and is in dire need of repairs. Not to mention it runs slightly uphill. Honestly, I think with more practice you will see 13's but you will never see the low 13's this car should be getting unless you go somewhere else.

TBSS2008

I haven't taken my 370z to the track yet but notice when I hit 220+ the car runs significantly slower. Sweet spot seems to be at 190 - 200F it is very annoying especially when you want the car to perform. I will be getting the Stillen Oil Cooler soon it is a must for this car.

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280z/300zx

The oil temp shouldn't be an issue when running at the strip except maybe in the summer when Vegas temps can hit 115+. When I ran a month ago, temps were in the high 60's and low 70's at night time. My temps at staging were always around 190-200. By the end of the run at the turn out it was always around 225-230. Wait time between runs was anywhere between 15min to one hour depending if I was eager to get back in line or not. I really doubt that temps of 220 are going to make the car run slower. Perhpas 240+ would start showing decreased performance but when the car is designed to run normally at 210-220 I can't see it giving significantly lower performance.

To Cjanik, don't be annoyed by the oil temps rising from drag racing. This is normal on any car. Where you should be annoyed is if the temps were rising too high but I doubt this happened. The oil temp issues only seems to be a problem for those racing the engine for prolonged periods of time in such racing events as auto-x and road racing. Hell, even in auto-x my Z never got over 230. Like I said before, your times sucked mostly because of the track and not you or your car.

Cjanik

^^ thanks, thats good to know. I kept trying and trying, I think I did 6 runs, and could not do any better, even with faster RT.

I did see a yellow 370z run a 14.8 which made me happy to know I was faster, but still a bad time.

280z/300zx

just keep in mind that reaction time has no effect on your ending 1/4 time or your trap speed. It's a common mis-conception that people think a faster reaction means faster times. The clock does not start until your tire passes the laser. So if you wanted the light could go green and you could sit there for 5min and then go with no penalty on your time. The reaction time is the time from the green light to the time your tire crosses the first laser and that is it. It's not reflected on your 1/4 mile time. Next time focus more on your launch and less on your reaction time. Drown out the crowd, the car next to you, and the light. Take your time, focus, breath, and then go.

Zsteve

coming from a couple of turbo cars I naturally would get heat soak when the engine got hot so do NA engines also get heat soaked due to a hot engine and loss power? Hot oil temps would also mean higher engine temps and more heat soak at least thats what I would think. So that could be part of why you didnt get better over time.

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Red370

here in El Paso, the elevation is 4k ft, and the track is notoriously shitty, my best time here is a 14.3, while in Ohio, I posted a 13.4. I have the base, and on stock tires, launching is pointless, I burn out through 3rd. So I started launching at 2k, and learned to stop dropping the clutch, and gradually releasing it once I grip. When you shift, kick and pull simultaneously, should result in faster shifts, set your shift light to 7k, that way when you react, your perfectly in sync with redline. BTW, our track also has a slight incline, you literally will roll backwards on the staging area.

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ianthegreat

+1

The specific track has a lot to do with it.

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280z/300zx

Heat soak is a problem with all cars but much worse with a turbo or supercharger. With a N/A the underhood temps really have to get up there to start decreasing hp. Also you have to keep in mind that it is Nov. Here in Vegas while not freezing, it's still pretty cold out. Heat soak is not going to be an issue for a non-turbo. Typically for your average street car heat soak only accounts for .1-.2 tenths in the 1/4 mile. For more aggresivly modified cars it's a little more and for FI cars it can be a lot more. Thats why I still believe that in the OP's case heat soak was not an issue and even if it was a factor it would only account for .1 secs difference. His times are off by far more than that. His problem is the track at which he is running at, plain and simple.

simota1

Dont feel bad bro.... my best time on my z was 14.6 its cuz of my islands elevation and the track here sucks haha..... i remember a friend a while back brought in TUNED rsx from states that was hitting 13.1 consistantly..... when he raced here he was hitting like 14.8 he was soooooo pissed.... hahahah but thats why the way we look at is wat ever they hit in states... itll be one second slower when it comes to guam...

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Red370

I wonder what times people from the Denver, CO area are posting.....

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