<< needs a lot of help in 1/4 mile

batman_4 · 04-25-2009, 01:20 AM

learn your clutch. always had a hard time in my 350z until i started to feather the clutch. i've launched my 370 about 3 times now with the 1st one just dropping the clutch....the car went all over the place hopping lol. the 2nd time i took it to 2,300 and feathered the clutch and played with the throttle until i felt the car actually hook then smashed it. by feathering i mean as in when you accelerate don't just let the whole clutch out....ease it out while accelerating but also dont just punch it all the way, your RPMs should hold at around a certain number rather than bouncing around, until you feel the car on the ground then you punch it. hard to explain but that is the main picture.

280z/300zx · 04-25-2009, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by batman_4

learn your clutch. always had a hard time in my 350z until i started to feather the clutch. i've launched my 370 about 3 times now with the 1st one just dropping the clutch....the car went all over the place hopping lol. the 2nd time i took it to 2,300 and feathered the clutch and played with the throttle until i felt the car actually hook then smashed it. by feathering i mean as in when you accelerate don't just let the whole clutch out....ease it out while accelerating but also dont just punch it all the way, your RPMs should hold at around a certain number rather than bouncing around, until you feel the car on the ground then you punch it. hard to explain but that is the main picture.

This is the best answer posted. With a high powered RWD car it's all about feathering the clutch. It won't be easy to learn and will take several launches to perfect but once you do you'll be off the line quick as hell everytime.

As for weight reduction forget it for right now. Whats the point in making the car lighter before you dial in a true stock time? I never understood people who did that. Dial in your times first with the car 100% stock, then start messing with mods and weight reduction to see what you can do to make it better. Besides contrary to popular ricer belief removing the spare tire and jack doesn't really help much (60lbs if that). The more powerful and faster the car is stock the less effect mods and weight reduction have. What this means is you have to do more to get better times. You can take a 16 sec car and remove 100lbs and get great results. Take a 12 sec car and remove 100lbs and you may not even notice a difference. Regardless you should practice feathering the clutch and dial in your stock times before you start messing with the car.

AARC51 · 04-25-2009, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by batman_4

learn your clutch. always had a hard time in my 350z until i started to feather the clutch. i've launched my 370 about 3 times now with the 1st one just dropping the clutch....the car went all over the place hopping lol. the 2nd time i took it to 2,300 and feathered the clutch and played with the throttle until i felt the car actually hook then smashed it. by feathering i mean as in when you accelerate don't just let the whole clutch out....ease it out while accelerating but also dont just punch it all the way, your RPMs should hold at around a certain number rather than bouncing around, until you feel the car on the ground then you punch it. hard to explain but that is the main picture.

So I should never fully release the clutch when launching/shifting into first? But for all the other shifts I should fully release the clutch?
I put a hurtin' on the Guinness at the pub last night so my reading comprehension isn't 100% right now...

batman_4 · 04-25-2009, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AARC51

So I should never fully release the clutch when launching/shifting into first? But for all the other shifts I should fully release the clutch?
I put a hurtin' on the Guinness at the pub last night so my reading comprehension isn't 100% right now...

its just like accelerating at a normal light. when you accelerate and the car doesn't jolt back and forth you literally feathered the clutch. now do that but fast while launching the car and applying the adequate throttle needed until you "feel" the car hook then you release the clutch completely and apply throttle accordingly. for the other shifts i fully engage and disengage the clutch.....but as fast and smoothly as possible obviously.

04-25-2009, 01:20 AM	#1 (permalink)
batman_4 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: McAllen Tx. Posts: 1,038 Drives: '09 PW 370Z Rep Power: 369	learn your clutch. always had a hard time in my 350z until i started to feather the clutch. i've launched my 370 about 3 times now with the 1st one just dropping the clutch....the car went all over the place hopping lol. the 2nd time i took it to 2,300 and feathered the clutch and played with the throttle until i felt the car actually hook then smashed it. by feathering i mean as in when you accelerate don't just let the whole clutch out....ease it out while accelerating but also dont just punch it all the way, your RPMs should hold at around a certain number rather than bouncing around, until you feel the car on the ground then you punch it. hard to explain but that is the main picture. __________________ '09 6spd. Touring: Eibach / SPC / Motordyne / Berk / Z1 / Oneighty / Mines / SSR / Stillen / CFE

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