Drag Racing Tips
 

I'm hitting up the local drag strip. It's my first time out there with my 370z. I thought, I'd ask for some tips and tricks from our drag racing veterans.

How much psi should my front and rear tires be at?
What rpm is our sweet spot?
Should I avoid the burn-out puddle?
Is a helmet required as I don't even know if I could hit 13's, but the 370z is known as a 13 second car?
How much gas should I have in the tank on my way to the track?
Does the track have a gas station?
Should I try 100 octane race gas?
When should I launch at (regarding the tree)?

I've got more questions, but lets give these a start.

1. avoid the burnout if you are on street tires
2. Might as well wear a helmet, wont hurt.
3. 1/4 of a tank
4. Sometimes, but it is usually expensive.
5. No, it wont make a difference, specially if this is your first time.
6. Launch when it turns green!

It is really about getting a feel for the car. Everyone does things differently, what is fast for you may be slow for others.

The first couple of times, launch like you would on the street just to get a feel for the track.

C'mon guys help out a noob.

Launch when the last yellow light flashes :tup:

I ran my street tires at 29psi

Went to the track and timed it perfect with the gas tank level and had only 3 led lights on! Less gas=Less weight.... Gas is 6.1 lbs per gallon FYI



Dont do a burn out if on street tires just spin them quick to clean them off if staging lanes are not clear and clean....


And yes use a helmet


Most track dont have a gas station unless it is race fuel 110 or 113 oct.





DAN

Excellent tips Dan. I will be running street tires (oem potenzas). Just the rears at 29psi right? I hear that I should raise the front tires psi, is this true?

I wouldnt, Just stay at the standard tire pressure you are running on the fronts if you lower it your handeling will suffer yes even if you are going in just a straight line.....






DAN

2 additional thoughts.....

BE SURE race fuel isnt LEADED.

AVOID the WATER (at least with the front tires). You don't want water resting in the tread and when centrifugal force expels that water....guess where your back tires will be going? Good way to get crossed up off the line.

I have to agree it's very important to avoid the water. Ruined my last day at the drag strip last year because they had the lanes blocked off so that it was impossible to avoid the water. Didn't even realize that I was touching the water until someone else told me after watching me run.

Another thing to remember is to take out all the crap from the trunk. I feel like it definitely helped my out a bit. Just keep experimenting till you find the best launch rpm and then keep trying at that rpm.

Most tracks have a gas station fairly close by, but it will require you to leave for gas. I'd plan on having no more than a 1/4 tank when you get to the track. Also, if your engine or transmission temps start to climb, try to cruise around for a bit instead of just immediately stopping after your run. Airflow helps a ton with cooling the car. Everyone else has had some good info so far.

Sub'd. Might give It a try also...

Depending on your track I would reccomend spinning your tires before you get to the line to clean them off. I get better launches that way as sometimes gravel and stuff will get on them and hurt your launch. Also idk if anyone has mentioned this yet but your reaction time has nothing to do with your 1/4 time, so on your first run let the light turn green before you even think about launching, don't rush yourself. Lower pressure in the rear might help your launch very slightly but it also might lower your trap speed. Good luck!

Oh and typically I would lift in 2nd but leave the gas planted when shifting 3rd and 4th. No lift shifts in 3rd and 4th can potentially shave a tenth or two off your time. And don't come off the line too hard ive seen so many new people ruin there times by trying to launch too hard and end up spinning way to much. you should have very minimal wheel spin off the line.

A few other points I need to add:

Don't worry about the guy in the next lane. Just focus on your car, your lane and your time.

DO NOT DUMP THE CLUTCH. You'll just end up spinning out the tires and running crappy times. Just hold your RPM and let the clutch out easy (harder than you would on the street but not dumping it at the same time). Then as the tires grip and the rearend squats, give it more gas.

Don't be discouraged by less than great results your first time (or first few times) at the track. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Powershift if you're comfortable with it.

And don't forget to have fun.

Post your results too.

transformer - are you sure I should deflate my front tires and not my rear tires instead. our 370z's are rear wheel drive after all.

oops, had it backwards. :icon17:

fixed my post from earlier

I just went for my first time last weekend. Tons of fun. I didn't take it too seriously and honestly didn't even know if I was going to run it once I got there or just hang out and watch/photograph the other Z's/G's in my group. I got 14's every run (14.2 was my fastest I think) with lots of photo equipment in the trunk, a bag of clothes, and my car cover in its bag lol! Next time I go I will definitely have the intention of at least running 5 times and go much more prepared. The drag strip was about an hour away from my place so when I got there my oil temps were hovering around 220degrees so I let it cool down a while before deciding to make my first pass. By the way, is that just what you call a run? A pass? I'm a newb too haha. Anyways my first pass (I'll call it that) I accidentally left VDC on even though I knew to take it off, but had just restarted my car after waiting to go behind 2 cars that were taking a while to get started. Needless to say that run sucked cause it caught right at the beginning in first gear but I still managed a 14 second run and I always had it off after that. Second pass I had my windows rolled down cause it was hot out and it takes a minute to get up to the starting line and after slowly creeping up to the staging lights and coming to a stop I was like "oh sh!t my windows aren't up" and rolled them up as the lights were counting down which totally threw off my concentration. I wish I knew about the whole lights don't matter about your 1/4 time thing and will definitely be utilizing this next time I go as it would have let me focus more and also there were more than 1 occasion were one car slid into the other lane and one wreck! Figure ill let them go first and try not to get hit, it was pretty crazy. My third pass is where things started working out a little better. I tried to rev it a little higher (like 2500-3k) instead worrying about keeping the tires from spinning at all and that time I took off faster but got some wheel hop the majority of 1st gear. My 4th pass was my best run, dropping the clutch from roughly 2grand and getting a perfect launch. Never made it to helmet range damnit! I never burned out or spun the tires before a pass so that, along with over half a tank of gas and a full trunk of goodies probly didn't help. No worries though it was lots of fun and my first drag experience. Both G's in my group were getting mid, maybe low 13's and the other 370z with a few breather mods and took out his spare tire, jack, and passenger seat got either 13.02, or 13.2 fastest time. All but mine were tiptronic. Almost forgot to mention this, my shifts from 1st to 2nd were killing my times. Would have definitely been in the 13's but when shifting near 7k from 1st to 2nd it wouldn't go into 2nd right away, I'm assuming from stress or something. Was in a Porsche the day before cruising around and took it to 7k in first and it shifted to 2nd like butter..... WTF is wrong with my car?!?! It only has 33k miles. Is this a common issue that can be resolved with an upgraded clutch and flywheel combo or less? Someone also mentioned synchros may be going out? I'm completely 100% stock. Let me know what you guys think and hopefully you guys find something from my drag racing experience helpful.

Dallaz- If you have uprev you can tune your AT for more aggressive shifts.

All of this is good info. Do you have a vid or pic of the cars wrecking? Weight and concentration are 100% the biggest factors in drag racing I believe.

Here is my pass. Invidia exhaust. OEM tires.



https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...81023646_n.jpg

Great Thread! I'm going drag racing 1/4 mile, my first time later this evening.

Any more tips for us guys running a 7AT?

My rears are worn out but I'm gonna be trying to launch at about 2k. traction control off of course. Should I be shifting right at the rev limiter or a little sooner? This is my DD and I'm guessing launching & redline shifting is really bad for the tranny.

I've found that 1500 rpm is best for launching, but that will probably vary a bit based on track conditionsand your tires. Try and see which works vest for you. I try to shift right before redline.

...thinking about giving this a shot next weekend.

What happens if I leave VDC on first time there ? Will I blow up ?

Do you paddle shift with the 7AT, or should i just floor it and hang on and let the AT shift ?

Turn the VDC off if you want to run a good time.

As you can see in my video, I launched at 2k rpm. Worked for me. Any higher and I'd get wheel spin.

Thanks. Seems what everyone does, so I guess I shall do it that way. Lot of stories about VDC being off and not good results sometimes happening to folks on the street, so was just wondering mainly about is it safer.

Another thing I was wondering, with coilovers, would it better to have the rear set softer so it forces the car to squat down on the rear more at take off ... thinking it would enhance launch maybe ? Or do I have that backwards.

Leave the VDC off. Those stories are not from when people are driving in a straight line. I just went for the first time and had it turned on the first pass i made on accident cause I had turned the car off just before getting to the line.

When I launched I had no wheel spin cause I wanted to take my first ever drag strip run mildly, but once I had went maybe 10 feet and was pedal to the floor in first it kicked in and completely cut power for a second and ruined that run.

You'll want the rears to be at maximum stiffness. You don't want your rear to drop. And your fronts should be on the lowest stiffness level (just while at the drag strip of course, these are bad street settings)

It's probably a little different for me since I'm running all season tires. I usually get wheel spin at 2k.

I disagree. IMO softer rear setting should work better, it helps with the weight transfer to the rear end.

But I see where you're going with the softer front setting [to allow the frontend to lift and transfer weight to the rear]. Have you had better results doing it this way?

Gotcha on the VDC.

Easy enough to adjust the coilovers so I guess I can give that a shot.

Just want to try and get on the official 1/4 mile forum list, even if it is last place :tup:

That's what I was thinking with the rear.

You'll get on the list no matter what time you get, as long as you post the timeslip :icon17:

I'm not giving the dampening suggestions by experience, but have been told by the shop that installed the Coilovers on our Camaro that when we take it to the strip we'll want to stiffen the rear and do the opposite on the front. Whether they are cranked all the way or not the car will still dip a little and the weight be transferred to the rear end. I believe this is for preventing wheel hop which I experienced on one of my hard launches at the drag strip. I might be wrong

Hmmm... sounds like a FWD honda setup IMO.

From what I've seen, the Nismo owners (350 & 370) have more trouble at the dragstrip because of the stiffer springs. Same with anyone with aftermarket coilovers that are setup for auto-x or road course.

I'll figure out exactly why he said to use those settings and then explain it again, Cause I'm not sure.

Great tips guys. Keep 'em coming. I'm heading back out to the drag strip in April. Hopefully I can hit mid to low 13's.

Great tips!! But you guys can tell me some tips of a 7AT transmission? Im a noob too and I want to know wich rpm are the bests to start correctly the pass in a 7AT