Thinking about going to the track
 

So I am thinking about going to the track tomorrow night (Capital Raceway). I have never done it before. It's a drag strip and not a true race track. I have been driving a manual for 21 years, and any racing I have done has been the illegal kind when I was much younger and not too bright.

Any tips? Do I want to burn out the tires before I go? Should I launch from about 4,000 RPMs? Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want to look like an idiot.

Find an empty parking lot and practice some launches. You cannot learn driving from reading peoples tips. Regardless of what we tell you here, you are still going to look silly when you go out there and try it for the first time. No replacement for a little practice. Get a good feel for the clutch and for how many revs you can give it for the perfect launch. Also remember you dont go on green, you go on the last yellow.

Ive never been either, and I will be in the same boat as you when I get mine.

Thanks. I don't want anyone to think I am a total novice at driving. I can heel-toe (won't do me any good in a straight line). I know the proper shift points, and with over 3,000 miles on the Z, I have a good feel for the clutch. I guess I'm looking for some protocal stuff, like your tip on going on the last yellow.

Do not do a burnout on your street tires.. slicks can benefit from the additional heat.. just completely avoid the burnout box.. don't get anything on your tires..

Just launch as you would at a red ligh.. I mean parking lot. :)

when you shift dont let off the gas , if you try and ride out 3rd u'll hit the rev limiter.. so be ready for a 4th gear shift at the end of the track

avoid the water box; no need to burn out either. Dont get discouraged, practice and have fun!

Well I went tonight and it was pretty embarrasing, but not my fault. The clutch pedal literally stuck to the floor. I had to stick my toe under it to pry it off the floor. It smelled like it burned the clutch up pretty bad, but the car seems to be running fine now. I hope I didn't damage anything.

Nope.. it's completely normal. It can happen on hard launches.. and embarrassing as all hell.

EDIT: t-ray corrected me below..

This is an irritating and common thing since the Z33 6MT's..

You are not alone. :)

Other than the clutch issue...hope you enjoyed it!!! Its great to see people being responsible and enjoying their cars the right way...on the track! ;)

Now go find yourself a good track day (HPDE) and you'll find yourself hooked in no time!!!

This behavior happened occasionally on the previous generation cars, but it was fairly rare. However, when the HR motor was introduced in 07, those cars saw this behavior all the time.

This behavior appears to be a side effect of the integrated slave cylinder on the new trannies(07+). There was an official tsb to service some aspect of this configuration, both from Nissan and from Infiniti. My wife's car has had the tsb performed, and the clutch still sticks to the floor occasionally. In fact, this happened to me on my test drive of the 370z quick shifting from 1st to 2nd at like 4k rpms.

BTW - this does not have anything to do with the dual mass flywheel.

Thanks t-ray.. I stand corrected.. good info..

+ 1 on finding a trackday...its more fun when the laps last more than 13 seconds at a time.

I agree this car is more meant for a road course as opposed to a straight line. I think I am going to do a Friday at the Track at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia. It's $250 and you get lots of instruction. There are no road courses here in Maryland.

The drag strip was fun though and at 20 bucks I will definitely do it again. It was just interesting to see cars that look like they belong in a junk yard run 12 second 1/4 miles.

Don't forget New Jersey Motorsports part just opened...that isn't too far from you either!!!