I'm going to the drag strip tomorrow for the first time. My dad and I have a grudge match going on (his 350z vs my mustang gt) so the more advice the better. What is the best way to launch these cars and at what rpm? Also what can I take out to make my car lighter? Anything besides floor mats, spare tire, rear seat and shaker 1000? Thanks -Andrew

 

passenger seat, the jack, if you have 20" wheels, lose them and swap the stockers. Lower the tire pressure so they grip better.

and a good p[:-][:-]p before the race .

I think you'll take him easy.

 

With your mods and taking everything out mentioned above, I'd say you should smoke the 350Z with ease. On a good day they might run 13.9 stock...is your dad's Z stock?

Also, finding the right RPM to launch at all depends on how you're hooking up that day. Try launching around 2000 rpm and if you spin bad, go lower.

 

Thanks for the advice. Any idea what kind of time I could run? All my mods are listed in my sig. My dad doesn't think I can even break into the 13's. I think I'll hit high 13's easy.

 

is his 350z stock?

and are you an auto or manual?

 

My dad had a 2003 automatic 350z, and my car is a manual.

 

You will need to make a few practice runs before the race. If you have never done it before, it can be humbling.

 

shift early.....I mean don't redline and hit the limiter...that will kill a good run.


Don't focus on your opponent.....stay "inside" your car. Eyes on the tach.


Don't mess with the water box, just spin the debris off your tires at the line.


If you think you are going to spin badly when shifting from 1 to 2 then "roll" into full throttle like on a motorcycle.(don't just stand on it)


With all your traction mods you should hook up well and smoke him pretty badly.

 

all good posts from those above. listen to them. that's the stuff i've always been told when i ask for advice... yet,i've never been to a track before. the closest 1/4 mile track isover an hour and a half away in gainseville, fl. we did have a 1/8 track here that closed downroughly2 years agothat i've never used. since it's closure street racing has gone up and theres no word if a new track is evergoing to open. oh well. []

but ya, good advice posted here.

 

launching between 1.8K and 2K andwith your mods you should be in the mid to low 13's. with a pair of MT's, a good tune and the track in good conditionthe high 12's are possible.

You want to focus on getting your 60' times as low as possible (below 2.0 sec)