Drag Strip
 

Ok, I'm taking my lil ole '8 down to the strip tonight for the first time. Unfortunately it is an 1/8 mile track. I know this isn't the preferred track, but its close and I want to give it a run. Any suggestions as far as shifting, gas, takeoff, burnout???

Turn off DSC if you have it, rev to about 4,000 and feather out the clutch, being drive by wire I'd push the gas in quickly, but don't go wide open right away, in my experience the more gradual you push the gas, the less likely it is to bog, It feels like something in the computer over-richens the fuel at flat full out throttle.

Thanks, I don't mean to sound like a fool... what is DSC?

Dynamic Stability Control

Thanks guys... You will just have to understand my background. I drove 4 Ford Rangers for the past 5 years. I am trying to get back into this stuff. What kind of racing do most of you do?

Most people who race an '8 do so on a track, and not on a drag strip. It's not really a drag car... but man, can it handle! :D

I do remember someone saying to change the air pressure in the rear to help with wheel hop. Lower it probably??

Oh well, I guess there is just one way to find out. I know for a fact I will be up against 2 'stangs, and a z28... hopefully I can connect.

i ran 25psi in ther rears with a 5k clutch drop, it spins for a bit , but i found a little spin is O.K. I was getting 2.1 60' and 9.7 in the 1/8th. I beat a evo8, 350z and new mustang GT that night.

That's what I'm talking about. I have been wondering about the 350Z. That is what I wanted to hear for tonight. I could be wrong becuase I haven't really raced this car yet, but isn't the '8 a little better in the 1/4 than the 1/8? I am racing an 1/8 tonight... but was just curious.

Try 20-25Lbs in your rear tires.

I'll do it. I'll post some results up Monday for everyone.

because of the low torque, 1/8 mile is hard to get the engine staying in the sweet spot, I've done the 1/8 mile in my old Camaro, and went there when the designated track was closed just to goof off, but I mainly like to drift and mountain roads.

Thats pretty much what I had expected. I figured it would do a little better in the 1/4, but I'll just have to check the 1/8 out. Anyone know where a good track is in Texas?

Am I the only one that DOESN'T have DSC? The tech guys at Trussville Mazda thought I was either weird or that it was crazy I didn't have DSC. From what I can tell, and I figured this long ago, DSC sucks if you plan on doing any sort of racing or tuning. I just wanted to control the car myself, even if it meant sliding off the road, rather than have a computer stripping control.

yea it all depends on the driver between you and the 350z in the 1/8th, cut a good light and a good 60' you should take him

You cannot be serious. My friend pulls 9.0-9.1 1\8th's at 80MPH in his stock 350Z all day long and 13.9-14.1@100-101 in the 1\4.

I was looking at one of my friend's slips and he managed a 9.25 1/8 even with a miserable 2.35 60'

9.7 is about a 15.2-15.3 in the 1\4.

As I know since I own one, the lack of torque is a big disadvantage for 1/8 racing unless you want to make a habbit of launching at 7000-8000 and feathering the clutch.

I love my 8 but in everyday driving I really miss the low end power I used to have with my last car (Pontiac GTP)

Unless you're an excellent driver and the 350Z driver is very poor it ain't happenin, same goes for the EVO, especially in the 1/8th. That EVO should have destroyed you. Also, keep in mind many many guys that are up there don't care about their RT, they are just there to test and tune or make sure they get a good launch and the best time possible.

As far as the RX-8 being good or bad at the 1/8th compared to the 1/4, it's really about the same and it's not particularly good at either. In stock form it just isn't much of a drag racer (not many cars are really), but if you have fun going to the strip then by all means do so!

OK, I said I would post results... well, there are none. Due to construction I didn't arrive until about 1:00 and they were over at 2:30 so I just watched. After watching everyone else I should be ready this week. I saw some Mustang GT's pull about 9.8-10.2 in the 1/8, a Camaro SS pulled a 9.29, and a Dodge Neon that pulled an 8.8.?? There was also an RX-7 that pulled a 10.02. According to the Threads people generally pull a 9.4 to 9.8 in the RX-8 so I think I should do fair.

i hate to break it to ya but all tracks are different, the fastest 350z i have seen at our track is 9.5 and he had intake and exhaust, i beat the same 350z twice that day, if it were a 1/4 he would have caught me as he was pulling pretty hard in 3rd

yea the evo should have raped me but he did'nt want to launch for fear of his clutch going out ( a common problem with the stock evo8 clutch on the strip) but the 350z i beat twice it was'nt by much but a win is a win

What kind of mods do you have?

just a custom cat back we made and a drop in filter, nothing major

Well, it's Friday... I guess it's race night. Also I haven't seen any numbers on the M-Flash update, so I will try to post some for you guys. I am going to run my car tonight and get the M-Flash tomarrow at 11. I may run again tomarrow night (weather permitting). I don't know what flash I have now, but I know the 20x brake test didn't work so I have something prior to L. Any advice except "drive fast"?

Be careful, don't fry your tranny and clutch. And HAVE FUN!

RX80-TX... I have seen a few of your posts, but just now noticed you were from Richardson. Were you at the last ROAD meeting? I can understand frying the clutch... have people had problems with the tranny?

Launching at 7k a bunch of times is hard on your clutch. Don't power shift er any of that crap, its hard on the syncro's (trust me i killed my civic tranny like that; and yes i know, i know)

Yeah, I was there. I think I was the last one to arrive with my wife.

I know that Judge Ito had problems with his transmission. Look the only sticky on this forum.

Well, I said I would come back with a full report, and that is what I intend to do. I got there Friday night and started checking everything out. I ended up running but only picked up 2 of my slips... my best and my worst. The first time up I was going to line up with an S2000. They had the left lane blocked, so we ran solo. I am completely stock, and left the tire pressure alone (stupid). I took off from the line and the tires just spun, then began to hop. Finally I caught traction about half way through 1st and it felt pretty good. I ran a 9.93.

The next time around I was going to line up against a BMW 3.25. Once again something happened. As I went to line up, I got staged and began to rev her up. I looked over in the other lane and there was a neon srt-4. The same car that earlier smoke a 'vette. Mopar sickers all over it..... Anyway forget him, I ran a 9.92. Everything went just like the first time.

The third time around was my worst. I finally got lined up with the BMW. The light turned green and I tried to feather the clutch to keep from hopping...Should have adjusted tire pressure...I didn't spin, and I ran a 10.34. The BMW ran a 10.54 so I felt bad, but at least I won.

Next I lined up with the S2000. This was some asian guy that put a supercharger on. I saw him running 9.3s to 10.0s. He wasn't very consistent. We lined up and I tried not to feather too much, but still not spin. I ran a 10.11 as the S2000 ran a 10.00. I felt terrible.

Then I was on my way out and an Eclipse w/ turbo decided to change my '8. I just kind of laughed, then he said he had already blown 2 of them away... so I took the opportunity. Everything felt better. I had my best take off (still not right, but better) and ran a 9.88. I had a 2.31 second 60'. The eclipse ran a 10.54, then said that was his best time ever. Didn't make any sense.

Well, that was my night at the drags. I went Saturday and got the M-Flash. I can definitely feel a better power curve and expect it to help a little. I will have to wait 2 weeks to find out, but will post results.

Sunday I was testing it out and hit about 110 mph and my check engine light started to flash, so I guess I will get that checked out.

S2000's run about a 9.2 1\8 stock.

I doubt VERY much it was supercharged. And even if the track was under elevation it would not effect it since its FI. Even more reason it was most likly not SC'd. And if it did by chance have a SC in it and it was tuned properly to use the SC it would probably be running 8.2-8.5 1\8s without a sweat on street tires.

I don't think anybody is dumb enough to supercharger a car that has under 130 peak torque to the wheels and a 8800 redline, you would be asking for trouble and the lag would be rediculas on top of it.. Only turbos would make sense for small 4 cyl engines.

Don't you mean the other way around? A turbo would represent a terrible lag, whereas an SC would represent INSTANT tq from low rpms?

I've seen plenty of SC'd stook owners on S2Ki, very few turbo'd

Yeah, I witnessed this SC. It was his first night on the track and wasn't very comfortable with the car. Like I said, he was ranging from 9.29 - 10.01... He didn't know exactly how to drive it yet.

So your level elevation right?

And what was the temp/humidity?


Those times are probable good for low 15s in the 1/4 mile.

Here is a slip from my old nissan specV.

60' ... 2.395
330 ... 6.536
1/8 ... 9.929
mph ... 72.37
1000 ... 12.885
1/4 ... 15.381
mph ... 89.69

Id expect your car to pull a little better in third.

What are your trap speeds in the 1/8?

Well, I don't have a scan of the slip... But I will post the numbers tomorrow. It was 75 degrees and humid as can be. It rained almost all day, then quit at about 7. The races started at 11:00 pm and I started at about 12. My 60' time was 2.31 and my 1/8 was 9.88 at 72 mph. Elevation is 600'.

I thought your best 1/8 was 9.92?

No, I ran a 9.88 against the eclipse, which was my last run. I have that time slip. I'll try to find a scanner. I'll go ahead and post those numbers tomorrow until I find a scanner.

ah I see...
well here is a 9.8 from my specV...

60 ... 2.299
330 ... 6.442
1/8 ... 9.832
mph ... 72.30
1000 ... 12.780
1/4 ... 15.269
mph ... 90.03


And your car definitely pulls better after the 1/8th so you need to get to a 1/4 mile track ;)
i'd say 14.9-15.4

I agree just based on the fact that it feels to pull pretty good in 3rd... and at 72 mph I am not even getting in to 3rd good. I have found a 1/4 mile track nearby, but plan on going back to the 1/8 just as a comparison before and after the M-Flash. I don't know if it will really make a difference or not, but it feels a little more powerful through all the way through. I know the weather will probably be different too, but I just want to see. Then I will try the quarter mile.

you should go to the 1/4...screw the 1/8th.

You get BOTH when you go to the 1/4 mile just judge from that.

True... I will check out the schedule for the 1/4 mile track... It will be a couple of weeks before I go back anyway.

14.02 ill try to find the slip.No offence but if the cars you listed are accurate they all sound like high 12 to high 13 cars.Ive seen a sc s2k run a 12.53.
now the 14.02 was a 7500k bomb and i have 275 nt555 on the rear.

:eek: you ran a 14.02??

Actually, in this instance, a turbo would produce better midrange torque if this is referencing a centrifugal supercharger. They do not even begin to make power until 4k rpm. They are fine if you are driving on a track and keeping the revs high but a turbo really is better for making power. Take a look at the powerband on those supercharged comptech S2K's.

Not a centrifugal, those are dependant on engine speed -both are, but a centrifugal needs more velocity to spool enough, am I wrong?-. I was talking about a -possitive displacement??- where the SC is spooled up from moment your press the pedal...ok, ok I gotta go back and keep reading my book... :D

Keep in mind the S2000 has VERY little torque until after the VTEC threshold. And if I remember off the top of my head peak torque isn't reached until somewhere between 6-7K RPMS! So when you introduce the resistance of a centrifugal supercharger in addition to the VERY LOW torque numbers it produces low range your talking lag and a real crap powerband for everyday driving.

The only way a SC'd S2000 is good is if its a race car and the car will be launched at high RPMS off the line. I can see pulling a 9.8-10 in the 1\8 with an SC'd S2000 if its not launched at a high RPM and just eased off the line, the lag would be torchure! I would NEVER want to drive a SC'd S2000 in my everyday travels..

Oh, and that is exactly what happened in my case. The light turned green and I launched out ahead. The S2000 had no power off the line and didn't catch me until 1/2 way through second. I watched him run many times. Even including his 9.29 he was still sloooow off the line. No power at all. He coulc have got sub 9's if he hadn't been scared (cautious as some people call it)

My Last Car was A Pontiac GTP too RedRx8Guy. Boy do I miss that torque! I was Pushin' 300 Horses in that thing! Can't beat American Cars with their Torque.

Thats for sure.. Was your pulley'd too? I had installed the smaller SC pulley and put in an aftermarket exhaust. I wasn't crazy about the exhaust note but one things for sure, no matter what speed\rpm you were at, all you had to do was mash the pedel and whammo, your buzzing thru the RPMs with instant response.

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lol haha yea i have to see that to believe it too. nt555? street radials? or track...