I plan on drag racing my 1983 Z28 cross-fire next year, is there anything i should expect besides racing?

 

Do expect to run quick. lol Do you have anything done to it?What do you mean by expect? Have fun and keep your car in good shape.

 

i mean like, how they line up, how much time do you get to warm your car up before actually starting, and do you get a piece of paper proving how fast you went? (so when you brag you have the proof). that stuff. but no, i haven't done anything yet, that's why i said next year. i want to put a 3.73 gear on it, get some more tuning, better air intake and exhaust, and maybe when i get the money a new camshaft.

 

Just watch a few times and you'll see how they line up. You can warm your car if you want too, but I think everyone will think you're nuts.

And yeah you get a peice of paper, it's called a timeslip and it has all of your numbers on it.

 

Well my first trip to the track was last july 2004. Test and Tune night. I was in street run what ya brung class. First, you get tech inspected and numbered. There are cars and bikes all in different classes seperated to their sections. Street guys ran first. then slick race cars, then bikes and jr drags, and then street again. On test and tune, it is just for fun and testing purposes. Cars are waved in and then line up in burn out box. They tell you where to go and when your in the box to burn out. You do your thing and creep up to staging beams. They help both cars line up. When both are staged they start the tree. Then you go. Run the 1/4 and then exit at one of the exits. Ride down the road leading back and you will come to a little building where track times are logged and printed. Someone is outside to hand you your timeslip/bragging rights.

Then go back to where you started and turn off the car to cool it down and wait for trip 2. This was at pittsburgh raceway park. AKA Keystone.

At real bracket race nights, I am not sure but you get the idea. Where you racing at? You should get time trials to dial in and then wait till your class is up and roll into the track as officials guide you.

 

ok, i'm going to be going to a test and tune night, i don't want to actually do it right off the bat. kinda get a feel for it first. it's at some semi-small drag strip. every saturday they have test and tune day, and then betting in the afternoon. also every other friday, they have fast-n-furious competition. it's where you bring your street legal car and drag race em, so see who wins that. kinda cool.

 

Expect to cross the finish line after 16 seconds or so

 

i never said i wanted a good time. and how do you know i'm gonna get over 16 seconds?

 

I dont, I was just trying to be funny thats why I put the little rolling smilie face guy afterwards.

 

actually, i'll be getting around 9.9X... just kidding, i'm not expecting any better then a 13 at TOPS! 17 at worst. the very worst. see, i have, or will have, a 3.73 gear, or 3.23, depending on my tranny, i need to get under it, but it's only 6 inches off the ground and i can't get under it. but ok, 3.73/3.23 gear, better tuned engine (chips, fuses), lighter weight (remove non-needed stuff), street tires so i can drive it, not just race, and hopefully a better radiator so it compresses and cools the in coming air. but yeah, with that i'm not expecting better then 13 or 14. probly more like 15.XXX

 

a radiator wont compress anything but it will keep the water cooler but it will only keep the engine as cool as the tstat lets it id expect a perfect running crossfire in the 16s so if yours isnt id say something higher than that
jon
ps leave on the last yellow

 

my cross fire runs better then perfect, it purs in the front, and roars near the mufflers. there's nothing wrong with it. but about the radiator, i thought, if i saw right, i thought i saw one on jegs that said it helps compress, and cool in coming air. i'm pretty sure the one i have now is fine, but it looks a little beat up. and if i'll be getting 16.XXX something, what could i do to add more horsepower, besides a new camshaft/headers? (i don't have a whole lot of money)

 

If you have a turbo charger, that Jegs "radiator" will do that.

Most tracks well help you through the process if you tell them as soon as you get there that this is your first time. Also, go to http://www.nhra.com/basics/basics.html and read up. Note the links in the left margin as well.

P.S.: The "leave on the last yellow" is correct. It takes some time for the car to "roll out" from the lights, and the "goal" with reaction time is for your front tires to clear the 2nd staging light exactly when the green comes on - which means you have to be moving before the green comes on.

 

ok, thanks, this is helping a lot. i found this site http://www.goingfaster.com/spo/325_h...chevrolet.html that tells you how to add enough horsepower to get from 190 to 325, anyone think it's legit?

so far the mods i'm wanting on by next spring are 3.73 gear, compressor radiator, barely street legal muffler (it has some vortex in it to stop the gas from backing up, reducing the back pressure, and adding horsepower) lightening the weight, better chips/fuses (to increase amount of gas and air allowed into chambers). does anyone think this will get me to atleast 250 HP? i'm hoping so (starting from 175).

 

It's not legit, because I can't open it w/o signing in...

Okay, let's be clear about something: You don't have a turbo charger (or any other kind of supercharger), so the Jegs "compressor radiator" isn't something you can use.

 

If you want horsepower, start with exhaust, air intake, and headers, and get good tuned motor. That will maximize what you got but after that, you need some help with intake, heads, cam, etc. Thats where the power lies.

 

ok, thanks. i don't know about header just yet, but some day. right now i'm looking at exhaust (muffler) and intake.

 

This isnt the right forum for the engine stuff, but:

The very first thing you should do is your exhaust. All of it. From the headers all the way to the tailpipes. If you only replace part of it, you are doing absolutely no good. The intake is really something that you should be doing farther down the road. After suspension, heads, cam, etc. Dont forget the trans either, in stock form, they arent real good.

 

ok, i want a shifter kit (yes i sadly have an automatic) for my tranny, but, there are 50 different kinds, so i have no idea which one is best. and also, for suspension...i just found out one of my sway pars is now off on the back right side, sucks a lot, cuz now i need a new one. along with a ton of flooring.

 

Man, if the floors are bad, that sucks on these cars. The floor is kinda like your frame. Iwould put the money where it needs to be if I were you, repair damages, then exhaust, etc. like this:

1. Safety Issues
2. Tune-up (silly, but some people dont do it)
3. Exhaust
4. Suspension
5. This all kind of rely on each other but
a. heads and cam
b. trans and stall converter
c. intake
6. gears(rear)

Cam, intake, heads are something that kinda all go together. You can just upgrade a cam, but dont go to radical. No real improvement if you just change the intake though. With a bigger cam, you will need a better stall, stronger trans, and maybe better gears (depending on cam).

 

For drag racing, launch is critical for good success. Try to maximize what you have in the crossfire motor by just doing exhaust, gears, tires, suspension, and trans with good converter. Maybe roller rockers 1.6r to sqeeze so lift out of the cam. Good tune and maybe advance the timing. Suspension and tires, and like 2400 stall converter should help your car out alot. Its like adding horsepower. Then save up for the motor.

 

i have 3 rust holes in the floor, 2 a little bit smaller then a tennis ball (i know someone who can fix this stuff like new) and one i was just told was there, haven't looked at it yet, i'm assuming the same size. the way i found out about the sway bar, was when i floored it, it would make a loud "CACHUNK" noise. so i'm like what in the world. and found out one of my sway bars wasn't even on, sucks real bad