I have a 1991 z28 350 tpi with a few mods, and 275 kumho low profile tires. I am gonna take my car to the track soon(1/8 mile) and I want to know how to cut the best time. I know that 60' has a LOT to do with it, but I need to know some details. Also I have an a4 transmission, and a decent stall.

1. What gear should I start in?
2. What RPM should I launch at?
3. How should I do my burnout, or should I do one at all?
4. The car is lowered, will this make a difference in what I should do?
5. Should I shift around 4800 or a little lower?

All input appreciated, thank you.

 

best mine ever ran was a 9.2@76 on a drag radial with a 1.85 60'. on slicks i went a 8.81@79mph with a 1.65 60. i had a flowmaster muffler, no cat, smog/ac delete, air foil, adjustabul fpr, lower 2.5 inchs(!) and msd wires and coil. stock lca's and no sfc's. stock converter everything else was too.i shifted at 4800-5000. i ran it up on the converter as hard as i could( about 1500) and manually shifted the trans from first gear. i had to do quite a burnout to get it to hook. my car at the time made 229hp and 330tq to the wheels. on a 70hp shot i went a 8.1@89mph making 307whp and 437wtq. by the mph i could have gone 7.5's, but it didnt hook as well as i needed it too on the nitrous. i hit the 70 shot at about 60feet out and it would spin some and then would hook. my slicks were pretty worn......

 

I dont know exactly what you have in your 350 but what your cam is rated for should tell you when to shift. If it is a stock cam then i'm not too sure. For instance, my cam is rated for 1800-5800 rpms. I have a 2500 stall and i get about 1900 out of it and i shift at 5900-6000.

 

Oh i for got to tell you that if you wear those tires out or decide to change them try not to get radials. I'm not sure about the ones you have but most radials are made of a hard rubber. The softer the better you will hookup.

 

how about drag radials?
bias ply sucks period
i drive everyday on my et streets and they have to have 25psi of air to make them managable. there not too bad, but deff leaves something more to be desired.

 

Drag radials would be good, like good year eagles,but i know what you mean about the et streets manageability with the 2 ply wrinkle walls.

 

I would experiment with everything till you find what works best for you. But I can tell you that street radials + lowering (with stock LCA's and no LCA drop brackets I assume) + TPI torque = very hard to launch and poor 60ft. times.

Just get alot of seat time and watch the ET's drop. Let us know how you do.

 

goodyear dosnt make a drag radial.

 

Goodyear is coming out with a drag radial line pretty soon.

http://www.racegoodyear.com/products/dot_drag.html

 

Well I should be going up there next weekend after I change my alternator, change the oil, and have my new K&N filter in. Guy before me said he ran 8.8's on slicks...i'm hoping to atleast get into the low 9's

 

i dont know how well prepped your track is, but my track allowed me to pull a 1.94 60 foot time on stock LCA's with eibach prokit 1-1.5 inch drop springs, and street tires that were worn out. i have a 2800 stall and 2.77 gears and ran the 1/8 at like 8.90 on that run. only power mods are headers/catback, stock cat, gutted airbox and taylor wires...

my best to date is 8.80 at 77mph with a 1.895 60 foot on same setup as before but with fresh street tires (same brand/size) and spohn LCA's but no brackets yet.

start in first gear and bring it up to about 4800rpms and shift second. if you dont have a shift kit, then probly be best to shift at 44-4500 cuz it might take a little time to shift into 2nd, so the shift may occur at 4800rpms. then take second to about 4600-4800rpms as well. Although on my 13.89 1/4mile run i took second to 5000rpms. that might have hurt me, it might not have. i gotta try again to see. but in the 1/8, i am not sure you see that high rpm in second

on street tires, i only did a little burnout. enough to get alittle smoke but mostly clear the debris and water off the tires. my street tires are Fulda Carrat Extremo's with a tread wear rating of 180. so they are pretty soft and sticky. but too much of a burnout just greases them up on the street so i am not sure it would be best to do that at the track. but i only ran my car a few times so i have much more to learn.

 

Nice, i'd love to be able to hit an 8.90, ill let you all know next weekend.

 

What exactly does it mean to "lock-up your converter?" I know that you are talking about the torque converter but do I just power brake it and floor it or what do you mean?

 

the converter is designed to "lock up" at a certain rpm. mine is rated at 2800 rpm stall, which means it will slip and allow the motor to reach 2800 rpm before fully engaging the transmission and applying all the power. stock converters are like 1600rpms i think.

at the line, i hold the brake in and press the gas to bring my rpms up to about 2500rpms. light goes green, and i let of the brake and step into the pedal (not stomp, i step into it). the car hooks and takes off nicely. Definately improves times over stock converter. i never ran the car with the stock converter, but on the street it was a tad tricky getting it to launch right and hook good. the trick is gettin a little wheel spin to bring the rpms up higher untill the car hooks up and takes off like it should. its all about controlling wheel spin and getting as much power to the ground as you can with the stock converter off the line. its kinda hard to describe, but just practice it. i did all the time on this back road by my house. i found what worked best for me.

if not done right, it definately felt sluggish at low rpms till 2800-3000rpms rolls in. that new converter really opened it up and makes it easy to launch.

 

7.78 @ 89mph.

Put a slick on it and launch hard. Real hard. This isn't the best way for your rear to last, but it'll get you movin.

 

Why would I only put one slick on it?

 

i think he ment 2 slicks. by the way u make it to the track yet.

 

yeah I made it to the track and it was terrible. The best time I could hit was a 9.2 and that was still spinning half-way down the track. I literally had smoke rollin from my tires at like the midway point. I tried so many different ways to take off and I just couldnt stop the spin. I'll try again once I get new tires.

 

What works for me on street tires is to foot brake it ,then right before last yellow goes off I let off of the brake and let the car lunge forward gradually getting into the gas as fast as possible with out completely overwhelming the tires.

 

Trust me when I say "I tried everything." I tried just slowly pressing the pedal to the floor, but it seemed like no matter how far I got on the track as soon as I put the pedal to the floor, it started spinning. My best run was 9.268 @ 76 mph with a 2.1 60' time. That was still with a lot of spinnage. I guess i've just done a few too many burn-outs and donuts on my ol' tires. I'm gonna have to get some new ones. I want to drive on the street and strip without having to get slicks. What hooks up well on the track, but rides well on the street? Any suggestions?

 

I used 235/60/15 Firestone Firkawk SS radials, and managed a 7.4@ 96 in the 1/8 and 11.7@119 using the technique I described in my old 1980 z28.

 

Another thought is to avoid driving thru the water box. Water will get caught in the tread of your front tires leaving a nice trail for your backs to spin thru.

 

what track were u at. if it was coles county i understand why u spun so bad that track sucks. try getting some nittos. i know a guy who cut a 1.66 60' on there 16' drag radials.

 

Yeah I was at coles county...where are you from?

 

i live in urbana. i've been to coles county but never down the track. i have several friends who have been there and can't hook at all.

 

damn man we live close, i live in champaign...

 

kyle, you need more practice. Trapping at 74mph isn't going to get you 8.5 pass. As stated above, others have ran 7's on a street tire, learn to pedal it. The gas pedal isn't an on off switch.