My friend has a 94 Z28 LT1, i want to smoke his *** because he thinks his car is the fastest thing around, his is a 6 speed and, he wouldent admit it but he cant shift all that great, OKay the question is i wanna know what to do to get the best launch i can get so maybe i can overtake him in the begining, and maybe kick his A**!, so basically im asking how should i drive my car in a race, like should i shift the gears myself (my car is automatic) or should i just start in Drive, and should i floor it from the start or gradually ease on the gas??? that kind of stuff thanks for your help -Don :hail:

 

First off, don't shift manually if you don't have a ratchet shifter, since being in a hurry while racing you're more likely to slide past a gear or worse into N like I had done before.
Next, fine the fine line in your throttle between losing traction and gripping. And go from there.

 

^ Couldnt say it any better then him

Practice your launching, and you will get use to the throttle you need for best take off without burning out.

(I hope you kick his ****) :lala:

 

dude, i dont know, i shift my car manually and it performs alot better, my car pulls alot harder up top. its not very hard to bump it up one gear, you dont even have to press the button you just tap it up. it doesnt take a whole lot of effort to move it up, practice it a few times and you'll notice its very easy. also, like stated earlier, launching is very important. find out what is the best rpm to load your car at without gettin too much tire spin.

 

I dont understand that. What does your car shift at? Mine shifts at the red line, I dont see how me shifting manually will help...


Unless you mean your car shifts early so you shift manually to shift later?

 

Actually i also notice that my car performs better and is more responsive when i manually shift. I think it causes the tranny to hold the gear much firmer and there is reduced overall slippage because all the fluid/pressure is being allocated to hold and stay in that gear instead of being used to make the next shift out of the gear. I heard someone say it has to do with TC lockup but i think the tranny only locks it in overdrive. I'm sure someone who knows auto trannies can chime in. I'm no expert just a theory..........

 

shifting manualy or auto...shouldnt make much of a difference.

The most important thing (as said earlier) is the launch. You NEED to get a great launch if you are getting into a race with someone who could be faster than you. Go to a parking lot or deserted road and practice your launches. You should leave the line as hard as you can without spinning your tires. I always used to hold hard on the brake, give her a little gas and bring the rev's up to around 1200rpm (the best point is different for every car), hammer it and let off the brake on the green. At the track I was able to cut 2.0 60'ers like that with my '85.

LT1 6 speed cars run low 14's with a good driver. A great driver may be able to pull a high 13 out of one. However the average driver at the track pulls around 14.3's.

Good luck
-Doug

 

the whole reason that my car performs better when i manually shift it is that my stupid tranny shifts out of each gear at under 5k, and the 2-3 shift is deadly as if i let it do it on its own it will drop too low into third. i shifted manually and my trap speed was 89 mph, the next time that same day i had the same 60', nearly the same 1/8th, but i came in at 84 mph. the tranny shifted out of second way too soon.

 

Shifting manually, there is more line pressure in the 1-2 shift causing a firmer shift.
Z28onTweenkies, I forget what motor do you have and your mods? I thought I remember LG4, if so that cam stops producing power past 4500rpms or so, so you're wasting your time and power shifting later, I believe a lot of people are confused that when the exhaust is louder they think they're going faster.

 

What are you guys talking about? I always shift manually, it's the only way to drive!

 

Hey Don 89 IROC, jus curious how many miles ya got on that 355?

 

I shift manually. If I let it shift on it's own it goes at 4500 or so. I manually hold it to 5300 and just bump it. I really don't think about it though, guess I pratice it more than I thought. I've done it both ways, and if I get the same 60' time I run about 2 tenths quicker in the 1/8 and about 3 mph faster. But for brackets mine is very consistent if I drop it in D and go. Anybody can get a 9.7 out of it this way. Stomp and go. Later

 

If you apply the brake and rev motor up it will preload the suspension which is good. I pull 1.7s 60ft times in a first gen bird with cal tracs.If I dont pre load the susppension I will spin even if I floor it at 15 to 20 miles per hour. You need to practice your launch at different RPM s . Its not as impressive to watch but if you check out those 6 sps 60ft times they suck! I know of a 4th gen doing 11.3 @ 125 mph but his best 60ft time is 2.3secs.The 3rd gens with autos can easily get under 2secs. You will take him out of the hole but make sure its a short race cuz he will take you on top end no problem. Actually 355 cid may have good top end depending how your engine is built?

 

for some reason the 700R4 in the LG4 cars shifts way to early. In my Z, it shifts at 4200rpm at WOT. so, in the Camaro, i shift manually when racing. in the Vette, however, the auto trans shifts at 4800, which is about where my peak power ends anyway, so i just let the tranny do the shifting for me. never in OD, though, i leave it in D (3rd).

 

you guys heard of flashing the convertor? i think it's only good for stock convertors but I really don't know. anyway, it's where you rev the motor just a little on launch, like only a few hundred rpms. you kind of get some inertia going in the motor and torque convertor, but not enough to engage it. when you do launch, you have the revs up a little bit and then you can mash the throttle and release the brakes. I tried it in my mom's trailblazer (don't laugh) and could certainly feel the difference over just flooring it.

Is that what flashing the convertor is or am I just full of crap? My maro is a 5 speed so i have little experience with fast autos.

 

Curious, when do ya guys get a chance to floor it? I hardly ever get a chance around here, around my town. I can't find any parking lots WITHOUT security. My car is just to fast to floor it, I believe I've hit 2nd gear with WOT, but to have WOT to 3rd gear, is almost impossible. It sux having such a fast car, and cant hardly use the power. And my brakes sux too, atleast in MO, so I still can't go too fast. The fastest I went on the streets, was like 60. And on a tight road, with all these @sshole that park their cars on the road, when they have like 50ft driveways, p!sses me off. But I just gave a little pedal, if I floored it, I'd probably hit like 90, and at too fast a rate.

 

I have only about 400 miles on the new engine but the car has 138,000 miles on it

 

And I know of a 4th gen 6 speed that runs 11s on motor and cuts 1.4 60ft times! :hail: BMR rear suspension