Yo, I would say turn off the EDC before u doing any race'n. (If u know u can control the car well) coz if ur tires "geek" and the EDC isn't off, than ur RPM will drop from "I will say" 6000 to 3000...(just an example). Ya, if so, ya, you will be behind 10000000 feet !!! ^^ j/k. Best to shift @ 6200-6300 RPM (correct me if I am wrong, ya, any professional that reading this), you will loss torque if over 6300. Anyways, good luck to you tonite !!!

 

Just remember this, a race is pretty much won or lost in the 1st 100' of the race. I've put the hurting on many faster cars at the track only because I outreacted and out 60 footed them. On the street, many observers would think my car was quicker. At the track, the timing board tells the real story. This is another reason why street racing to gauge your mods is totally pointless.

Here's how I've gotten my best times out of my G35.

Shallow stage - this means you set the prestage light and then creep ever so slowly until the stage lights up. If you do this right, you'll get an extra 6 to 7" of roll out before the timers started. It doesn't sound like much, but it really is.

Stall up the TC - Once you're staged, hold the brake, and put your foot on the gas (not applying it though). When the Christmas Tree lights start falling, mash the brake, mash the gas to the floor, release the brake the second you see the 3rd amber comes on.

Manually shift 2nd to 3rd - I let my car shift the 1-2 itself because in my 03, I can't manually shift quick enough without tapping the limiter. For 2nd gear, I manually hold it till 6400rpms and then shift up to 3rd. The car shifts around 6700-6800rpms. I hold 3rd gear the rest of the way. If you let the car shift itself, it will shift into 3rd too early and will also grab 4th gear which will only slow you down.

Remove stuff - remove the engine cover, take out the floor mats, remove the spare, remove any loose weighty items, run with a 1/4 tank or so of fuel.

Tire prep - leave the tire psi alone. 32-35psi is fine. When you roll up into the "box", spin the tires a little to get the debris off. AVOID the water box. Water on your tires is no good for your car or the 10 second car behind you.

Conditions - This one is huge and so few people understand this. Conditions play a huge roll in the way your car performs. Hotter more humid air is less dense therefore the car will be slower. Cold dry air will make a car faster. High barometric pressure will force more air into the motor. Really high baro pressure (over 32 mb) will actually be like having a 2psi blower on your car. This is no joke. My prior best was a 14.49 in 70 degree humid weather in May. On the same track and absolutely no changes to the car, it ran a 14.32 in upper 40 degree dry air in November. The calculated density altitude during my runs in May was ~1500'. In November, the DA was right near sea level.

 

God that looks like fun I can't wait to get my 5.0 notchback project track car.

What kind of stall and gears? Did you have a built 4L60E? NA mods?

 

hey SDG35619, let me know when you're going to go again, i live in Scripps Ranch and i'd be willing to go down to the track with you, maybe we can race coupe vs. sedan. You have any mods on your car yet or is it just stock?
-GP-

 

Since tracks are starting to open again, this is a good time to get the basics down for any beginners.

Here is a link to a tutorial I found pretty useful when I got started last year.

http://forums.livingwithstyle.com/ar...t143194p1.html

 

DaveB, lots of good information. THANKS! I will post again on this thread when the next race date rolls around. I believe it will be in mid-March, I can't wait. I like the shifting tips you provided, but I believe my '05 won't shift itself, at least that's what the dealer told me, when I bought it.

Well like previously stated the next race date is in about a month. I'll get with you and we can race...My sedan is fully stock.

 

Dave that was with a Yank converter with a 4600 stall. Strange 12 bolt with 3.73 gears. And yes, I had the 4L60E built up. Prior to these upgrades, I had a couple of runs that destroyed stock parts. One run I snapped the driveshaft and fried the stock gears all at once in about 2 seconds on the launch. This car was a true street car that was all motor. Heads and cam. I drove it to and from the track each time and swapped out all four wheels (slicks on back, skinnies on front. They all barely fit in my car with the back seat out). Really sucked doing the tire changes before and after races, but at the same time I was proud that my car was not a "trailor queen".

If you really want to get serious with a Camaro, you'd be better off going with a Turbo 350 or 400 tranny. Even my buil 4L60E displayed weakness and is not really up to 500 crank hp. But for me, it was more than I wanted to spend considering an expensive overdrive option would have to be added to enjoy on the street.

Funnest part about that car on the street is you could be playing with someone at around 80 mph, and when you punched it the car shot forward like it was being rear ended by a freight train!!

 

Alright everyone race day is upon us! Friday, March 31, 2006. Hope some San Diego natives can make it. I'll post a recap of how my night went.

Damn its barely Wednesday and I'm already getting nervous.

edit:

WHAT A DISASTER...I want my money back.

So where do I start. Ok...

I arrive a little after 6pm. Cars are barely starting to roll in, some go to the spectator area and others go to the "tech" line for inspection so you can race. This is when my night went sour. By the time I got my self together dropped my guests off at the spectator area it was about 6:40, I get in line at tech area. The tech area is where your vehicle is inspected to make sure it meets the race requirements.

I waited for 3 goddamn hours. There were six tech lines and only 3 people inspecting vehicles. Their excuse was that since it was SUPPOSED to rain some people didn't show up for work, went outta town, etc...Tell me how the hell do you plan to NOT go to work?! Well about 10:15pm rolls around and I get through tech. By the time I got through they had more people checking cars but the line behind me was waaaaaay long. I got lucky to get in line when I did.

My original plan to was start racing at about 7pm, and leave somewhere around 10pm, I had my wife, daughter, and a couple friends supporting me but all they did was stand around waiting for me to race. I felt bad.

I was super burned out by the time it was race time that I ended up doing ONE flippin run, granted I won and it was an awesome experience but waiting sucked the fun out of it. It was a bad first experience. Race Legal's management needs to get a plan in place for when people don't show up. It was rediculous.

Putting that all aside, I want to go back!!! It was awesome. My one and only race was a victory. I raced my brother-in-law, he has a 91 Honda CRX, all tricked out, I won but just barely, he has a fast car.

I'm going on vacation this coming week and will miss the April races, I want to do this again in May. At that time it will be warmer and sun will go down later.

There was an accident during one of the races, a Vette hit the wall, crazy ****.