jbc3 Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 I painted the car Monday, put the glass in on Wednesday and aligned the front end. Thursday put most of the interior back in. I drove the car to work Friday and all seemed well so I took it to the track Friday night. The car has a total of 50 miles on it. I have not dyno tuned the motor yet, I am running an old program from before the cam swap. I made 5 passes and the car tracked perfectly down the track and the brakes are awsome! The rear tires (M&H 305/40/16) were rubbing the front part of the flare when I got on it hard even with the Tokico shocks set to 5. I was launching just off idle and granny shifted to keep the tire rubbing down and it still ran 11.43 at 120.4 with a 1.63 60'. Not too bad for the first time out and not hitting it hard. Can't wait to tune up the motor and be able to launch and shift hard. Plus I am still getting used to the car. These M&H tires are about 6 years old, worn out and dry rotted on the sides, so I will be getting 255/50/16 ET Street drag radials. Hopefully they will not rub on the flares when I launch. Otherwise I will be upping the rear springs. Right now I have 200 front and 225 lb rear springs on my coil overs. What spring rates are other drag racers using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FasterbyFosta Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 I painted the car Monday' date=' put the glass in on Wednesday and aligned the front end. Thursday put most of the interior back in. I drove the car to work Friday and all seemed well so I took it to the track Friday night. The car has a total of 50 miles on it. I have not dyno tuned the motor yet, I am running an old program from before the cam swap. I made 5 passes and the car tracked perfectly down the track and the brakes are awsome! The rear tires (M&H 305/40/16) were rubbing the front part of the flare when I got on it hard even with the Tokico shocks set to 5. I was launching just off idle and granny shifted to keep the tire rubbing down and it still ran 11.43 at 120.4 with a 1.63 60'. Not too bad for the first time out and not hitting it hard. Can't wait to tune up the motor and be able to launch and shift hard. Plus I am still getting used to the car.These M&H tires are about 6 years old, worn out and dry rotted on the sides, so I will be getting 255/50/16 ET Street drag radials. Hopefully they will not rub on the flares when I launch. Otherwise I will be upping the rear springs. Right now I have 200 front and 225 lb rear springs on my coil overs. What spring rates are other drag racers using? [img']http://www.emsco.net/jody/280z/Zlaunch1.jpg[/img] What flares are you using? And any inner well modifications? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 Sweet Z! Man that's some big rubber! Cool pic! Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted September 11, 2005 Author Share Posted September 11, 2005 Tne flares are from MAS. The stock wheel well was cut out and these flares were added. I am not complaining about the flares (or my installation), it's just the fact that the car squats so much the flare lip is getting contacted. I made the lip turn in about 3/4" wide. I suppose I could trim the lip edge, but I was hoping to lessen the squat with a heavier spring rate maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 Man those meats in the rear just look insane! I love it! Nice times too for your first time out with a new set up. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 Jody That is simply amazing. Car looks like it turned out well indeed. I'd try a 250# spring on the rear and see what happens... Also, Check with Scottie GNZ on the tires he used for his GNZ setup. He was able to get a lot of street time out of them and still get his buick swap into the 10s. Amazing. You did one hell of a job on that thing. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 Damn! I love that shot of your car launching as it brings back lots of memories. Since my name was mentioned, I will throw in my $.02 but be aware that it will be different from what everyone else will advise you on. DO NOT CHANGE A THING! If you do not already have Illuminas in the front, get a pair and run them on #1 in conjunction with #5 on the rear. This will allow quick rebound on the fronts and quick compression on the rear on the initial launch and slowed compression on the front and slowed rebound on the rear as the car gets rolling. Net effect is quick weigh transfer on the initial launch and prevent the rear tires from unloading too quickly, one of the major causes of wheelspin. The car will squat and go against all the theories. Theories be damned. How many Zs are cutting low-1.60s with a manual launched "easy"? You must be doing something right. I can tell you what worked for me keep in mind I run an automatic. When I ran the Z with the Z IRS, I had 200# rear springs with the Illuminas. Launching with minimal boost on a t-brake netted me a best of 1.55 on 275/50-15 DRs. I then switched to a C4 IRS and tried different springs and ended up with 180# in the rear (Car weighed 2,750# w/me). With no concerns about breakage I sometimes almost dragged the bumper from squatting (even got a little air in the front) and netted 1.30s. Cannot imagine how much quicker it would have been if I eliminated the dreaded squat This was with 27x11.5-15 Hoosier QTPs that I drove to/from the track with. They were on 15x8 Draglites with 5.5" BS with flares. You said you want to launch harder but keep in mind that launching harder does not always net quicker 60' times. Just find the limit of the tries and stay within that limit despite the urge to drop the clutch and hammer it. As for the 255/50-16s, I am currently using the 255/16 MT DRs and love them. Already have some 1.50s with a 1.51 best in the RX7. The RX7 has front Illuminas set on 1 and bone stock orignal rear springs. Works like a charm with 16# pressure and launching on the foot/hand brake. Yes, the RX7 also squats like mad. BTW, those wheels look familiar. Are those Z-28 16x8 sawblades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 What mods have you done to get the LT1 to go 11.40's? Those are awsome times by the way! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted September 11, 2005 Author Share Posted September 11, 2005 Scott thanks for the tips. I have been used to 5000+ RPM launches in my Camaro and the front wheels 12" to 14" off the ground, so just off idle launches are something I think are "light" launches. The one thing that suprised me was that these old dry rotted tires stuck like glue and I had about 17-18 lbs of pressure in them... I had to take them as low as 11 lbs to get any kind of launch in the Camaro. I needed to go to full slicks in the Camaro to get decent launches. I have Tokicos all the way around and ran them 4 in front and 5 in back. It seemed to weight transfer fine, but I'll try lightening up the fronts to see what effect it has. The new Mickey Thompson ET drag radials are awsome and I have seen alot of people getting better launches than full slick cars, so by changing to them it should help. Also I am running 255/50/16's on the street and have a ton of wheel well space, so they sould be better than the M&H's. I have one more thing I need to try. I still have the 15" Weld wheels with ET Drag slicks on them in the garage. If they fit.... They should hook well. As far as the wheels, they are stock 4th Gen Camaro wheels... sometimes called "Vegi-matics" The LT1 is a 385 stroker motor with stock ported heads. I have 1.6 roller rockers and a 236/243-112 cam. I fully expect 10's with this motor as soon as I get it tuned and am able to launch hard. I am very happy with the NA times so far considering I babied the car some. I may try a Nitrous run one day after I get things worked out Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Crema240z Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 Yeah man good job on the car those are impressive numbers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 As far as the wheels' date=' they are stock 4th Gen Camaro wheels... sometimes called "Vegi-matics" Jody[/quote'] Oops. "Salad Shooters", not "Sawblades". You might also have better luck with 275/50-15 MT DRs on the 15x8 Welds than the 255/50-16s. BTW, if you run the ET Drags, do not run radial fronts. I almost bought the farm running that combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 AWESOME! (more awesome than Datsun used to advertise, in fact ) 75-80 Drag-a-way? Dude, you MUST call me if your are going again! 240-228-7416 at work. I'm 1/2 hour from there! Too bad they're supposedly closing it (freaking whining people who moved in to developments around there!!!) Scottie, thanks for the tips - I thought running the rear Illuminas soft would help the weight transfer, but I'll try 5 there, 1 front. Oh, do you mean bias ply in the front with ET Drags? Because they are bias plys and you shouldn't mix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted September 12, 2005 Author Share Posted September 12, 2005 I have run radial fronts and slicks on the back and had no problem. The thing is running slicks with too little air can get the wiggles on the big end... that is no fun! Tires with more sidewall are usually better with a stick car since they absorb alot of the shock when you dump the clutch, same with a trans brake. I actually really like the stock 4th gen wheels. I even left the long ARP studs on my billet stubs I bought from Ross and drilled the center caps. If the Welds/Slicks do fit, I'll need these long studs to pass tech at the track. Pete, Next Friday night they are closed... but the following Friday night is the last Friday night this season. (check the schedule http://www.7580dragway.com/ ) I am planning on being there that night. Bring your car up and run it. I know 75 & 80 is supposed to close at the end of the year but it has little to do with the whining people. The owner has been sick and has been trying to sell the property because of his poor health. There are rumors that the track property may not have actually sold to the developer that is trying to buy the property, so who knows... there is a possibility that it may open next year even though it is announced that it is closing on the website. Wishful thinking since it is 15 minutes from my house. Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Great work Jody! Look forward to seeing the car in person. That picture needs to be a big ol poster. And I like the wheels, nice choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAMIE T Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Jody, that's awesome! The salad shooters are a trip! I love the studs poking through the cap, LOL! I just sold my Z28. For those who don't know, Jody don't mess around. His Camaro ran 9's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Pete, I am referring to not running front radials with bias rears. problem gets worse when the MPH gets deep into the 120s and 130s. I switched to bias fronts and the problem went away. Jody, I have a pair of salad shooters you can have if you pay shipping. Never going to use them again and helps clean out the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwik240z Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Pete' date=' Next Friday night they are closed... but the following Friday night is the last Friday night this season. (check the schedule http://www.7580dragway.com/ ) I am planning on being there that night. Bring your car up and run it. I know 75 & 80 is supposed to close at the end of the year but it has little to do with the whining people. The owner has been sick and has been trying to sell the property because of his poor health. There are rumors that the track property may not have actually sold to the developer that is trying to buy the property, so who knows... there is a possibility that it may open next year even though it is announced that it is closing on the website. Wishful thinking since it is 15 minutes from my house. Jody Jody, I spoke to Pete today and i think both Pete and I will join you on Friday Sept 23rd . I will bring my Z and be very happy if i can run in the 12's and get it to hook up. I don't want to break my Nismo LSD equipped R180 that is in there now so I will be launching very easy. I have only run down the dragstrip once and that was 20 years ago. I hope my reaction times don't embarrass me. With that said, I look forward to meeting you and seeing your car blow away some American Muscle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted September 12, 2005 Author Share Posted September 12, 2005 David, Sounds great! I got alot of attention last time, I can imagine that three of these cars will really suprize them. Don't worry about reaction times... it's all about fun. Also if you break the 180, I have the stock R200 in my garage Also, I always take my cars up to the track on a trailer incase I have breakage.... I also have a winch on the front of the trailer. Also I had a friend that works at the local Mineke bend my exhaust pipe and add temporary turndown onto the ends of my pipes last week (so they would quit rattling on the floor) The owner was there and he told me that he was the one that had done the exhaust repair for your car. He told me the whole story.... small world. Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack46 Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 qwik240z you have an LS1 with a 180? Wow, that seems to be alot of HP for the 180 to handle. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 David, the wife reminded me we have a previous engagement on the 23rd - can't do it. Maybe Capitol Raceway? They race later into the fall/winter. The R180 LSD is probably a 4 spider gear diff. Much stronger than the open two spider R180. With those skinny tires, it should hold up fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.