Very Very SLOW 1/4 Mile Times...

[novaguy14]

Ok, I just went to the drag strip with my 1992 240sx SE 5-speed Coupe.
I ran a best of 17.55 at 78mph. My best 60 foot time was 2.5992. I made 4 passes.

The first pass is the best one, which you see above.
The first pass, I spun all through first, shifted to second at 5000rpm, and through the rest of the gears, I shifted at 6300rpm, I shifted into fourth right before the lights.

On my second run, I spun all through first and shifted to second at 6500rpm, and shifted to third at 6500, then i didnt ever shift into fourth and i ran 17.69 at 77mph.

I thought 240sx's were supposed to run mid to low 16's?

I ran 32 psi of tire pressure on stock type tires.

My car has 129,000 miles and is totally stock except for a removed resonator, removed bottom half of air box, NGK-R spark plugs, a new fuel filter, removed passenger seat, removed spare tire, removed jack.


Did the people that run mid 16's have drag radials or something?
I noticed that I could do better burnouts in the starting box than all the mustangs and camaros, haha but I dont that that is particulary good when drag racing.

MY QUESTION IS...What am I doing wrong? Is my car just this slow?...or is it just old... or I don't know, ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE WANTED

Thanks,
CHAD.

[Mikes14240sx]

Originally posted by novaguy14

The first pass, I spun all through first

On my second run, I spun all through first

MY QUESTION IS...What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,
CHAD.

[Matt_240]

one word: traction.

[SilviaDriver]

are u dropping the clutch?

lower ur psi to about 20-25

play with ur throttle and clutch..feather it dont drop the bomb. shift at 6500 if u can or at points where when u shift ur rpm drops back down to peak torque

[radrex88]

Not trying to dog on you, but it sounds like you just need more practice at the track. You need to figure out how to drive the car at the strip, you have to understand that street tires dont hook up at the track like they do on the street, you need to work on your launch, and shift points. Also you shouldnt be shifting that soon in first, practice makes perfect.:bow:

[vodka]

Why does everyone forget the two most important factors: Elevation and temperature. Just those could account for the below average 1/4 mile by themselves.

[s14falcon]

Why does everyone forget the two most important factors: Elevation and temperature. Just those could account for the below average 1/4 mile by themselves.

this guy is on oklahoma, how high up do you think he is?

[hookedup240]

Originally posted by novaguy14
My best 60 foot time was 2.5992.

MY QUESTION IS...What am I doing wrong? Is my car just this slow?...or is it just old... or I don't know, ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE WANTED

Thanks,
CHAD.

That's your problem right there 2.6 60 ft is horrible. For every tenth of the 60 foot is 2 tenths added to your time. If you were to get a good 60 foot between 2.0-2.2 you would be in the 16's.

[novaguy14]

I have searched and found that some of you guys are running 15.7's stock or barely modified. How can you do this? Are you using slicks or drag radials? Just seems hard to take off 2 seconds off my time although i know mine is terrible.

[novaguy14]

So what are your opinions on what i could get my 1/4 mile times down to?

I shifted pretty fast.

Should i shift to fourth?

Do you think it is possible for me to get into the 15's?

I already got a new fuel filter and ngk-r plugs right before the races.

[Ranger_Man]

good tires are key. as is a lsd. having both of those will greatly reduce your 1/4 time. also, you dont need drag radials to get decent times. i got a 15.5 with yokohama es100s when all i had was a apex filter and exhaust on a ka.

lastly, i bet your crappy 60 foots are due to having wet tires. from the sound of things it sounds like you were on street tires (crappy street tires) going through the burn out box and burning out. doing that does nothing for a street tire. the only thing you are doing is keeping your tires wet as water will stay deep in the treads and get on your wheels as soon as you go forward. do yourself a favor and avoid the burnout box at all costs next time.

[novaguy14]

haha thats exactly right.
My back right tire is like a snow/minivan tire, its the gayest looking tire in the world.
Next time, im gunna lower psi to like 21psi, maybe do a burnout after i pass through the water, not in the water for a second or 2, then i will launch at 3-4000 rpm, while feathering the throttle.
I will try this tonight at the drags.

[hookedup240]

don't go through the water box, there is no reason to.

Its for cars with slicks.

[novaguy14]

Ok, drags were cancelled:wtc: , it rained all day:D

[DJ Machine]

if you have a nova running 12s on street tires then you should already know how to drive, or is that daddy's car?

[novaguy14]

dude, that was gay.
yea, my dad bought it, but I just turned 16 and havent been able to race it yet. Also we are having the door jams painted right now so that we can sell it. Dont be so mad just because my dad bought me a car. If you could, you know you would want your dad to buy you a car. I payed for my 240sx.

[weirdstyles.net]

Originally posted by DJ Machine
if you have a nova running 12s on street tires then you should already know how to drive, or is that daddy's car?

No, lets NOT do this okay? This was a nice thread, discussing legal track racing. Now you have to bring up bs about "Did Daddy buy you that?

We all have to learn somewhere, I learned in a 11.2 sec electron blue Chevelle, which was my Uncles. I pulled 13's at age twelve, and that was enough. Being that I was short, when ever I launched i hit the the seat and lost the pedal, i did my best.

Dad got you that car, tell him you love him and he is the best. I wish my Dad and I shared a love for cars, but he's not an import guy. He's a 1957 blue and white Chevy Bel Air guy, and you GOTTA respect that. Your lucky, I envy you. Keep practicing.

Also, No. He shouldnt know how to launch from owning a Nova, even if he did race it. The suspension geometry and obviously tire and HP are completely different. Every car launches different and its a learning experience with every car. That uncle of mine took a shot at the 1/4 with his friends SVT Stang, which was an easy 12 car. Four passes and he couldnt break 13.2 and Uncle John has been racing since I was a tickel in my Daddys nut sack.

Now he builds those , like, 40s or 50s Hot Rods. With the gangster side steps and side exhaust. Had a shchweet orange/red Ford something er other.... ohhhhhhh wow! Thats old skewl...

[JerkFaceJason]

everybody chill, this is a nice thread actually.

Let's try to focus on the important things - 1/4 times :)

as for the original poster, i ran 16.5s my first time, because i didnt even peel out in 1st. try doing that and see if it helps

[CraigB]

Originally posted by novaguy14
My best 60 foot time was 2.5992

Let's see, 4 decimal places (only on the Accutime II), Oklahoma, you must be running at Tulsa... :D

These guys are right though, spinning off the line does nothing for your e.t.

[weirdstyles.net]

Originally posted by CraigB
Let's see, 4 decimal places (only on the Accutime II), Oklahoma, you must be running at Tulsa... :D

These guys are right though, spinning off the line does nothing for your e.t.

brutha knows his tracks....

damn

[240KAT]

Yo dude, dont feel bad. I'm learning how to drive in a 93 Turbo KA. Lol. It has a T3 turbo, all the fuel mods you can think of, clutch, flywheel, shifter, full exhaust, FMIC, etc etc. With an open diff and my first time track dragging, i hit a 15.4 at 95. My 60ft's are 2.4's. I gotta learn to launch and get some sticky tires. 60-series H rated Comp TA's dont do it. My LSD is coming soon :)

[logo20]

The first pass, I spun all through first, shifted to second at 5000rpm, and through the rest of the gears, I shifted at 6300rpm, I shifted into fourth right before the lights.
First thing you need to learn how to drive the car. Every body knows that if you spin the tires you're not going anywhere. you're shifting rpm's are off too, peak torque(when the car pulls the most is 4400rpm, and there is no more power after 5600rpm when the car is stock) another thing, you're suppose to shift at higher rpm in 1st gear because you want to be as close as possible to peak torque(4400rpm) in 2nd gear to accelerate faster.
there is somebody here who claims 14.8 on only head work, cams and fuel upgrade. you might go that route if you want to make your car a little bit faster, and as you modify it your shifting rpm's will be higher thus taking advantage of the gears.
another tip, if you're not interested in a turbo don't get the j30 vlsd it would only slow you down in the 1/4 mile. get a shorter gear.

[SittinOnDubsWGW]

Originally posted by SilviaDriver
shift at 6500 if u can or at points where when u shift ur rpm drops back down to peak torque

Doesnt the stock KA stop making power at 5500 rpm's, so if that is the case shouldnt he be shifting at 5500?

If I am incorrect in this statement PLEASE tell me, b/c I am not 100% sure of this, but I recall seeing before that the KA stops making power at 5500.

thanks a lot.

[logo20]

you are correct SittinOnDubsWGW, unless you put cams, exhaust, intake or any other mods that would change the power band, the stock ka don't make power after 5600rpm.

[Red]

But is it not true that you want to hold your car in gear as long as you can.... Shifting does take alot of time... More you shift the more you loose right?

[logo20]

shifting slow you down by a little but by driving at rpms that the engine makes little or no power slow you down a lot more. look at dyno graph from different cars and you'll learn alot.
for example, some hondas make less power than our cars but still they're faster, the reason is because they rpm higher=holding the power longer. of course they are other factors like weight, drivetrain loss but it's a good example.

[DuffMan]

Your shift points suck. It doesn't matter if the car doesnt make any power above 5800rpms or whatever. The acceleration isnt determined by power. Its determined by torque x gear ratio. Your gear ratio is about 75% taller from 1st to 2nd. So even if you are way past the torque peak its still better to be in a lower gear.

Shift at redline for 1-2 and a bit above 6000 for the other shifts.

[logo20]

Your shift points suck. It doesn't matter if the car doesnt make any power above 5800rpms or whatever. The acceleration isnt determined by power. Its determined by torque x gear ratio. Your gear ratio is about 75% taller from 1st to 2nd. So even if you are way past the torque peak its still better to be in a lower gear.
it is true that acceleration is determine by torque. but NO car makes more torque than hp above 5252 rpm. so if you say there is no power over 5800rpms by law torque is even lower.

[DuffMan]

It is but not low enough.

The formula is:
next gear ratio/this gear ratio = torque now / torque after shifting

So 1st gear is 3.321 and 2nd is 1.9 something i dont remember.

1.9?? / 3.321 = .57

Since shifting at redline will put you at about 4000rpms, which is about peak torque you want to shift at about 57% of peak torque. So its about 75 ft lbs of torque (after drivetrain losses) on a stock KA. And a stock or maybe lightly modded engine makes arround 75 ft lbs at redline.

A lot of times people shift early because the car accelerates less at higher rpm. Yeah the car will accelerate less, but it will be even slower after the shift because you loose the mechanical advantage of the lower gear.

[novaguy14]

I only shifted from first to second at 5600 the first time, after that pass, i shifted from first to second at 6500.
My father says that im gunna blow the engine going that far into the rpm's. I told him the ka24de stock bottom end can hold like 400hp (which i believe to be true, sorry if im wrong) and he still said i was gunna blow it.

[DuffMan]

Your dad doesnt know much about modern cars. They have rev limiters, and you cant over rev them unless you downshift at high rpm.

Maybe a stock head on a small block chevy cant handle 6500rpms, but Ka's defintely can.

[novaguy14]

also, My car does not have a LSD, but when i was in the burnout box, and every othertime i do burnouts, both of my tires spin. My car is not hicas or anything, and the owners before me were girls, so it was not an aftermarket part that they had installed.
Every time I drop the clutch, both tires spin. Its kinda weird because i thought my car wasnt supposed to have a posi-trac.
But im very thankful that it does...haha

[novaguy14]

I dont think its that he doesnt know a whole lot, I think he just doesnt want me to blow my car that I have to drive to school starting in 2 days. Plus I have heard of some people blowing their engines while not even going to the rev limiter. This is the first import my family has ever bought other than a lexus gs300 which was quite fun.

TO logo 20: my dad is just like yours..ha he has a 56 chevy which was his first car, and has a 66 nova with 17's and stuff. He is into more street rods and stuff, he isnt much for fast cars.

[SittinOnDubsWGW]

Originally posted by DuffMan

Since shifting at redline will put you at about 4000rpms, which is about peak torque you want to shift at about 57% of peak torque. So its about 75 ft lbs of torque (after drivetrain losses) on a stock KA. And a stock or maybe lightly modded engine makes arround 75 ft lbs at redline.

A lot of times people shift early because the car accelerates less at higher rpm. Yeah the car will accelerate less, but it will be even slower after the shift because you loose the mechanical advantage of the lower gear.

That makes a lot of sense after thinking about it. Although you aren't making as much power by staying in it and taking it to redline, when you shift you will be right in the peak of the powerband when you shift to 2nd so by doing that you are actually faster then if you were to just go where you are making peak power (5600).

Thanks for the info Duffman.