I've been trying to set up a few test runs on my Milliena rims w/225-50-15 BFGs, to work out a better launch routine. Family drama and rain has kept me off the tracks until Friday nite and Saturday.

I went to KCIR in K.C. Friday night and got in one run between 7:30 PM and 10PM. Two cars emptied their engines' oil down the strip and one took over an hour (!) to clean up. My one run clocked at R/T=.031, 60'=2.151, 330'=5.936, 1/8=9.032,79.64MPH, 1000'=11.697, 1/4=13.944. Pretty slow for spray - I was spinning badly on the first 1/8.

Next day they were having VAMP qualifying so I went anyway for the test-n-tune. The first pass, I was lined up with a '66 Chevy Impala with blown 504 motor (a 9.9 sec car doing new-driver qualifying) and ran even worse times: R/T=.409 (Pro tree), 60'-2.434, 330'=6.399, 330'=6.399, 1/8=95.46,78.74MPH, 1000'=12.230, 1/4=14.485/99.32MPH. WTF! I forgot to use the second-stage of nitrous - the wheelstanding Chevy sedan in the other lane rattled me.. The car was LOUD -

The last pass, I lined up next to this AWD Eagle Talon I've heard about. This time, I paid attention to burnout - a hard one - and looked at the track before staging. Before this, I had staged off the rubber, hoping the clean track w/VHT would be better. This time, I lined up in the fresh rubber tracks. The Talon prestaged around the water box - uh, oh - AWD. When the lights went down, we left together and I immediately sprayed the 50-shot on launch and hit the second stage, still in 1st - let up on 2nd stage to shift, then sprayed both stages all the way to the end.

.....Me....................Talon...for.the.win.... ......
R/T=.465...................472
60'=1.993.................1.604
330'=3.332................4.813
1/8=8.581.................7.320
MPH=80.89................97.58
1000'=11.216.............9.469
1/4=13.447................11.256 ***
MPH=99.49................124.94

The car pulled very well this time - I've been avoiding the rubber lanes before, so I learned one lesson. After pulling the plugs this afternoon - they look fine - I'm going to repeat myself on the next trip to a track. Maybe up 1st stage to 75 shot as well. The pure Sunoco 104 and shaved-ground plugs look great - no signs of pre-ignition.

The 5spd Talon is a KC sleeper - he's got a custom 2400cc block and head, turbo w/30PSI boost ( I talked to him later), AES (?) computer, and street tires that are actually custom retreads w/soft rubber, and lots of goodies. The cat looks completely stock from the outside.

A final question - I've had 13.7 and 13.6 sec ETs this year, and only once have I broken 100MPH - always in the 99MPH area. In the above runs, the ET varied 2.038 sec, but the MPH varied only .50 MPH. Any ideas why?

..............

That's a good 60' for DRs! If you sprayed out of the hole, you probably spun pretty badly. You need to get some 22" slicks!

I was able to fit 22x8x15 MT slicks on the Millenia 15x6 wheels. Jime wasn't able to do it probably b/c he tried it in colder weather. I tried it with new slicks in 85 degree weather. They stretched a LOT better. I've run several times with them and they work great at the track.

man some darn fine runs here ! i have been battling my USIM manifold for several years now and cant break 100mph either, darn thing. I got a 99.76 mph run once but no dice. Im going to try one more time before i take it off.

Great runs though, very fast max you got there !

Hey, thanks, the car launched very well. I heated up the DRs pretty good, then sprayed out of the hole - the new Edge TC helped.

Yes, I'm ready for slicks - where did you get the 22/8/15 M&Hs? I saw 23/8.5.15 and 24.5/8.5/15 M&Hs from Jegs and Summit, which might hold better with the planned 150 combined shot for my next try.. My 125-shot 2-stage works good, but what the heck - 150-shot and real slicks might push me down to the 12's.... The 8.5" slicks need 8" rims - a Ford wheel should work, I hear. Some headers should also help...... Do you think I should keep the Mazda wheels instead?

Kind words from one of the masters of Maximas..

I've cracked 101 MPH once this season, but I keep bumping the 100 MPH ceiling - like 99.94 MPH once - sheesh... The MEVI helps the HP curve - it should do wonders for you.

No, read what I wrote again. I said MT, not M&H. MT stands for Mickey Thompson. I used 22x8x15 MT ET Drags. I was able to get them to seal no problem. We didn't even need to use the air canon tank thingy that tries to pop difficult tires on their bead. They just lubed it up well and it was the hot South FL heat that allowed them to stretch plenty enough to seat properly.

I am glad I was able to get them to seat on the very tiny 15x6 11lb Millenia wheel. I would get that setup. That would be best for you. You want to be passing through the traps about 500rpm past your peak HP mark. You can get an idea of what that will be by either getting on a dyno or looking at other guy's dynos that are comparable to you. I think the 22" slicks will help you start to top out 3rd gear more as you venture for a 110+mph trap speed and low 12 second 1/4 mile run. You need to start seeing 1.7 60 foots!!

Opps - my bad... Where did you buy those tires? Are those tube-type tires? I guess I could just go look myself, couldn't I ??? Those Mazda wheels are really lightweight, so I can understand your recommendation. I'll do it.

I had dynoed after I put on the MEVI and 3" exhaust, but before any other mods, and the power curve just kept climbing up to 6500. After I finally figured out the right launch technique - stall to 2800, last yellow, spray everything and hang on - I do need better tires.

what did you dyno for poweR?

I would really try to follow in Jime's footsteps with your car. You have a very similar setup.

I bought my MT slicks slightly used from a guy on another forum. Can't remember where.

Also, I have found out that stalling it up as high as it will go for my car isn't the best. I found out that it bogs a little and hurts the 60'. I do need more testing before I prove it 100%. But Jime said the same thing. He found out when spraying out of the hole with MT 22" slicks, the traction is there, but if he stalls it up very high, he bogs a little and doesn't get the best 60 foot.

I have found that stalling it up to only about 1200-1500 and launching it that way gets me the best 60'. I just stall it barely high enough to get the revs off idle. But play around with it once you get slicks. You need traction before you go any further!

Yep, Jegs has those slicks. I don't have ANY problem with bogging down with the Edge TC - stall is 2800 and when I go right to spray, the DRs scream! It's nice to have things work as planned - it only took two days and 360 miles of towing my car around to try the things I wanted to learn about.

Now with slicks, I expect something different on launch, but I bet I won't bog down - I can always up the shot to 75 or 100 on launch. Of course, I will probably snap an axle next - time for raxles, I guess. (and headers)

I'm off to Wichita's track on Friday - a new experience for me... Maybe I can get in more than one pass in an evening at this track. Thanks for the idea of the 22/8/15 slicks - that's worth trying...

When I say bog, I mean the 60' only suffering by about .02 - .05. It's barely noticable when you're launching the car all motor. But when you're spraying, it's probably something you can care less about. Traction is more of the issue for you. I just mentioned it since Jime said he experiences the same thing I was talking about when launching on slicks. I don't know if he was referring to bogging while spraying out of the hole. I doubt it.

Axles aren't going the be the issue for you. I would search for every post made by Jime. You can learn a lot from him since he's already paved the way for everything you are doing! He's never snapped an axle and he sprayed a dual stage 150 shot on his 95 Maxima automatic.

Actually, I've been following Jime for years - I like the way he thinks. Yes, he's always been Uber-fast on the strip with and without spray. Scary, actually. I keep watching and learning.

I've been building and learning drag racing all over again - the last time I was on a drag strip before the Maxima was about 1970 - I raced a special-built 1968 850cc Triumph motocycle using nitromethane/alcohol and ran in the 11s with a streetable bike. Before that was a '63 Ford Econoline with a Boss 302 sitting in a cradle in the back - a wheelstanding beast. But, I blew up the van, got married and sold the race bike, sold my last bike - a 1976 Norton Commando, and went on with life until the '99 Maxima. I have my name on seven Nissans at the moment(three Maximas).... three at home and four in other cities.

Yeah, I know -- -- but I'll keep trying.

When I had my Max on the juice, I kept running 99.xx MPH also. The times were right about where yours are. My best trapspeeds in the 1/8th were near 82 mph, but still could only muster 99.xx through the 1/4. After my last trip to the track, I added a 70mm TB, and it felt much better on the top end. I was running the USIM though, not the Mevi. I think the bottle runs out of steam toward the end of the track. Try running without the bottle, and see how much mph you increase over the second 1/8th. I had a two stage set up, but I never ran the second stage at the track. I was thinking about runing a second bottle because the second 1/8th was so slow.

Nice runs and I'm glad to see you're ETs are dropping. As for MPH, it appears that you're car's HP is consistent, but traction is hit or miss. As you know, I've made many passes at KCIR in my old Maxima and my MPHs are extremely consistent, but my ET could be wildly different depending on 60 foot. I have lots of slips showing 14.3-14.6@99mph. The only difference is 60 foot. My G35 is the same way. It consistently sees 97.5-98.0mph and ETs have ranged from 14.3 to 14.6.

As for the Talon, was it the electric blue one owned/driven by a black guy? If so, it sounds like he's done some work to the that thing the last time I saw it run. When I've seen it, it ran lower 12s at 118mph or so. Still damn impressive. It's bonestock appearing on the outside too. He has a brother too that owns a 1990 Laser Turbo that runs mid 11s and a Dodge Shadow that does 12s. All the car look stock except for the slicks mounted on the front. They're both extremely nice guys too.

Thanks for the feedback - I've got a heated 15lb HighFlo NX bottle, intended to prevent "bottle depletion" but I don't know how well it works at the top end. Now the 70mmTB - that's an idea...... I bet that's how Jime pushed so hard at the end - his NX Maximizer could keep raising the shot-level as he rolled - just speculation, of course.

Right after a strong run, I check the trunk and the bottle pressure is at or over 1000 psi. I keep the heater running while waiting in the staging lanes, too.

Hi, Dave - your Mazda rims and BFG DRs miss you! Now they're helping me out - but 22" MTs are in my future... I think I've got the whole launch sequence figured out, so I'll trailer down to Wichita Friday nite and try it out on a strange track - should be interesting. A question - where or how did you drill the holes for the lugs on the Mazda rims - or are they stock???

That's the guy and the Talon. I gotta post that slip - that car does look completely stock, but I watched the 11.256 ET / 124.94 MPH run from behind him. Talk about launch - a 1.604 60' on four "street" tires was fantastic to watch! Boost was set to 30 psi for my run with him. I shot a few outside and under-the-hood pixs of the Talon, and had a chat with the guy - he's a sleeper,too. Came by himself, made two 11-sec runs, and left.

Nice to hear from you.

Awesome man! So you have a lot of drag racing experience. That's good to know. The only thing you need to do is keep as much weight over your drive tires as possible. I zip tied my front springs and was able to get low 2.0s without chirping the DRs at all. But on about 75% of the runs, the DRs would chirp off the line. So I got slicks and reduced weight a little and upped the power and now I am doing 1.99s every single time without chirping.

The EDGE TC really helps. I am able to brake stall it to 2900 rpm. When I launch the car off idle, it flashes to around 2800 and then takes off when I'm on slicks. On normal street tires, I just sit there and spin and bog, and take off. lol I was able to do 2.0s on street tires, but I had to be very nice on the launch and then gun it.

To answer your question about the Millenia wheels, I have some photos of what a stock Millenia wheel should look like. Maybe that will help you determine whether you have stock ones or not.

Here are my 22x8x15 MT slicks that I currently run with:
http://www.iwdwebdesign.com/maxima/Slicks/slick4.JPG

Here are when I had 205/50R15 BFG DRs on the Millenia wheels:


And here is when I had 195/45R15 Toyo T1-S tires for better gearing at the track. But I quickly got rid of these since the traction wasn't there for bracket racing. That was before I got my high stall TC. Once I got the TC, I got the DRs. And they still weren't enough for me! But I need something to race in the street class. Slicks aren't DOT approved.

I've never been to Wichita International, but I have been told it's rather slow, but everyone says that about the track they're running at

The Millenia rims are stock. They're a 5 X 114.3mm which is what Nissan/Infiniti uses. Why do you ask?

I've always loved watching that Talon. On a launch, it looks like a 1/3 of back wheel is sunk into the fender and the front wheel gap is at full extension. It's wicked to watch. The owner would always come over to say hi when I was out there. He said he likes Sleepers, especially sedans, even if they're only running lower 14s. Those guys really do know they're stuff and many of their mods are fabbed by them and sourced from junkyards. They've got very little money in all their cars. In my 5 years of watching their cars, I've never seen them break down.

Thanks - the rims do look stock in the center section. Wow, those slicks look good... thanks for sharing the photos. I do have the car lowered quite a bit, and have the JClaw rubber blocks in the rear springs, which raises the back and firms up the back. I then set the Illuminas to "5" to firm up front and rear. The front is low enough that the traction-bar brackets and front trailer-tie-down rings can trip the staging lights when moving into position.

Not much monkey-motion on launch now, and the street ride is super. What tubes did you use for the slicks? Smaller drag tubes seem to be kinda rare..

I'm excited about going to Wichita on Friday - probably will get pounded, but Oh, well...

I was just wondering about the lug nut taper in the wheel - if they were drilled for the Maxima or if stock - guess they're stock. I was thinking about using steel Ford wheels to mount slicks instead of removing the BFGs from the Millenia rims... The Talon driver said his brother had a couple of Millenia rims he got from a car-rental place - that sounds like the guy.

I'll try Wichita if the rains hold off - they open at 6PM, so I'll take the day off and leave around 3PM to tow the car.

Yes, the Talon just leaped on launch - impressive. I see I've got a few digital photos of the car and under its hood - maybe Photobucket should have them...

The 22x8x15 MT slicks are tubeless. You don't need tubes. Just mount and balance and put air in it. You will find that air will leak out over time, but from what I know, thats normal.

I have a few more pics of my slicks at: http://www.iwdwebdesign.com/maxima/slicks.html

Thanks - I noticed Jegs didn't list a tube number, but I needed to know before ordering a pair.

Daymn - your web site shows some impressive accomplishments - way to represent Nissan !

Here is a photo of the two-day three-slip track visits - the right one is the 13.447 and the run with the Talon:

Also, how do you judge the RT of a ProLite tree ?? They are .4sec delay for the one yellow, but what does it show with a perfect launch? .400 sec or .000 seconds ???

I did trailer to Wichita's WIR on Friday night. Their web site said they had gates-open at 6PM, so I left at 3PM and got there just before 6PM. It was a test-n-tune nite, along with a Gamblers' session. I parked, unloaded, teched-in with three local Hondas, and bought some Sunoco 104 - which looked and smelled fresh when the guy pumped out a couple of gallons before filling my can. The stuff is light-blue and smells of ethanol if it's the real deal - I've gotten bogus gas before at other tracks.

The staff hadn't even prepped the track when I arrived - they scraped, ground off the old rubber down to the base, broomed, and sprayed the whole track with either Pepsi syrup or VHT, depending on which side of the spray rig you were watching. !! They left puddles in the left lane, so I started on the right lane - the first passes began at 7:30 PM. Sheesh. The gate was friendly and helpful, tech was the usual but you needed your own shoe polish! and cars and trailers kept coming in all night - I left at 9:30 after four passes.

My first match was the second pair on the strip, so I figured the track would be slick - no rubber, fresh sticky juice, short concrete launch pad, and cracks in the asphalt of the strip. Speed bumps. I matched with a Honda CRX with open headers, 75-shot spray, 5spd, and M/T slicks. Times highlites:
Honda Me
60'....2.16........................2.19
1/8....9.21.......................9.19
1/4...14.26......................14.16
MPH..96.75......................98.99....me by .142

#2....Mustang/Hoosiers.......Me
60'....2.03.........................2.13
1/8...9.25..........................8.94
1/4..14.43.........................13.88
MPH.93.77.........................99.39

#3..Old Mopar.....................Me
60'...2.34...........................2.04... This was a GOOD burnout from the water box...
1/8..10.78..........................8.79
1/4..16.89.........................13.74
MPH..79.55........................99.08

#4 454-SS-Chevy.Pickup........Me
60'...2.26.............................2.14
1/8..9.82..............................9.22
1/4..15.27............................14.39.... Bottle was OUT after three track days!
MPH..89.73...........................94.96

As you can see, the track got quicker as the cars cleaned and warmed the track (temp was 75F) and the big boys began making passes - lots of trailered Pro cars were showing and running. The cars moved well, and the track seem well managed, with lots of cars coming for three hours that I saw. I'm impressed with the Wichita track - it's not as professional as Topeka or Kansas Ciy, but they "get 'er done" there. I gotta get those M/T slicks - the DRs don't hook up as well as I want on launch...