Gentlemen, here is the deal. My friends and I are going to the englishtown track at the end of the month, first time for me. Absolutely no one believes me that my car is capable of getting into 14s. They're so sure, I a wager of $200 has been set if in fact I can pull this off. My car is stock except for wheels - Im running 15" steelies until I refinish my other wheels. Can my auto Maxima pull this off? Keep in mind that while Im quite familliar with drag racing I've never actually driven down the track.

 

Thats a tough call. Auto 3.5 maxima times are all over the place at the track. The car is capable of 14's stock, but there are so many factors other than the car. I did terrible my first time at the track, driver experience is probably the single most important factor. Do all the little things you can, weight savings, good gas, etc... A good launch will be key, learn to read a timeslip to see how to improve. Make sure the weather is good, and you could run 14's, but I would not put any money on it.

 

There have been guys that ran 14.5 in stock 3.5 autos. So the car is easily capable of it. Only question now is if you are capable of doing it as a driver.

 

Running 15" rims? you sure about that? may 16" rims hardly clear the rotors..


but to answer your question, yes. and if you are an auto, then you will not have to worry about your launch. you will see mid 14's.

 

I took a grinder to the rotors per Jime's advice. Pics tomorrow perhaps.

EDIT: Heh I meant calipers but thinking about the rotary grinder somehow made me put down rotor Did not notice until pointed out, sorry for the confusion.

 

Yes, I have seen plenty run mid 14's stock.

 

good luck fellow orger

 

You what?

 

I shaved down the outside top edge of the caliper with a handheld rotary grinder perhaps 1/10". Thats all that is needed to keep the inside of the steel wheels from rubbing against the brake caliper.

 

Questions that come to mind as time goes on:

Are 15" steelies an advantage over 17 stocks?

Best launch technique for an automatic?

Would the GAB help my time at all?

Timing Advance?

 

You said rotor earlier not caliper, that is why he was wondering WTF you were talking about.

15" wheels are almost without question better for acceleration than your 17s unless the 15s are made out of black hole matter (i.e. very very heavy).

 

I'll just say that we all thought we were "good drivers" until we made our first runs down the track. $250 is quite a risk for never have been at the track. Your car might feel like 14s, but the timing lights might disagree with you. Nothing is a sure thing. We've all learned that at the track.

Conditions will play significant roll in the way your car runs. If it's hot out (above 80 and humid), you can expect the car to be .2-.3 and 2mph slower. Englishtown is a good track and sits right at sea level, so elevation won't be an issue.

Shallow stage the car, flash stall the torque converter (simply hold the brakes, mash the gas when the first ambers come on, release brake right when you see the 3rd amber). Run 1/4 tank or less of fuel. Remove the spare.

I wouldn't get you hopes up about 14.5s either. It's possible, but it's far from the norm. For a stock 5.5 gen auto, 14.8-14.9 is typical in good conditions. 14.5-14.6 is a rarity.

Good luck and post up the results, good or bad.

 

Dave, there is NO $ risk involved - these guys don't think there is a chance in the world I can do this so the wager is one way - at least financially speaking. In other words, I win - get $200 Loose - get $0 and look like an ***

 

Do you get to make more than one run to attempt it? Or do you have to run 14s on your first pass to get the $200?

 

I'll get 3 attempts at englishtown

 

15 inch wheels would make a 2k2 one heck of a monster....but I hear it's not possible since the 2k2 brakes are large enuff that 16 is the smallest you can run...

definitely check out the GAB...it's free and wont waste more than 30 minutes of your time....there are two members on here that prove a 9whp gain from the GAB....it also retains low end tq....unlike most aftermarket intakes where u lose low end tq...

timing advance would be good....many say their throttle is much more responsive...and a noticeable mid-range hp is gained....I say go for it...if u can get it done for cheaps....some dealerships will charge alot for timing advance....or not at all in some cases...

 

just get a decent launch like under 2.3s and you should see 14.99 or better@93mph

what do those guys drive, that say the 5.5gen auto cant hit under 15.0s?

 

The only 3.5 I have seen that wouldn't run under 15 was an 03 Max I rented and it ran 15.1 all day.

My 02 stock runs 14.7-14.8 with stock street tires and any type of launch, it will only do a slight tire spin.

 

I think weight reduction is probably something else you can do.

take out anything you don't need. If you have leather seats, they are heavy as hell. If you don't want to take the seats out, at least take out the spare and any crap you have in the trunk. Also, make sure to have less than 1/3 a tank of gas. I usually try to show up with about 1/4. I made 18 runs last Saturday and I started out with 1/3 and still had about 1/4. Don't worry too much about the lights -- you aren't bracket racing. Your reaction time isn't important if you are just trying to get a 1/4 mile. In other words, don't freak out when the tree starts to light up, be calm.

 

So just step on it and go?

Two or them drive '89 SHO 5-speeds one drives a '93 Thunderbird and the last a '94 Caprice 9C1 - none of them able to break into 14s with one of the SHO getting a 15 flat.

 

I would think, unless the 15's aren't wrapped in slicks or something else sticky, tehy would be pretty eager to spin ...

But I've seen plenty of 02+ autos in the 14's.


Jime, I thought it was an 04 you rented that did 15.1's all day?

 

The 15's may be a bit trickier, I have a set of Blizzaks and they spin like crazy because they are so much lighter so you will have to play it by ear. However take it out and test before you go to the track.

NmexMAX you are right it was an 04, memory gets bad at my age.

 

15's will fit without modification to the caliper. It all depends on the ID of the wheel and the offset. How do I know? bc I ran 15" TSW revos on my 22" slicks when I had my 02.

FYI I ran a 14.6 my 3rd time ever down a drag strip with my car bone stock with full interior.

Make sure you manually shift and get a good launch, and you should have no problem hitting 14's at etown if you are a decent driver.

I ran at etown once and put Juice(org) friends altima in the 13's@99 with headers, exhaust, GAB. The best he got all night was 14.2@98. Driving an Auto down the track still takes a little skill, just not as much as a manual.

 

The car is certainly capable of it (unless your knock sensor is dead), but the first time you run your car it usually sucks. Hard.

The first time I ran my car with the 3.5 I pulled a 14.4@102 with like a 2.4 60 foot. It was awful.

 

I'll practice my launch and perhaps perform the GAB mod. The steel wheels and tires are not exaclty light - about 43lbs on my bathroom scale. So high tire pressure in the rear and low in the front right? What works best with an auto?

 

I witnessed a 14.3 at MMP, from a stock 02 auto, during cold weather.

Average seems to be high 14's to low 15's down here.

 

I wouldn't fool around with the tire pressure on street radials.

 

I know who you are thinking of but I thought the car had an intake and exhaust at the time. I forget the guys screen name but he was from your area.

 

I would. I'm getting consistant 2.0's on street tires with them set at 23 psi. At 35 psi they just spin like hell, even heated up.

And while most people will tell you not to bother doing a burnout on street tires, and go around the water box, I go in the water box and do a 2-3 second burnout.

Also, set the rear tires at 45 psi.

 

A burnout on street tires will not help, however going around the waterbox doing a quick tire scuff will help. I just dont see how dropping the pressure in street tires helps that much.

 

Dropping tire pressure reasonably increases the contact patch and "wrinkle" on launch. Of course if you have 19's and a super stiff sidewall it's pretty pointless, but then it'd be pretty pointless to try to race on 19's anyway.

And if the compound is sticky enough heating them up (like I said, 2-3 seconds) does seem to work for me.

I have 15-inchers with an actual sidewall so that may or may not apply to you guys.

 

I never mess with my street tire pressure unless I'm getting wheelhop. I drop the pressure to reduce hop. I'm pretty consistent and I've gotten the same 60' times with the pressure dropped some as I have with them at full street pressure, on all my different sets of wheels and tires.

 

I'll practice my launches in a large empty parking we have around here to see what works for me.

 

have u ever raced the 89 SHO to compare and get a good idea where you stand?

 

the older SHO's are capable cars (thanks to the Yamaha engine) but its like 16 years old now... probly well past its prime. I think you'll be fine runnin high 14's in the Maxima, i think the worst times I ever got were ~14.8 with 2.4xx 60' times. Be sure to read up a lil on how the staging lights work tho if you've never been to a track before. Far as traction goes, if they prep the track well (usually do) you shouldnt have any traction problems with the auto tranny. I can go about 80% gas right off the line and 100% almost immediately after.

 

No but I know the best time my friend was able to do was a 15 flat.

 

You should have no problems getting into the 14's with the 3.5. To give yourself all the advantage you can, go to the track with less than 1/4 of a tank, remove the spare, jack, cardboard, and carpet from the trunk. Also remove the passenger seat and rear seat if you would like. Doing that should easily get you into the mid 14's, possibly low 14's.

Set the front tires at 25psi and the rears at 45psi.

 

14's will def depend on how you drive....and I would leave the stock tire pressure on your street tires

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=289125

Typical numbers for a 3.5 auto bone stock are high 14's. Reduce the weight a little by having a nearly empty fuel tank with the crap taken out of the trunk should guarantee you high 14's provided you're not an idiot behind the wheel. Take out the passenger seat and the rear seat and you're guaranteed 14's, prolly mid 14's.

 

I bumped my stock 15s down to 20 psi and gained about .1 in my 60-foot time. I don't know how much wheel spin an AT gets, but I had to really work hard to get my launches just right and less pressure seemed to help wheel spin.

Luckily, last time I was at the track I got in 10 test runs and 8 runs that counted towards points. I did the first three with stock pressure and the rest down to 22, then 20 lbs. I couldn't tell the difference between 22 and 20 on my times.

There was a guy I know at the track with a container of air for adjusting tire pressure, so if I had a problem, I could reinflate them.