Hey guys,

I love a 1/4 mile run...Ive had quite a few drag cars.

Always had a truck as my daily driver but in light of my new job (no longer need a truck) and gas prices i recently picked up my stype r for a daily driver.

wellllll since the itch to mash the gas in this thing is too hard to deny and the local speedway opens up next week Im going to bring my car up for the street night test&tune.

Its an 05 STR stock... 43kmi on it now.

I'm a fairly experienced driver so with seat time in the car ill learn to 60' it...

But share your experiences with me on how to launch the car well and what times should i expect!!??

Im guessing most of you just throw it in the "4" poisition on the J-box and leave it in sport mode...But does anyone cross the line before hitting 4th gear?

Thanks guys!!

 

I believe 4 would put you in 4th gear so you aren't going to go anywhere fast. I have never been to a track but when I launch from lights I put it in sport with DSC off and feather the gas there is a sweet spot that if you feather it just right you will get a good lauch then mash the gas and there will be no wheel spin. The trick is to not mash it right at the start otherwise you will spin the tires so its like a half throttle, go, then mash. I hope this is making sense. If you go on a back road you can probably practice it. Most people leave it in D cause it just seems to be better then manually switching gears. I believe the few STR's that have gone to the track are in the 13's anywhere from high to low. Heat soak it whats gonna kill your times after a run or 2 depending on outside temps.

 

Well obviously you cant mash the gas at the line on a street tire, youll spin like crazy or wheel hop your way to the break down lane. I know how to feather the throttle in a torquey car. Just looking for some input on how guys do it in these Jag's with success.

I assumed from a dead stop if putting the shifter in 4 the car would start itsself out in first no? Its not like a manual valve body so i dont think the tranny is stuck in fourth when you put it in 4 just like if your in it to win it and forget to shift from 2 to 3 at redline the car will up shift for you.

Hard to practice on a back road, a prepped track and street is totally different IMO. Most of the time when ive raced ive had to completely change my launch technique from street to track so i never use what i learn on the street at the track, its a whole diff ball game. (in a high horsepower car that is, maybe with my STR it will be no different)

If most guys just hit the sport button and leave it in D thats what I'll do too. The zf in these things seem to shift awfully slow IMO and i havent bothered manually shifting much so i wasnt sure if it would help to increase the shift speed or firmness, thats why i mentioned leaving it in 4 in my OP.

Heatsoak is KILLER!! I had a 2004 Terminator Cobra before my corvette and the best way to cure the heatsoak on that car was kick a 30-50 shot of n2o to it to cool the charge...I wont be spraying my Jaguar however lol.

Maybe ill grab a couple bags of ice and remove that stupid upper plastic piece and lay them on the blower in between runs.

Anymore input guys??!!

 

4's OK (just mostly locks out 5 & 6 gears) but not needed - just use Sport.

Yep, launch and heat are big issues. DSC off is only "mostly off".

 

I assumed turning the DSC off didnt actually turn it all the way off....I hate new school technology lol

Yeah ill just leave it in sport, but thats what i figured once you were in 4 it wouldnt let it shift any higher.

Thanks for the input...

 

If you thrash it hard enough it'll either rev limit or shift beyond 4 (to defend itself), but shouldn't be a problem.

 

Sounds good...

Weather permitting ill be at the track this weekend or next Wednesday night..

Ill post results!! Until then keep the input coming fellas

 

I think I am doing some testing with some outlaw 10.5 guys in the next few weeks here in Atlanta. I am going to try and slip out on the track between turnarounds and make a few runs with mine to get a baseline 1/4 as well. Glad you asked the question, now I know. Look forward to seeing what you get out of it. I am thinking about picking up some beater wheels for the back to get some drag radials on so I as it goes on I wont have to baby it out of the hole.

 

I agree with you about the SLOW shifting ZF... Another thing I've noticed is the unpredictabilty of WHEN it shifts. I'm hoping to hit ZMax dragway in June and will try J-gating it through the gears as close to Redline as possible.

 

Def man^^ These things shift extremely slow, and have a mind of there own in my opinion. Nice! Ive actually been to Zmax Dragway its awesome!!! Im going to do both, let it sit in sport mode and then shift the car on my own and see how it fairs each time.


I was going to do the same thing qikcat! But the drag radials i have on my corvette are too big, and the bolt pattern is different on the wheels...Idk anyone else with a set i could use. Id like to get a good 60ft out of it but i doubt my 285 contiprocontacts are going to hold up to much throttle out of the whole. Ill def post up results once i get it to the track.

Gives me a good idea of where I'm at baseline as well, that way if i decide to cold air intake, pulley, exhaust, tune it... Ill know if my $1000's of dollars will be totally wasted lol!

 

zee oh sex, as Vance580 suggests, leave the line with slight throttle then mash it down. This also minimizes DSC intervening. Where in NY?

 

I'll be turning DSC "off" so it doesn't intervine at all. Im from the Albany area, Lebanon Valley Dragway is about 35mins from my house.

 

Good luck! Don't mash the throttle as you will just spin. Ease onto the throttle, and make sure you have good tires.

 

You will NOT get wheel hop! That's one thing Jaguar got right. Now we are in desperate need of a LSD! The STR is not much of a drag racer. We have a 2.87 rear end gear and that is just not what you want.
.
.
.

 

Damn Mike! That yer green STR at the track? You're livin my life. How'd ya do against some of the metal? Zee oh sex, This coming summer I'm runnin at Lebanon Valley (approx. 45 min. from Millbrook, NY). My mechanic ran his 850 hp Rousch/Yates powered 83 Mustang GT on "Pinks". He runs at Lebanon and suggests I bracket run with his 9 second Stang. What a stark contrast that should be, LOL! Best do an ECU tune, blower port/polish, and 300 hp shot?

 

The scion you see got me off the line, but I chased him down at the end, whereas the other Malibu(?) ran an 11 sec time and I had no chance

 

Though the STR's final drive gear is tall, from my personal experience the 1.5 and especially the 3 lb pulley ( I had both) gives a noticeable boost in off the line torque. The ZF trans. first three gears are numerically low prior to the 1:1 4th gear shift. As mentioned, the STR doesn't hop, but rather digs in. An LSD with 3:25's would be key. Last year I wouldn't have dared push off the line against a local MB SL55 (Kompressor). Since the mods....

 

So in your opinion, which is worth going with? The 1.5 or 3lb pulley?

 

Mike, as expected, the 3 lb. gives a "much noticeable" bottom end through midrange torque increase over stock and a "noticeable" increase over the 1.5. On a cool day I can run her hard all day without heatsoak pulling back timing, etc. The recent addition of the "Mafioso" air intake elbow made everything better. As expected, and a limiting factor, is maintaining low charge cooler temperatures on warm temperature days. An ECU tune is imperative. My next move after new rear CAT struts is an ECU tune and blower port/polish. Mike, go for the 3 lb pulley. Bloaks in the UK had this performed with a full exhaust mod and a Parmaount ECU tune = 475 chp. You'd feel a heck more confident with this setup.

 

Glad this thread is making some progress...

Nice pics at the track, I'll try to have a few snapped of my ride as well.

Will be heading up this Wednesday night or this coming Saturday!!