Well this tuesday I'm finally taking the 280 to the track to see what it can do. I was just wondering what rpm you shift at when running, I know we all have a little bit different mods, and our cars run a little different but I was just looking for somewhere to start from. Oh yeah, it's NA not turbo. Thanks.

-Matt

 

Unless you have changed your cam and your fuel system, your car will still peak out on power at about 5200 rpm. Test it and see. You should shift right at 5200 or 5300.

 

Thanks, I really had no clue what the power bands looked like on these cars. And my mods have been pretty basic stuff (IEH). But if the car is making peak power at around 5200 rpm's the wouldn't i want to shift above that, somewhere closed to 6k? That's just my understanding of it, that way when i shift i don't fall out of the power band. Thanks.

 

No, because from 5200-6000 rpm your horsepower and torque are actually dropping. You will definatly feel the car not accelerating as fast. When you shift at 5200, you'll drop to about 3800-4000 rpm witch is above your peak torque and getting into the top of your horsepower band. It is still a good place to be and will be pulling harder than if you remain at 5600rpm. You don't "fall out" of the power band as easy in a 6-cyl as you do in when shifting in a 4-cyl.

 

Yep, bleach is right on this one. I ran my ZX at the track and forgot everything I know about driving it fast. I just cranked on it 'till redline, it didn't want second gear, and I ended up doing the 1/4 in 18.013 @ 82.31 mph. It was also 36F which doesn't make for perfect racing either...

Anyway, good luck and let us know how you do!

 

Alright well I made it out to the track for T&T. As soon as we got out there I helped my friend swap his drag radials onto his stang. After that I went to drop the air pressure in my rear tires to about 28psi. Well when I do that to the driver side, then when I go around to the passenger side I notice the tire looks kinda low, well I start looking at it and I've got a nail stuck in tread. Pissed me off big time, I've only had these tires for about 4 months. Needless to say I didn't make any runs. So instead I sat on the side and watched my friends stang break into the 13's for the first time, and after that they wouldn't let him run without a helmet so we just went home. Worse day at the track ever (with the possible exception of when I snapped the axle on my geo at launch). Oh well, I guess I"ll have to wait till next week. And thanks for the advice guys. Hopefully I'll be able to put it to use soon.

-Matt

 

Sorry to hear about the bad turn of luck. Definitely keep us posted on your times when you get the chance to go again.
John 82ZXT