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The fact is, and has always been, that Stage charts are just a GUIDE. Anything past Stage 4 or 5 gets cloudy in how to list it or quantify it on the chart. As such, people don't list them anymore or just throw a + on the end to indicate there's some smaller mods done. No one is hiding anything as it's all listed in our profiles (at least mine anyway). However, I don't think that detracts from the end result one bit. Fact is, it's still damn HARD to get what we have gotten even with the mods we've done. Testing, tweaking, tuning, changing driving styles and trying to find the sweet spot. Some people go out there and throw $15k at big turbos only to run sub-standard times because they haven't dealt with or learned the finer points of getting down the strip. How many 12-13 second 600hp cars have we seen? Plenty. Did anyone EVER think we'd see Z cars ("they are not drag cars") cutting 1.5 60' times? To this day the AWD crowd still doesn't believe us on other forums until we show video/slips. The point here is to be as quick as possible and if your friend has any shred of common sense in his head, he'll know that truly quick cars need traction over anything else. Running street tires is fine if you want to run 13s all day long, but nearly every 2WD car out there needs some sort of stickier tire to get into the 11s and 12s (or risk slipping and losing as much as a second). Same goes true for race gas which is an insurance policy more than anything, especially in Cali where we only have 91 octane. As for lightening the car, some of us have done that too. I leave all my amps and stereo equipment in the car (minus the sub) but pull my seat to balance it as if I had a stock stereo. I also have a lightweight battery. Some other "tricks" are to get a good alignment because having improper toe or bad camber can detract from your time as well. Every little thing counts. I just hope your friend isn't one of those people that will say to himself "oh, see, they cheated to get that quick" as I've heard people try to justify how we can go so fast. That's jealousy talking baby :D As for your situation, don't get too cocky because what it boils down to is driver more than anything. A great launch on a car with 100 less horsepower and a horrid launch on a car with 100 more horsepower can yield some upsetting results. I've toasted many a car with more power than I had simply because I can get out of the hole =) Take care.
If you think defending quality shops and site sponsors with proven records makes him a whore, then you are the ones with the problem. Stop being bitches. - October 21, 2003 at 06:16 PM
My Zs: www.zheaven.com - DOWN - Have a question about either of my 300ZXs? Answers lie within.
Member: www.SoCalZCrew.com - Come find out how we do it in the West! |
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