Racing tricks

Hey what tricks or techniques do you guys use when racing. How do you get the maximum acceleration/kick from a standstill? I own a 2000 Maxima GLE (automatic). I read something about starting from 1st, then 2nd, then drive.

ha...so u wanna race ur max aye?...okay...that`s what i do when i race my max....put ur gear in 1st when acclerating from a standstill..
....turn off a/c and tcs and put up window....hold ur car up by pressing the brake and step a little bit on the gas..so much that the brakes still hold.....and ur set..!!...maunely
shift into second at 6300~6400RPM...and don`t lets off the gas...
...and 3rd and around 6500~6600RPM...and 4th if u need it...by the way it`s like 180km already....okay..4th at 6000RPM....yeh...and please do becareful.!!!;)

would you mess up the car by riving it up to 6500 rpms. thats kinda high. and for the powerbraking (acclerations) how high can i rev it up that it won't bust my car.

powerbraking is good especially for launches :)

keep in mind though that my maxima is an automatic...so there's only 1st and 2nd gear and then drive.

ohh yeh...forgot....turn "overdrive" off....that`s ur 3rd gear....turn it on is 4th gear...anda...it won`t do n e thing to ur car if u rev pass 6500...
i revved to 6700 where fuel cutoff is by accident....max`s engine can handle that!

Moved to Street Racing.

Hey what tricks or techniques do you guys use when racing. How do you get the maximum acceleration/kick from a standstill? I own a 2000 Maxima GLE (automatic). I read something about starting from 1st, then 2nd, then drive.

I did the 1st, then 2nd then D along with powerbraking and with overdrive off. It launch the Max with some wheels spin and engine
scream very loud.

Originally posted by brndp
Hey what tricks or techniques do you guys use when racing. How do you get the maximum acceleration/kick from a standstill? I own a 2000 Maxima GLE (automatic). I read something about starting from 1st, then 2nd, then drive.

The only thing that you can do I decide when it shifts rather than the car. When I race I usually bring the RPMs up to about 4000-4500 then dump the clutch. Then I will get up to about the same before each shift.

I might sound stupid, but what is powerbraking?

when u hold the brake and press the gas a little just enough to get the rpms up but not move the car

So with a maxima 2000 gle AUTOMATIC. how would you obtain the fastest acceleration from a standstill....i mean since you don't have any gears accept for 1st and 2nd...what do you do?...not that i really race...but if i decide to do for fun...or just want to know how to get my car really going what do you do?....but please keep in mind that my cars automatic.

So with a maxima 2000 gle AUTOMATIC. how would you obtain the fastest acceleration from a standstill....i mean since you don't have any gears accept for 1st and 2nd...what do you do?...not that i really race...but if i decide to do for fun...or just want to know how to get my car really going what do you do?....but please keep in mind that my cars automatic.

You still can do it even it's an automatic, I did it on mine 2000 Max Se.

Originally posted by jay@af
Moved to Street Racing.

okay..so could you describe in detail how you do the 1st to 2nd to drive thing? thanks.

racing tips with automatic.. at a standstill you must first put the gear to Neutral b/c there are pressure in the brake lines which take out added power from torque. you can feel the brake pedal go all the way down, when it does put gear in Drive with Overdrive off. Rev at 3000 rpm and when light changes off you go! have fun!

Originally posted by brndp
okay..so could you describe in detail how you do the 1st to 2nd to drive thing? thanks. I don't; I have a manual tranny. I've never force-shifted an auto tranny. Sorry. :)

Originally posted by Nizmolee
racing tips with automatic.. at a standstill you must first put the gear to Neutral b/c there are pressure in the brake lines which take out added power from torque. you can feel the brake pedal go all the way down, when it does put gear in Drive with Overdrive off. Rev at 3000 rpm and when light changes off you go! have fun!

This is the only other way I know of with an auto besides power braking. The only problem with this way is it is very hard on the tranny belts. You could cause them to loosen and slip or snap, so be very careful.

cool...good info...by the way..this may sound stupid but i haven't bothered to look where the overdrive button is on my maxima...so where is it?

Originally posted by brndp
cool...good info...by the way..this may sound stupid but i haven't bothered to look where the overdrive button is on my maxima...so where is it? Often, it's under the left side of the shift lever, where your thumb rests, or a bit lower.

Originally posted by Nizmolee
racing tips with automatic.. at a standstill you must first put the gear to Neutral b/c there are pressure in the brake lines which take out added power from torque. you can feel the brake pedal go all the way down, when it does put gear in Drive with Overdrive off. Rev at 3000 rpm and when light changes off you go! have fun!

what he said

unless your racing, should overdrive always be oN?

Ok, i mean no offense with this, and it's no directed at anyone in particular, just a broad opinion. But if you can't do something as simple as locate teh overdrive button you aren't ready to race yet. You shouldn't try racing(i mean real racing with those amazingly weird things called turns and corners, not this drag from light to light bullshit) until you know what your doing.

Remeber, a poser has a turbo, a racer can tune one.

Personally if you are going to race with a stock AUTO gearbox you are wasting your time.. take your mums car home and get a 5 speed for your street racing...

Just because drag cars have an auto dosn't mean your road car is a drag car.. and there are a million difference with their gearboxes..

The easiest way to do that is to probably get a rev-limiter chip. Install it and program it to about 4000, or 4500 rpm. Then you line up, put the car in gear, push in the brake as hard as you can, shift up to neutral, tap the gas to shutoff the transmission lock, shift back down into gear, rev it up, and release a fury when the light changes.

I have an automatic transmission in my vette as well. You dont want to power brake your car, the only time you need to power brake your car is when you have a torque converter. When i race i dont go by rpm's i go by the sound of the engine. You have probaly learned when you try to go from 1 to 2 manualy in your car that it doesnt shift as soon as you want it to. I eliminate this problem by shifting just like i would if i had a clutch take your foot off the gas for a split second shift and then mash the gas. it will help. Oh and by the way automatics are the best thing you can have for 1/4 mile racing.

Originally posted by bluevette74
I have an automatic transmission in my vette as well. You dont want to power brake your car, the only time you need to power brake your car is when you have a torque converter. When i race i dont go by rpm's i go by the sound of the engine. You have probaly learned when you try to go from 1 to 2 manualy in your car that it doesnt shift as soon as you want it to. I eliminate this problem by shifting just like i would if i had a clutch take your foot off the gas for a split second shift and then mash the gas. it will help. Oh and by the way automatics are the best thing you can have for 1/4 mile racing.

:eek: :spit:

Originally posted by bluevette74
I have an automatic transmission in my vette as well. You dont want to power brake your car, the only time you need to power brake your car is when you have a torque converter. When i race i dont go by rpm's i go by the sound of the engine. You have probaly learned when you try to go from 1 to 2 manualy in your car that it doesnt shift as soon as you want it to. I eliminate this problem by shifting just like i would if i had a clutch take your foot off the gas for a split second shift and then mash the gas. it will help. Oh and by the way automatics are the best thing you can have for 1/4 mile racing.


I think i know what you're talking about...so you're just saying to start in drive...accelerate and when you hear the sound...just take your foot off and step back on the pedal to switch gears faster?

no no, start from first then too second and then to drive, and use the same technique that I told you. Most people think that automatics suck, if you can shift manually through 3 gears in an automatic then its perfectly fine for quarter mile racing. In an automatic the gears shift quicker and they eliminate the chance of you missing a gear. Polygon seems to disagree with me and i would like to know why?

hey racing is bad

yes auto's are better for drag racing, especially with a torque converter and shift kit (like I have:))...unless you can pull off clutchless upshifts every time, which is pretty hard. I get the best launches by either powerbraking in second gear then either taking off WOT or gradually taking off in first...my major problem is traction.

Thank you. I dont have a torque converter mainly because i dont want to snap my neck back every time i take off from a light. But i do have a shift kit that will snap your neck through all 4 gears. I appreciate you backing me up their!

I guess I dissagre partially. It is very tricky to say which is better, it all depends on the setup of the tranny and drive train.

yeah, it depends a lot on setup. manuals are much more fun to drive, though :)

very true!

What is overdrive and why should it be off when racing?

Just trust these guys they know what their talking about. And I agree with the past post> If you don't know what any of this stuff is I would not go out racing any time soon. First get to know your car...how it works, where things are, how it handles in different situations. Then go to a secluded parking lot, or empty road, and practice by yourself. Not to fast...don't kill yourself...just some 0-70 type launches, to get to know your car. go often until you are comfortable. Don't rush things! You and your car are like a guy and a girl...If you rush her to quickly she going to smak you in the face! And you don't want that smack to be the street or a light pole!

If you're a good driver in a severely underdog car, you have a good chance of beating an average or poor driver in a faster car... most people don't even know how to shift right!!!!

Originally posted by AlexB
If you're a good driver in a severely underdog car, you have a good chance of beating an average or poor driver in a faster car... most people don't even know how to shift right!!!!

that is so true, unless of course, m 3rd gen accord comes stock with more horsepower than newr modded civics(although those civics that i've beat either have nothing or exhaust), but i'm still surprised at some the the races i've won, with my stock pos...

I have an automatic '95 VW Cabrio and have been using the powerbrake-manual shift method when racing, I'm just curious, is this at all bad for the vehicle? Will it wear out the brakes?

yea, it will

Originally posted by brndp
What is overdrive and why should it be off when racing?

Overdrive for most automatics is a fourth gear. I know that when pulling a trailer in a truck you have to have overdrive off or you'll burn up your transmission. I am not sure if that is the problem with racing though I haven't heard of a problem with racing with od on.

No there is none at all

I'm curious, with an automatic, instead of using the powerbrake method would it be harmful to put the car in neutral, rev up and slip it into drive?

It can be. Since an automatic is not gear driven, instead it uses belts. You can cause those belts to get loose and slip or snap. I've had a car do this to me. It works but it is damaging to the belts and will eventually start to slip.

will shifting manually with the 1-2-3 gears on an automatic cause the belts to slip or snap?

Nope. It is ok to drive like that but putting in neutral and then bring the RPMs up and dropping in drive will.

damn nizmolee, you got a big wing.

Here's a tip that I heard from this one dude

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You can show them what you have under the hood but never tell them. As soon as you tell them, you're done.
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That's some damn good advice I think. Don't tell them what the hell you have ported, what turbo you got, what injectors, what boost you're running, etc. Odds are they won't know all that just by looking at your setup. I think you should actually mislead them and tell them you've been having problems!

no, automatics dont use belts, unless its a CV tranny. They use what's called a Planety gearing system. Sorta weird, but different gear ratios' different gears in teh tranny lock up while others start turning. To find out more go here (http://www.howstuffworks.com/automatic-transmission.htm)

so is it still harmful to drive like I described earlier?

Originally posted by Steel
no, automatics dont use belts, unless its a CV tranny. They use what's called a Planety gearing system. Sorta weird, but different gear ratios' different gears in teh tranny lock up while others start turning. To find out more go here (http://www.howstuffworks.com/automatic-transmission.htm)

Whoops, I meant to say BANDS!! :)

Yeah, they use a couple of bands, but i would be much more worried aobut killing the clutch plantes, and deforming the gears inside there.

Well the main reason I would worry about the bands is because I have had it happen to me before.