Drag strip...

I'm thinking of taking my 996 to the strip this year. I know not to mash into gear too hard or take off with a real hard launch. I also have figured out I shift faster if I do it a little early and with a slower, deliberate motion (vs. my old "slam-it" method on my C5 Vette). My question is this - just racing for fun (I don't mind losing a tenth or two to keep from fragging my car), is there anything I should watch out for so I don't damage my "daily" car? p.s. I know smart people don't "race" their daily drivers at all. Then again smart people don't race at all and just drive Hyundais...

Yeah...don't take it. The 996 has a top-end based motor. It and the transmission is not designed for low-end torque based grunt like a V8. Take it to a road course and enjoy the twisties. Just my .02... C.

hopefully you will not regret it...these cars are not drag cars unless you have money to spend.

i've done a few drag launches (about...5-8 of them..maybe a couple more)...and some absolutly bonkers launches (maybe 2 or 3...the kind that would make every member of the PCA suddenly wince in pain...seriously, the jedi are going to feel them) and the transmission and rear end can take it thanks to the weak link: the clutch. The clutch will start to get slippish and heat up well in time for you to realize that the car's suspension and driveline need major tweeking and before you do any damage. it should be noted that my last hard launch was over 3 years ago and i'm still on a zero fault original clutch, transmission and limited slip. nothing has been replaced. bottom line: the car can handle it, in moderation. The 996TT guys take their cars to the drag strip all the time. Are they more robust? yep. By contrast, are our cars made of toothpicks and duct tape? nope.

That would be fun actually. I occassionally run my '62 Bug, low 14s. Have you ever done it before? It actually gets the adrenaline pumping on the line and timing the lights. But be prepared to have people rooting against you in the Porsche.

I have done it 13.862 sec 100.7 mph. Wont do it again but it was fun. MAF sensor went out that day, I have no idea why, but that was the only casualty. Got my a-- kicked by a mercury marauder, really kicked.

I personally do not think a hard launch will not hurt it, it is the power shifting (not letting off the gas between shifts) that will break it. I have broken a couple trans (not 996's) with power shifting, but never a launch. This is what I would do, trip the stage light (the second, final staging light), then let the clutch out a little (at idle) to eliminate all the drivetrain slop. Push the clutch back in, then rev the motor to taste and wait for the third amber and let the clutch out hard, but dont dump it.

Wrong car! You need a Mustang.

i have multiple 13.4 passes and a 13.2 on my 996 (when it was stock) with trap speeds of roughly 101-104MPH. normal shifting (clutch in, shift gear smoothly, clutch out) and a normal launch (didn't sidestep...no more then 4500rpms)

The engine/transmission/clutch can absolutely handle hard launches! I do occasional sprints through the gears from hard launches, and I drop the clutch at around 4000rpms, peel out, and get sideways a little bit when hitting 2nd gear. I "power-shift" when running through the gears (keep rpms high in between shifts). It's not a drag-racer, but is very capable and it doesn't hurt anything. I wouldn't do it over and over again, but it certainly won't kill your car. My clutch lasted for 105,000 miles, btw, and my car runs like a champ. There's a difference between driving hard, and driving abusive. The 911 is a little rocket, so there's no need to baby it and drive it like a grandma. Go to the strip and have some fun.

Thanks all. I actually have learned about the gearshift cable on an agressive 2-3 shift the hard way and will definitely not launch or shift too hard. I have raced many times at Bandimere Speedway (in Colorado) with my "old" C5 Corvette and "old" Hayabusa motorcycle. I just wanted to make sure a conservative launch (like I would on the street) won't make it go boom... I don't plan to win drag races, but I'd like to see if it can match my old C5's mid 14 runs (we're at 6000 feet up here). BTW it is an AWD model.... I may chicken out and just wait for another bike/car before I race again. It just seems a shame to avoid racing in a car like this that is supposed to be based on a racing heritage...

^ racing heratige derived from other decidedly non-american racing past times like enduro racing, touring car and circuit racing. shifting fast and hard never accomplishes anythin there, being smooth and progressive does. The 996 is a poor drag car because of its suspension and rear engine which leads to a some pretty vicious wheel hop (and subsequent stress and damage) on hard launches, so you can't drop it like you would in another car, but enuff 2 get off the line with gusto. why not life life more than 1/4 mile at a time and hit the circuits with it.

I'd like to, but I don't want some twit smacking into it... plus that would stress it even more than a few trips down the strip... I'm still considering SCCA or something, might look into that. I'd only do that if they run em one at a time though...

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If you're thinking SCCA autocross, give it a try. I "migrated" from drag racing to autocrossing about 15 years ago and love it. Great venue for a 911, too. Just be advised that it's almost just as important to "get off the line" quickly in an autocross event as it is in a drag race. The clock doesn't start on a green light in an autocross, so you don't lose time for "sleeping", but the clock starts when you trip the beam from essentially a standing start. So you need to know how to get the car up to speed as quickly as possible. Same as in drag racing, basically. And relative to some of the shifting comments in other posts..., shifting QUICKLY (and NON-abusively) is important in ANY form of motorsports. Rest assured the pro road racers don't shift lazily. While a tenth of a second per shift lost in slow shifting may be more significant in a 14 second drag race, it adds up to a lot when you're shifting 10-15 times per lap around a road racing circuit, too. 1.5 seonds per lap will put you a lap down by the end of the race...

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no way man. it may seem like you're over stressing the car, but there's not a chance in hell you (or me for that matter, and i'm reasonably fast) are going to be cornering hard enough to start breaking things. as long as you don't exceed the redline on downshifts, you're well within component tolerences. Your consumables costs may go up (brake pads, rotors) but it'll take the stress like a Mack truck laughes when a bug smacks its windsheild. there is a legitimate consern about people hitting you, but you could always just sign up for lapping days or SOLO1 time trials, which would remove that risk.

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He should use a slower car? That's a strange solution...

Thanks again. I'll probably just take it easy at the strip and look into PCA and Auto-X. Thanks again all!

I'd completely forget about going to a drag strip in a 911. As the others have said, the 911, with the rear biased weight, it is just NOT well suited for drag races. Lesser cars can easily beat you, like the aforementioned Mustang. Go where the 911 reigns supreme among stock cars: the road course in a PDE (Performance Drivers Ed). This is what the 911 is designed for. It is 20-30 minutes at a time of an adrenaline high rather than a few seconds at a drag race. Safety is stressed and strictly enforced in these courses and that the chance of anyone running into you is highly unlikely. As an example of how safety is enforced, one of the rules is that you can pass ONLY on the straights, and ONLY if the car you are passing gives you a signal to say it is OK to pass. I've been doing it for 6 years, and will keep doing it multiple more times, while it is highly unlikely I will ever take the car to a drag strip. There are multiple vids of these DE's here on Rennlist. Here's two of mine from several years ago when I was still starting: Watkins and BeaveRun . Now, doesn't that look like more fun and less stress on the car than a drag strip?

You passed the Lotus. Nice.

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Thanks. It illustrates my point to the OP about safety, though. I was obligated to stay behind the lotus and NOT pass even though I was faster until he gave me the signal to pass. By the same token, since I caught up to him and stayed behind him, he was obligated to give me the passing signal. Guys at DE are all pretty much good guys. Just a bunch of kids and kids at heart who play by the rules and want to keep their cars as pristine the day after as day they started. Forget about drag strips.