One of the big milestones for me in gauging a cars performance is the venerable drag strip. Car guys understand it and it's an ever better measure of performance than any dyno chart as it tells you how well theory actually works. I did have my dyno sheet and my car's approximate weight, and I used car modeling software (CARTEST.EXE) to get a rough guess of what I should expect. After plugging in known numbers from my same car with it's known old engine and 1/4MI ET, guesstimating traction improvements (I'm running 225 section vs 195 section), etc. It told me 12.8@116....

On October 27, 2004 I was able to attend PIR's (That's Portland OR, not Phoenix, AZ) test and tune day. PIR's website lists Wednesday events as just an 1/8mi - so while it wasn't going to give me the full 1/4mi data I wanted, I really wanted to get SOME kind of data before the season ended. I had scheduled earlier weekends but those has always been rained out. PIR's season ends on Oct 30 of this year, so it was either make it this day (Wednesday) or hope the weather was good on the FINAL weekend.

At about 1:00p in the afternoon I decided I was going to do it - 1/8mi or not. Then a strange thing happened to me. From the time I committed myself to going until I was only a couple miles away from the track I was very excited, anxious, and nervous. The kind of dry mouth and sweaty hands the first time I went on a date with my wife years ago. I had never felt this way about the other engine swap, nor even this same car before an autocross or long trip, but I was genuinely in some emotional distress about taking the stupid car to the drag strip! Weird, but I digress...

I arrived and got the 510 tech'd. Talking to the tech guy, it turns out that in October they actually run the full 1/4mi, so I was set!

My goal this whole time was to get a 12.x time slip (even 12.999 would suffice) on street tires and pump gas. Attendance was very light and I was able to get THIRTEEN runs in in 90 minutes, and I'm still mentally abuzz from finally going, but here's the lowdown.

Run 1: Knowing traction in 1st is an issue on the street, my plan was to run 7psi in first gear, and 15 psi in 2nd and third and just take it easy on the throttle in 2nd. The light turns green, and I ease "out of the hole" as smoothly as possible (60ft time of 2.6), and when I shift into 2nd I turn on 15psi and give it the boot....WHEELSPIN! I back off, shift to 3rd early, get back into it and...WHEELSPIN! Now the car is all kind of squirrelly and it took until about 400 feet out before I recovered enough to keep it full throttle! My 1/8mi time was 10.238@78.56MPH - compare this to the NA car's best of 9.072@80MPH...yah I was a little behind on the curve. This totally blown run ended up as a 14.8@109MPH. The MPH indicating the power is certainly there. Shifts were at 7000rpm in each gear.

Run 2: Change of plans: 7psi boost in 1st and 2nd, 15psi in 3rd. I launched much better this time, but the tires spun at the top of 2nd so I went to 3rd early and let 'er rip. My 1/4mi time was now a very reasonable 13.32@113mph. Amazing what can be done if you're not wasting time spinning your tires.

Run 3: I'm lined up against some V-8 dude with slicks (I think I was the only non V-8 car there, actually). I can't remember exactly what I did on this run, - I think the same as Run 2 -  as by 60ft this guy was already almost .5 seconds ahead of me! Wheelspin wasn't so bad, and my 3rd timeslip....13.041@114.79! SO CLOSE to the 12's! This was also my best 1/8mi MPH reading at 89.49.

Run #4 had me against the latest Trans Am, and I ran 13.2 to his 14.56. What I'm finding is I'm behind EVERYONE for the first 300ft or so until I shift to 3rd and turn on full boost. The T/A was ahead of me by .2secs at 330ft, but another 330ft later I was ahead by .2secs.

Run 5 I raced the same guy again expecting the same result except he ran a 13.0@110 to my 13.2@108! By the 1/8 mi I knew he was spraying (using nitrous) and thought it was a great way to keep me on my toes, as when I shifted to 3rd and hit full boost I had expected to reel him in. Not this time...

Run 6 was the same guy, same technique for me, but he missed  a shift while I cruised to a 13.215@110.9. I was also late getting to the boost controller.

Run 7 I decided to try 7psi (boost controller off) in 1st, 10psi (controller on low setting) in second, and 15psi in 3rd. Didn't help as I got wheelspin in 2nd and backed out a little and netted a 13.37@111mph

Run 8 I decided to see what 7psi in 1st and 2nd would net me. This run gave me my best 60ft time (although at 2.217 the live axle guys are still laughing). I was finally against a street-tired Mustang and I clocked a 13.291@113.89 vs his 13.9@98. I also vividly remember shifting to 3rd, turning the boost controller on high and then looking over at the guy, just as he looked over at me - at the 1/8mi he was ahead by .02seconds, but I was up on him by 7.5MPH at that point.

Run 9 was solo, and I was late getting the boost up so I ended up with a 13.301@113.12.

Thinking the 12's were looking pretty far away, I tried to think what I could do to drop my ET's. Since I can't add power in 1st or 2nd without wheelspin, why not stay in those lower gears longer? I decided to change my shift point to 7500rpm (rev limiter) and see what I got.

Run 10 put me against another street tire-equipped V-8, and this was one of the few runs I was actually ahead by the 330ft mark. In fact, this run was my best of the night - JUST missing the 12's with a 13.018@114.19.

Run 11: Solo, but same technique as Run 10. Also, the wheelspin I get near the top of 2nd can be rode out with full throttle with no ill effects. Times are nearly a mirror image of run 10 and I end up with a oh-so-close to 12's 13.012@114.37. The 7500rpm shifting seems to be paying off.

Having made 10 runs in under an hour I wonder if I'm heat-soaking the intercoolers. I gave the car a 25 minute rest and hop back in.

Run 12: Same as runs 10 and 11, with more detail paid to shift points and getting to the boost controller quickly. It feels like the best run, and I tell myself if I can get there in 4 more runs I'll call it a day, even though It's not late yet. Check out the time slip and BINGO! 12.941@113.93!

Now I'm in a mode where I need to "back up" the sub-13 run with another sub-13.

Run 13: Same as run 12, except I hit high boost just BEFORE shifting to 3rd. I'm rewarded with a best ever [LINK 12.871@113.69]!

One of the very coolest things was once I was done with Run 13, I simply picked up the items I had to unload so I could race (toolbox, etc) and drove home. I had made no special changes, not air pressure, timing tweaks, nothing, to run at the strip. The 12.87 is full street trim, pump gas, as-you-see-it on the street setup.

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This site last updated Thursday, November 19, 2009