My buddy Dan rented out Firebird today so he and his crew could work the bugs out of his suspension in his super fast Chevy racetruck. It's been 6.90s at 210 mph in Vegas, but for some reason it's wanting to make right turns here at Firebird. It's got a Duttweiler twin turbo aluminum big block Chevrolet and a Chris Alston chassis running on a 10.5W tire. Plus, it's just super cool and I really like it. The paint is killer.
There were a grand total of three cars racing at the track - Dan's pickup, my mustang, and a slow Chevy. I gotta tell you, I've never been to a private track day, and this is the ONLY way to drag race. No lines. No tech. No hassle. No bullshit. No lines. No ricers. No nonsense. I love it.
I got there around 9 a.m. - the whole track was a ghost town all day. It was awesome.
Around 10:00 a.m., I decided to make my first couple of passes. This is the first time I've been down the track in well over a year, so I was all jittery and excited at the line. I missed third on the first pass and never got the timeslip. I hot-lapped it and lined up again immediately a minute later to make another pass. I left easy, hammered it, and speed-shifted my way down the track...
...and BAM!! My quickest pass ever, but quite a margin. My previous best was 13.282 @ 110.04 mph with a 2.184 60'.
12.917 at 107.34 mph 8) :mrgreen:
Here's my timeslip:
This was on a totally unprepped, cold lane, and a race weight of about 3820. My tank was full of 87 octane, but I don't know if that really makes a difference or not on the stock tune. The engine and drivetrain are still 100% factory.
Since changing my shocks/struts/springs, the wheelhop is COMPLETELY 100% gone, and drag racing the car now is night-and-day different. Instead of bouncing the axle up and down so hard that my fillings were about to shake loose, the car just spins the tires and wiggles a bit on the gear change. So much better now. As I suspected/feared though, my crappy 305/25/20 are indeed a problem. With my manual transmission, 3.73 gears, and 26" tall tires - I'm hitting the limiter about 100' from the traps. I ride the limiter the rest of the way out, which is why I'm only trapping 106/107 mph instead of my previously consistent 110 mph. If I had a taller tire, or some more RPM, I'd be able to improve my times some more. As is most always the case, my fastest pass came right away in the morning, and I was unable to do better the rest of the day - even when launching in the other lane on a heavily prepped and VERY sticky surface.
Here are the rest of times for the day:
12.94 @ 105.69 mph - 1.971 60'
13.098 @ 106.18 mph - 2.084 60' (hot lap)
12.980 @ 106.06 mph - 1.989 60'
12.988 @ 106.07 mph - 1.934 60'
13.145 @ 106.04 mph - 2.077 60' (hot lap)
You can tell by the consistency of my mph how much the stock rev limiter is hurting me. Either way, I really had a great time at the track. I had forgotten how much fun it is. I'll definitely be back once I've got some stuff worked out, like tires or a tune. I think on slicks/skinnies I could get into the 12.50s with some work, even being a crappy driver. I'd also want to weld my axle tubes for a little extra comfort.
A little cooldown after the first pass.
This was my opponent a couple times.
Since no one was around. I could park my car pretty much anywhere I wanted and take pics.
Here's my buddy Dan's super fancy rig. This thing is deluxe. Everybody should race like this.
This is his super fast pickup.
In tow...
What a great day. I wish all track days could be like this. I have a few videos, but I don't have a Youtube channel or anything so I gotta figure out how best to host those. I have a good one of my 12.94 pass, and a crappy one of my 12.91 pass.
Paul.
There were a grand total of three cars racing at the track - Dan's pickup, my mustang, and a slow Chevy. I gotta tell you, I've never been to a private track day, and this is the ONLY way to drag race. No lines. No tech. No hassle. No bullshit. No lines. No ricers. No nonsense. I love it.
I got there around 9 a.m. - the whole track was a ghost town all day. It was awesome.
Around 10:00 a.m., I decided to make my first couple of passes. This is the first time I've been down the track in well over a year, so I was all jittery and excited at the line. I missed third on the first pass and never got the timeslip. I hot-lapped it and lined up again immediately a minute later to make another pass. I left easy, hammered it, and speed-shifted my way down the track...
...and BAM!! My quickest pass ever, but quite a margin. My previous best was 13.282 @ 110.04 mph with a 2.184 60'.
12.917 at 107.34 mph 8) :mrgreen:
Here's my timeslip:
This was on a totally unprepped, cold lane, and a race weight of about 3820. My tank was full of 87 octane, but I don't know if that really makes a difference or not on the stock tune. The engine and drivetrain are still 100% factory.
Since changing my shocks/struts/springs, the wheelhop is COMPLETELY 100% gone, and drag racing the car now is night-and-day different. Instead of bouncing the axle up and down so hard that my fillings were about to shake loose, the car just spins the tires and wiggles a bit on the gear change. So much better now. As I suspected/feared though, my crappy 305/25/20 are indeed a problem. With my manual transmission, 3.73 gears, and 26" tall tires - I'm hitting the limiter about 100' from the traps. I ride the limiter the rest of the way out, which is why I'm only trapping 106/107 mph instead of my previously consistent 110 mph. If I had a taller tire, or some more RPM, I'd be able to improve my times some more. As is most always the case, my fastest pass came right away in the morning, and I was unable to do better the rest of the day - even when launching in the other lane on a heavily prepped and VERY sticky surface.
Here are the rest of times for the day:
12.94 @ 105.69 mph - 1.971 60'
13.098 @ 106.18 mph - 2.084 60' (hot lap)
12.980 @ 106.06 mph - 1.989 60'
12.988 @ 106.07 mph - 1.934 60'
13.145 @ 106.04 mph - 2.077 60' (hot lap)
You can tell by the consistency of my mph how much the stock rev limiter is hurting me. Either way, I really had a great time at the track. I had forgotten how much fun it is. I'll definitely be back once I've got some stuff worked out, like tires or a tune. I think on slicks/skinnies I could get into the 12.50s with some work, even being a crappy driver. I'd also want to weld my axle tubes for a little extra comfort.
A little cooldown after the first pass.
This was my opponent a couple times.
Since no one was around. I could park my car pretty much anywhere I wanted and take pics.
Here's my buddy Dan's super fancy rig. This thing is deluxe. Everybody should race like this.
This is his super fast pickup.
In tow...
What a great day. I wish all track days could be like this. I have a few videos, but I don't have a Youtube channel or anything so I gotta figure out how best to host those. I have a good one of my 12.94 pass, and a crappy one of my 12.91 pass.
Paul.
