The only car in the staging lane the day I was running which had a I.R.S. set-up beside myself was a Cobra Mustang. He had a 15.40 dial-in on his windshield ! (two full seconds SLOWER than what the car magazines post for that car!!!)

I have been there other times and have seen various generations of Corvettes which were running quite well but it's pretty unusual. On a special British car and bike day I've seen a handful of Jaguars' "R" models. They turned decent numbers but all had really poor 60 foot times. At that time I had a MN12 ('97 Cougar) with 4.6 SOHC "modmotor" with 3.73 gears/Auburn posi-pro/ 2,800 rpm TCI converter. My 60 foot times were quite good and nothing broke. The MN12 I.R.S is the same one in the Cobra Mustang and its really exceptionally beefy. There are T-Bird "Super Coupes"/XR7s which run 11 second times at 130 mph in 4,000 pound car!
On the other hand, I've yet to see a really good launch from a Dodge Viper. Been to four or five events and every time the Viper was nursing a toasted clutch! Years ago a buddy of mine had a built LT-1 Vette with a four speed. In two years we went through three clutches and replaced every single u-joint in that Vette's drivetrain.

My point is this, you don't see many sports cars at drag strips because you risk breaking parts or toasting the clutch if you are going to get a really good launch out of 'em ! If you just rev it up and "dump it" the rear end bushings distort, the toe changes and you get shuddering wheel hop; the other way to avoid breaking the tires loose or grenading a half-shaft/CV joint is to slip the clutch out of the hole to keep the revs up. Magazine drivers get respectable e.t.s but they dont have to pay for the burned clutches, smashed syncros and blown CV joints that can result from drag racing a sports car.

My warranty covers the clutch assembly for 12 months/12,000 miles. I'll keep visiting the strip when I get a chance to get the best possible times out of the car until then. Hope to get some decent numbers as the weather gets cooler and my driving improves. Once I have a few good timeslips for "bragging rights" I'll turn my attention to the cones...

Slim