I figured I'd branch off from the other thread to write about the results from the 1/2 mile.
As usual, the cars were beautiful and the folks at the event are second to none. Variety wasn't as good this year, it seemed like 90% of the runs had one of the following:
- A red/black Z06
- A black CTS-V coupe
- A silver/grey GT-R
Occasionally we'd be treated with the viewing of something different -- a Porsche, a Ferrari, or a Benz. But those were rare. The rest of the time we heard the iron V8's from Kentucky.
Topspeed Motorsports was there in full force, as was Buckhead Imports, Injected Engineering, etc. A good time was had by all, and Kim is now hooked on the event... this is a good thing.
Anthony got his personal best of 143mph in the half-mile... he was absolutely FLYING and wasn't even running his full 75 shot of nitrous. He made a GT-R rather nervous, it was extremely impressive.
I, on the other hand, didn't have such good luck. Last year I hit 135.5 mph with just a 65mm pulley, NW Dual, and a flash tune from Eurocharged.
This year, I showed up with a 61mm pulley, 550cc injectors, NW Dual, colder plugs gapped to .036, and the NW downpipes. My personal best... drumroll.... was 127.
For what it's worth, the DashDaq was only logging 16 pounds of boost on the entire run. My IAT's never exceeded 150°, and I'm running the stock cooling setup. So, I think it's clear I've still got a leak
somewhere. The car just feels like a dog once I'm passing the 90mph mark... 4th gear is very anti-climactic.
Adding to the frustration, I have been having a NIGHTMARE with the ignition system. It all started when I made the switch to the Magnecor 8mm wires... on the way to Bowling Green with Steve and Anthony a few weeks ago, they kept popping off the coil packs. They simply would NOT stay plugged in. We carefully reattached them at the track, and since then I didn't have a single issue -- until Friday. The car broke down on me five times on a trip to Nashville. I thought it was the Magnecor wires again, so after I limped it home (one breakdown at a time) I changed the wires back to OEM. This fixed the problem long enough to let me drive down to GA, race all day Saturday, and then get halfway home yesterday.
That's when the problem popped back up... Five miles, engine would start bogging down (running on five cylinders) and I'd pull over, pop hood, glance at the wires (none were unplugged) and start the car. Every time, it would fire right up. Then five miles later, rinse & repeat.
So, I'm at a low-point right now. I need to figure out why I'm only seeing 16 PSI of boost, I need to figure out if the tune is correct for my car, and I need to figure out WHY I can only drive five miles at a time once the car hits an interstate.
No, I don't have a wideband AFR. Yes, I need one. No, I don't have the spare $$$ to spring for a proper setup at the moment because now that the race is over, Kim's Volkswagen CC needs attention in the suspension department.
Very frustrating.