Howdy folks,

Went out to our local strip Sunday. It was Cincy Street Rods car show old car drag day. Always brings out some pretty interesting cars. Lots of "Rat Rods" are starting to show up on the local scene. These are either Badass cool or "deathtraps" depending on your view. Any who...There I am in the late model class staging lane looking a little out of place in my 'lil Crossfire base coupe. Folks were friendly and asked some questions. Strip conditions were typical awful August; 95+ degrees w/ 60+% humidity.

I only got in two trial runs. Drove around the water box, TC off, crunched the 1-2 shift and ran a 15.43. Next run I totally overshoot third gear going across the gate, find it, get back into it for a sad-*** 15.70. I'm feeling pretty miserable about my driving but I go back to the lanes and tough it out. Eliminations start and I have to pick a dial-in. There's a Cobra Mustang convertible behind me dialed-in at 15.4 ! Now I don't feel so bad. I borrow some white shoe polish and put 15.30 on my windshield and my tiny side window. First run I'm next to a ratty 'Stang with a 13 something dial-in. I decide to just drive like a "regular Car", Pull into the water, TC off, do a pretty decent burnout and stage. I launch at maybe 4,500, little spin, a little bog, nail a good 1-2 shift, TC light flickers, pulls real good in second through fourth. "Stang blows past me at the top end and breaks out ! I win, 15.32 @ 93 mph !

I hit the brakes hard, take the first turnoff and get back to the front of the staging lane. Second round I'm running a super ratty Jensen Healey w/ a strong Chevy small block sticking out of the hoodless heap's fenders. The driver's wearing a fire suit and running 12s in this thing ! I repeat my routine except I launch a little harder, more spin, less bog. Despite my God-awful slow reaction time I win again w/15.35 @ 92.8. The other guy red lighted !

I had to cut out and go back home at this point since I was expecting guests. I have no doubt that given better driving and cooler weather I can run the high fourteen second times reported in the magazines.

I am also positive the TC is still kicking in during the 1-2 shift. I can feel the car pull much harder once it's in second gear. Also, the ECU does "learn" from the driver; after the first two timed runs the car "livened-up" and felt more responsive and sporty on the drive home.

This is not a great car for drag racing. It'll never turn great 60 foot times. But it pulls well mid-top end and was surprisingly consistent. It also seems less adversely affected by heat compared to some other modern sports/muscle cars. You would not believe how slow some of the 'Stangs, Firebirds and Camaros were running in the heat and humidity. My last car was powered by a 4.6 SOHC FoMoCo "ModMotor" and it got totally gutless once temps hit the high 80s !

Question for anybody with Speed Innovations or Upsolute ECU tuning; does this re-flash cure the soft low-end pull in first gear or the 1-2 shift TC induced bog ? I can feel timing/fuel being pulled by the ECU in first and notice how much harder it pulls once you're into second. I know the Benz engineers were trying to avoid low RPM spark knock and keep drivers from breaking suspension-drivetrain pieces. I doubt dragstrip launches were part of their design criteria. And that is exactly why the FoMoCo engineers put a nice strong solid axle in the back of the new Mustang GTs. They knew full well folks were going to rev the V8 up to about 5 grand and dump the clutch first chance they got ! It's a "Stang; that's what they're good for !

Cheers,
Slim

 

Sorry Slim, I missed this post... You're right, I don't know any "SPORTS CAR" that's good for drag racing... Do you see ANY sports cars running in NHRA / IHRA ?

 

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