I was not taking about my time, or my car. I said an extra 130 hp because I thought he meant a 13:00 sec. But he said 13.9 and I get that by getting 250 hp to the wheel. OK?

 

Just from experience running a base coupe with lighter wheels and tires, being a great driver, and modded out the ***, I'm gonna say NO. What works on paper doesn't work in reality. The TC is s ointrusive even with it off that it makes launching impossible.

I think you would be much better off with an auto to get this done. The more HP you have, the worse the manual performs.

But I applaud you for keeping the faith high.

 

the more power it has the more the wheels want to spin. That shouldn't make the car slower though, isn't racing about peak traction? I find the TC doesn't kick in until the wheels spin hard enough, I can modulate the gas pedal enough to keep the tires spinning.

 

Actually, the ESP has more to do with the direction the car is traveling vs the direction the steering wheel is pointing.

I don't see how TC would do much of anything in a straight line. There's also something wrong with your tires if you're getting interference from TC on a quarter mile drag race!!

 

The ESP, and ABS are so tied together, the brakes may be applied automatically with wheel spin

 

can't you remove both the fuses for the traction control until you have completed your runs at the strip to see if you can get to the magic number.

 

So, what pressure do I run on my tires? Nitto Invo. I'm taking my wheel spacers out and going back out there asap. I usually put 36 in the front and 35 in the back.

 

Paul, we use to run 50 lbs in the front tires (do so at your own risk) just to decrease rolling resistance. Over inflated tires "dome".
But as long as you don't engage your "juice" until your car actually starts moving, the fact that your car is an automatic just might be a great reason to try some "lighter" 16" SLK wheels. Especially with a tire at least an inch shorter than stock hight. That would make your car perform more like it had a 3.46 gear.

 

Actually my TC would put my car into "limp mode" nearly everytime my tires broke loose, even with my TC turned off. I think some XF's are just more sensitive than others. After 3 years and to many close calls, I disconnected the TC and my car is so much more fun to drive. I can kick out the rear end in a curve whenever I want. So far, the "Yaw" sensor hasn't activated as far as I can tell.
On the downside, my anti-locks are deactivated as well, but my car never see's winter, and I've only been caught in the rain about 1/2 dozen times with it.

 

Going by Apkano's post, he might disagree, as do I.

 

The problem lies in the launch.

With the TC off, I can modulate just a little wheelspin that goes away quickly and sends the car down the track.

With the TC on, whenever my wheels start to spin, the system engages and modulates the brakes as well as pulling spark and fuel. This creates a bigger delay than just a little wheelspin does, as the car needs to recover before everything is back to normal and it allows you to use full power again.

It's a short delay, but when you're talking tenths.......

 

You're right, I completely disagree.

I wish I had more power! That way I could possibly get a good strong launch by starting in second. First gear is so short, no sooner do you start rolling and it seems that you run out of gear. By eliminating one shift in the quarter mile my times would be MUCH better.

I do get pretty abusive at the track, and I do use the "no-lift-shift" procedure, but still, when you're talking tenths....

 

I've never "power" shifted my Crossfire. With the "sticky" 1-2 shift, I guess I was always afraid I'd hear gears grinding beating the syncros and all. But at the drags, that's definitely what's necessary to get the best times for sure.
As much as I would like to have a lower gear ratio available for our cars, say 3.55 or even 3.73's, it would totally render our 1st. gear (in the 6spds.) useless. But boy would it wake up the automatics.

 

For some reason, mine shifts great when using the "powershift" technique. I find that it's a sticky 1-2 shift when driving normally around town.

As far as a lower gear, I'd love it. I usually have to shift to 4th about 75 feet before the finish line....it would be great to be able to just hold third through the lights.

 

Steve it seems I've read that same comment here on the forum before, that driving more aggressivly makes the manual operate better. To be honest, I never noticed. Maybe I should pay more attention huh?
You must have read my mind, because I was going to ask you if you needed to use 4th. gear in the 1/4.
You're right, that extra shift does cost precious time. Every magazine road test I've read about the Viper GTS says it's supposed to run a 12.2 sec. 1/4 mile. But in the Viper magazine, some guy broke into the 11's simply by not shifting into 4th. I'm gonna assume he was beyond redline going thru the traps, but with no rev limiter it's possible to do in the Viper.
How's this sound? Install a SRT's 3.07, launch as hard as you want, stay in 1st. gear longer (thanks to the 3.07) and go thru the traps in 3rd.

 

LOL....I like it!

Last time I was at the track, NeedsWings offered to let me try his drag slicks. Wonder what he'd say if I asked to try his whole rear axle?

 

You need to be very careful when asking to use ones rear end

 

I would think that alcoholic beverages would need to be involved!

 

I regeared an entire Spirit R/T transmission to accomplish this same goal. I kept having to shift into 4th right before the traps and it was keeping my mph down a little. The regear didn't do much for my ET, but the mph came up a couple.

I have played the 1/4 mile numbers games till I was blue in the face. I play with numbers all day, so it's a natural desire. And you want to cross the line as close to your 'redline' or power peak as possible.

Agreed that lowering the FD would help this, but you need to make sure you have good midrange torque to pull it.

A lot of what you guys are talking about is what has me really wanting to find a base coupe. Less weight to start and less to worry about going wrong.

 

And here I thought you were going to wait until tomorrow and say "April fools!"