gesto

Back out this afternoon to a different track with little/no prep. It was pretty warm out. I figured I only had one or two runs left in the bottle from last night. Best time was my first run: 12.5089 @ 109.33 with a 1.9040 60'.

Second run slowed to 12.7099 so I swapped to a full bottle thinking I would run mid-12's. Instead the car slowed and I couldn't get the bottle pressure to stay up. Turns out I have a small bottle leak from the push port.

The second gear shift is also pretty hard and there is a clunk I can feel in the bottom of my seat. I think it might be the torque arm mount???

rybern

iTrader: (5)

Neat thread. My 00 SS has 194k and I'm running 12.2's N/A with boltons and a yank ss3600 and DR's. These guys are right, a higher stall and DR's will make a big difference.

I bet the clunk is the exhaust hitting on the floor board. Even with poly mounts, my driver side pipe hits sometimes and it normally has 1/4-3/8" clearance.

gesto

Thanks Rybern. I hope you get into the 11's. I already have MT 16x26x255 DR's and I agree on the converter. I've not done that yet because I want to get my little 50 shot working relatively consistently before I make any other changes.

I have a NANO kit but need a few fittings to finish it. I'm hoping it will give me consistent bottle pressure, which I've learned is very important. Then, I want to get a tune.

I'm hoping that will maybe get me in the consistent 12.1x - 12.2x range without having to worry about any traction issues or spending $$$ for the converter or rear suspension. I know I'm going about this backwards -- all because I found the NIB kit for cheap on Craigslist.

gesto

Took the car to have the rear end oil changed and my guy found the second gear clunk. The passenger rear LCA bushing is collapsed causing the rear end to move around under load. I'm going to call MWC this week for LCA's, relocation brackets and panhard bar. I'm planning on a MWC fab 9" down the road so I will try to use their other rear suspension parts.

My DR's are almost worn out so I ordered a new set. I'm also waiting on some bottle check valves to complete my NANO install so I can finally get the car ready to be tuned. My NGK wideband is in and warm afr is reading at about 14.5.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

if you are in closed loop and have functioning 02 sensors it will always hang out in the 14's in low or no load situations. The wideband is primarily to know what your afr's are under higher loads when the fueling is richer than the narrowbands are capable of reading accurately and most critically that you are in the 12's when at wot.

12.5-12.8 is what I have had good luck with on NA applications ,maybe a little bit richer than that if the fueling system is capable when spraying just for a safety margin.

gesto

Thanks for that. I haven't gone wot with the w/b yet and will see what the afr looks like at wot with and without the nitrous. Btw, I was born in Maine and lived in Limington when I was little.

gesto

Four runs last night and the track was packed. No changes other than removed the door panels and stereo and speakers. New best time of 12.146 at 112.11. DA on that run was about 400. When I started with this setup I didn't expect to run anywhere near this quick. Still on the same nitrous and fuel jets, plugs and everything else I started with.

Pushing through the lanes and not starting the car before pulling up to the burn out box makes a big difference. The car picks up a couple tenths doing that. One tenth in the 60 foot alone. Also getting bottle pressure up to 1250 before purging helps a lot. But to keep the pressure up i have to keep the car running so the bottle warmer doesn't drain the battery. It's a catch 22. I'm hoping nano will solve that if I can ever get my check valves delivered.

rybern

iTrader: (5)

That's pretty awesome with 224k. This inspires me since my car has 194K.

Does pushing the car through the lanes mainly help because your spraying? Or is it beneficial regardless?

gesto

These ls1's are pretty tough. I didn't really think it would take this many passes but it runs better every time out and is quieter. When I first got the car it sounded like it had some piston slap and lifter noise. That has all quieted down since racing.

Pushing through the lanes helps whether on the bottle or not. I think idling through or starting up and shutting off repeatedly gets the iat sensor hot and the computer pulls timing the first 60 - 330 feet. I wonder if a faster acting iat sensor would help. I am going to search to see if others have had this issue.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

summers I am right next door in Hollis , my camp is on Skelton reservoir on the Saco river , going to tear down and be there year round soon , Old Orchard beach is home currently.

I have always had good luck if the hood is open and car shut off whenever possible , longer breaks with hood up engine off less passes of higher quality vs. lots of passes. Bring extra battery with a pair of electric fans to cool it off.

Attention to details , front tires pumped right up , front sway bar off , shallow stage , eyes to end of track when staging , stage and drive in groove etc....it all adds up.

gesto

Good stuff. I will get an extra battery. I also might get a lightweight battery. Can you elaborate on the electric fans? Do you keep them in your trailer and cool between rounds?

At royal purple raceway in Houston in cool weather you have to go right to the lanes after you run because there are so many racers. I was there from open to close Friday night and only got 4 runs and i got right back in line after each race.

gesto

I also ran again last night at lone star motorports park. It is closer and fewer people but they don't prep the track very much and they didn't have timeslips so I don't know any of my times. They were all slower because I spun on every run. I started with 25 pounds in the tires then went to 18. To get traction I had to leave at part throttle.

My drag radials are worn out but I have a new pair of MT SS drag radials. My alternator is shot. It threw the belt this morning when I started it up.

rybern

iTrader: (5)

You guys are both bringing up good points that make sense to me.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

just keep it in my truck if using in the pits or near the staging lanes fence if using in staging lanes , also adding the battery to the trunkwell can help if your fighting for traction but don't get caught putting an unsecured battery in your trunk , toolbox and floorjack is what I usually toss back there if track prep is really terrible

Blown06

iTrader: (32)

I can't stand how that track is managed. The don't prep because the owner is a penny pinching crook. It would not surprise me if time slips were not available cause they didn't want to spend money on printer ink.

If they choose run business this way, why they actually open blows my mind.

Rant over.

gesto

I haven't had any dealings with him because I won't spend that kind of money on a car.

That track could be busy. All they have to do is be open consistently, do a little track prep and open Friday and/or Saturdays. I love RPR -- the people, the track, the prep, the price, etc. but it's so packed in good weather you can hardly get any runs in. If LMP was what it could be, I would go there instead and so would a lot of others on the west side of town.

gesto

My adjustable LCA's and relocation brackets are delivered. I found some new Founders Performance versions at a good price. Today I called Midwest Chassis and ordered Viking rear coilovers, adjustable panhard bar and weld-in subframe connectors. Their guy on the phone was very helpful.

I'm going to hold off on the torque arm. He told me the stock torque arm is helping to keep my 10-bolt alive by absorbing driveline shock and a short torque arm will transfer that shock to the differential. I know that's not ideal for launching efficiency but I will wait until I'm ready to upgrade the rear or I continue to have traction issues on the no-prep track.

fastsspr

iTrader: (49)

Wow nice thread. I want to be in the club with you guys. I have a 02 z28 A4 with 207,000 miles.
I bought the car with the intention to have fun in the track with my son. It a rare car no power acc of any kind from factory. No ttop,cruise control,power seat,power mirror,defrost,TC,fog light,etc. The car have 2.73 gears and i did a best of 13.91 @101 miles bone stock.

Now Dec.2 i going to be the last event of the year here in Las Vegas. The car have now LT ypipe, 4"mufflex,3.42,SSRA,slp cai,bbk 80mm TB,Bogarts drag pack with 195/65/15 F and 275/50/15 B. I going to let you know the results Dec3. I going to try to take the car to the scale to know how much it weight.

gesto

Awesome. So you must have a true factory stripper.

fastsspr

iTrader: (49)

Yes. I went the scale today and my stripper weight 3320 lbs without me in it. I think is not bad. Waiting to next Friday see how it does at the track.