Well, I've been slowly getting used to my Thunder Racing solid roller 346. This thing is a blast to drive. I've been hitting the track for the last 3 weekends, and getting better each time.

My first outing was bad. 6 passes. 5 of them I missed a gear. So we'll ignore that outing. But the only full pass was a 11.82 @ 117.5. Very disappointing day.

Second outing was better. Probably a dozen passes, probably at least 5 with missed gears, but a best of 11.64 @ 117.64, 1.59 60'.

Third outing was yesterday. That was a blast. New best of 11.55 @ 118.76 w/ 1.56 60'. Didn't miss any gears this time. I did the drill-out mod, fresh tranny fluid, and synthetic hydraulic fluid for the clutch over the past week. Definitely felt better. I made 1 test 1/8th run, and then 1 full pass, on the bottle. This resulted in a 11.16 @ 125.31 / 1.48 60' (100 shot) (I pulled timing / added fuel to be safe).

My friends tell me I put on quite the show yesterday. Front HAL's on 2, was putting about a foot of air under the front wheels. First time that happened, my eyes went as I was seeing what color the sky was. That was a blast. I've never done that before. I set the HALs to 3 and started getting better 60's, and I'll probably move to 4 next time out.

Are my numbers weak? Yes. Why? Well, part of it is the motor - the heads are kinda goofy and it's a little under-powered for a solid roller, and we know that. But that's being worked out very soon.

The other part of it... The 6-speed. Man, I have a new found respect for guys that row 10's. And those guys who row 9's... You are gods. How you do it? I don't know. I don't power shift, I lift the gas, clutch, re-engage, and floor it again.

I'm just another below-average 6-speed driver. But it'll come with more seat time.

I'm enjoying the heck out of this motor. 7500 RPM is a blast. The "Check Gauges" light flickering, the engine screaming, and the sky... It's blue. The motor runs very smoothly, all the way up. And it idles great at 850 RPM (for such a big cam - click on the link in the sig).

One of these years I'll be able to shift this thing to its potential... But there's lots of practice necessary between now and then!

I would have gotten more runs in yesterday, but a friend broke his car and needed a tow home. So I didn't want to take a chance on having to tow 2 broken cars so I drove mine home and he drove the 'burb.

Now, if the DA would just drop to below 2700 feet... :p

-Andrew (wish I could drive like this dude - he never misses a gear! -> )

 

That's awesome, just wait until your solid roller decides to frag your T56 like mine did today!

 

Lookin' good, Andrew! Once you get the bugs worked out and get to run in some decent air, that thing is gonna kick butt!

 

The main thing you have to remember is to ask yourself is are you having fun. If you drove bye the timeslip booth and did not pick up the ticket would it have still been fun??? As for six speed guys being God no most of them have been driving manual trans for a while and some people were born being able to shift a stick car. The first trip out with my solid roller motor was in the 11.70 range in the middie of the summer. It's been some 11.0's since then. Just keep working with it.

Hey Dirty.... The cam did not frag your trans.... you did. Welcome to the world of high horsepower.

 

I went 11.84 my first time out with 557rwhp.After 30 passes I got down to 10.91.For the first time ever I agree with Joe,what really matters is are you having fun.If you want to realize your combos full potential I say practice powershifting.I think it would be fun to do that at 7500 rpm. With better weather ,more practice you will see big improvements.Enjoy

 

Thanks guys, for the encouraging words.

My second trip was my 'low point'. My first 3 passes resulted in missed shifts. I got very pissed off - and did crinkle a timeslip or two.

But after this past Saturday, I'm much more encouraged. Everything seems to be getting better. I'm going to work on power shifting, and see if I can drop to a lower mid-11 at some point. I do need to get a cage (heh heh) and hope to have that done within the next 6 weeks, so I'll probably take a break for a bit - and just daily drive the thing for a while.

Local track never did say anything 'bout that tho.

Cheers,

Andrew

 

I am sure you will get those times down.. It took me months to get my full potential out of my old setup.. 12.28 at 116mph on drag radials in 95 degree weather at 3750lbs.. This was with 390rwhp/380rwtq and 3.42's.. I am still amazed at the times, but I was stuck at 13 flat at 114-115mph for a long time.. TR will support you and help you get those times down.. You are not just a customer.. You are now one of their spokes people..

 

That's true. We are sending Jason up to drive the car. Sorry Andrew.

 

Andrew,

Cool that you are getting the hang of driving your new Hot Rod.

11 psi on the rear Rocks! What kind of slicks are you running? I know that we had some problems getting the right slicks for a 6 speed. Kevin Helms (2002 NHRA Stock Elim champ) hooked us up.

I might be able to help you out on the 19th or 20th of July. I might be able to drive a 6 speed a little bit.

"YES"Thunder Racing has great support and I think that I have a big Thunder Racing banner down the sides of my doors on my Hot Rod!

Good Luck to ya and let me know if you need any help.

Coach

 

I got a couch he can sleep on. Bring it!

(it's happened before... I was running 12.doh's all night, a friend asked if I wanted an 11 sec timeslip, I said yes, threw him the keys, and dammit... he runs an 11.85 with my old motor (in much better weather) :p ).

And Coach, I'm running 28 x 10.5 ET Drags, with the stiff sidewall ( 3055S ). They rock. And I'll try to meet you at TAD that weekend. And maybe you can teach me a couple tricks.

Cheers,

Andrew

 

Cool, Yes, you have the right M/T slicks. I hope to see ya on the 19th.

Coach

 

Maybe I should order a plane ticket and head out there in a few weeks. I'll just charge the trip to your bill at Thunder. lol

Jason