Martingale

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that my car is a dud and I am considering selling it and throwing money into another LS1. It's a 2000, A4/3.23's, all stock except a lid and Nittos. The only thing holding me back from selling it is the custom stereo install. If it wasn't for that I would sell it. Here's the evidence that it's a dud...

- Dyno: put down 262rwhp on a Mustang dyno. People say that numbers are really low because it's a Mustang dyno and not a Dynojet, but even compaired to other Mustang dyno results my car put down about 15 - 20 HP less than other stock LS1's.

- Track results: best time was a 13.85 @ 100.1. It was 80 degrees and really humid that day. No one was running that good that day so the 13.85 doesn't bother me too much. What really bothers me is the trap speed though. 60's were 2.2x's but there was no wheel spin at all. The car dead hooked, it just couldn't pull. Rest of the day it ran 13.90's.

- LT1 hung with me: I ran a stock 6-speed LT1 from a roll. I pulled him two times but one time he hung dead even with me. This was from about 20 MPH up to around 80 or 90. The other two times I only pulled about a car and a half on him.

The crazy thing is the car runs okay. It doesn't show any signs of distress. On the dyno the air/fuel was around 11.8 to 12.0. It hasn't thrown a check engine light or anything. It never stumbles or acts up. I think it's running okay but it's just a dud LS1. What do you guys think? Would you invest money into a dud or sell it and start over?

DD966

iTrader: (3)

When you were the dyno did you have it tuned? Some factory tunes are worse than others. You may have another 10 - 20hp without bolt-ons.

If you are looking to stay stock'ish', but want a lot of power when needed, add a cutout and nitrous. POWER at the push of a button. That'll only cost you around $1500 all together, and that's only if you have someone else do the work. I personally think that would be A LOT cheaper than buying someone else's modified LS1.

cowboysfan

do all bolt-ons first, then you will want to add a cam maybe heads. tune it only after you add cam/head unless you are not planing to do h/c swap. then intake/exhaust/gears. then tune it. you'll be happy



fuerzaws6

davered00ss

iTrader: (4)

A4's dyno lower than M6's. Dynojets are said to dyno higher than a mustang dyno. Would also help to know if the #'s wer STD or SAE corrected. if STD high temps could also lower #'s. Altitude also has something to do with it. You would dyno lower in colorado than in connecticut. Just a thought. talk to some of your local's. Where did you get it dyno'd?

Benjamin Russick

iTrader: (1)

The only concern I see in your post is the 100mph trap speed. Even in deep humidity, I'd expect that to be a couple mph faster (although you didn't give DA...). Mustang dynos usually read about 5-10% lower than DynoJets, so no biggie. You raced a manual LT1 in its best environment...0-90 and still pulled a couple times. If you got your 60 ft times down to 2.0, you'd prolly be mid-13s and right in the thick of things.

FLTransAm02

I couldn't break 13.8 with my car until I learned how to drive at the track and got some better tires..

When I learned the track and how to launch and all that good stuff I ran 13.4 with the exact same settings... I wouldn't blame the car as being a "dud" just give it some time, and perhaps try some different things... If you dont have fun driving it, then maybe it is time to get something different, but if your just obsessed with the numbers, than get a 10 second street car....

AronZ28

iTrader: (2)

What year is the car? 2001 and 2002's will dyno higher than the 98-2000 cars because they have the LS6 intake. Your 60 ft times suck too(no offense), I was cutting 2.0 60 ft times on some greasy Kuhmo Estca tires. Maybe the track prep sucked too. Brake and hold the rpms to 1200, then roll into gas. That's how I got a 2.0 60ft. Best 1/4 mile time was a 13.31@104
Car also dynoed 305 RWHP, 323 lb-ft of torque with a lid, 3" i-pipe, and cutout. Dynojet with SAE correction.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

My first time out, I ran 13.9 and met my goal - to get into the 13's. You gotta make some allowance for the fact that the car is new to you. Then with lid, catback, and some good air, I ran 13.4. With my small converter and some Nittos, I broke into the 12's. My advice: forget the dyno, make your mods one by one as you can afford to, & keep taking it back to the track and working on your launch. You'll get there. You don't even have a good flowing catback yet. Get that and when you get some good air and a decent launch, you'll be surprised.

Ws6man2000

iTrader: (24)

my car dynos at 290 rwhp with mods in sig....and i destroy modded 6 speeds with exhaust,lid and ls6 intake so you might have something wrong who knows

Roarin_8

iTrader: (5)

If your car is an auto, get a stall. Your 2.2 on nittos sounds like you are spinning. You can still spin but don't hear it. And that spinning will make you lose mph since the power is being spun away. Heat will kill your mph, et is based on traction.

Nittos like to be nice and hot, give a burnout that will cover half the car and then they will be ready. My best 60 with the nittos is in my sig. which I got yesterday. Very close to 1.7s. My best mph was yesterday as well. First run I spun bad 2.2 60' and got a 15.4@101 and then the 2nd run I ran my best et, mph and 60'. So practice your launch techniques.

z28C4maro82z

iTrader: (33)

To be dead honest with yah I don't think it's a dud at all. My friend dynoed on a mustang and a dynojet and gained 22 hp on the dynojet. A4's do dyno lower than manuals it's a proven fact. Therefore if you put +20 on you mustang numbers you will be quiet happy to know that the numbers are pretty even.

Red91vette

iTrader: (3)

I don't think its a dud either, its a A4 on a mustang dyno, its not going to dyno that much HP, how was the weather that day as well? Did you leave the heater or AC on? I did that when I dynoed my car. I had the same mods, just a lid on the dyno, 2000 Z28, but it was a M6 on a dyno jet, did 296rwhp but I left the heater on! As the track runs, with nittos you should be able to cut a 1.9 60ft. Maybe your not spinning, your just not launching high enough? The weather has a lot to do with it as well. I wouldn't sell it just yet, give it a chance, also how many miles are on the car?

glennhl

Everyone is right, your dyno numbers look good given it's on a Mustang Dyno. Your ET is good, but your trap speed is down by 4 to 5 mph. It sounds like it was a hot and humid day which hurts. However, the thing that really caught my eye was your custom stereo. Did you remove the amps and subwoofer before you ran? I've seen custom amps and speakers add over 75 pounds to a car, sometimes more depending on the speaker enclosures.

Ws6man2000

iTrader: (24)

290 rwhp for me was on a mustang dyno what would i put to the ground a dynojet do you think?

transam69230

iTrader: (49)

I got an autormatic T/A and on my first run at the track with headers, o2 sims, straight pipes, intake, and nittos i was running 13.7. Went back a few weeks later with some better air ran a 13.5. Went back a again ran a 13.2. Car isn't a dud you just need to get some bolt ons. Your mph is low though i would say you should be at 103ish. As 60 ft times go my best was a 2.004. I wouldn't expect anything lower consider its an auto. The best thing to do to hit a lower 60 ft is to get a stall.

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

A 2.2x 60 foot time on Nittos is not "dead hooked"... you can do a lot better than that. I got 1.9x times out of Kuhmo 712s on my Formula, 1.9x times from Firestone SZ50s on my '99 Trans Am A4. Any stock F-body should be able to to a 2.0x time on street tires.

I think IMHO you just need to learn how to launch the car better. I ran 13.9x times with my bone stock Trans Am A4 when I first started racing, and cut 2.2 times on my 60 foot. A few nights of practice and I was runing 13.5s with 2.0 times on the 60 foot.

I don't see any evidence from your post that your car is a dud.

Food for thought.

Martingale

Thanks for all of the replies guys...I really appreciate it. I keep reading about 13.3 stock A4's and LS1's putting down 310rwhp stock and it makes me think my car is screwed up. The day I had it dyno'd it was hot as well. I don't remember exactly what the temp was but it was summer time and I am in the mid atlantic region so I'm pretty sure it was humid that day. As for the day at the track, the subwoofers were removed but the amps and the rest of the hardware stayed. The box can be unmounted and removed easily but there are two amps that can't. The remaining stereo stuff only weighs about 30 pounds I'd say. I guess I'll just give the car more time. I'm not sure what to do about the 60's but I'll go to the track and work on it. I could have sworn the tires weren't spinning though..

RedWS6 00

You said you had a modified stereo system. Did this add extra weight? huge subs in boot etc? This would cerainly slow down your speed on the track, wouldn't effect dyno nmbers. I dont think your times are bad. Get it tuned and add some bolt-on's will make a lot of difference.
I had a huge sub system on my old car twin 15inch intalled in 15mm thick MDF and a nice heavy amp. weighed in at 88lbs. This weight needs to be ditched at the track.

darrensls1

Keep this in mind. Most F-bodies that dyno 300-315 rwhp stock are manuals. Most A4's dyno 280-300 rwhp on a dynojet. 98-00 are closer to 280 and 01-02 are closer to 300.

I have 245 Nittos on my car so let me give you some advice. Drop PSI down to 18 psi at the track. Then go through the water box and when they give you the signal do a good burnout. I put my car in 1, hold the brake hard and hit the gas until I see smoke. Then I count out seven seconds (one mississippi, two mississippi, LOL). Then I let off the brake slowly, skid forward and stage as quickly as I can. As long as they prep the track at all there is no way you couldn't dead hook (or darn near) on hot Nittos in a car that traps low 100's. You should easily get 1.9-2.0 60' times. Just make sure you brake stall the car up to 2000 rpm's or so and drop the hammer from there (might give you a better kick out of the hole as opposed to dropping the hammer off straight idle).

Here is something to think about. Before headers and stall I was trapping 104 in good weather. Basically the same car as yours but I had SSRA ram air kit and Dynomouth exhaust. When I was hitting bad launches and had a high 2.2-2.3 60' I was hitting 13.9 @ 103. When I had ok launches of 2.1 I would hit 13.5 @ 104. But when I really nailed a good launch with just a slight bit of wheel spin (2.0 for me on street tires) I was hitting 13.3 @ 105. These were real runs I made on the same day so there was no weather or track variations. My trap speed fluxuated by 2 mph just by how good or bad I launched.

All I'm saying is that it's possible your car could trap 102-103 if you hit the right launch and in slightly cooler weather. For best ET you want no wheel spin. But for best trap you actually want slight wheel spin but obviously not too much. My best traps are usually when I chirp my tires out of the gate but hook very quickly after.

Your car is being choked right now with that factory muffler. If you get a cutout, dynomouth or full catback (just avoid flowmaster) and practice your launch I bet you trap 104 in decent air.

What city and state did you race in? I could look up the elevation of that area and see if that is a big factor for your trap speed.

moeZ28

iTrader: (7)

i start out in first on my burnout then hit second to get more wheel speed and heat the tires up real good before i go rape mine at the track. but everyone is different. A DYNO IS A TUNING TOOL!!!!! dont be concerned with the numbers, all dynos are different and will show different results, depending on who set the correction factors and other variables. if they wanted to, they could change a few numbers and have your car showing 450rwhp on that dyno. so just use it as a baseline to see how much modding your car adds to it. as for at the track, i have had the same issues. dead hook and cant break 2.0 60 foot time. the best i have done is a 2.04 with no wheel spin. i just got my car retuned and wanna see how it does now. i got 20 rwhps out of a tune yesterday, and the car feels alot stronger on the bottom now. i think you definitely need a tune. all cars, modded or not, can benefit from a tune!!!!!!! good luck man!