Had to school a Cobra on the laws of traction and AWD this morning. For those that don't know, my daily driver is a 92 AWD Turbo Talon with a couple mods. Car ran a couple 13.8's with high 1.7 to low 1.8 short times a couple years ago so the car flat moves from a dig up to about 50-60mph.

Well I've been sick for the last 4 days and need to make up some time. So I'm on my way to work this morning and I'm already not very happy because I'm going to work on Saturday and still not feeling 100%. There is a portion of my drive before the freeway where it's two lane traffic and 4 way intersections with stop signs. Traffic was completely dead (it was 6:30am). I'm cruising along kinda zoning out when I see a newer Cobra ahead of me. I'm curious so I speed up a bit to catch up and he must have seen me coming. He slowed down and as I catch up to his door he looks over and must have seen my boost gauge on the pillar and then punches it getting kind of squirly right next to me. I hear the blower and I'm thinking to myself, wow, that actually sounds really cool. He slows down again and gives me a look of "what'ya gonna do about that" lol... So we're coming up to the last stop sign before the road tapers into one lane. He's on my left side and my lane is the one that is going to end on the other side of the intersecton about a block, maybe more. I roll my window down and he does the same just before we get to the stop sign.

Me - Hey that's a nice car, is it fast?
Him - Thanks, it's fast as hell. I haven't had a good race yet, and I've had the car about 4 months.
Me - Wanna race to the taper ahead?
Him - Are you serious, I'll eat your lunch...
Me - Prove it. You want the move?
Him - What do you mean?
Me - I'll let you launch first and then I'll go after you.
Him - Is your car really that fast? You do know this is a supercharged Cobra right.
Me - Yep. You do know I have AWD and a Turbo right?
Him - Uuuh no, I didn't know that. So I get to go first then?

This is where I start to sense a bit of nervousness in his voice so I take full advantage of it. Remember, it's 6:30 in the morning and this is the only car I've seen the whole time including the whole time we're stopped at this stop sign.

Me - Ya I'll give you the move and I'll even wait till I can see your rear bumper before I launch. The only thing I want is that you let me rev it up and I'll give you the nod before you go.
Him - OK.

I pull my bumper up even with his and bring the revs up to 5k. I'm holding at 5k and then I hear him bringing his revs up to about 3500, maybe higher? Now I know he's mine cause he's going to blister those tires. I look over and he's anxiously waiting for me. I give the nod, he launches (if you could call it that, I think an old lady pushing a car could've moved quicker than this) all I hear is rev limiter and blower lol.. I see his bumper along with the smoke starting to come off the tires. Now it's my turn, I slip the clutch out a bit slow to get the turbo to spool. I see the boost gauge and it's pegged at 15lbs and I'm already dead even with him. He's still spinning pretty violently (ever hear of lifting buddy?) and by the time I'm ready to grab 2nd gear, his front bumper is at my back bumper, hahaha AWD launches are the best!!. Second gear comes quickly and I hear him grab 2nd, I can really hear that blower since my window is still down. Again, followed by yet more tire spin and rev limiter haha. By the top of second gear I have about 2.5 car lengths on him and I'm now at that taper. He's mine!!

The next intersection is a stoplight with a turn lane. I'm turning left and he follows behind me. I peek my head out the window and...

Me - Guess you just had your first loss
Him - I couldn't hook up
Me - Funny, I didn't have that problem (I said jokingly)
Him - Ya I wonder why
Me - I know your car would eat me in a full quarter
Him - I don't know, that car is quick off the line
Me - Trust me, you'd win....

Light turns green and I wave at him. He follows me to the freeway and he procedes to trounce my *** entering the freeway lol... I give him the thumbs up as he passes me and I see him wave once he's in front. Pretty cool dude considering what just happened to him lol...

Obviously his car would certainly eat my lunch in a real full 1/4 mile race and he even stood a good chance of beating me to the taper if he knew how to drive. Anyway, that was my most interesting drive to work I've had in the last 9 months so I had to share lol. Sorry for writing a book.

Mike

 

Cool! Thanks for taking the time to write it.

 

Nice job. Sounds like a real fun car for a daily driver

 

Thanks. Ya, it gets real fun in the rain. Nothing like drifting an AWD car around a corner!

Here's a pic of the Cobra kil,,,, oh I mean the lil' turbo car lol....

Mike

 

He'll only ever mention how he blew you away the second time

 

Great read, for early Sunday morning. I bet that softened the blow of going to work.

 

Haha, I wouldn't step to that car unless we were going at least 25mph Cause we know I only have two positions for the gas pedal off and on

Wish I could a been there.

 

I know not to try racing a fast AWD car from a stoplight on the street... hell, I think I'd get abused by an Outback or a Town & Country considering my traction issues in 1st & 2nd gear on the street.

Now, racing at the track with my ET Streets to counter the AWD action, that's a different story.

 

Actually, that reminds me of the time I took the Talon to PIR. One of my runs I lined up with a late 80's Mustang. It had open headers, huge sounding cam, full slicks etc. I couldn't even hear my car reving off the line over his obvious attempt at a "full race" car. From the sounds of the car and his pro stock style burn out, I thought he was going to kill me off the line, as did everyone in the bleachers. I ended up with a good car length on him out of the hole,,,, it was one of my best launches of that night. I had about 3 people come up to me after that and mention how I destroyed him out of the hole lol....

Bobby, when you going with a variable resistor mod for your right foot lol...

Mike

 

LOL not to get off subject, but MAN I love driving to the track on my street tires and whipping up on trailered Race cars.

I used to beat Vegas and Nova with open headers and big *** slicks all day long in my 93. Or close to beat them. It so funny how people think the old muscle cars are quick and the new ones are fluff.

 

Racing against those open header-big slick cars is fun... I never raced in the "slicks only" lane before a couple of weeks ago, and I was actually surprised that I wasn't getting destroyed on each run.

I actually won a couple... it just surprises the crap outta me when I see some tubbed out car with big slicks, thumping so hard I can't hear my own car, and I end up running a faster time in my full interior car that I drove to the track with.

 

Whats really crazy is the MPH, those cars would have mid 12 second slips with like 95mph, with my mid 12 sec slip was at 108-109. All that crap still doesn't really make sense to me but I've never claimed I was too bright

 

Nice kill. I always love reading how a Mustang gets put in its place (the glue factory, that is). It's even better when it is by someone not even driving a muscle car. I try telling the rice-loving people I work with that it's all in how you drive, not necessarily what you drive.