Car and Driver - 13.6 @ 106
Road and Track - 13.7 @ 105.6

Shell - goofball from Dallas - 13.712 @ 106.88

First shot out of the hole - WITH traction control on! Well I was geekin' beyond belief let me tell you. So, I'll back up for a sec. No spare tire or floor matts, I'm 205lbs (easy), over 3/4 of a tank of gas, 17" stock rims running stock 245 rubber @ 32 psi pressure, 3850 miles on the odo., 45*, overcast somewhat, breezy, - with K&N drop ins. So the spare is probably compensated by the fact I had over 3/4 of a tank. My 60' times where pretty average to not so great (2.467) - so I think a 13.6 - 13.5 is possible based on my trap speed that if I could launch the car worth a damn and get around a 2.2 60'. Oh, my reaction time was lame-o - .937 (I used to cut .5 somethings all the time in my Nissan - it's been a few years). No power braking. Release brake with left foot - put pedal to the floor with the right foot. Damn this is easy!

Want some perspective? There was a real nice young guy (in his mid 20s?) with a 3 month old M3 that had a 2.2 sec 60ft time and ran 13.5 at 105. The kid did a nice job of launching that car - I'm sure it was a handful.

ESP was flashing on my launch for a good half to 1 sec and Bam - I'm gone and pulling like a frieght train. The car just doesn't have any bite out of the hole (damn you E55s with 275s!!!)

Second try I left traction control on again thinking I was oh so close to a 13.6 - let the car do the work! Bogged worse out of the hole (different lane this time) - which showed in the 2.588 60' time - but till managed a 13.897 with a VERY fast 107.21 trap speed. I'm telling ya - once it hooks up - this car will boogie!

OK - lines are getting really long - it's almost 2 hours between runs - once more into the breach! This time - I'm turning off ESP. I keep practicing "rolling" the throttle with my right foot with the car off in the staging lanes. "Rolling the Throttle" - don't hammer it out of the hole - "roll the throttle." "Luc, I am your father - use the force Luc."

Shallow stage - ESP triangle being disengaged blazes on the dash as if to say "don't be a dumb-*** - turn me on before you break something" - heart pounds like a jack hammer in my chest - I cut a.798 reaction (ick) - and I thought I was quick but the world is in slow motion - "Roll the Throttle Luc - Let go........"

Why is the rear end of the car drifting left? Uh, uh, uh - I'm rolling the throttle - really I am - yet the car's butt just start quirting over as I spin and I countersteer to keep the nose pointing down the track.

Well ESP realizes I'm doing a good job of roasting the Michelins under all the torque and intervenes to save my stupid *** in front of a crowd of people. Triangle flashes for a few tenths of a sec - it pulls the power back down - Bam!- I hook and go (finally!). 60' time is what you would expext - 2.668 - I do a 14.410 at 106.81.

Well I have to say being the second most expensive car there (there was a 360 Modena - I heard it made a slower run than me) - a lot of people were surprised in the staging lanes that I was doing 13.7 at about 107. That's pretty respectable for out of the box!

OK - I'll post some pics next. Attached is my time slip (I think in the order I ran them) - hope you can read them!

 

at the tree

 

just past wetbox

 

did you expect a big hairy burnout? - nope, I'm driving around the wetbox

 

my dad is in the black lighting truck behind me..... he ran like a 14.2 @99 - very respectable!

 

helmet on - about to be called up!

 

in the pits - ready to go home!

 

Great post ! Nice job... Gotta love the 55's ! I wonder what a upgrade to 18 or 19" wheels would do for the take off traction. I bet you would be able to pull times in the mid 13's... Maybe a 13.6...

 

Actually, an 18" or 19" wheel would make for worse traction than he has now. To bite out of the hole, you need a wide sidewall that will wrinkle and store some of that energy you're expending to get the car moving forward. That's why all the true drag slicks are 15's, or 16's at the most, and drag radials aren't made in any size over 17. As you go up in wheel size, you go down in sidewall width, making it more difficult to hook.

 

Ahhh... R. Range, you are correct. I think going up in size also will slow things down a bit due to longer revloutions of the wheel for one rotation ! I gues a wider tire would fit the bill better.

 

So let's speculate for a second here...

if my best 60' time was a 2.467 with a 13.712 (every tenth in the 60' = 2 tenths off your quarter mile?) - if you had slicks and could cut a sub 2.0 60' - do think we would have a 12 second run?

let's see - order some custom bolt pattern Bogart Drag Star rims and some slicks.... (muhaha!)

http://www.mspmall.com/bogart/catalog.html

 

Hey there! It was quite nice to meet you yesterday...for some strange reason I missed your gorgeous car while drooling over the Mr2 next to you in the staging lanes. Those are some nice times you ran yesterday. I only managed to see the second run, not sure if you ran anymore after that, but very impressive.

You should have run the AMG at Motorsport Ranch today. There were some gorgeous cars, and amazing runs today, and people were able to run more than wait in the grid.

Anyhow, hope to see you soon at another event!

 

.

 

Nice runs. I saw your car at the track, VERY sweet car! I went to Hallsville on Sunday and ran .2 seconds faster in 60', and .24 quicker in the 1/4. Ennis is typically a hard track to hook up at. Again, nice runs and hope to see ya again
-Chuck

 

Great write up and very informative.

 

Great Post