Drop-a-Daimler

My neighbor and friend just got a new roadster; a 2007 Pontiac GXP fully loaded. It's a 2.0L I4 turbo making 260 hp and 260 TQ on a 2900 lb. 2-seater. I get the feeling he wants to run me and that he's confident he can take me. I drove it and there is a little turbo lag but it really is a quick little car. It weights about 600 lbs. less than my 2006 C350 Sport and he has a manual 6-speed and I have the 7G-Tronic automatic 7-speed. I did some Googleing and found a Car & Driver test of his and a MotorTrend test of mine. They seem pretty dang close. By the factory numbers, he'd win. But by road tests in magazines, it's a much closer call. I am definitely going to give him the chance. Who do you think will be quicker?

2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP

2006 Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport Sedan

oldgixxer

it will be down to who gets a better start.If you get the jump he may not be able to close the gap&vice-versa

JRAMGV8

Its though to say, Pontiac avg mid 5s and MB C350 in the upper 5s...

sales@eurocharged.com

LOL...find some race gas and add about half a tank of that. I bet you would win!

MercedesFTW

I know I took one out easily a few months ago...

ItalianStallion

If winning is very important to you then take out your spare tire, race on 1/4 tank of gas.

You have an auto with 7 speeds. It will shift perfect every time. He has a manual and may not get perfect shifts so you have a good chance of winning. But it should be very close. Goodluck and have fun

559EVO

If he wants to race then race him asap, the reason why is because he needs to learn how to launch the car in order to duplicate those mag test numbers, your car is auto so it's more predictable just remove the traction control. He should spin alot and you will get the jump, once that happens I dont think he will reel you in.From a roll it will be close.

R107SL

Well i say race from a roll because looking at the Quatermile times and trap speeds it would very close from from a dig and i think you will take from a roll. Though the above post do mention that he does have a greater chance of misshifting or shifting slower than your 7G gearbox. Goodluck

Justin T

Uh, unless his ECU is programmed to be adaptive or has a race gas program in it that he can switch to, isn't this a waste of money? New to MB, so not certain, but most factory ECUs do not adapt to take advantage of higher octane race gas...

GMBALL

Race him, you will get him. Trust me. Let us know.

newton22

Race gas will do jack in a bone stock 350.

oldgixxer

Unless you empty the tank&fill it with some of VP Fuels oxygenated race gas formulated specifically for newer cars that run on unleaded.Trust me,it works.
But it's expensive.You will knock off a few tenths form your times

sales@eurocharged.com

Yeah, it works. My car is set for pump gas via Renntech tuning. However, if I add 1/2 a tank of 100 octane race gas, my dyno numbers jump about 20WHP. If I use 100 octane non race gas, I get about 10WHP.

Justin T

I don't believe that 100 and above octane effects a totally stock car...anyone got a dyno to show it? Modded cars are a totally different story; I am talking bone stock... I cannot imagine that if I dump 101 octane into either my E550 or my Z4 3.0si, both totally stock, that I will get any benefits because neither computer is going to recognize the additional octane and adjust the timing to compensate...

oldgixxer

Putting 100 octane in a car that has stock compression will actually generate a loss of horsepower.The least amount of octane needed to eliminate detonation will make the most HP.Higher octane generally causes the combustion to cool a bit,in a stock engine this will decrease HP.
The oxygenated VP Fuel I was referring to is 96 octane&that will absolutely make a bone stock car see some HP improvement.It basically crams more "air" into the combustion process by it being in the fuel.Since a gasoline engine is basically an air pump,more air equates more power with all other things being equal.
I run 110 octane in one of my bikes,but were talking 15:1 CR for that engine.It would melt pistons/valves with anything less.We tried 116 octane&it made less horsepower.Just enough to curtail detonation/preignition.
We added 110 octane to a bone stock GSXR-1000&it actually made 12 HP less than with 93 octane pump gas on our dyno

Jim Brady

Agree, you want to catch him off boost. Go from a roll where he has to make a least two shifts. He'll miss one if you run him three times.
If you have ever seen the way magazines test cars, there's no way he'll drive his car that hard (unless he stole the car). Be careful out there.

Drop-a-Daimler

I agree that the lowest octane needed to stave off detonation will usually make the most power in a properly tuned open system like the Jixxer but the difference here is the MB uses a closed loop feedback system with knock senors and variable valve timing controlled by the ECU in real-time. Unlike the bike which maps a certain fuel pulse and spark advance setting to each throttle position, the MB motor senses knock and adjust timing evens and spark advance accordingly on the fly. Running race gas in my bike won't net any more power either. I run just enough to keep it from pinging on hot days with it's mild 10:1 flat-top pistons. And I use a Power Commander III to adjust the fuel and spark settings but they are fixed for each TPS reading. But in closed loop engine management systems we run 93 pump gas and that car runs pretty well. With more octane (to a point) the engine will continue to advance spark and valve events until it either maxes out on its table values or it identifies knock. With 100 octane fuel and RennTECH programming, I bet it does increase RW HP with race gas. The knock sensors are waiting and get nothing so the programing pushes the spark curve and valve timing until it gets knock. Plus, you make more power from the same amount of fuel so if you drive it easy, you will get increased fuel mileage for the same reason. But when the good stuff is in the tank I bet you don't tend to "take it easy". That kind of defeats the purpose! That's when the fun begins.

oldgixxer

Excellent info.So,do you think the oxygenated race fuel would work with the closed loop system?
If they make one for your bike,get a DynoJet Igntion Module,you can alter timing advance+/- 10degress in each cylinder over the entire rpm range

Drop-a-Daimler

You're right about that! I ride with a dude who runs that box. He's spent a lot of dyno timing setting it up at FastLance Cycles in Chantilly, VA. and he runs a good half second faster than me. Schit works.

TA-9FF

Is this a bad joke?

If you had an SLK, which is what the stupid Solstice is trying (but failing) to steal sales away from.....you can easily take it.

You can't compare a sedan to a roadster. People seriously should stop this odd need to race other cars that aren't even the same class of car.

Gee, I wonder what would win, a 997TT or a Honda Accord?

Stupid.

ItalianStallion

Right...isn't that why E55's race Vipers and 997TTs and S65's race Gallardos? Racing is about performance of the car, not the $ you spent on the car or the name brand.

Drop-a-Daimler

Dude, WTF?!? I'll race anything, anytime if there's a chance I'll pull out in front of them. 2-doors, 4-doors, ragtops, roadsters or limos. I don't give a schit! I got the bug and if they wanna go, then I say "run what ya bung". I sure hope the fact that I choose to drive a 4-door saloon doesn't preclude me from racing a coupe or a roadster? I've gotten into it with a 335i convertible, a 300C Hemi, an Impreza WRX and a Honda S2000 and although I didn't always pull out in front or stay there, I sure had a blast trying. So I don't like your rules and I am going to choose to ignore them. And your analogy? I write a post about 2 cars within $10K, 10 hp and 5 10th of a second of each other and you draw an analogy between a 3 second, $150K race-tuned car and a $25K-10 second economy car. We're talking about street drag racing here not a day at Summit Point governed by some sanctioning body. I say all's fair on the street. He wants a piece and I'm going to oblige him.

TA-9FF

lol just busting your chops dude.......

Drop-a-Daimler

Oh, OK. I guess I really took the bait, huh? I can be a little slow sometimes. I blame beer.

e1000

I'll race a lawn mower if he's willing to run!