i'm going to houston raceway park (281.383.2666 www.houstonraceway.com) this sunday 12-16-07 to run my 600...as many of you i ran my 55 there and had many doubters...

if anybody wants to meet up let me know...the weather will be ideal for some good runs...similar to the day i ran 11.84 in the 55

gates open at 4...racing begins at 5 and they stop racing at 10pm. $20 to race. i would enjoy helping any first timers as well...hope to see some people from houston sunday!

john

 

I would've been game but the 55 is STILL in the shop!

 

there are a couple of AMG's going, maybe more this sunday...we will do a big track day when they open back up after the first of the year...look for a post with LETMotorsports as the sponsor for the track day!

 

I may be game, would love to meet some of you guys, what time are you guys going??

 

I'll be there right before 5.

 

i should be there about 5 or so...silver s class...i usually park in the staging lanes...all the way to the left up front...if it's not too busy. hope to see you there!

john

 

i will come out for a little while since everyone is going to show up...

i already had some other plans but i will make it out for the very beginning to get a couple of runs in...

 

Allright...if your car is bone stock then you have to beat my best of 11.97@114.7. Good luck and I hope you have drag radials because if you don't you will obliterate the tires on the launch. If you have drag radials then launch at about 1600-1800 against the brake and you will be fine. Just like the E55 let the car do all of the shifting.

 

car is bone stock down to the tires. i'll be running on the factory pilot sports. i want to see which car is faster in similar trim...the e55 or the s600. i'm about to leave...hope i can match my 55's time????

john

 

Good luck but I found that my S600 was harder to modulate the throttle after the launch. If you beat that best stock E55 time then you are DA MAN! 11.80's will be tough but I bet you can get a low 12 for sure with a little heat in the tires. I ran a string of 12.0's in my car and a single 11 sec pass. My car had 49K miles then.

 

Stephen, your 10.80 pass is insane..

 

John, just wanted to say it was good to meet you last night! wish i could have stayed longer, i did not get a good launch either time...

i only managed a 12.6, oh well...

what was your best time for the night?

Carlos, as always, good to see you! we will have to get together for lunch this week

 

What happened???

How did the 600 run?

TIA, hope it went well

 

Well….yesterday was a disappointment…I’ve never gone from a fast car to a slow car!! Considering the weight and size of the car I guess it didn’t do too badly.

Best et… 12.29 @ 113.88
Best mph…12.41 @ 115.30

I was there for 6 hours and got 6 runs in…it was very crowded…and cold…someone said the DA was -530.

Some observations…
1.the car is very difficult to launch…either bogs or blows the tires!

2.the car likes a little heat in it…the best mph came from the back to back last two runs…plus the first pass from being driven to the racetrack

3.ESP is a must with street tires…the one time I tried without resulted in the slowest time…no traction

4.launching anything below 1500 the car was a pig out of the gate

5.anything above 1800 the tires would lose traction after 30-40 feet and esp would kick in…with esp off it would kill the tires at this point (this is when the turbo’s reached max boost (from my assumption with the butt dyno)

6.MY CAR likes rear tire air pressure…I started with 36 psi…I tried 25 psi and it was a joke…no traction. I bumped the pressure up to 40 psi on the last two runs and it was MUCH better. I have found the same result true on the street. With my e55 i would keep the RE-01r’s at 45 psi all the time and it worked great.

Runs as follows:
1) 1.97 short, 12.298 @ 113.88
2) 2.120, 12.570 @ 113.16
3) 1.970, 12.343 @ 113.82
4) 2.260, 13.042 @ 112.81
5) 1.961, 12.383 @ 113.20
6) 1.978, 12.417 @ 115.30

On a day with less cars the opportunity to make some back to back runs on a track with some heat in it…think I might have been able to squeeze out a 12.1X but the track doesn’t open up again until mid-January. The car was in 100% factory trim…down to the Michelin P/S and the factory mb air filter.

If you’re still reading this, thanks for taking the time…it’s on the lengthy side!
Btw…carlos in is C32 was out…we raced one time…he hammered me the first 660’ but I ended up coming around him…not by much!

Eric was also out in his C32…think he had to leave early…it was nice meeting both of you. no 55's or 63's were out...a **** load of f-bodys, vettes, stangs and imports though...248 cars total.

John

 

It was nice meeting you John. Thanks for the input and help at the track. My best time was my first run when I raced you: 12.6 @ 111.56.

I also had traction issues. It was really frustrating due to the long wait between runs. Anyway, I broke my personal record and I'm happy with my results.

We have to do this again early next year guys. Good times.

 

Please post the breakdown of your runs and include the 1/8 mile mph as well. Our cars are very equal and I think with drag radials you will be pleased with your e.t. and mph. Here are some of my stock times when the track was slick for comparison.
60-1.80 2.05
330-5.07 5.47
1/8-7.80@90.38 8.58@89.03
1000-10.14 10.57
1/4-12.100@114.05 12.535@113.74

As I stated earlier that the V-12 turbo cars are very hard to modulate on the launch and its either spin city or a bog just as you encountered. After the
Rennech ECU/TCU there is no such thing as bog because the spool up is so quick. Get some drag radials soon and run the car with perfect traction so you won't get frustrated.

 

times...60,330,660,mph,1000,1/4, mph

1.977,5.307,8.021,90.85,10.343,12.298,113.88
2.120,5.506,8.248,89.85,10.603,12.570,113.16
1.970,5.330,8.052,90.51,10.388,12.343,113.82
1.961,5.329,8.068,90.04,10.415,12.383,113.20
1.978,5.363,8.107,90.01,10.456,12.417,115.30

didn't include the 13.0 run...usless!

it obvious my short times are killing me!

found a photo of me...and eric from LET motorsports...here

 

For your first time in the car you did very well..Traction obviously is a HUGE factor. The guys busting off records as you have already mentioned are hitting high 1.6X -1.7X, Your times seem very nice for a stock 600 with street tires. I will not pretend to know anything about launching a 600, I have never driven one.


The track temp likely hindered you as much as your tires. You should check it needs to be 70-120 degrees on the surface anything below 70 prevents VHT from working properly.

Too bad the 55's and 63's failed to show seems like a very close race would have occured :-).

Least you have a feel now and next time you can shoot for your sub 12 pass.

Thanks for posting all the info,

 

I think those are really good times for S600. If you look at the "average" E55 times, you are right there just ahead of them even.....