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I thought I would share my baseline (Completely stock) best time at last Friday night’s street legal event. It started poorly but she kept adapting and ran better every run until the last run obtaining her best time of 11.37 @ 122.8 mph. I was very happy with this time considering DA varied from 4000 to a best of 3300ft. Our track is notorious for poor prep. I found she would spin a little if I stayed in the tracks of the newly laid down rubber from drag radials and slicks and would purposely stage off to the side of this rubber. I do think with ideal conditions and more adaptationof the car, I could possibly get a 10.9 in sea level type DA and a slightly better prepped track.
I think I could improve 1.5-2 mph with sub 1000 ft DA. My very 1st run was a disappointing 11.61. I don’t have the slip in front of me to check the terminal speed. The subsequent run was 11.57 @ 121.2. These were at 4000 ft. The car was short shifting 2nd and 3rd gear at 6200. This kept improving, stretching out to close to 7000 rpm on further runs which I believe was a component to the et and mph improvement as well. So... 121.2 to 122.88 (4000-3300ft). An additional 2500+ ft lower should give me 1.5-2 mph more at the top end. For reference, I did hit an 11.49 @ 121.95 at 3900 ft. As I was saying though, the car kept improving it’s shift points every run.
I think I could improve 1.5-2 mph with sub 1000 ft DA. My very 1st run was a disappointing 11.61. I don’t have the slip in front of me to check the terminal speed. The subsequent run was 11.57 @ 121.2. These were at 4000 ft. The car was short shifting 2nd and 3rd gear at 6200. This kept improving, stretching out to close to 7000 rpm on further runs which I believe was a component to the et and mph improvement as well. So... 121.2 to 122.88 (4000-3300ft). An additional 2500+ ft lower should give me 1.5-2 mph more at the top end. For reference, I did hit an 11.49 @ 121.95 at 3900 ft. As I was saying though, the car kept improving it’s shift points every run.
Nicely done! And thanks for posting some real data, too.
While I haven't had my own E63S at the dragstrip yet, I have been tinkering with the best launch method as timed by Dragy. What I've learned is that I can choose the shift points better than the car can *but* I need its race start to get off of the line. To solve it, I use race start but the moment we lurch forward, I pull the left paddle which achieves precisely nothing transmission-wise but it does cancel race start returning control of the shifts to me. With my car, if you get it just right, it'll move between gears as fast as any DCT I've ever driven and with zero discernable loss in acceleration. Per Dragy and using this technique on cold tires and an atrocious road surface, I managed a 60mph in 2.85 secs. On a separate run with a horrible 0-60mph (3.1 secs I think), it ran the 1/4 mile in 10.90 dead with a 1.73 60 ft (the Dragy works extremely well for most measurements but its 60 ft is a bit less than trustworthy in my experience so far). On a prep'd surface with warm tires (and a road that's actually flat), I'd expect to trim another 0.3 secs off of that time (pump gas, too).
Last edited by limeypride; 05-02-2018 at 09:32 PM.
Thank you for the pointer, limeypride! So... left paddle shift right after launch cancels automatic shifts and are then able to right paddle shift up as we like? Good to know!
We had two cars running Dragy’s at the track and were spot on! The accuracy was astounding. I had the Vbox sport and it’s consistently .1 sec slower and 1 mph faster. I feel like purchasing the Dragy even though I spent more than double for the Vbox sport.
The times you’re achieving are amazing. Correct me if I’m wrong but you are tuned, right? If so, what were your Dragy times bone stock?
Thank you for the pointer, limeypride! So... left paddle shift right after launch cancels automatic shifts and are then able to right paddle shift up as we like? Good to know!
We had two cars running Dragy’s at the track and were spot on! The accuracy was astounding. I had the Vbox sport and it’s consistently .1 sec slower and 1 mph faster. I feel like purchasing the Dragy even though I spent more than double for the Vbox sport.
The times you’re achieving are amazing. Correct me if I’m wrong but you are tuned, right? If so, what were your Dragy times bone stock?
Yes, that's it exactly... but be ready on that right paddle or you'll walk straight into the rev-limiter.
We've done the same with 3 Dragy units at PBIR and they were consistently within 0.02secs; speed measurements were also within 1-2 mph.
Yes, tuned--my sig line has the data. // EDIT: I only managed 0-60mph runs pre-tune due to weather but couldn't crack 3.1secs with the roads/weather as it was.
I sold my Vbox on AudiZine having already bought a Dragy--it's worth it and sooo easy to use with zero prep time; you wanna use it, connect your phone and off it goes! In our car's, the top surface of the dash is a metallic grille and the Dragy magnetically attaches to it perfectly so I just leave it there permanently and charge it overnight perhaps once every 3 weeks.
Last edited by limeypride; 05-02-2018 at 10:00 PM.
I will have try different shift points out. I found that at the track, when it wound out close to 7k, I obtained my best times. You have me wondering now. I guess I need to play around for the purposes of research! 😜
I will have try different shift points out. I found that at the track, when it wound out close to 7k, I obtained my best times. You have me wondering now. I guess I need to play around for the purposes of research! 😜
Try holding the downshift paddle during the run. It might hold the gears longer that way. When you're in sport or Sport Plus.
Try holding the downshift paddle during the run. It might hold the gears longer that way. When you're in sport or Sport Plus.
I tried holding the paddles a while back with my car and learned that doing so causes the car to shift to the lower- or upper-most gear possible according to speed and the paddle you pulled. That doesn't actually apply here since the car should already be in manual shift mode preventing auto up shifts. The idea behind pulling the paddle directly after initial launch is to cancel the race start's control over the shift points precisely because (with my car at least) it holds the gears too long; shifting slightly earlier results in a faster shift and a near-zero loss of forward propulsion.
I tried holding the paddles a while back with my car and learned that doing so causes the car to shift to the lower- or upper-most gear possible according to speed and the paddle you pulled. That doesn't actually apply here since the car should already be in manual shift mode preventing auto up shifts. The idea behind pulling the paddle directly after initial launch is to cancel the race start's control over the shift points precisely because (with my car at least) it holds the gears too long; shifting slightly earlier results in a faster shift and a near-zero loss of forward propulsion.
I'm suggesting using automatic mode either sport or Sport Plus for Nav. Ideally the car should shift at the appropriate RPM but if it's shifting too early holding the downshift paddle might hold the Gears till Redline. I don't know for sure but I think it might be worth trying. On a non-tuned car I would be surprised if there is advantage to early shifting.
For tuned setup it makes so much more mid-range power that it makes sense to shift a little earlier. It would be nice if the tuner could adjust the shift points accordingly.
I'm suggesting using automatic mode either sport or Sport Plus for Nav. Ideally the car should shift at the appropriate RPM but if it's shifting too early holding the downshift paddle might hold the Gears till Redline. I don't know for sure but I think it might be worth trying. On a non-tuned car I would be surprised if there is advantage to early shifting.
For tuned setup it makes so much more mid-range power that it makes sense to shift a little earlier. It would be nice if the tuner could adjust the shift points accordingly.
We don't have control over auto vs. manual when using race start so that's not a factor we can influence... hence my approach. Without race start, you're at least 0.5 sec down on the launch so that's a non-option at the track.
I understand what you're getting at re: holding the paddles, however, what I'm saying is that I have this car and I've tried it and that's not how it works--in automatic mode, pulling a shift paddle temporarily overrides the gear selection but it will fall back to its choice eventually. The point being, the paddles don't influence how long the automatic mode holds a gear for, rather, they temporarily override it completely.
You could be right on the tuned vs. non-tuned aspect--I can't test the non-tuned aspect so I have no basis for comparison.
Last edited by limeypride; 05-05-2018 at 01:59 AM.
Try holding the downshift paddle during the run. It might hold the gears longer that way. When you're in sport or Sport Plus.
I do think it ran quicker when the car wound out more in each gear. It was doing this on each subsequent run as the car was learning. It never had full 1/4 mile or even 1/8 mile blasts on the street thus adjusting to a more mundane style for everyday use. I had at this point used launch mode a few times and spirited driving would be on straight roads, few people around and only for a few seconds. At the track, it was adapting to these longer blasts and adjusting accordingly. I believe with limeypride’s advice, we can self select optimal shift points resulting in his times achieved on the Dragy. I’ll have to try your method as well to see if that changes anything.
Octane makes a difference.
I was at the track with Nav during his runs. I was running 91 octane. My numbers are above. Not so good. I ran the car yesterday on 94 Octane (top pictures). Big difference....The weather was also cooler which was likely a factor. The car computer was showing a peak HP of 580 on 91 octane. Was 603 on 94.
I have a new appreciation of this car after taking it to the strip
MMT in these octane boosters form an orange residue on your spark plugs, Turbo turbine Wheels, catalytic converters and probably other components as well. It's an excellent octane booster but the orange stuff worries me.
Great runs!! Your mph is impressive! I wanted to go as well on Friday. I knew the conditions would be better, all things considered. Another buddy obtained his personal best as well in his modded Camaro ZL1, at least 3 tenths quicker than April 27, the day you and I ran previously. I don’t think I’ll get a chance to improve on my stock times. I don’t believe conditions will be like friday’s again until September/October.
Great runs!! Your mph is impressive! I wanted to go as well on Friday. I knew the conditions would be better, all things considered. Another buddy obtained his personal best as well in his modded Camaro ZL1, at least 3 tenths quicker than April 27, the day you and I ran previously. I don’t think I’ll get a chance to improve on my stock times. I don’t believe conditions will be like friday’s again until September/October.
MMT in these octane boosters form an orange residue on your spark plugs, Turbo turbine Wheels, catalytic converters and probably other components as well. It's an excellent octane booster but the orange stuff worries me.
I agree. I wouldn't run a 5-10 gallons of it thru my car, but a can or two, I don't have much of a concern.
05-01-2018, 11:22 PM
