The difference in tracks...

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Does everyone remember when I ran 13.3 @ 109 completely stock except for the K&N airfilter?

Conditions were cool, low 60's and overcast.

Later the summer, I put a lid and MAF ends on. I couldn't launch, but I remember hitting a 13.4 @ 109.98. I was almost trapping at 110 mph!

..........I have yet to be back to that track..........

After the header install, I went back to a track and ran a lackluster 13.6 @ 105... WTF??? This turned out not to matter, as I ended up having bent some pushrods by missing a shift. Speed, Inc replaced them, got me tuned, and now I was making 345 rwhp and 360 rwtq.

Cool, I thought... 12s should be pretty simple.

My best time at yet another track was 13.1 @ 109. 109???? What the hell? That is what it was stock! And I KNOW this car is way faster than it was stock. In fact, that 109.98 after a simple lid and MAF ends (which take power away anyway) was higher than anything I got that day.

The conditions for the 13.1 @ 109 run were similar to the bone stock run... nice and cool.

So, I have decided that something is way fishy here. Can there really be that much of a difference between tracks?

I am going back to the original track as soon as I can... although things might have changed in 2 years... All I can think of it how weird this is.

Watch me nail off a 12.6 @ 115!!!! HA!!!!

[casey02ws6]

Have you tried the new driver mod? Maybe a buckeye?

Sorry couldn't help it.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Originally posted by casey02ws6
Have you tried the new driver mod? Maybe a buckeye?

Sorry couldn't help it.

For my next mod, I am going to hang a picture of a Maurice Clarett two feet out in front of my front bumper.

Rest assured, my car hates Buckeyes as much as I do... it just needs the proper motivation. It will probably run an 11.

Don't think I won't do it!

[casey02ws6]

We actually see things the same way on this issue - I hope you run him over - LOL - man that sucks on the times - I know you are really looking for 12s -

I just need to get out and run mine - always something else I gotta do!

[Hobbs95]

must be nice you even are in the 13's man i can't even break that and in the end its all about the driver... i always blow my reaction time and i have a auto

[Injuneer]

Originally posted by Hobbs95
must be nice you even are in the 13's man i can't even break that and in the end its all about the driver... i always blow my reaction time and i have a auto

You may lose the race with a poor reaction time, but it won't affect your ET or keep you from running 13's if the car is capable.

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Has anyone else experienced this much of a difference between tracks?

[N20LT4Bird]

I have never run the same car at different tracks. But I have run different cars at different tracks (if that makes any sense). THere is a difference. The starting line is a big deal - the way its prepped make a huge difference. The way its paved, the "levelness" of the track etc. I have heard of a half second differnce between tracks.

[fastTa]

Years ago I had a 1989 Mustang GT with a 175 shot. I took it to Alamo Dragway and ran 12.60-12.70's with it for about a month. It was an old track, had alot of bumps, and a very poor track surface.

Then they built a new local track called San Antonio Raceway. It was laser leveled, very nicely prepped on a consistent basis and was otherwise an excellent IHRA drag strip. I took the same Mustang down to this track and couldn't believe the difference. I was able to run 12.40's with absolutely no changes to the car.

Yes different tracks will vary alot. Elevation, weather, track surface condition, and how level the track is can be significant factors in ET and MPH differences.

I feel a 12 brewin'!

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Originally posted by fastTA
Years ago I had a 1989 Mustang GT with a 175 shot.

I'm shocked!!!!!!

But anyways... the real weird thing here is that the original track I am speaking of is the old, crappy track... it is the one with the bumps, dirt staging lanes, etc... maybe it is downhill?

The 13.1 @ 109 was run at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton - a pretty famous strip around these parts that hosts some real events. Very nice facilities.

Even if I do run a 12 at Lapeer, it would probably be illegitimate, but it would defintiely be nice to have that 12 second timeslip

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Originally posted by Hobbs95
must be nice you even are in the 13's man i can't even break that and in the end its all about the driver... i always blow my reaction time and i have a auto

Trapping at 100, you have a13 second car bro... keep after it.

And like Fred said, your R/T doesn't matter at all, so focus on that 60'!!!!

[fastTa]

Originally posted by Jay 02 TA ws6
I'm shocked!!!!!!

Yep, I've owned a total of 2 Ford's in my life and will most likely never own one again. Actually my Ford Exploder and my Mustang never gave me any problems, just way too plain of an interior for my taste. I actually kinda miss my Mustang. It was my first fast ride. But I like my f-bod much more!

[Injuneer]

The thing that seems most out of place to me is your stock 109.0 and "with-a-lid-MAF ends" 109.98.

To run 109.98 MPH with a 3,600# car, you would need to be making about 380flywheelHP..... sounds like something is "off". Additionally, a car that could run a 109.98 should be running well into the 12's. If you were using 100% of that available 380HP, you could be running as fast as 12.32. Assuming a 90% HP utilization (reasonable for something that is well driven, but isn't a "track" car), it should have run 12.7.... but running a 13.4@109.98 means you were only using about 75% of the available HP.

I think the ET's are right, but the traps seem too high at the first track.

At the second track, the 105 seems oddly low.... that corresponds to about 326HP. The fact that your ET also suffered would indicate that there was a loss of power... maybe from weather conditions or altitude.

The clocks can get screwed up.... my buddy George made his first 8.6-second pass, and the timeslip showed a 1.08 60-ft time.... as much as we'd like to believe it, we know that a car that routinely pulls 1.3X 60-fts is not suddenly going to pull a 1.08.... wrote it off to track error.

[Detroit_Bird]

Even if I do run a 12 at Lapeer, it would probably be illegitimate, but it would defintiely be nice to have that 12 second timeslip

Good luck hooking at Lapeer- it really sucks. A friend ran a best of 13.7 with a 6 spd '02 Firehawk, spinning what seemed like forever. I know he can drive because he used to run with many LS1's with a stock 6 spd 94 formula in stoplight races. Another friend ran a 13.5 with a nasty 502 in a '57 Bel Air due to the same thing.

I've yet to run there, but from what I hear its not very sticky. By the way, what track did you run your original 13.3 at?

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Originally posted by Detroit_Bird

I've yet to run there, but from what I hear its not very sticky. By the way, what track did you run your original 13.3 at?

Lapeer. That's what I am saying... weird huh?