* Let's have a test and tune day in So. Cal.

[szvook]

Back to your tires, a blow out is more then understood...but the rest of your tires are almost on their way out.

 

[400Eric]

The "stripped" Volvo comment was the first time I mentioned it here. And I believe I only mentioned it twice in general - once while at the track when I ran against the Volvo and now here. But I didn't dwell on it.

Well, actually, you've already mentioned it twice on the preceding page:

I have not forgotten what its twin did. If I had my car stripped down to it’s bare frame, I bet I can put up some serious numbers as well

You don’t see me tripping when your twin Volvo wagon with a turbo kicked my ass (regardless if it was stripped bare or not), that’s racing, buddy.

And you mentioned it on page 10 of this thread on July 26 of this year as well:

The Turbo Swedes were good for sure; at least I took one of them. The one Volvo I could not take was stripped down to only the driver’s seat and I forgot how much boost he was pushing, that and his car was 1000 lbs lighter...maybe I need to leave my spare tire and the backseats at home?
:

As well as mentioning it EVERY time the subject of his car has been brought up at the track. It's OK though because it is just human nature to make excuses when we lose. I've been known to do it myself!

BTW, while I was back there in the earlier pages of the thread, I saw this assessment from Dave about gearing:

And, I have taller gears (2.65) vs your 2.82... the 2.65's are 0.10-0.15 slower than the 2.82's

Now I am sure that all here would agree that if 2.65s cost a person 0.10-0.15 it is safe to say that 2.24s would cost a person way more than that. Yet our margin of difference when we were lined up side by side was no more than 0.15!

I also found this post from you where you were essentially saying the same thing I am saying now, which is you can't compare different runs. The only real valid comparison that really counts is when the cars are lined up together, at the same place and time!

MHOTY, no doubt there...but the shite ain't the same when we are lined up, u feel me Home Skillet?

That post was in response to this post:

But like I said, go ahead and don't listen to the guy who's 2.24 geared 4.2 is as quick as your 2.82 geared 5.0 is. This will buy me more time till I can get B3 back to the track! Muhahahaha ;-)

It's all cool though! I just have to give back some of the good natured ribbing!

Sure...once I know how much boost you are putting out.

17 pounds, just like my twin. http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=230904 These 15G TD04 turbos aren't really any good at boost levels much above that. (Casey will back me on that. He and Volvo Dave are running 19T TD04s, which are essentially the same turbo, albeit slightly bigger and better on the intake side.)
And don't forget, my wagon won't be stripped.

Back to your tires, a blow out is more then understood...but the rest of your tires are almost on their way out.

Yeah, I know. Like I said, they aren't anything to write home about. But they do hook better than that damn replacement tire does!


BTW, please allow me to be the second person here in this thread to congratulate you on your outstanding accomplishment: A THIRTEEN!


Regards, Eric

 

[gsxr]

I agree with everything in your post except for the above. Car & Driver got 148 MPH out of a 93 400E, and that is WITHOUT a 92 WOT enrichment ECU! They also got 151 MPH out of a 2.82 geared, 235/60-16" tired, 92 W140 400SE. That car, as you know, has a whole lot more frontal area to contend with as well as a whole lot more weight. (4795 pounds in fact!).

Frontal area is irrelevant... it's the coefficient of drag that matters. The W140 is still slippery. Guess I'll need to dig up the specs and find out for sure. Weight affects acceleration rate (time) but has minimal effect on top speed.

I got a solid 150 MPH out of B3 back when he was still running that non-enrichment 93 5.0 ECU. (The opportunity to top-end B3 with the 92 ECU still hasn't presented itself. That's what Mohave is going to be for!)

How did you measure the 150mph? GPS is the only method that's accurate. The speedo can't be trusted. My E500 speedo is within 1mph up to about an indicated 100mph, but by 140+, it's reading nearly 10mph faster than actual. If you got 150 via GPS, I'm impressed!

Yes, it is unlikely that we will see better than 155 MPH in 1.5 miles with ANY 4.2, but, given enough room, I do think we could and would see at least 160 MPH.

If you can get 160 (verified by GPS or Mojave timing devices) from the 400E, I'll match Steve-o's $50 incentive. Yes, it may be possible to hit 160+ with a modified 400E, but I seriously doubt it will happen with the 4.2L engine and 2.24 gears, as you'll be short of the power peak. With 2.65 gears, it might do it.

I thought you were thoroughly committed to this Spring's event! Now it's only a maybe for you?

Oh, I definitely should be committed, but the local asylum was already full. As to the spring Mojave event, it depends on the date (which has not yet been announced), and if I have the car(s) ready. I'm doing some engine swaps over the winter and those have top priority, I need to get the cars prepped for the 2012 race season first, before I can go play. The time & cost for a 5+ day, ~2500 mile round trip is not insignificant either. If I can't make the spring event, I'd like to try for the fall event, if they schedule one. If either conflicts with a points race at Firebird - I'm out, sorry. For the 2011 dates, the spring date was iffy, but the fall date would have been fine. I'd prefer fall (October) 2012 anyway as that would be after 95% of the points races for the 2012 drag race season.

 

[szvook]

Here was meant as on this board and at the track, but that's irrelevant, I don't want to split hairs.

So what is the estimated HP with the added Turbo your wagon can attain, before I commit to the offer?

 

[szvook]

As to the spring Mojave event, it depends on the date (which has not yet been announced)

I intent to follow up with the Mojave group early next month.

 

[szvook]

Yet our margin of difference when we were lined up side by side was no more than 0.15!

I guess you missed my earlier post that I don’t care about the time difference vs. the win it’s self. Now to you having a closer ET with a .036 is more relevant since you are trying to post number as quick as a .036 and prove your .034 can hang. I take a different approach, I beat quick .034 who "thinks" he can win.

 

[400Eric]

Frontal area is irrelevant... it's the coefficient of drag that matters. The W140 is still slippery. Guess I'll need to dig up the specs and find out for sure.

You are flat wrong on this one. They BOTH matter. You can have a mini-van with a C.D. of 0.35 and it will still have more overall wind resistance than a sedan with a C.D. of 0.40 will. The W140 is a big moose of a car!

How did you measure the 150mph? GPS is the only method that's accurate. The speedo can't be trusted. My E500 speedo is within 1mph up to about an indicated 100mph, but by 140+, it's reading nearly 10mph faster than actual. If you got 150 via GPS, I'm impressed!

It was what the guy in the S2000 that was a car length behind me said we were running and he was adamant that his speedometer was documented "dead on accurate". I know that is probably not good enough for you but it shouldn't be too hard to believe that we could do 150 MPH in the middle of the night when Car & Driver documented 148 from a bone stock 93 400E, especially when you consider that we were already running sans headlight panels and sans exhaust after the cats.

The two C&D tests that I have of two S2000s (a 2000 and a 2008) show that they attained 147 and 148 respectively, also in stock condition but his car was also modded too, so it's not hard to believe that his car was pulling a little more top end as well.

BTW, we talked about that race before. I couldn't understand why my speedometer was showing slow at 145 MPH when yours shows fast, remember?

You may also remember that we weren't completely topped out either. We had to let off because we were coming up on traffic.

If you can get 160 (verified by GPS or Mojave timing devices) from the 400E, I'll match Steve-o's $50 incentive. Yes, it may be possible to hit 160+ with a modified 400E, but I seriously doubt it will happen with the 4.2L engine and 2.24 gears, as you'll be short of the power peak. With 2.65 gears, it might do it.

You are also one of the folks who originally said that I would never see my original goal of 14.7 in the quarter unless I ditched my 2.24s! I'm not swearing that I'm gonna do 160, but I am saying that I'm gonna try. And we all know what a tenacious SOB I am!

Speaking of those 2.65s, what kind of fuel economy improvements are you seeing with them (city, highway, and combined)?
Regards, Eric

 

[gerryvz]

My move from a 2.47 to a 3.07 on my 560SEC cost me 1-1.5 MPG, FYI.

At 80 MPH, the SEC is running ~800 RPM higher with the 3.07 than it did with the 2.47.

 

[szvook]

please allow me to be the second person here in this thread to congratulate you on your outstanding accomplishment: A THIRTEEN!

I couldn't have done it without sound advice from experienced racers and fellow members.

 

[400Eric]

So what is the estimated HP with the added Turbo your wagon can attain, before I commit to the offer?

It's already a factory turbo car, I'm just upgrading it to a 94 850's turbo.

My publicly stated goal for the car is 240hp/260tq at the wheels. EVERYBODY over on the Volvo site that I hang out on says that goal is way too optimistic considering the fact that I am limiting myself to only junkyard parts, with no aftermarket stuff. In this thread http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=232437&page=3 A more heavily modded one that was running through a manual trans (which robs less power) only put 215 to the wheels. I had guessed it would put out 250. After I guessed wrong, one of the gurus over there was quick to rub my nose in it. I clearly have more to learn about these cars. I know they have potential, but I also still need to learn a little more about how to tap into that potential. I'm working on it though. I already have the junkyard parts, I've had them for over a year, I just need to put it all together.

It's really not much of an issue at this point because I really don't expect to be able to bring the Brick till March. So that leaves us with Benzer3 for the January and February dates.

I guess you missed my earlier post that I don’t care about the time difference vs. the win it’s self. Now to you having a closer ET with a .036 is more relevant since you are trying to post number as quick as a .036 and prove your .034 can hang. I take a different approach, I beat quick .034 who "thinks" he can win.

You had a great day. While I had a phenomenally bad one. (Well, it at least started out good.) When we are talking about a razor sharp margin of less than a 1/6th of a second, anything can and does happen! Let's see what happens in January!
Regards, Eric

 

[gsxr]

You are flat wrong on this one. They BOTH matter. You can have a mini-van with a C.D. of 0.35 and it will still have more overall wind resistance than a sedan with a C.D. of 0.40 will. The W140 is a big moose of a car!

Homework time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient
Bad news - the W140 has about the same Cd as the 400E.

It was what the guy in the S2000 that was a car length behind me said we were running and he was adamant that his speedometer was documented "dead on accurate". I know that is probably not good enough for you but it shouldn't be too hard to believe that we could do 150 MPH in the middle of the night when Car & Driver documented 148 from a bone stock 93 400E.

You're right, that doesn't count. I'm not saying you didn't hit 150, but some other guy's speedo is not an official reading. Time to get a GPS that will keep peak speed in memory. Tough to argue with a GPS reading. I fully believe a tweaked 400E could pass 150, but it would take a couple miles to get there.

You are also one of the folks who originally said that I would never see my original goal of 14.7 in the quarter unless I ditched my 2.24s!

Damn, you sure like to dig up stuff from the distant past. That was years ago, before we figured out much of anything about the 4.2L engine. Yes, I was proved very wrong. But I wonder if you could have cracked 14.7 with the stock LH and EZL... hmmm....

Speaking of those 2.65s, what kind of fuel economy improvements are you seeing with them (city, highway, and combined)?

Very little if any. Maybe 1mpg tops? It's been hard to tell as we started getting the crappy gas formulas here a few years ago, about when the 2.65's were installed. On the bright side, the 2.65's allow my 500's to top 170mph at Mojave! *slaps knee*

 

[szvook]

It's really not much of an issue at this point because I really don't expect to be able to bring the Brick till March. So that leaves us with Benzer3 for the January and February dates.

What is the brick's weight? Although, the numbers you provided should qualify it for the $50 stake. I hope the brick does have decent tires, in case you bring it out?

When we are talking about a razor sharp margin of less than a 1/6th of a second, anything can and does happen! Let's see what happens in January!

If you can get more consistent with you ET’s (tires will play a lot into that) then maybe we’ll have closer races all the time and that confidence will go a long way for B3.

Btw, if during our races you should loose by more then 1/6th of a second (in each race) for all races, you will owe me $5…deal?

 

[400Eric]

Homework time: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_coefficient
Bad news - the W140 has about the same Cd as the 400E.

You linked us to the wrong wiki page. This is the one we should study: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automobile_drag_coefficient

From that page:

Drag area

While designers pay attention to the overall shape of the automobile, they also bear in mind that reducing the frontal area of the shape helps reduce the drag. The combination of drag coefficient and area - drag area - is represented as CdA (or CxA), a multiplication of the Cd value by the area.

The term drag area derives from aerodynamics, where it is the product of some reference area (such as cross-sectional area, total surface area, or similar) and the drag coefficient. In 2003, Car and Driver magazine adopted this metric as a more intuitive way to compare the aerodynamic efficiency of various automobiles.

Average full-size passenger cars have a drag area of roughly 8.50 sq ft (0.790 m2). Reported drag areas range from the 1999 Honda Insight at 5.10 sq ft (0.474 m2) to the 2003 Hummer H2 at 26.3 sq ft (2.44 m2). The drag area of a bicycle is also in the range of 6.5–7.5 sq ft (0.60–0.70 m2).[81]

Here is another example. 2006 Chevy Malibu Maxx SS vs. 2006 Charger RT. The formula is Cd X frontal area = total drag area. Charger is 0.35 Cd X 25.4 = 8.9 sq ft total drag area. Malibu is 0.37 Cd X 24.1 sq ft = 8.9 sq ft total drag area! The Malibu's total drag area winds up being the same as the Charger's because of the Malibu's smaller frontal area despite the fact that it has a poorer Cd. Now if the cars in question have the same Cd, the one with the larger frontal area will have a larger total drag area and a resulting larger amount of wind resistance/drag. I wouldn't lie to you Dave!

Now let's plug this stuff into the two cars in question. The W140 has a frontal area of 25.5 sq ft while the W124 has 22.4 sq ft. Plug those numbers into the formula using the W124's 0.31 Cd (you said the W140's Cd is the same) and you get 7.9 sq ft for the W140 and 6.9 sq ft for the W124. Now I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot of difference but at 150 MPH it is! Also, Car & Driver's coast-down measurements showed that the W140 required 20 road hp @ 50 MPH while the W124 only required 14 road hp at 50 MPH! Imagine the difference at 150! It is also true that the faster you are going, the bigger the role of aerodynamics is and the smaller the role of weight is but the role of weight never fully goes away.

Oh, and BTW, this site http://rc.opelgt.org/indexcw.php shows the W124's Cd at 0.28 and the W140's Cd at 0.31. Yes, these numbers are for Euro market cars but it still shows that the W140's Cd numbers are worse than the W124's are.

Damn, you sure like to dig up stuff from the distant past.

We both proved you wrong in the Spring of 2009, me via the track, and you via the chassis dyno. I would hardly call 2 1/2 years "the distant past". Even the early to mid-90s when our cars were built is not the distant past. 1980 and before is "the distant past". Uncle Gerry would probably go farther back than that!

That was years ago, before we figured out much of anything about the 4.2L engine.

Speak for yourself. For the record, a 92 ECU was ALWAYS part of my plan for B3 from the very beginning as I was always VERY convinced that it would prove beneficial on my 93 4.2 just like how 92 ECUs had already been proving beneficial on 93 and later 5.0 M119s and 6.0 M120s and I continually said so on my thread over there on Scott's site. It just took me a little longer to find and score one at one of my U-Pull-It yards to prove it! (I didn't want to go to a full service yard because I didn't want to have to pay through the nose for one! You scored and tested a 92 4.2 ECU on the chassis dyno 1 week before I was able to score a 92 4.2 ECU and test it on the track, remember?)

Yes, I was proved very wrong. But I wonder if you could have cracked 14.7 with the stock LH and EZL... hmmm....

I did! My best run with the non-enrichment ECU was an uncorrected 14.720 @ 95.51 in stellar conditions. That was on a run where I spanked one of Warpy's Titan buddies and it stood as my all time best E/T. It's really too bad we can't go back to Scott's site cause it's all documented there. My best E/T the first day I ran the 92 ECU was 14.476 in poorer conditions than when I ran the 14.720. (You should remember that 14.476 day because I called you from the track twice that day!) I've always said that the 92 ECU netted me .25 second gain. Well let's do the math: 14.720 minus 14.476 equals .244! (OK, so it turns out I've been rounding it slightly for 2 1/2 years!)

As for the EZLs, our best uncorrected E/T with the stock 93 EZL was a 14.426. Our best uncorrected E/T with the 92 EZL was 14.348 in better conditions. (That has all been documented here in this very thread.) I said it back then and I'll say it again: While a one tenth improvement is hardly Earth shattering, I was and am glad to get it because at this point the improvements are getting harder to find! But the fact is though that we were hardly slow with the 93 EZL. My new new new best of 14.20 was due to four more things being at play: Even better air, lighter CLK wheels, shorter tires (for the effect of slightly shorter gearing), and aggressive cranking of the trans T-bar. B3's and my strong mutual desire to spank the Vookster's 500E may have accounted for some of that gain too! We willed another half tenth off!

Dave, I always value and learn a lot from our conversations, even when you are wrong!


Regards, Eric

 

[400Eric]

What is the brick's weight? Although, the numbers you provided should qualify it for the $50 stake. I hope the brick does have decent tires, in case you bring it out?

Well, I've never weighed it but Car & Driver's manual trans wagon was 3170. I would expect this one to weigh more because an auto trans weighs more than a manual trans does. Mine will weigh more still because it has a sunroof.

If you can get more consistent with you ET’s (tires will play a lot into that) then maybe we’ll have closer races all the time and that confidence will go a long way for B3.

Btw, if during our races you should loose by more then 1/6th of a second (in each race) for all races, you will owe me $5…deal?

I can't take that deal yet cause I don't yet have the money for tires. When I get tires, yes, it's a deal!

Does somebody want to buy B1 for a thousand dollars?
Regards, Eric

 

[400Eric]

EVERY TIME I bring up somebody buying B1 it gets real quite around here. What's wrong with the idea of having a cheap daily driver so you can preserve your 500Es for the weekends everybody? Even Justin gets this concept. He daily drives his M104 wagon (and before that his BMW wagon) and saves his 500E for special times.

Conversely, doesn't somebody out there have a son, daughter, niece, nephew, etc. who needs a good starter Benz? Most of us here started in a M103 car and we are all the better for it! (Four come immediately to mind, in alphabetical order: Dave, myself, Justin, and Steve!)

The lame track STILL hasn't updated their site and posted any new dates. http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Tic...t-Legal-Drags/2011-Street-Legal-Drags-11.aspx

This is their usual M.O. this time of year. They don't start posting the new year's dates till the very last minute of the previous year. This works to our advantage though because it hurts the first date's turnout, as folks don't get enough time to plan for it. So I wanted to drop this reminder for you all to keep the first two weekends of January open so we can take advantage of what should be a stellar day!
Regards, Eric

 

[gsxr]

Our daily drivers are E420's and an old 300D. Just keep posting B1 on Craigslist and eventually it will find a new home.

 

[szvook]

If I was to buy a car to be used for daily use and leave my 500E for the weekends, it would be another .036. The car just feels so good that driving anything else will be a step down. I didn’t buy the car to have it only for the weekends and after driving it for the past 6 years, I still can’t get enough of the feeling I get. I’ve driven my girlfriends 2009 E350 and after getting in my car, I instantly notice the difference.

 

[400Eric]

Steve's such a die hard Benz man he won't even date a woman unless she drives a Benz too!
Regards, Eric

 

[gerryvz]

I guess I'm going to have to break the E500 out of retirement and take 'er down to Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown. Unfortunately it's like an hour and 20 minutes drive away (opposite side of Houston metro area) but they have year-round Friday night drag races. I guess I was spoiled in Portland with the Portland International Raceway being a 7-minute drive from my house

 

[gsxr]

You gonna re-jet to a 125 shot to show up that whippersnapper J-sauce? Oh yeah, do you still have your DOT drag radials?

 

[gerryvz]

I need to get my bottle re-certified (though they never checked that stuff in Portland) and indeed I do still have my 16" steel wheels with the BFG street drag radials. They're up in my attic along with my VP fuel cans.

 

[400Eric]

You should try to get the other 034/036 peeps in your area to go with you!
Regards, Eric

 

[400Eric]

You gonna re-jet to a 125 shot to show up that whippersnapper J-sauce? Oh yeah, do you still have your DOT drag radials?

Don't forget that it is recommended that one upgrade the fuel pumps if one goes to a 125 or above shot.

Spacey Casey and the Sauceman both individually called me Christmas eve not to wish me a Merry Christmas but to instead inform me of the fact that the new Street Legal dates have been set! (They both did EVENTUALLY get around to the Christmas part.) The next date is in two weeks, 01/07/12, the first Saturday of the new year! The two youngsters and I are definitely going. (The Sauceman's 500E is back!) Who else is going?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
Regards, Eric

 

[gerryvz]

Eric, I tested my incremental fuel delivery capacity back with the existing setup when I installed my nitrous-oxide system in 2004, and I had enough fuel pressure to cover a 125 shot. That being said, I was nervous and didn't want to push it, so I stayed with the 100-shot. It's never done me wrong so I probably won't re-jet.

Indeed, Merry Christmas !

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[szvook]

The next date is in two weeks, 01/07/12, the first Saturday of the new year!

Have they posted the dates on their site?

 

[400Eric]

Yes, our days are pretty much gonna be the first Saturday of the month for the foreseeable future.

Are you gonna make it on January 7th? The Sauceman and Spacey Casey and I are going! The Sauceman is bringing his 500E!
Regards, Eric

 

[400Eric]

Hey guys, look what I found! http://boardreader.com/thread/M119_WOT_fuel_enrichment_questions_20n8X4mm.html
It's my old thread from 500Ecstasy! Is Scott's site coming back in this new form or did somebody think that the thread was of such great value that they re-posted the whole thing somewhere else? I've been unable to find any other trace of Scott's site. So what's the deal?
Regards, Eric

 

[400Eric]

I'm longing for my old thread only because it is essentially B3's "build" thread and I'd like to be able to reference it once in a while, especially as I get closer to doing up Benzer4. I'd also like to be able to link folks to that thread when they ask me on other Benz sites what I've done to B3 to make him so quick, instead of having to type it out again and again, not to mention the fact that I might be leaving something out since I haven't seen that thread for so long. Now that I've had some time to view that site that I linked I can see that the whole posts are not there, only a preview of each post and a link to it which of course is useless because the links are to a site which is still down.

There are a lot of us who have data over there that we would like to be able to retrieve. What ever happened to that plan where if Scott wasn't able to bring his site back, he was gonna pass the old threads onto you for you to post under an archive section of this site? There was/is A LOT of irreplaceable data over there!
Regards, Eric

 

[gerryvz]

ADMIN NOTE:

The latter few posts on this thread, discussing 500Ecstasy status & relationship to 500Eboard, was veering off-topic from the thrust of this thread, so I cleaved off the posts and started a new thread specifically on that topic here.

I hope that's OK. Given that it is now New Year's Eve, I sort of rambled it into a philosophical diatribe and then a state of the union for 500Eboard at the same time.

I kept a copy of Eric's last two posts here (directly above this, posts #727 & #728) for continuity & context, as a courtesy to him.

Now back to regular [drag race] programming.....

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[400Eric]

It's OK with me either way as this thread is O.T. about half the time anyways. (And I'm cool with that.)

Less than one week to go! So far we have Spacey Casey, The Sauceman, myself, and hopefully Stevo. (Stevo, where are you?)

Who else is going?
Regards, Eric

 

[szvook]

I don’t think I can make it, I got family coming down from out of town this weekend. So for now, I'm 50% down.

 

[gerryvz]

I got an email from the Royal Purple Raceway folks over the weekend -- their season is starting back up this coming weekend. Hopefully things work out and I can get down there to do some runs. I need to also try out the 3.07 rear end on my SEC too....

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[400Eric]

Uncle Gerry, please let us know what happens!

I don’t think I can make it, I got family coming down from out of town this weekend. So for now, I'm 50% down.

Steve, you just HAVE to make it this weekend! Bring the family WITH you!
Regards, Eric

 

[szvook]

you just HAVE to make it this weekend! Bring the family WITH you!

It’s out of my hands, I gave to be the chuffer for my peeps while they are here, which means an early Saturday call. My only option is to get to the track by 7am and leave by 10am…not worth it, imho. There’s no way any of my family will come out to the track - they already think I’m nuts for tracking the car, let alone a Benz. I’m not even sure how they will respond to the louder exhaust, with small kids in the car this time.

I’ll make the next one. Btw, I still don’t see the calendar dates for 2012 on the site.

 

[400Eric]

"Louder exhaust"? Louder than when? Louder than a few weeks ago? What have you been up too?

Regarding the schedule, if I can find this stuff, I KNOW you can!
http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Tickets-Events/Events/2011/Auto-Club-Dragway/Street-Legal-Drags.aspx
In 2012, the NHRA Street Legal program is getting a more consistent schedule. The NHRA Street Legal Drags will now be on the first Saturday of the month excluding November. Again in 2012 we will have our Annual Halloween Street Legal race on the last Saturday in October.

Below are the dates for the 2012 season.
January 7
February 4
March 3
April 7
May 5
June 2
July 7
August 4
September 1
October 6
October 27 – Halloween Street Legal
December 1


Regards, Eric

 

[gsxr]

Hey Eric, whaddya think about starting a new T&TD thread for 2012...?

 

[szvook]

"Louder exhaust"? Louder than when? Louder than a few weeks ago? What have you been up too?

Regarding the schedule, if I can find this stuff, I KNOW you can!
http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Tickets-Events/Events/2011/Auto-Club-Dragway/Street-Legal-Drags.aspx
In 2012, the NHRA Street Legal program is getting a more consistent schedule. The NHRA Street Legal Drags will now be on the first Saturday of the month excluding November. Again in 2012 we will have our Annual Halloween Street Legal race on the last Saturday in October.

Below are the dates for the 2012 season.
January 7
February 4
March 3
April 7
May 5
June 2
July 7
August 4
September 1
October 6
October 27 – Halloween Street Legal
December 1


Regards, Eric

I meant to say they have not been in the car with the new exhaust; last time they were here I did not have the cat-back exhaust installed.

I have been looking at the Event-Calendar page, which did not list the 2012 dates - http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/Tickets-Events/Event-Calendar.aspx

 

[400Eric]

Hey Eric, whaddya think about starting a new T&TD thread for 2012...?

Why? How hard is it to hit the last page button? Is this thread almost full or something? You've dropped hints before about me starting new drag racing threads. I like having all of the So. Cal drag racing stuff in one spot. Easier to find things that way! If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Besides, it's too late! We already have a 2012 date on this thread! Imagine the confusion in the future if somebody wants to find the postings regarding the 01/07/12 date and they aren't on the "2012" thread? Look at the confusion that you suffered when Uncle took a conversation that had started here and moved it! Much better to keep the So. Cal. drag racing discussions all in one spot! There's no harm in that! It's OK Dave! It's all good!

Besides, after seeing that 2012 movie, I'm scared of anything with "2012" in the title!

Instead of constantly starting new threads like I used to, I'm now running a single, ongoing drag racing thread on each of the sites that I participate on (including the Volvo site). It has been much easier to keep track of things this way.

I do believe though that you and Uncle Gerry should start new threads to cover the drag racing activities in your respective areas of the country, and to try to get folks in your respective areas to join you.
Regards, Eric

 

[szvook]

Well, I got some free time after all, thanks to the majority of visitors being women and they want to go shopping. Luckily, they haven’t been to Beverly Hills before and since my parents live a few blocks away, they can just walk there and take a short cab ride home afterwards.

So I’m off the hook until 5pm. Eric, can you grab your helmet just in case (I did not get a chance to buy my helmet last month) and bring the ice. I’ll try to get there by 9am.

 

[400Eric]

Steve told me that if I was to somehow find 2 more tenths and crack the 13s, Dave would very likely literally give birth to a cow! So of course that is the goal now! If Dave gives birth to a cow, somebody needs to get that on video!
Regards, Eric

 

[J-Sauce]

Teaser:

[youtube]bVLWxpijrBM[/youtube]

One More:

[youtube]MwKrw-v2-eM[/youtube]

 

[400Eric]

Stevo Devo and I raced twice this time. In our first race, I redlighted (.076, my only redlight of the day). It was really too bad cause it was a close race! He ran a 14.303 @ 98.04 to my 14.389 @ 97.81! We were side by side all the way down the track with B3 and me crossing the line first by only .0151 second! Doing the math though, even if I had cut a perfect light, Steve would still have won by .061 second! There should be at least one video of this run, I hope it gets posted soon!

Our second race was that lopsided race between us seen on that video in the Sauceman's post. It was lopsided because Stevo redlighted! (.169!) That means a win for B3 and "The Mad Scientist"!

The full report is still waiting for more of the videos to get posted. There were many more races that were even closer than the ones already posted!
Regards, Eric

 

[gsxr]

Interesting that the W211 E55 ran approx 12.3 @ 111... it launched harder than Justin's 500, but Justin was only 2mph down (~109) at the top end. The E55's low-end torque really helps the launch and low ET. Once Justin gets Hoosiers and LSD, and the 150 shot rejet, that E55 will be in serious trouble!

Hey Eric, do you think the forged CLK's are really helping? I can see you're running them all around on the 400!

 

[szvook]

11:45am – 14.303 @ 98.04 mph 1st race against Eric, Eric’s ET 14.389 @ 97.81
1:10 pm – 14.117 @ 98.85 mph 2nd race against Eric, Eric’s ET 14.362 @ 97.93
2:56 pm – 14.113 @ 98.81 mph 1st race against Spacey Casey, Casey's ET 14.360 @ 99.44
3:48 pm – 14.013 @ 99.57 mph 2nd race against Spacey Casey, Casey's ET 15.407 @ 99.44 (he spun out at 60' feet)
4:08 pm – 14.018 @ 99.34 mph only race against J-Sauce (without juice), Sauce's ET 14.166 @ 98.80
4:27 pm – 14.255 @ 98.42 mph 1st race against Jet (2006 Volvo S60 R), Jet's ET 14.396 @ 98.36
4:37 pm – 14.351 @ 97.17 mph 2nd race against Jet (2006 Volvo S60 R), Jet's ET 14.499 @ 96.87

Not a good day for me at the line, I jumped the gun 4 times. Got to run against two Swedes this time. I think the 2006 Volvo had some cams work done and exhaust, but unfortunately I did not have a chance to ask Jet more about his car, as I spent more time explaining what the 036 is and once I dropped the Porsche name, his jaw dropped. Jet also thought the front and rear fenders flair was not factory and they were rolled, Eric helped out with a visual explanation against his car. The lanes were quite slow this time, much slower then before and hardly any breakdowns this time, which made no sense at all. The lanes usual gate keeper was away and this time the young girly was in charge, who seemed slow as molasses.

Looks like J-Sauce and I got to share the same “Bouncer” nickname…totally appropriate and a true definition, since the nickname was already used in an article.

 

[szvook]

We were side by side all the way down the track with B3 and me crossing the line first by only .0151 second! There should be at least one video of this run, I hope it gets posted soon!

You sure you crossed the line first? I don't think any of us got that race on tape.

 

[gsxr]

The timeslip may indicate which car crossed the line first, however each track's timeslips are different - my track has this, but I can't say for sure if yours does. On mine it would say something like "Left 1st .0151" indicating the left lane crossed the stripe by 0.0151 seconds ahead of the right lane. This doesn't indicate who actually won the race though, as that requires factoring in the reaction times, and for actual bracket racing, also factoring in dial-ins.

 

[szvook]

Well, Eric's and my first race does show the right lane (Eric) as the winner, yet he red-lighted, so the time slip is all wrong.

 

[gsxr]

No, the timeslip is correct - it shows the right lane crossing the stripe first. However the timeslip does not show a winner/loser, that would show up as "Left MOV x.xxxx" directly below "Right 1st .0151". Looks like they just have it set up as time trials. The red light is an automatic loss in grudge racing, so if Eric was considering that a real race, you still won. Awesome reaction time, btw! 0.025 is killer.

 

[400Eric]

You sure you crossed the line first? I don't think any of us got that race on tape.

I was gonna say post the timeslip and see what Dave says but I see that you guys already figured it out.

I had other operatives out there who promised they would video tape us. That first race should still surface on YouTube.

Dave, Steve, let's don't forget that all of this discussion about how I messed up so badly, redlighting against Steve like I did and thereby sealing my fate (and yes, as I admitted in my previous post, I do know that means an automatic loss), also applies to Steve! In our second race, HE is the one who relighted! (And he redlighted even worse!)

There was also an epic race between Spacy Casey and me where I won by an even smaller margin than last time that I am hoping will surface on YouTube.

About that race, it was getting near the end of the day, and we were once again getting our runs too close together, with insufficient cool down time between runs, so B3 was starting to get heat soaked. This led to our first run of the day that wasn't a 14.3x. So the numbers looked like this:
Spacey Casey and the S70:
R/T .130
60' 2.336
1/8 9.399 @ 78.39
1/4 14.319 @ 99.52

B3 and The Mad Scientist:
R/T .007 (The best R/T of the day! Once again proving to the stuffing-their-faces-doubters that digestion adversely affects R/Ts!)
60' 2.330
1/8 9.416 @ 78.19
1/4 14.418 @ 97.58
Margin of victory for us: .0248! (last time it was .0277!)
Poor ole Spacey Casey! He just can't shake those M119s! Not even the slowest one! Steve and Justin will have to weigh in on their races with him but I do believe that he didn't beat any M119s this time. In fact, I don't think he has EVER beat an M119, except for mine, and the total tally for us (dating back to 12/10) is: B3: three wins, S70: two wins, which leaves B3 the overall winner!

Regarding the race report, I think it is better if each one of us reports on our own races because I don't know enough about some of the races like the epic races between the S70 and the two 500Es, nor do I know enough about the epic race between the two 500Es. (Although I do know that Stevo redlighted on that one too. Still would like to know what the margin was at the finish. That's not revealed in the chart above.)

Regarding that 06 S60 R, he has mods but cams aren't one of them. That thing does have variable cam timing on BOTH cams though. It also has a SIX SPEED auto and AWD! (And of course a turbo!)

In my races with him, I won our first one pretty handily because he was still a bit green, as this was only his second time at this track. Our second race was the one in the video. The numbers posted there aren't accurate. Jett ran a 14.345 @ 99.30 to my 14.355 @ 98.24, but I won by .1351 second because of my superior reaction time, .176 second to .321 second. If you study the end of the race frame by frame, you can see enough of the numbers to confirm that I am posting the correct ones. In our third race, everything flipped, with us getting the superior E/T, 14.341 @ 98.21 to Jett's 14.397 @ 98.46, but with Jett winning the race with a superior R/T, .102 to my .286 (my worst of the day), leading to his .1281 margin of victory. In our fourth race I FINALLY started getting back into my B3 launching zone (just like the good old days), and smoked him with a .011 R/T AND a superior E/T! (My next race after that was the one against Spacey Casey where I did that .007 R/T and my next race was my last race of the day which was against a 13 second Cummins Dodge where I did a .064 R/T! Finally getting back in the B3 zone!)
Regards, Eric

 

[400Eric]

Hey Eric, do you think the forged CLK's are really helping? I can see you're running them all around on the 400!

I dunno, that's why I was asking YOU right after our last track day! I was running everything exactly the same as last time with the exception of having WAY too much gas this time. (We were still at over a 1/4 of a tank when we left the track!) I don't know how much of our gain is from the shorter than stock tires (24.07" diameter vs. the stock 25" diameter), how much is from the much quicker shifting as a result of the several turns of the "T bar", and how much of the gain is from the lighter wheels. I have again violated the "one change at a time rule" but again, it was because I was trying to spank Stevo last time so I wanted to try everything I had left that I hadn't already tried.

For a while, Stevo Devo was almost as quick this time as he was last time, but we were about .15 off. Would a little over a quarter of a tank of fuel cost us that much E/T?
Regards, Eric