Finally went drag racing with the new supercharger...

[Five Oh Brian]

Finally got to see how the Vortech blower works at the track. Best 1/4 mile run before the blower was 13.28 @ 102.92 mph.

Car weighed 3,700 lbs with me in it, is an '07 GT automatic coupe. Only other mods are 4.10 gears, stall converter, and drag radials.

My first run with the Vortech (and my best of 11 runs last night) was 12.57 @ 110.18 mph. I'm nowhere near a scanner right now, but here's how the timeslip reads...

R/T = .062
60' = 1.866
330' = 5.273
1/8 mile = 8.082 @ 86.97 mph
1000' = 10.525
1/4 mile = 12.577 @ 110.18 mph

This was at Bremerton Raceway in Washington (just west of Tacoma, WA). My first time ever at that track, and first time ever racing with the supercharger. I got plenty of traction every run, but could not get a 60' better than a pair of 1.85's all night. Had a run in the 12.60's and lots of runs in the 12.70's - most were over 109 mph.

Looks like the blower was good for 7 tenths of a second and 7 mph in the 1/4 mile compared to naturally aspirated with a JLT II CAI and canned tune.

Raced an '06 Roush Mustang a couple times last night. Nice guy. Has manual trans, 4.10 gears, Roushcharger with smaller blower pulley, and drag radials. I beat him every time.

Click here to see vid of one of the runs against the Roush. You'll see him in my rear view mirror (vista blue with white stripes).

 

[NastyStang113]

Nice !!

 

[Towelly]

If you were getting plenty of tractions did you try raising the RPM you were launching at until you lost traction? I didn't hear you power breaking it at the line. Where you brake torquingg off the line?

 

[autumn_again]

what kinda drag radial were you using? did you footbrake it at all that night? it doesn't seem like you did in the video. i could be wrong though.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Traction was awesome every run. I have BFG 275/40/17 drag radials mounted on 17x8 charcoal Bullitt rims. I ran 30 psi in them, which actually worked way better than I expected (I normally ran about 20-23 psi last season naturally aspirated).

I tried several different launch methods. Click here to see/hear me launching by powerbraking. It looks and sounds as though it launches hard, but it didn't hit the stall converter as hard and my short times weren't as good by powerbraking (1.90's). Best run powerbraking was 12.71 @ 109+ mph.

The company that makes my stall converter recommends launching from idle to get a harder hit from the stall converter, and that was ultimately what resulted in my quickest run of 12.57 @ 110 mph. Incidentally, all runs were done with the shifter in drive and the tune set to shift at 6,400 rpm's.

Since I go quicker by hammering it from idle, I have to learn how to time the lights differently. I used to powerbrake and leave on the last amber light, but now I'm having to leave on the 2nd to last amber to cut good lights from idle.

Worth noting, I ran the car heavy with a full tank of gas. I normally run with a 1/4 tank. Also, I took out 2 degrees of timing in the tune before racing to be safe as I was only able to find 91 octane gas (tune was written for 93). Next time, I'll run light and bump the timing up with the correct fuel on board.

 

[Towelly]

Traction was awesome every run. I have BFG 275/40/17 drag radials mounted on 17x8 charcoal Bullitt rims. I ran 30 psi in them, which actually worked way better than I expected (I normally ran about 20-23 psi last season naturally aspirated).

I tried several different launch methods. Click here to see/hear me launching by powerbraking. It looks and sounds as though it launches hard, but it didn't hit the stall converter as hard and my short times weren't as good by powerbraking (1.90's). Best run powerbraking was 12.71 @ 109+ mph.

The company that makes my stall converter recommends launching from idle to get a harder hit from the stall converter, and that was ultimately what resulted in my quickest run of 12.57 @ 110 mph. Incidentally, all runs were done with the shifter in drive and the tune set to shift at 6,400 rpm's.

Since I go quicker by hammering it from idle, I have to learn how to time the lights differently. I used to powerbrake and leave on the last amber light, but now I'm having to leave on the 2nd to last amber to cut good lights from idle.

Worth noting, I ran the car heavy with a full tank of gas. I normally run with a 1/4 tank. Also, I took out 2 degrees of timing in the tune before racing to be safe as I was only able to find 91 octane gas (tune was written for 93). Next time, I'll run light and bump the timing up with the correct fuel on board.

If I were you I'd try running the DR's at 17 or 18 PSI as well. I bet that will help those short times. What type of Stall converter do you have?

 

[NastyStang113]

If I were you I'd try running the DR's at 17 or 18 PSI as well. I bet that will help those short times. What type of Stall converter do you have?

Me too, at least 20 psi.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

If I were you I'd try running the DR's at 17 or 18 PSI as well. I bet that will help those short times. What type of Stall converter do you have?

The car hooked up great with 30 psi, so why go lower? That'll just increase rolling resistance going down the track, won't it?

The stall converter is from Fuddle Racing. It's the biggest stall speed they offered for my car (3,800 rpm's) and with the extra power of the supercharger it's now stalling to 4,500 rpm's with my current tune. Parts & labor to install the converter was only $800, and it alone dropped my short times (60', 330', and 1/8 mile) by 3 tenths of a second, so a great mod in an automatic car.

 

[steedman07]

Nice runs..I have an auto, Vortech, 4:10's , etc..I ran a 12.94 @109 on steet tires and no torque converter..60ft. was 2.09...very similiar mph.. What rpm were you launching at?

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Nice runs..I have an auto, Vortech, 4:10's , etc..I ran a 12.94 @109 on steet tires and no torque converter..60ft. was 2.09...very similiar mph.. What rpm were you launching at?

With the stock converter in my car, I ran the same 60' times you did. Best ever with the stock converter was 2.08, with many in the 2.10 to 2.15 range. The aftermarket stall converter I bought puts me consistently in the 1.80's, with the worst runs in the 1.90's, so I improved almost 3 tenths in the sixty foot, and better than 3 tenths in the 330' and 1/8 mile.

A good stall converter would easily put you into the 12.60's (assuming you get good traction), but your 109 trap speed likely won't change much, if any, unless you have a custom tune written to lock up the converter in 3rd & 4th gear earlier.

My best ET's were done by staging the car at idle, but mashing the gas pedal to the floor (on the next to last amber light) - per the advice from the company that made my stall converter (Fuddle Racing). This allows for a harder rpm hit when the stall converter flashes (4,500 rpm's in my case).

I also tried brake-torquing at the starting line. Basically, holding the brake pedal, revving to just before the tires would want to spin (about 3,000 rpm's? or so), then mashing the gas pedal & releasing the brake at launch. This approach seems most intuitive to everyone, but actually results in slower ET's with an aftermarket stall converter. Certainly worked better with the stock converter, though.

 

[klaw]

What video camera were you using and how did you mount it?

 

[Five Oh Brian]

What video camera were you using and how did you mount it?

I have a JVC hard disk drive camcorder. I made my own custom mount that attaches to the passenger headrest. It is made from a section of a black plastic cutting board. I drilled two holes in it to slip the headrest posts through, then attached a camcorder mount to the end that hangs out between the two headrests. Here's a couple pics, including one with the headrest raised up so you can see it better...

Camcorder mounted in car.

Headrest raised to see mount better.

From the front.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Here's the timeslip from my 12.57 @ 110 run...

 

[bigcat]

i have that same camcorder. where did you get the part you used to secure the camera to the mounting bracket? seems like i cant find a good solution to mount it to a bracket, other than some nuts and bolts. my camera tripod does not offer a good solution for that camera.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

i have that same camcorder. where did you get the part you used to secure the camera to the mounting bracket? seems like i cant find a good solution to mount it to a bracket, other than some nuts and bolts. my camera tripod does not offer a good solution for that camera.

I bought a $10 mini tripod at a local electronics store and removed just the head/swivel unit for use on my homemade headrest stand.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Me too, at least 20 psi.

A couple guys have recommended lower tire pressure than the 30 psi that I ran. The car dead-hooked awesome with 30 psi, so is there really anything to gain from dropping the psi lower? Will a more flexible sidewall and windup really help my 60' time? If so, I'll try it, but 30 psi offers excellent grip with no tire spin.

 

[klaw]

I have a JVC hard disk drive camcorder. I made my own custom mount that attaches to the passenger headrest. It is made from a section of a black plastic cutting board. I drilled two holes in it to slip the headrest posts through, then attached a camcorder mount to the end that hangs out between the two headrests. Here's a couple pics, including one with the headrest raised up so you can see it better...

Camcorder mounted in car.

Headrest raised to see mount better.

From the front.

Nice setup - very clever! I'm adding that to my mod list.

Have you had any grief from your local track about the camera? I was at the International Mustang Meet in Saskatoon a few weeks ago and the track there wouldn't allow in car cameras. They also made me remove my radar detector and GTech.

 

[xtweakerx]

i ussually run my DR's about 20psi when the tires are hot.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Nice setup - very clever! I'm adding that to my mod list.

Have you had any grief from your local track about the camera? I was at the International Mustang Meet in Saskatoon a few weeks ago and the track there wouldn't allow in car cameras. They also made me remove my radar detector and GTech.

Wow, our local tracks have never said a word about my camcorder or radar detector (or the GTech I used to have). I wonder if yoru track doesn't want loose items in the car that could hurt the driver in the event of an accident???

 

[Five Oh Brian]

i ussually run my DR's about 20psi when the tires are hot.

I see in your signature that you've added a few goodies since your last time at the track. Looks like you could run high 12's now. Time to get out to the track again!