Newbie Questions (sorry)!!

[Weedo]

I'm looking to get a GN in the $10k-$15k range with lower miles. I'm wondering what kind of costs and what parts are involved in making the GN run a mid 12 in the 1/4 on street tires.

My Lightning will run upper 12's with about $1000 worth of mods (for comparison sake).

There was a guy locally that ran a 13.1@108 to my 13.2@105 that night (Arizona, heat, crappy tracks...).

He had:

1. New, bigger turbo
2. Chip
3. Intake (filter setup)
4. MAF (i believe that's what he said)
5. A few other goodies i can't remember.

Just wondering if these are the "normal" mods for a daily driver and what kind of cost/reliability you would be looking at??

Thanks!

 

[Buick Beginner]

I'm no expert

But, Let me tell you this - I have no doubt in my mind that your GN will go 12.5 for about $500. I'm sure you'll get plenty more responses from other folks on the board. A good place to start is the www.gnttype.org website. They have a number of "recipies" for making you car go 12's, 11's, and 10's. You'll find plenty there. Good Luck - BB

 

[Black Car]

Most/Many people get into teh mid 12s with less than $500 from an all stock original car. Very few Buicks are still all stock now.
The main mods are fuel pump & hotwire, chip, afj fp reg, K&N and good tires are the main things as long as everything else is in good working condition.

Gary

 

[Weedo]

I'm pretty sure the heat here is killing the idea of a mid 12 second car for $500! But if that's what people are running elsewhere, i'm guessing that would be a low 13 here. Then again, the guy with the new turbo etc didn't make it into the 12's. Hmm....

 

[salvageV6]

Street trim and race trim are two different animals for some people.

Race gas, race timing, race tires, race boost all make for quick times and lower budget to do it.

The guy was probably running in street trim, another world altogether.

Usually you can tell by the tires and gas/alky. used.

I prefer to race the car as I drive it everyday. Means more to me that way.

Takes a bigger budget to do it in true street trim.

 

[azgn]

had to be one of the slower GN's in town!.......give me a call if you are interested in a low mileage, rather fast GN

480-563-8078

(wait until at least tomorrow, I am in my home in Pinetop until then)

 

[Weedo]

Yeah, i know for a fact that he was running "street trim". I too like to run street trim. I've debated slicks for the Lightning which should put me around 12.5 or 12.6 but i only hit the track about once every few months.

azgn:
I'm guessing your GN is built more for the track than the street? Just curious because i'm looking for somewhat of a daily driver (5,000 miles per year).

 

[UNGN]

Running low 12's at around 110 in a stock Turbo Regal is fairly straight forward.

If you buy a car from someone who knew what they are doing, they have likely already replaced the defective stock fuel pump and the restrictive stock exhaust system. There is also a good chance it has an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, adjustable wastegate actuator, an aftermarket boost gage and a cone K&N air filter by now.

If that is the case, Bolting on a set of drag radials, pumping out the gas at the track (using the schraeder port and test lead), putting in five gallons of race gas and a race chip, setting the boost at 20-22 psi and letting it rip should net a high 12 minimum, if you've ever been to the track before. Mid to low 12's if you are the type of person that can squeeze mid to high 13's out of a stock 5.0. Pump out the race gas when you are done, swap chips and drive home getting 22 mpg.