Race Gas? How Much Improvement?

[Jerryl]

Brad,

Glad to hear all is well, and no, you do not need to blow her up!
Fast means nothing if you can not finish the 1/4 mile run or have to tow her home ........
What setting are you running the chip at?
You may want to experiment a bit with the settings and see what timing she likes.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Jerryl- I have the chip set to#4 -WOT spark timing 20 degrees which is for street octane 93. The waste gate is set and I can get a max boost of 12lbs spiked. The car now runs completly different since I turned the boost way down.
The car will now not break the tires loose with the posi traction even after spooling up the turbo. It is alot slower from dead stop because you really have to get into the gas pedal before the turbo opens up. I did notice that after the car gets going the performance does come back. I will do a quarter mile test this weekend and let you know. Iwould guess at will be around 14.3. Thanks- Brad

 

[1QUICK85]

Good to hear your running without knock now. Nick

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Nick- You and Jerryl saved me from blowing up a second engine on my first trip to the dragstrip on Mothers day. My problem is that my mechnic is excellent but does not understand knock. The adj. waste gate actuator was set 1/2 inch to short. The car runs great but the power curve has changed. I am going to enjoy the car this year and think about changes next year. Thanks- BRAD

 

[Bryan C.]

Brad - You should come out and join us June 19 at Byron. The CCGSCA will have its second race of the season.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Bryan C- I cannot make the 19th due to Father's Day. My wife has made plans to be with her Dad who is 78.

I have thought alot about going to the track and testing my car out. That was before I installed the knock gauge and turned down the boost. I have to say that the car is real slow now when I punch it from a dead stop. I used to be able to spin the tires- Those days are now gone. The turbo seems to take alot longer to boost before it picks up power. The decisions I made to modify the car were made under the results of my inept mechanic turning the boost way up. The car is in reality a 14.5 to 15.0 quarter mile as evidenced by my Passport timer. I would not be winning any races with this pig.

The next issue is the cost to get the car to go faster. I would need a new fuel pump, fuel pressure regulator, turbo link, 86/87 ECM, bigger turbo, and bigger injectors as well. The cost alone without labor is over $1700 and the labor 10 hrs -$800. I do not have that kid of money this year since my wife had to remodel the house this year! I will still keep the idea of going to the races knocking around my head! Thanks- Brad

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Bryan C- Another thought I had. The above mods will probably get me to around a 13.5 qtr. Why not spend the extra money and switch to the 86/87 setup? I assume that it would be alot easier and cheaper to go faster than 13.5 with the 86/87 setup. Any thoughts? Thanks- brad

 

[Jerryl]

Brad,

You can STILL run the boost you were running before, just not on 93 octane. Either race gas or 93/alky, or race/alky combo. Your times are good for a basically stock set-up so don't get discouraged. (I know, it is an addiction)

Look at it this way ........... If you bought an IC set-up, you would need to go "low - mid 10's" to be reasonably competitive and you'd start all over again even if you started with a good stock 87 set-up right?
You would need a bigger turbo, injectors, transmission work, girdle/caps, larger turbo, cage, yadi-yada, to do that and you'd still get beat! If your goal is to be "Top Dog", then you may want to consider selling everything and starting over. IMHO, a low 13 sec Hot air is pretty respectable on the street and track. Afterall, it is only a Hot Air. If you had $1M to spend on this car, how fast would you want it to go?

Like an expert on this board told me ...........
"These things will fight you like a DOG, but they are fun to drive when they run right" Enjoy the car and hang in there. Perfection takes time and effort.
(Oh yeah, and some cash!)

 

[Bryan C.]

Do not be discouraged Brad, I ran a 14.0 on a stock setup. I have made some other minor changes and am down to 13.7. Albeit this is with stock injectors, turbo, downpipe, and 11# boost. I am hoping to get to at least 13.5 this week in Bowling Green.

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Bryan C- My car is a real pig. I just tested it and ran a 8.02 second from 0-60 mph test. This means a new Mustang convertible with a six cylinder blows my doors off. I am discouraged because it quickly is becoming a WOT(waste of time) and a WOM(waste of money). Thanks-Brad

 

[Bryan C.]

Brad - Are you just flooring the car from a stop or are bringing the car up against the converter and building boost before you do these 0-60 runs? How much wheel spin are you experiencing?(You may have more than you think)

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Bryan C- I do not know how to read the Caspers Knock gauge. There are no instructions. I just adjusted the waste gate inwards and tried two more runs. I ran a 6.20 zero to sixty with one green knock gauge indicator and a 6.02 zero to sixty with one yellow knock gauge. Apparently, the temp, humidity and barometric pressure affects these cars. I have no clue what a 6.02 zero to sixty translate into a quarter mile. Both runs I spooled up the turbo to 2000 rpms before I launched. The second run I actually heard a little tire squeal. Thanks- brad