Alright I went to the drags last night and ran a total of 6 times. Lets just say I never made it past a 15.3 and never faster then 90 MPH, in fact most the time it was in the 89 mph zone. I ran two 15.445's back to back which is almost impossible to do being exact to the thousandth of a second. My slowest run was a 16.1 and my absolute slowest was in the 19s.

The ET nor the MPH was just not there last night. Last season I was running in the high 14s, maxing out at 14.6 and even my 15 second runs were at least in the 93 MPH range. Last night I had neither. The things that changed between last season and this season was the addition of the Quaife differential and an ACT clutch.

What are my current mods? I have a 97 SE 5 speed, with Quaife differential, ACT clutch, cone K&N pop style filter, Cattman Stainless Y, stock cat, Stillen B and stock muffler with a 4" vanity tip on it. I made sure my tire pressure was consistent, and I did have my stereo in tow. I have stock SE suspension, so I'm sure thats not helping either.

I controlled myself from doing burnouts last night like I usually do, but I ran into a different problem. I consistently had problems with wheel hop, and my 60 foot times reflected it. My best 60 foot time was a paltry 2.4 and the worst was a 2.7. Last season, I hit 2.1 with a blown motor mount, street tires, and open differential with busted bearings. The Quaife did make a big difference launching, but then it just hopped away.

No matter what I did, from slipping the clutch to remove driveline slack it didnt matter. The car would hop at the top of 1st gear, then hop hard at the 1-2 shift. I tried to tone it down some by easing the throttle but it was hard to control.

What happened during the 19 second run? I got off the line and then my car started hopping. I tried to recover it by pushing in the clutch some, I pushed it in too far and wound up dropping it and then the car started hopping big time. So I shifted into 2nd gear way way way too early and by then I knew I had blown it. So instead of even trying I let off the gas and hit the brakes in frustration and crossed the finish line at like 25 MPH.

The only thing I did have going well last night for me was my reaction time. I redlighted once at a .494, and my slowest reaction was a .6.

I got beat by a Mustang, a 80's camaro (I shoulda had him, he ran only 15.1). I did beat a really riced out and slammed Olds Alero who got me off the line, but I over took down the track. I also beat an older Fox Body mustang GT, which was surprising. I also got beat by an older Integra 94 or so running 14.7 @ 98 mph, but I later find out he was boosted so I didnt feel too bad.

I'm really getting sick of driving such a slow car, cause even the Integras and new Celica's last night were running in the low 14s consistently with close to 100 mPH traps. Most of the Celica's were close to stock.

I think I need to get my car dyno'd. They had a dynojet there last night, but at $75 for 2 pulls I was like yeah right. I'm curious as why my car was so slow. Number one is to loose that wheel hop. I have a good feeling that lowering the car will help, but I really want to get those traction/radius bars. Warpspeed, how are they coming along?

 

Eric,

Sorry you had a off-night at the strip...but if you want the air intake adapter I can help look around to get you one...it is for the Maxima right...just want to make certain...I will look for some prices and should get back with you on Monday...they would not be hard to find...Best is the JWT Billet style...generic is like my PCP intake I have.

 

What track is this where the GT-S Celicas are running low 14s at near 100mph? The GT-S Celicas at my track are lucky to break into the 14s. I only know of two guys at my track that have pushed their modded GT-Ss into the 14.7 range.

It sounds like the conditions at your track were optimal if the GT-Ss could post these kind of numbers NA. I suggest pulling your plugs and looking at them for odd signs. Make sure you are using NGK plugs. Replace the fuel filter if it hasn't been done in 15K miles. Check for vacumn leaks. Aren't you running some kind of "ghetto" intake? If so, switch it out. It might be causing a leak before the MAF. YANK OUT THE SUB BOX!!! It is important to reduce all "what if's" from the equation when going to the track. Keep your setup consistent. Run with no spare, no tools, 1/4 tank of gas, same psi in the tires = no what if's.

When you ran your 14.6, you were running without any Y-pipe. Remember? Your 60 foots are killing you too. Where are you shifting at?


Dave

 

i am sorry to hear your car sucks.. now suck it up and try to fix it.. no likes a whiner

 

I race at Cecil County Dragway in Maryland. www.cecilcountydragway.com

It may not have been low 14s, but I distinctly remember more then one car (GTS that is), on more then one occasion consistently running mid 14s in the high 98 mph range.

Yea I'll do that tomorow. Im running Autolite plugs.. maybe that could be it, I'll switch to NGK anyway.

As for track conditions, it was cold out, but it wasnt too bad. I'd say in the mid 40s, which is optimal temperature for racing. I didnt have too much problem getting off the line with the new differential.

Yea, got the fuel filter done only a few thousand miles ago, with an OE filter. My intake consists of a MAF adapter that's supposed to be for a 300z. The bolt holes dont line up, so I have 6 binder clips holding the adapter on. Then I have a K&N cylinderical filter.

As for running the 14.6, yea it was with an open exhaust. But- I pulled 14.9 before and 15 flat with full exhaust.

Yeah, the wheel hop destroyed my times. I couldnt even wind out 1st gear without hop, and then when I bang 2nd gear, it hops. It didnt hop so bad before, most likely because of the new differential. I think I would do much better if I wasnt hopping like a bunny.

I shift at redline for 1st to 2nd, 6300 at 2nd to 3rd, and 6000 3rd to 4th.

 

just a thought...i used to have a "ghetto" intake on my car that consisted of a adapter made from some kind of pvc adpter for plumbing and a k&n cone. everything sealed air tight and i even went to the measures of sealing the edges with silicon sealant as a precaution. well when i had that set-up everytime i raced my friends' eclipses i woul barely walk them from a stop to 100 plus usually ending maybe 2-3 cars ahead. and i would also barely beat my friend's stang gt (95') by maybe half a car if i was lucky. well one day i took it off and returned it back to the factory intake and i beat the eclipses a lot worse than i did when i had it on and ever since i got my piping for my PR CAI and istalled it the hybrid way i absolutely murder the eclipses and beat the stang by 2 car lengthes. i think the reason for the loss when i had my ghetto intake was because i didn't have a velocity stack. so maybe the intake is not helping you? who knows, just something else to think about.....

 

Get rid of the ghetto intake. Spend the money and do it the right way. I'm not saying all your problems are with your intake, but some of them could be. Vacumn leaks, no matter how small, can really mess up the MAF readings and overall performance.

The hopping into 2nd isn't really helping either and usually doesn't register in the 60' timing because our 1-2 happens at 35mph (well beyond the 60'). The spinning and hopping is slowing you down a little. What's weird is I have a open differential and when I hit 2nd at the track, my car "slides" to the right on the shift. Both tires spin, but don't hop. The slide into 2nd reminds me of my Z28 (positraction), but only reversed drivewheel wise.

Definately invest in the some OEM NGKs.


Dave