Lapeer Dragway
MI3S Gathering, October 27, 2001
Track Elevation: 827 feet above sea level
Weather Conditions: 40F, 85% max humidity, & 0 - 5 mph winds
Before closing out the 2001 drag race season, we needed to settle a couple scores and take advantage of the cool fall air. Little did we know when we scheduled the gathering that we would be racing in near winter like conditions with flurries possible. The forecast called for a high of 43oF with a 10 mph NNW wind which turned out to be near zero for most of the day. I thought the turnout was great given the cold temps with ~8 MI 3S cars making the trip to Lapeer. Bob & Glenda even brought the Motor Home out to give us some much needed warmth throughout the event. We were also joined by several friends driving a variety of cars including a '98 C5 Vette, a '99 TransAm, an '02 Z28, and an '86 Buick GN. A trio of WRX's also made a brief appearance. We nearly had the track to ourselves with no lines in the staging lanes.
Note: Three videos are being hosted by MI 3S from the track gathering (ranging from 3 - 7 megs each). In each case, the link can be found next to the times shown below.
Mike's Buick may have been quicker (ran 11.979), but we didn't
have to show plumber's crack (bend over) to get our cars ready.
Some early snap shots before everyone arrived.
Jeff Williamson, red '92 VR-4, GT357 turbos & supporting fuel system
Run, Time | 60 ft (sec) | 1/8 E.T. (sec) |
1/8
(MPH) |
1/4 E.T. (sec) |
1/4
(MPH) |
Comments |
1) 11:23:31 | 2.067 | 8.778 | 87.51 | 13.207 | 110.92 | 14.5 psi |
2) 11:33:20 | 2.453 | 9.194 | 88.01 | 13.554 | 115.28 | 15.2 psi |
3) 11:45:56 | 2.387 | 9.034 | 88.19 | 13.435 | 111.19 | 16.0 psi |
4) 11:48:53 | 2.174 | 8.838 | 88.58 | 13.201 | 111.91 | 16.0 psi |
5) 12:55:28 | 2.048 | 8.436 | 91.89 | 12.665 | 119.40 | 16.5 psi |
6) 12:59:35 | 2.141 | 8.628 | 90.61 | 12.843 | 120.40 | 16.5 psi, best 3S trap speed |
7) 14:46:00 | 1.969 | 8.500 | 90.16 | 12.780 | 116.53 | 17.0 psi, close run against Bob W., SEE VIDEO |
8) 14:55:33 | 1.873 | 8.332 | 90.27 | 12.618 | 116.54 | 18.0 psi |
9) 15:08:14 | 1.955 | 8.457 | 90.59 | 12.787 | 113.02 | 19.0 psi |
Jeff had a harder time getting off the line than he did at the Import Shootout at Milan the previous month and therefore didn't beat his 12.45 personal best. What a shame too, the 120 trap indicates plenty of power was being generated. While data logging, Jeff also noticed that the higher boost runs (#7, 8, & 9) resulted in minor O2 fluctuations during WOT that undoubtedly hurt his times and speeds. These fluctuations could be anything from mis-fires (week ignition system or plug gap too wide) to fuel tuning (to rich or even lean from a weak pump) although the O2s seemed fat (rich). Knock was never an issue, perhaps kept in check with the 100 octane he was running. Because of the issues at higher boost, his most impressive runs were at the lower 16.5 psi setting. A 1.7 60 foot on either run #5 or 6 would have put him dangerously close to 11s. Perhaps another day.
Jeff & Bob getting ready to do battle.
Bob Witmer (& Glenda), blue '93 R/T TT, GT355 turbos & supporting fuel system
Run, Time |
60 ft (sec) | 1/8 E.T. (sec) |
1/8
(MPH) |
1/4 E.T. (sec) |
1/4
(MPH) |
Comments |
1) 12:35 | 2.057 | 9.441 | 85.95 | 13.898 | 112.59 | 14.0 psi, breaking in RPSIII clutch, SEE VIDEO |
2) 12:42 | 1.847 | 8.366 | 89.62 | 12.712 | 114.66 | 14.0 psi |
3) 12:55 | 1.635 | 7.936 | 91.10 | 12.182 | 117.05 | 14.0 psi, personal best ET, best 3S ET |
4) 12:59 | 1.951 | 8.204 | 92.06 | 12.434 | 117.63 | 14.0 psi |
5) 02:11 | 2.110 | 8.558 | 91.27 | 12.820 | 116.86 | 15.2 psi |
6) 02:29 | 1.928 | 8.296 | 91.22 | 12.574 | 115.46 | 15.2 psi |
7) 02:46 | 1.935 | 8.122 | 94.13 | 12.289 | 118.06 | 15.2 psi, close run against Jeff W., SEE VIDEO |
8) 03:07 | 3.154 | 11.159 | 82.42 | 16.432 | 99.24 | 15.2 psi, Glenda's first ever pass! |
Bob also had problems getting a consistent launch but everything came together on his 3rd pass when he nailed his head to the seat with a 1.635 60' on street tires (I believe he may be recovering from whip-lash)! Would have been nice to see him launch that hard at higher boost levels. Bob certainly showed 11 second capability, a better launch on run #7 would have planted him into the 11 second club. The boost settings seemed awful low for those ETs, but that's what a frigid cold ambient will do for our intercooled turbo cars. Bob was also running on a healthy dose of 100 octane.
John Raicu, yellow '94 R/T TT, Basic BPU (boost controller, down pipe, no cats, etc.)
Run |
60 ft (sec) | 1/8 E.T. (sec) |
1/8
(MPH) |
1/4 E.T. (sec) |
1/4
(MPH) |
G-Tech | Comments |
1) | 2.059 | 8.663 | 87.97 | 13.107 | 109.77 | 13.13 @ 110.0 | 1 bar boost |
2) | 2.369 | 8.948 | 88.28 | 13.383 | 111.18 | 13.08 @ 113.9 | 1 bar boost |
3) | 2.183 | 8.727 | 88.96 | 13.134 | 111.61 | 13.05 @ 113.3 | 1 bar boost |
4) | 2.438 | 9.019 | 88.50 | 13.435 | 113.66 | 13.25 @ 113.0 | 1 bar boost |
5) | 2.066 | 8.597 | 88.58 | 13.020 | 111.64 | 13.13 @ 113.1 | 1 bar boost |
6) | 1.978 | 8.478 | 88.53 | 12.909 | 110.97 | 12.97 @ 113.0 | 1 bar boost, personal best ET |
John and his brother Mike brought John's '94 to the track fresh from the west coast. In fact they were setting new limits on the Apexi AVC-R boost controller on the trip to the track since it was still set-up for the warmer west coast climate. John also had a new Stillen downpipe freshly installed. Other than a dirty K&N intake filter, Greddy Type S BOV, and RPS III clutch, the car's powertrain was stock and boosted 1.0bars every run on a mix of 94 & 100 octane fuel. John also recorded the G-Tech times on each run for some interesting comparisons. Appears the ET was within a couple tenths with the trap being consistently higher than the track times except for run #4.
Joe Gonsowski, silver '96 R/T TT, Bone Stock (minus spare & tire iron)
Run, Time |
60 ft (sec) | 1/8 E.T. (sec) |
1/8
(MPH) |
1/4 E.T. (sec) |
1/4
(MPH) |
Comments |
1) 11:19:58 | 2.012 | 8.797 | 84.83 | 13.464 | 105.67 | Solo run, had to back off due to slipping clutch |
2) 11:23:06 | 2.064 | 8.792 | 84.87 | 13.520 | 105.67 | Solo run, again too aggressive, poor launch |
3) 12:01:01 | 2.066 | 8.780 | 85.24 | 13.493 | 105.85 | Solo run, bogged on launch |
4) 12:04:04 | 1.772 | 8.438 | 84.52 | 13.087 | 105.90 | 5k launch, beat moded WRX, personal best ET |
5) 01:42:58 | 1.784 | 8.456 | 84.20 | 13.127 | 105.25 | 5k launch, beat '98 C5 Vette, SEE VIDEO |
Fastest known stock 3S 1/4 mile ET (13.087)! The 60', 1/8 ET, & 1/4 ET on the first three runs are nearly identical to the times I posted at Milan Dragway a month earlier (click here to see Milan times). The 1/8 & 1/4 speeds on the other hand seem awful high for a stock car (averaged only 101 at Milan). Not much changed between Milan and Lapeer to account for this other than it was cooler (40F vs 70F), I did swap in new spark plugs, jacked tire pressures up to 45psi front and 40psi rear, and I was running on less gas (2 gallons of Sunoco 94 vs a half tank at Milan). Lastly, some speculate that Lapeer calculates higher traps, perhaps because it is IHRA vs NHRA rules, or maybe the speed is truly the 1/4 mile trap speed as opposed to the average speed over the last 50' (for example). Regardless of the calculated speeds, the start beam and end beam are precisely 1,320 feet apart.
I will admit that I drove the '96 hard on the last two runs with aggressive launches that started at 5k and quickly jumped to 6k as the clutch tried to hold (like a continuously variable transmission, CVT). I followed the launch with some quick shifts (can barely see car dip in video when I shift) and trapped near red line in 3rd gear. I don't think I could have gotten much more out of it. Here is a thread on 3si.org with more details on my times, Congrats Joe G. Stock Stealth TT Record.
In the days following, I checked for vacuum line leaks to the wastegates (negative) and installed a boost gage to see if maybe I was over-boosting for some reason. The graph shows the wastegates are certainly working but the boost spike exceeds the "factory advertised" 2nd generation boost value of 12psi. Is this abnormal?, I don't know. On the flip side, the car is dropping too much boost after the spike. A more refined boost control device would hold boost longer. Nothing more than an electronic boost controller would certainly pay dividends allowing easy 12 second timeslips with a steady 14psi boost curve until the turbos can no longer support it at higher engine speeds.
Lastly, I weighed my car with a full tank of gas and tipped the scales at 3760 lbs! My race weight with next to no fuel but me in it would be 3,765 lbs. Also dynoed the car at DynaTech and made 238 AWHP (all wheel horse power).
Rick Wooten, green '93 R/T TT, Near Stock (K&N and gutted pre-cats only)
Run |
60 ft (sec) | 1/8 E.T. (sec) |
1/8
(MPH) |
1/4 E.T. (sec) |
1/4
(MPH) |
Comments |
1) | 1.963 | 8.912 | 81.78 | 13.758 | 102.08 | 3-4k rpm launch |
2) | 1.813 | 8.772 | 80.69 | 13.623 | 102.24 | same as 1) |
3) | 1.760 | 8.717 | 80.42 | 13.589 | 101.82 | launched closer to 4k, personal best ET |
4) | 1.899 | 8.825 | 80.68 | 13.692 | 101.78 | same as 3) but slipped clutch too much |
Rick pulled off some good consistent times considering this was his first trip to the track with his Stealth. His Emerald Green '93 was freshly waxed and didn't look like it had the 62,000 miles clocked on the odometer. Considering he was limited to the stock 9 psi boost level, he turned in some beautiful times. Rick had ~7 gallons of Sunoco 94 in the tank and figures he weighed in at 3,940 lbs with him (race weight). He credits the 1.76 60' to DMX, guess I need to start shopping for some new music. The cold 40F temps certainly helped everyone.
For comparison sake, a handful of LS1 powered cars showed up with best 60 foots around 2.0 and best ETs of 13.2X (6 speed '98 C5 Vette with K&N), 13.31 (an automatic '99 TransAm with K&N and flowmaster mufflers), and a 13.41 ('02 Z28 with B&M shifter for the 6 speed). Each car made ~10 passes to obtain these times.
since August 7th, 2002
Last Updated: 09/22/02 11:20 AM