I went to MIR this past Sunday and finally ran a new personal best Elapse Time (ET) below 13.1 seconds.

I was very happy to see back-to-back runs of 13.0 ETs during my 2nd and 3rd races at 106+ mph. My car number was 3085 on the time slip...

 

cheers , gud going ,
any modifications on the car or stock?

 

My modifications are in my signature.

 

Awesome runs dude - thanks for sharing your results. Impressive!

 

Great job, thanks for sharing...

 

Dude, you're inspiring. Now you believe the STR can dip into the 12's with exhaust-no pulley? Wait till you pop on a Mafioso air intake tube and 1.5 or 3 lb pulley....12.7 second 1/4 mile?

 

Hella nice! What psi did you run in your tires?

 

bfsgross,
Oh my goodness, you don't know how hard I've tried to get a 13.0 ET without a pulley mod. I was actually very surprised when the car dropped 2 tenths last Sunday. The air temperature was cool (60F) but not cold and the relative humidity was okay (~58%) but not low. I was really serious and tried to do all I could to run the lowest ET possible. I actually removed the baby seat, floor mats, spare tire w/ tools and had <1/8 tank of gas.

Maybe someone who weighs less than me could get her into the 12's. I weigh 225 lbs on a good day.Michael Star, Here are the air pressures I ran...

 

I plan on pulling out all the stops this weekend on my run. Should be a high of 57, so when the track opens at 10am it should be cooler than that. I will take out everything I can, and hope I can hook up good. I might take the Shelby out as well if I can borrow a set of slicks.

 

LOL! 1320racer. I'm the same...out with the baby seat, etc. Try using 20 psi on both rear tires and see what happens. Did you let her roll a bit before giving the pedal quick gradual depression? Or just nail it? I know I sound like a broken record, but you'll likely knock off another 3/10ths with the Mafioso air intake elbow and pulleys. Notice how wonderful she pulls in cool temps.?

 

I've tried as low as 15 lbs of tire pressure at the track but my car running the ExtremeContact DW feels squirrelly and unsafe at 100+ mph with anything below 25 lbs. I also have not noticed any additional traction with pressure below 25 lbs. I ran 22 on the passenger rear for a while but it slightly hurt my trap speed too. Like anything, there are many factors that come into play such as tire manufacture, tire age, tire tread depth, track prep, temperature and humidity.

What type of tires are you running and has 20 lbs worked for you? If so, either PM me with your time slips or post them on the forum. When was the last time you were at the track? What is your home track? Maybe we (and others) could meet up at a centralized track. It'd be a hoot!!!

 

Definitely be cool for us to run at the track. I've never run her at the track. Nearest one is over an hour north in Lebanon Valley, NY. Time permitting, I was hoping to run her there. She wears Mitchelin Pilot Sports A/S (285's in the rear). Your recent experience gives us valuable info. regarding mods and launch techniques...we're living our excitement through your eyes pal, and we're proud of you. It's a 80 mile all highway round trip to and fro the office. Tire PSI is set at 38 lbs. This is great for cornering, and the rear wiggles when nailing it from a dead start (fun). When the intercooler/chargecoolers are cool, she pulls out of the hole like a Brahma bull; way quicker and faster than stock. Keep the mods coming.

 

Good times. How do you find it best to launch the car?

 

X2 to Chris. I asked earlier how you launched her...A quick but gradual depression of the pedal? Stabbing it into the floor causes lag.

 

I wish you the best of luck running your STR and Shelby this weekend. I hope you get a nice sunny day to keep the track temperature up and some nice and dry cool (57F) air will make your rides really run well. Have fun but don't get a ticket driving to or from the track like I "almost" did last month. There were cruisers patrolling a mile down the road from the track getting heavy footers as they left.

 

ChrisSTR and bfsgross,

Below is the method I use to launch "my" STR at the track. Those with more power from mods likely have more torque, so this method may or may not work well for them.

Set tires to the following PSIs but pressure is increased in the rear tires if track conditions allow.
(front) driver side = 40 lbs, passenger side = 40 lbs
(rear) driver side = 30 lbs, passenger side = 25 lbs

Once the lines are moving in the staging lanes...
- turn OFF the AC and turn the heat ON high
- turn OFF the traction control
- place the transmission in "D" / Drive
- drive around the water box (if possible)
- then back up to, but not into, the water box
- once given the signal, floor the gas pedal until both tires spin for 1-1.5 seconds just clean them off
- roll forward until the your first staging light illuminates
- once the other driver illuminates their first light, roll forward until your second staging light illuminates
- once the other driver illuminates their second light, turn OFF the climate control system completely, hold the brake firmly and then press the gas pedal at the same time, until the engine reaches 1250-1300 rpm
- in a moment, the yellow lights on the tree will illuminate and as the third yellow light illuminates (don't wait for green) simultaneously release the brake and floor the gas pedal
- if you have two peg leg launches in a row (spinning just one tire) I do the same thing but more slowly floor the gas pedal, but never slower than 0.5 seconds until the pedal hits the floor

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you guys.


The transmission's "S" button (Sport Mode) has no impact in drag racing my STR. Some of you will flame me for this statement but I have two years of drag racing my STR which has shown me that on my vehicle it makes absolutely no difference on or off. This button has benefits for road racing, not drag racing. When the "S" button is pressed driving around town (or at a race track) it holds low gears longer before up shifting to a higher gear. I have read that when in S mode the transmission will downshift more gears, at one time, improving passing power. I have not experienced this myself though, my car seems to downshift several gears at once independent of the button's position.

To be honest, the main reason I use the Sport Mode button is it makes my exhaust burrrrrball and pop as it holds the transmission in a lower gear after letting off the gas.

 

"Hot Air" 3lb Pulley $230 + $300 labor (unless DIY)
Full exhaust $400-$700
Chiller Killer which robs some HP and probably can't even bring the air temps back to OEM-pulley temps $300-$500
Elbow $200-$300
Total: (Average): $1400

vs...

Bone stock STR with on demand ICE COLD nitrous spray kit $800-$1000...

 

Bacardi, good point in demonstrating cost effectiveness of bolt-on vs NO2. Most of us are leary of nitrous. If not applied with diligence there lies the potential destruction of the motor. One thing needs to be cleared up regarding the "Chiller Killer"; It's not intended to be run continuously, only prior to a run. The a/c/chiller is turned on to cool down the intercooler/chargecooler circuit then shut down prior and during the run= no hp loss during run. It's turned on after the run to cool down the IC/CC once again for the next encounter.

 

Yeah, I still have buyers remorse over the 3lb pulley...The beauty with nitrous is, you're probably doing less damage to the motor if you only spray while you're racing compared to a 3lb pulley that's putting hot air into the motor during every WOT run...But who knows...

 

Is the 3lb not worth it?