Best $20 I ever Spent!!!! 20 runs for 20$

[douglas vincent]

Went out to the Portland International SPeedway tonight for the Friday night drags. Lots of serious Domestic power, outnumbering the ricers about 2 to 1. Only 1 other subaru was there, a WRX. Kinda lonely.

First run was at 8:14 and I got a 17.703 1/4 mile 77.57 mph.

Lets say I had a blast but was also extremely dissopointed. We really should not trust our Speedos at all. It was reading about 6 miles fast.

Back to the racing.

I started dropping about .010 a second every run. It also was getting ALOT cooler on the track (we started at about 100 degrees) Now that I knew my wagon was alot slower than anticipated, I really wanted to break 17 seconds and hit 80 mph in the 1/4 mile.

Last run #20 was the magic run. Posted a 16.858 at 80.09 mph.

$20 bucks = 20 runs. 1st run at 8:15, last run at 12:30. How can you beat that?

While the cooler air as the night wore on certainly helped get my times down and speeds up. I also got better at dropping the clutch and shifting faster. I would rev to about 4500-5000, dump the clutch and away we went. I was shifting fast enough to usualy cruntch the gears between 1st and 2nd. I never shiffted out of third because when I did do this both times I lost about .20 of a second and 5mph high end because 4th just didnt have any power. However, lets just say that redline was hit in third gear virtually every and everytime I was just waiting for that rev limiter to kick in. Never did, lucky I guess. Man it was fun.

I really suggest that anyone who thinks their car can do a 1/4 mile in blah blah seconds hitting ---- mph by just reading it off of their speedo should really go to a track and get a certified slip. Dollar to donut your speedo is wrong. I know no one wants to hear that but it is an awful truth.

[Matt M]

The last time I did a drag and got a slip was in my 1996 vw passat VR6 I did a 16.1 1/4 @88.?Mph not bad for my 1st and only time in a wagon.

[x340psi]

I believe the reason your speedo is "off" at the end of a 1/4 mile run is because your trap speed is averaged over the last 66 ft. before the finish line. However if you do some math 6mph at the top end of the track does seem like a lot, so it is probably both.
Eric

[douglas vincent]

Did not know that. Thanks. So maybe I was really doing a whopping 82!!

[GizMo22t]

Well I guess I don't feel so bad. I went to bandimere speedway one week from today and my best run was a 16.6 at 82.16mph. The track temp at that run was around 90deg F so it was a pretty hot day. I thought that was pretty slow but it is a wagon. I got just one question. Is a 60ft time of 2.437 pritty good? Ok well got two questions what is the altitude at that track in Oregon?

[Brat4by4]

2.4 isn't incredible. 2.1/2.2 is very good for the car stock. The best I could pull with my new clutch and flywheel was 2.123

[douglas vincent]

I average 2.35 with a best of about 2.25 once. My clutch is way old and the block has 200000 plus miles on it, it leaves a trail of smoke the raceway! Our altitude is something like 500' or less, real low.

The touring wagon is NA is it not?

Cant wait for nitrous! I was running against a newer chevy S-10 truck that has a 120 hp 4 banger that was running 18.5 in the 1.4. He was using a 75 hp shot and brought his 1/4 time down to 16.5! If I did the equivilent, then I would be 14.845! That would piss alot of people off!

[GizMo22t]

My touring wagon is turbo. I'm not sure if all the touring wagons are turbo or not.

My 2.4 60ft time was in an auto. Does that make that much of a difference?