Aurora40
08-09-2005, 03:59 PM
I had a blast yesterday at the shootout. My car got totally trashed by the rain, though. So I've got quite a bit of detailing work cut out for me now. But it was worth it to see so many neat cars run the 1/4.
Here's me and my car:
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/pic7.jpg
I drove the car there, and wanted to have enough gas left to get the heck out of Jersey without filling up. I can't stand the full-service-only law there. So I had about 3/4-2/3 a tank of gas when I showed up, and a little over 1/2 a tank when I left (enough to go the 80+ miles to get across the state line before filling up to get home). I also left the spare tire on and didn't adjust the tire pressures. I really just wanted to have fun running down the track in about the same way it would run on the street. I did mean to put the suspension in "tour" but forgot... :( I lift on shifts because I'm not Mr Dragstrip, and also because I had to drive it home. I'm more of an enjoy and preserve kinda guy.
Anyway, my early runs were 13.4-13.5 range, then I had some a bit higher as I played with my launches. Mostly I ended up launching way too soft, though on one I launched way too hard, and figured what the hell. I blew the launch already, why not stay in it and see what happens! I squirrled back and forth for a while until I let off a bit and hooked and ran a 14.5 @ 104mph or so.
My best run came at the end of the day. It was my last run, and the Callaway owner just told me he'd done a 13.2! No way I was gonna do such a bad job representing the Z in a magazine! So I hit a 13.21@108.1mph on my last run. I had a pretty good launch, but still overcooked it a tad, and I shifted a bit faster/firmer. It was the only run where I chirped 3rd (chirped it pretty hard too, the car squirreled a bit).
All in all it was a blast.
Here are some videos of my run. My wife sat in the observation room on the last run due to the incredible humidity and warmth otuside. It wasn't super hot, but the humidity made it very punchy. It was probably 82-85F with like 95% humidity (it had been raining a lot and there was some question as to whether we'd get to run at all):
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/clips/zr11.mpg
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/clips/zr12.mpg
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/clips/zr13.mpg
As an aside, it was a closed track. So we didn't have numbers on the cars. So we didn't ever really get feedback on how we did for each run. At the end of the day we got a chance to see all the runs that had been made, and were to try to find which was our best (without knowing who made what). The GMHTP staff has videos of the runs, though, to provide the ultimate truth about it.
So I knew I ran my 13.2 after the Callaway, and my wife told me "13.2 at 108 mph". So there were two 13.2's near the end, a 13.26 @ 106.7 and a 13.21 @ 108.1. I was quite certain mine was the faster/later run, but wanted to confirm with the Callaway owner so as not to be a jerk. He agreed it seemed likely that this later one was my time and the earlier one was his. The unsaid fact was that the 13.21 @ 108.1 mph was the fastest non-Z06 time out there. Anyway, the odd thing was the Z06 owner looks at it and says to me "no way your car did a 2.2 60' time and then ran a 13.2". I couldn't help but think what a strange thing to say. For one, here's the time listed. Did he mean it can't be done, or can't be done by a ZR-1? Had he ever driven a ZR-1? It's not like you see them at the track a lot. It was just very odd and I wasn't quite sure how to respond...
P.S. I thought it was pretty cool to be the only manual car there that ran the 1/4 with only two shifts... :) And the Z06 had an aftermarket airbox, but ran a best of 12.06@116mph. Obviously even without the airbox, he'd have the field covered quite well.
The whole enchilada should be in the December issue of GM High Tech Performance (http://www.gmhightechperformance.com).
Here's me and my car:
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/pic7.jpg
I drove the car there, and wanted to have enough gas left to get the heck out of Jersey without filling up. I can't stand the full-service-only law there. So I had about 3/4-2/3 a tank of gas when I showed up, and a little over 1/2 a tank when I left (enough to go the 80+ miles to get across the state line before filling up to get home). I also left the spare tire on and didn't adjust the tire pressures. I really just wanted to have fun running down the track in about the same way it would run on the street. I did mean to put the suspension in "tour" but forgot... :( I lift on shifts because I'm not Mr Dragstrip, and also because I had to drive it home. I'm more of an enjoy and preserve kinda guy.
Anyway, my early runs were 13.4-13.5 range, then I had some a bit higher as I played with my launches. Mostly I ended up launching way too soft, though on one I launched way too hard, and figured what the hell. I blew the launch already, why not stay in it and see what happens! I squirrled back and forth for a while until I let off a bit and hooked and ran a 14.5 @ 104mph or so.
My best run came at the end of the day. It was my last run, and the Callaway owner just told me he'd done a 13.2! No way I was gonna do such a bad job representing the Z in a magazine! So I hit a 13.21@108.1mph on my last run. I had a pretty good launch, but still overcooked it a tad, and I shifted a bit faster/firmer. It was the only run where I chirped 3rd (chirped it pretty hard too, the car squirreled a bit).
All in all it was a blast.
Here are some videos of my run. My wife sat in the observation room on the last run due to the incredible humidity and warmth otuside. It wasn't super hot, but the humidity made it very punchy. It was probably 82-85F with like 95% humidity (it had been raining a lot and there was some question as to whether we'd get to run at all):
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/clips/zr11.mpg
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/clips/zr12.mpg
http://members.aol.com/corvettezr11990/gmhtp/clips/zr13.mpg
As an aside, it was a closed track. So we didn't have numbers on the cars. So we didn't ever really get feedback on how we did for each run. At the end of the day we got a chance to see all the runs that had been made, and were to try to find which was our best (without knowing who made what). The GMHTP staff has videos of the runs, though, to provide the ultimate truth about it.
So I knew I ran my 13.2 after the Callaway, and my wife told me "13.2 at 108 mph". So there were two 13.2's near the end, a 13.26 @ 106.7 and a 13.21 @ 108.1. I was quite certain mine was the faster/later run, but wanted to confirm with the Callaway owner so as not to be a jerk. He agreed it seemed likely that this later one was my time and the earlier one was his. The unsaid fact was that the 13.21 @ 108.1 mph was the fastest non-Z06 time out there. Anyway, the odd thing was the Z06 owner looks at it and says to me "no way your car did a 2.2 60' time and then ran a 13.2". I couldn't help but think what a strange thing to say. For one, here's the time listed. Did he mean it can't be done, or can't be done by a ZR-1? Had he ever driven a ZR-1? It's not like you see them at the track a lot. It was just very odd and I wasn't quite sure how to respond...
P.S. I thought it was pretty cool to be the only manual car there that ran the 1/4 with only two shifts... :) And the Z06 had an aftermarket airbox, but ran a best of 12.06@116mph. Obviously even without the airbox, he'd have the field covered quite well.
The whole enchilada should be in the December issue of GM High Tech Performance (http://www.gmhightechperformance.com).