don_w

don_w

I talked to Adam a little while ago. After pulling the tranny and having Tony at Larry's Transmission look it over, it appears that there was a bearing in the converter going bad, which damaged the front pump. Other than that, the trans looked pretty good. Adam said Tony will be installing a couple new boost valves and a lockup solenoid to further improve performance.

70MACH1OWNER

Hey Don ,
You know I am one of your biggest fans but I want to see both tires ups and be able to slip a piston diameter underneath the right side tire. Go get em!!! Then we got something to brag about!!!
Scott

don_w

Dang... tough crowd here.

p.s. What size piston???

70MACH1OWNER

Okay... I will cut you a break. Just a small 4.6 liter piston. I'm lazy so I am not going to look it up but it is 90 something mm. That's less than 4 inches. You got 4 inches in ya right Don ?? Right??
Scott

don_w

I'm not going to answer that...

70MACH1OWNER

Maybe that new TC can pull up the pass. side. I pullin for you!
Scott

don_w

1/8-Mile Drags, Barona, July 20, 2007

This was our first trip to the track after having the torque converter replaced, and having lower control arm (LCA) relocation brackets welded on. The hope was that these two changes would improve the launch of the car, as well as increase the trap speed at the top of the track. Although not as dramatic as I had hoped for, we did see major improvement in the launch, and noticeable ET and MPH gains. And even though the 60-foot times weren’t as good as we’ve seen in cooler weather, the car was squatting less and hooking pretty well… good enough that it actually lifted the left front tire several times. We’ve never seen it do that before!



Donna and I got in a total of 19 runs on this night. All of our passes were in the 7.23 to 7.37 range, and the trap speeds were mostly in the 94-97 mph range. The average for the day was 7.31 @ 95.8, which is about a tenth quicker and 3 mph better than two weeks ago (with similar weather conditions).

The weather was definitely in mid-summer form. The high temperature was almost 83 degrees, and it only dropped into the upper 60s by midnight. The dew point was between 56-57 degrees all evening. The density altitude was about 3,900 feet at the time of the first run, and only dropped to about 2,800 feet later at night. The humidity was as high as 71% during the late night runs.

Here are the videos from Friday, July 20 at Barona. The videos marked with the asterisks (**) are my favorites.

Video #1, Time 6:23 pm, DA = 3,894 ft:
My first run was against a 1967 Falcon. This was the first time we ever saw the left front tire lift on the launch. After a 0.079 light, I ran 7.365 @ 95.753, with a 60-foot time of 1.638. The Falcon ran 8.659 @ 80.061, 1.940. (The quality of this video isn’t good… there is a double image and it didn’t focus correctly).

**Video #2, Time 6:28 pm, DA = 3,871 ft:
On this solo run, I cut the best reaction time of the day, 0.009, and again there was a little air under the front tire. I improved a little to 7.333 @ 95.327, 1.616.

Video #3, Time 6:33 pm, DA = 3,846 ft:
The third run was also a bye run. On this run, I decided to try launching from an idle, rather than power braking the car. It didn’t feel like it launched as hard, yet it ran a consistent 7.354 @ 94.887, 1.628.

**Video #4, Time 6:58 pm, DA = 3,731 ft:
Donna’s first run was against Rick Reynolds’ 560+ci, 900hp, 5-sec Pinto. Even though she made a decent run and lifted the tire again, I thought for sure something broke in the rear end. During the burnout, the left wheel just stopped turning, while the right kept on going. I’m not sure how this could happen with a Detroit TrueTrac rear end. Apparently, there was no damage though, and it was fine for every run after this. Anyway, she ran 7.295 @ 96.849, 1.648 to the Pinto’s 5.669 @ 121.149, 1.262.

**Video #5, Time 7:03 pm, DA = 3,690 ft:
On this run, a 2002 BMW was lined up next to Donna. It turned out to be the 2nd best ET and the best 60-foot time of the night. Plus, you can easily see the daylight under the tire on this video. Donna ran 7.240 @ 96.431, 1.590 to the BMW’s 9.166 @ 78.378, 2.102.

Video #6, Time 7:12 pm, DA = 3,626 ft:
Donna ran against the BMW again on this pass. A slight spin on the launch slowed it down to a 7.316 @ 95.856, 1.651. Her opponent went 9.530 @ 78.546, 2.446.

**Video #7, Time 7:35 pm, DA = 3,535 ft:
I was back in the seat for this run, against a 5-sec Mustang-body race car. Just for testing purposes, I put the street tune in the car for this run. It still got a little air, but slowed down to a 7.374 @ 95.391, 1.610. My opponent ran 5.909 @ 116.308, 1.298.

**Video #8, Time 7:46 pm, DA = 3,490 ft:
This might be my favorite video of the night. Donna had a great camera angle for the launch. Even though it wasn’t a great run, I think the video is pretty cool. With a large pickup truck lined up against me this time, and the track tune back in the car, I ran 7.351 @ 94.653, 1.612 to the truck’s 9.910 @ 74.457, 2.564.

Video #9, Time 8:08 pm, DA = 3,331 ft:
This run was a little odd. I had my best 60-foot and 330-foot times of the night, yet the trap speed was off by 2-3mph. I ran 7.312 @ only 92.365, 1.592. The Olds 4-4-2 in the other lane ran 7.994 @ 86.305, 1.805. The video is a little funky because the “Nite Shot� mode was on.

**Video #10, Time 8:17 pm, DA = 3,301 ft:
On this run, I was lined up against a 55-57 Chevy… and a quick one at that. The video angle captures a nice perspective of the rear tire biting into the track, and there isn’t as much body squat as before. And the front did get up ever so slightly. I ran 7.340 @ 94.743, 1.625. The Chevy went 6.712 @ 101.088, 1.435. The “Nite Shot� mode was on this vid too.

**Video #11, Time 9:50 pm, DA = 3,150 ft:
Donna was back in the car against a Camaro. For testing purposes, I changed tunes again, going to the “old� street tune that we’ve been running for the past 10 months or so. Donna posted her best RT of the day with a 0.014, and also ran the second highest MPH of the day. She went 7.301 @ 97.186, 1.649. The Camaro was about 15-20 car lengths back at 9.307 @ 73.541.

**Video #12, Time 10:13 pm, DA = 3,000 ft:
OK, so now it’s after 10pm and the density altitude is still 3,000 feet. So much for good night air. But, the high DA didn’t cause the Corvette in the other lane to lose control. I think we can attribute that to street tires and trying to drive through a fishtailing situation that really should have been aborted. And it was the second time that I saw him get loose on the track. He kept it off the wall the first time, but wasn’t so lucky the second time. Donna ran 7.320 @ 96.405, 1.642. There was no ET recorded for the Vette.

Video #13, Time 10:25 pm, DA = 2,973 ft:
On this run, Donna was lined up against a 6-sec Vega. She made a good lap, 7.288 @ 94.187, 1.608, but was still a 1/2-second behind his 6.785 @ 101.791, 1.455.

Video #14, Time 10:50 pm, DA = 2,914 ft:
Still running the “old� street tune, I had a solo pass on this run. It turned out to be my 8th straight 7.3x run. The timeslip showed 7.313 @ 94.232, 1.623.

**Video #15, Time 10:56 pm, DA = 2,895 ft:
I hot-lapped it around for another bye run, which turned out to be my best of the night. After a pretty good 0.043 light, I finally got into the 20’s, running 7.288 @ 96.863, 1.608. You wrinkle wall fans might like this one.

Video #16, Time 11:06 pm, DA = 2,875 ft:
My last run of the night was against a classic Camaro. I knew he was a tenth or two quicker than me, so I really wanted to cut a light and try to win on a holeshot. Unfortunately, the brakes didn’t hold and the car rolled the beams way early, turning on the red bulb. And then it started to get a little weird down track, so I just aborted it early, before the 330’ mark. The memory of that Vette was still in my mind. I just coasted to an unimpressive 9.228 @ 54.452, 1.678. As expected, the Camaro ran 7.158 @ 99.474, 1.645. And to top it off, he had a 0.602 light, so I had a good chance of beating him to the stripe had I not fouled and then dumped the run.

Video #17, Time 11:29 pm, DA = 2,832 ft:
For the final three runs of the night, I put the track tune back in for Donna. But, this run was doomed from the start. The water box was pretty dry, so she didn’t get a good burnout. The car spun noticeably on the launch, which hurt the 60’ and scrubbed off some ET. It was also a little loose most of the way down, but Donna did a good job of driving through it. She ran 7.369 @ 93.464, 1.701. Her opponent went 10.380 @ 68.355, 2.390.

**Video #18, Time 11:34 pm, DA = 2,823 ft:
On this pass, Donna was racing a motorcycle and she made the best run of the whole night, posting the quickest ET and fastest trap speed. After a 0.070 RT, she ran 7.232 @ 97.209, 1.602. The bike ran 7.785 @ 93.619, 1.994.

**Video #19, Time 11:37 pm, DA = 2,815 ft:
I personally really like this video a lot… the car just shoots out of the hole, and the camera angle captured it well. I can’t tell if it pulls the front tire, but there isn’t a lot of wasted motion on this launch. This tells me that the converter and LCA relocation brackets have helped significantly. Too bad the weather didn’t allow the ETs to be as good as I had hoped for. This run was only 3 minutes after the previous run. Donna and the motorcycle hot-lapped it back and lined up again. The result was pretty much the same as the previous run. She ran 7.268 @ 96.874, 1.610 to the bike’s 7.856 @ 93.420, 2.037.

70MACH1OWNER

Way to go gettin-er-up Don. You just need a little better air than July weather will give to get her into the 6's. I have all the confidence that you will make it.!
Scott

don_w

Thanks Scott. I also think the numbers will come eventually, but I was pretty happy with the initial results from the TC and anti-squat brackets. The car just seems to launch so much better now. I think I watched the launch on video #19 about 20 times last night... hahah ... it just jumps out of the hole.

70MACH1OWNER

Your right....Donna did a great job. Keep up the good work... the both of you. I will be waiting for next weeks vids and a LITTLE better results...If hope!
Scott

don_w

It all depends on the weather. We'll actually be starting three hours earlier this week, so I expect it to be much warmer for a while.

SixtySix

But once I get there after dinner, I'll be your good luck charm

don_w

Bring along some cool dry air with you!

BTW, I think you'll enjoy watching the PSCA cars run that night... I know I will. I expect to see some low 5-sec cars.

don_w

1/8-Mile Drags, Barona, July 28, 2007

Donna and I were privileged to have Tony (SixtySix) and his GF here for part of the races on this night. They arrived during the break, and stuck around to see our last four runs. We really enjoyed meeting them, and hanging out for a while. Can't wait to do it again soon!!

This was by far the warmest weather we’ve seen at the track all year. The high temperature was almost 94 degrees, and it only dropped into the upper 70s after dark, plus it got pretty humid. The dew point was between 55-57 degrees all evening. The density altitude was over 4,400 feet at the time of the first few runs, and only dropped to 3,200 feet later at night. At the time of the first run, the track temperature was a blistering 143 degrees! Yikes!

Donna and I stopped early, but we got in a total of 10 runs on this night. With the exception of three runs with bad launches, all of our passes were in the 7.28 to 7.34 range, and the trap speeds were in the 92-95 mph range. The average for the seven clean runs was 7.31 @ 94.8, which is about the same at last week.

Here are the videos from Friday, July 28 at Barona. The videos marked with the asterisks (**) are my favorites.

Video #1, Time 3:41 pm, DA = 4,429 ft:
Donna’s first run was against a little pickup truck. I’m not sure what’s in it, but it is pretty quick. He went red by a bunch, and Donna cut a 0.090 light. She ran 7.345 @ 95.797, with a 1.656 60-foot time. The truck ran 7.743 @ 89.050, 1.704.

**Video #2, Time 4:00 pm, DA = 4,451 ft:
Donna was paired up against a Hertz GT-H on this run. Unfortunately, the water box was pretty dry, and she didn’t get much of a burnout. Even though she cut a killer 0.012 RT, the car spun hard on the launch, and all it could run then was a 7.499 @ 92.555, 1.789. The GT-H recorded a 9.106 @ 80.222, 2.119.

Video #3, Time 4:24 pm, DA = 4,428 ft:
Run #3 wasn’t much better. After she rolled through the water box, the opponent had some troubles getting started and eventually backed out. As she sat waiting on him, the tires dried up, and again the result was a poor burnout, a spinning launch and a bad run. Donna ran 7.475 @ 94.853, 1.706.

**Video #4, Time 5:31 pm, DA = 4,193 ft:
My first lap of the day was against a Camaro. I went 7.331 @ 95.323, 1.632. The Camaro ran 7.829 @ 86.585, 1.753.

**Video #5, Time 5:47 pm, DA = 4,113 ft:
This was a solo run for me. I cut my best RT of the day (0.020) and it was extremely consistent with the previous run. This was the only run of the day where the camera captured a little air under the front tire. I ran 7.324 @ 95.564, 1.636.

Video #6, Time 5:54 pm, DA = 4,086 ft:
On this pass, I was lined up against a pretty fast Nova. But, I totally screwed up the launch. There was a car stopped at the end of the track, so we had to back out of the staging beams. Somehow, when I pulled the car of out reverse, it went into 3rd gear instead of Drive. Just as I rolled back into the stage beams, and the tree was coming down, I realized it wasn’t in Drive. As I was hitting the loud pedal, I reached down quickly to change the shifter, but my hand slipped and I accidentally pushed it down into 1st. So, as the car is leaving the line, I’m still trying to get it up into “D�. It was just a mess, and the run turned out pretty bad… 7.530 @ 93.775, 1.680. The Nova ran away from me with a 6.667 @ 106.061, 1.592.

Video #7, Time 8:45 pm, DA = 3,378 ft:
Almost 3 hours later, Donna was back behind the wheel. She made her quickest run of the night, but it paled in comparison to the mid 5-sec run of the Fox-body Stang in the left lane. Donna went 7.304 @ 93.172, 1.643. The Fox ran 5.644 @ 124.755, 1.304.

**Video #8, Time 9:22 pm, DA = 3,343 ft:
This was Donna’s last run of the night, and she was up against a 2003 Mach 1. Although not the lowest ET of the night, it was the highest trap speed. She ran 7.318 @ 95.905, 1.639. The Mach ran a 9.011 @ 80.436, 2.122.

**Video #9, Time 10:02 pm, DA = 3,263 ft:
On this run, I was up against a “Drag Bug�… a pretty darn quick VW. I took a stab at the tree, and went red. But, it turned out to be the quickest run of the night, as well as the best 60-foot time. I ran 7.280 @ 95.261, 1.603. Herbie went 7.232 @ 93.174, 1.511.

Video #10, Time 10:28 pm, DA = 3,200 ft:
This was my last run of the night. After cutting a good 0.043 light, I ran 7.306 @ 92.559, 1.623. My opponent went 7.836 @ 88.385, 1.759.

70MACH1OWNER

I see a new tennis shoe coming to market soon. "Air Whitaker" (spelling)
Scott

don_w

And we'll only market it to old, fat guys...

SixtySix

Sonic Blue with M/T tread

70MACH1OWNER

don_w

Preferably slicks