Well.....
Before I go into how the car felt, performed, e.t.c. let me give some raw info to kind of set up the day.
Where:
Orlando Speedworld, Orlando Fl ... Temp: Aprox 89-90 degrees. Track Temp, Approx 130 degrees, Humidity was great in morning but by the time we ran (approx noon) it was noticeable.
Vehicle: Project Midnight Run. 2007 Shelby GT500. Mods: Whipple 3.4 17 lbs, pump gas, street tune, 3.73's , Kooks Long Tubes with catted X with Borla cat back, JLT True Cold Air CF intake, 60#rs, SCT tune, LFP Shelby GT500 SS hood
WEIGHT 2900 without driver, FULL tank of gas ( I know....), 255 lb driver(me), All thsi on Nitto DR's .... Oh and did i mention 3.73's? lol
Let me start by saying that the car pulls like a beeyotch and the tune feels scrong with no break ups or dead/flat spots. the exhaust sounds incredible at WOT but very subdued at idle and cruising speeds.
Ok, now that that is out of the way.... the car with it's set up, simply can not get enough traction to have an effective run. It was SOOOO frustrating. I would lunch at 2k and ease it out and then it would actually do well in first because I would ROLL into it but when it comes time to get into 2nd, you can not do the same thing or the run will completely be a waste. So each and every time I got into 2nd, the tires literally either just went up in smoke or they shook pretty hard and spun, gripped, spun, gripped e.t.c... When I got the car in 3rd, it pulled very hard and effortlessly, same for 4th. I noticed that the car would go through the traps at about 62-6300.
Now, WITH THIS SET UP, I personally feel that 3:55's would be perfect. I feel that 3.73's are a tiny bit too much with stock height tires.
Here is my best explanation of this, and remember --I am saying this concerning THIS SET UP. Ok, when you have a car that weighs this much (and yes I know the differences between the weight of this car and my 03 Cobra and I know some say geez lay off the whole heavy pig thing, but guys, I just cant...) it is in my opinion all about weight transfer (when launching) and hopefully using the tq that the car has in this set up. Now the car made about 640 ft lbs of tq on the dyno with same exact set up we had Saturday, just a little bit cooler the day of the dyno.
With the weight of the car (2900 plus Full tank plus 255 lb driver) at about 4300 lbs.... It is my opinion that having 3'73's makes the scenario worse with stock height tires. I think that 3.55's or the stock gear would be so much better (with stock height tires) for launching And going down the track. The drop in RPM's in each shift would get a bit more in the peak TQ area and I think would help the car a lot. Not to mention the effect on stretching out each gear a little longer I would think do well for traction.
I'd like to know if anyone has run 3.55's or the stock gears besides Lethal's 500 run yet and what their experience is with them. I think as we go on we will see more people with 3.55's and or stock gears.
I tried all i could to stop 2nd from spinning on each run but just couldn't do it. I must have ran the cat at least 6 times. I think only 2 were clean passes. An 11.0 at 130 and an 11.35 at about 129ish. I beleive the car in a cooler setting with tires that can actually hold and a decent launch the car will def go 10.6 - 10.7 at about 133-134. I had 1.80 60'ft's. with better tires and 1.70's (which are def obtainable) the car would drop 2 tenths right there. Drop 100lbs of gas and a NOT smoking hot blower that you couldn't even touch, and there has to be another 1-2 tenths right there.
I realize that is not some staggering deal, to be able to run 10.60's in this car, but at least then it will be where she should be.
Man.. I can't help but to think what this running gear would do in a car that is 4-500 lbs lighter. Geez... we will have some video stuff up soon, and the entire install VIDEO of PROJECT MIDNIGHT RUN will be done soon. It will be an awesome video and I hope you guys enjoy it.
Thanks.
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