ParisTNDude

Ok, my PayPal account has about $800 in it that the spouse doesn't know about. I run very consistent 12.13s or so at 118.xx. I ran a single 11.99 run at Beech Bend some time back and have never been able to do it again...I'm almost believing that was a fluke run.

My car: 2006 LS2, 3LT base, 6A, with 31K miles on it...pristine! Still gets close to 30 mpg on the highway at 70 mph. I'm using 5w 30 Mobile 1 oil.

My mods: Fast 102 (unported), 1 3/4" LG long tubes, HF cats, LG Xpipe, Z06 NPP mufflers (over the axle necked down to the 2 1/2 inch at the X pipe), Vmax ported throttlebody, Vararam intake, Dyno tuned to 393 whp and 400 tq, I've been running MT streets on 17 X10.5" C5 Z06 wheels and traction is not a problem (wasn't a problem on run flats either).

Staging: I stage with bottom light just lit, torque to about 2K rpm, release the brake and punch throttle to the floor. I have run 1.7X 60 foot times. Reaction times usually .3 and under. I've tried taking everything out of the car within reason to reduce weight and it didn't seem to matter much. I hold the traction control button down long enough to turn all nannys off.

I'm still running OEM plugs and thought NGK or some other plug might give me a minor boost and others have said it's hard to beat the stock iridium plugs??? They sell race gas at Memphis International Raceway my favorite track and closest. Thought I might try adding a few gallons and see if that makes a difference. Porting the throttlebody is an option, but dreading taking it off again.

Looking at the 1/4 mile fast list, my car is comparable to others. Looks like the majority of better running LS2s have either gears or a convertor. I don't want to do either of those and I don't want to do more than bolt-ons.

If anyone has a suggestion to help me meet my goal, I would certainly appreciate it. If someone has a part for sale that would help let me know.

JB

debo

I think you have enough to reach your goal without adding more mods from what I've seen here.

schizcat

I wouldn't go with new plugs. The OEM plugs are fine and you wouldn't increase power with them. The only other item I can see is getting the FAST 102 ported. You would have to account for a tune after that mod (or any other major mod). Good luck. Let us know how it works out.

BAKnBLK2010

You are going to have to put a converter in it to get to where you want to be....Also it's kind of a stretch that you can foot brake the car to 2000 rpm with the stock converter.

subfloor@centurytrans

You're doing two things wrong that once corrected should let you easily knock over a tenth off your ET.

The first is that you're doing what's called shallow staging which normally slows you down by about a tenth. Instead, after prestaging the car make sure you creep forward only enough to just barely light the bottom bulb.

The second is to leave at just off idle. The stock converter works in a somewhat counterintuitive manner in which the higher you launch the more timing gets pulled on the initial hit. You'll get a better 60ft and ET if you step on the gas just enough to hear the pitch of the engine change.

HOXXOH

I never ran better than a 1.85 60' with a stock converter, yet ran lots of 11.90's. Yes, it's a LS3, but at the time only had Z06 manifolds/cats/h-pipe and stock manifold vs your headers and FAST.

Since you won't do the converter, then short of doing an EWP or a small balancer, the only thing I could suggest is eliminating the cats.

Or you could just wait for some really good air.

Just for reference, my PB with the stock converter was 11.89, the very first pass with the Yank 3200 a week later was 11.60 without tuning changes. Cost was under $900 doing my own work.

I launched at 1200 and only turned off TC.

ParisTNDude

Yeah, with the drag radials on, I have slid the front tires trying to reach a little more RPM. However, when I was successful, I had my best 60 foot times. I would rather not get deeper in mods, like the converter, than I could remove in the event I trade or sell the car and a converter would cost me more than I have to put into it. I'm positive the converter would cut several 10ths off my ETs. Thanks for the advice.

I have never heard the 1st of the suggestions you made. Not exactly sure how that works except that you shorten the track by an additional 6 inches...lol. But, that's exactly what I"m going to try and see if it makes a difference.

I have tried all sorts of RPM starts including starting off idle and don't remember that it helped, but that too is something I will consciously try.

I'm hoping to get to test and tune this Thursday night. I will certainly let you all know how it works out. Thanks to all of you for your great advice.

subfloor@centurytrans

How it works is by increasing your rollout. The timer doesn't actually start running until the bottom light goes out so by staging shallow you're kinda getting a rolling start. I know it's only a few inches but trust me on this one as I've raced in a similarly powered car and I picked up a full tenth in back to back passes made 10 mins apart.

ParisTNDude

Z06 headers flow pretty good from what I hear. With the mods you had running the 11.90s, was that with a tune? Those are awesome times. I might look at eliminating the cats...that's something I hadn't thought of before. Wonder where I could find a pipe to replace the car with...do they make such a thing?

I just looked...you are holding down the number one spot on the LS3 fast list....impressive!

ParisTNDude

So, you're saying break the bottom light and then roll forward a few inches but not enough to put the bottom light out? I have been staging to just barely break the second staging light with both of the bottom lights lit which is what I thought was called "shallow staging"?

subfloor@centurytrans

Sorry, I misread your post. I thought you wrote "with just the bottom light lit" which would have meant you were deep staging.

My bad, you're doing it correctly.

subfloor@centurytrans

The other thing that will help is to run Hoosier drag radials. They're lighter, shorter (which will help your gearing a little bit) and they hook a lot better than MTs. Even though you said you're not having any traction issues, they'll still help shave your ET.

HOXXOH

Pretty sure LG makes an off road pipe to use in place of the cats.

I'm pretty weight conscious too. Like subfloor said, Hoosiers are lighter and so are base brakes. GTO spare wheels with M&H skinnies on the front will cut about 50# and the passenger seat weighs 52#. When you're in the high 11's, 100# is good for .11 seconds. Maybe it sounds like I go to extremes, but I removed the cigar lighter, the plastic door handles, and the chicklets. Since the rollbar added 57#, cutting weight elsewhere has been necessary. On an average raceday I don't bother too much with the weight, but if the weather looks promising for some lower than normal DA and a new PB, then I get more serious. I've also been accused of taking an enema before racing to cut weight.

If the low fuel light doesn't come on before you leave the track, you were carrying too much gas. BTW, anything higher than 95 octane will probably slow you down, unless you have lots of KR.

dicky

HOXXOH beat me to it, I was gonna say skinnies on the front. If you wanna do it with stock wheels then try to cut out all the weight you can. Losing Rotational weight seems to help more so maybe light weight rotors.

CI GS

Here ya go:
http://www.summitracing.com/int/part...model/corvette
Guaranteed to get you in the 11s no matter how you stage or launch!
You'll even have enough left over that you could buy a few gallons of race gas so you can drop the big jets in it and let 'er eat...

CI GS

Another old trick that can be worth a few hundredths is to inflate your front tires to around the max recommended pressure (for the tire) to reduce rolling resistance.
Also, remember that you want to run as much pressure as you can in the rears without compromising how it hooks, for the same reason (reduced rolling resistance). If you're running those MT streets with too low a pressure, that's going to adversely affect your MPH and ET (as well as your handling).
If you haven't done so already, I would suggest that you experiment with higher tire pressures.

Joe_G

GTO skinnies and taking your passenger seat out will give you .15 consistently, accomplishing your goal and will fit in your budget.

As Subfloor stated, shallow staging like you do absolutely gives you a rolling start that matters.

When you are ready to move on to your next goal post up and we will give you more advice and spend more of your money. The next round will cost a bit of money and consists of a 4000 stall converter but will give you 10 second passes like Theofel and Hoxxoh have accomplished.

BTW keeping secrets from your wife isn't the best plan of action long term. But I guess you asked for drag racing tips, not marital advice.

ParisTNDude

Good advice, except for the enema thing...lol...but, if I could lose a few pounds, it might help. I've been looking for GTO spare tire rims and tires, but they, too, seem a little expensive. It would be nice to install mods that help you feel the extra performance on the street as well as the track.

Thanks for your advice as well...looking for GTO spares. Can you use the GTO spare tires or does it require drag tires? I have to drive 250 miles round trip to the track and doubt the GTO spares were built for 120 mph runs.

Hiding $ from the wife was an attempt at humor. She has her personal money as well as myself and as long as it doesn't hurt the household budget, neither of us cares how the other spends money. I buy and sell car, coins and musical stuff often which funds my junk. Thanks for the feedback...you guys are a wealth of appreciated knowledge.

Joe_G

I've been driving the temporary spares 160 miles to/fro the track for years now, they last a pretty long time but they aren't great in the rain, neither are the slicks, so you have to really slow down.

Your results may vary.

And I was just jibbing you on hiding the costs...lol but I have a mad money fund as well so that makes sense.

CI GS

I've never driven with GTO spares on the street, but I've made a number of passes down the 1/8 mile with them at anywhere from 118 to 125 MPH on my race car, before I switched to M&H skinnies. They handled perfectly, paired with 33X14 ET Radial Slicks.
BTW: One thing to remember when bolting them on is that the GTO wheel's bolt circle is very slightly smaller than the Vette's (due to the fact that the GTO is an Australian built "metric" car), so make sure that you tighten them down slowly and evenly, so that they don't get cocked slightly and wobble.