Test&Tune:Coolant bypass

[sothpaw]

Went to Vintage Thunder at Cecil County Drag way
in MD today...

All I can say is WOW! I scored two runs of,
get this, 13.29 and 13.3s !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My previous best from this track (2 years ago)
was 13.66 s (out of 6 tries).

All I changed in the 2 years was 1)SLP claw
for air induction 2)coolant bypass and brand
new fuel filter, 2 days before.

So I can tell you all definitively that the
bypass really works wonders. 2 weeks ago
I ran at another MD drag strip, and my best
time was 13.6 with the SLP claw installed
already. That run was 2.2s to 60 feet and
11.4 s out from 60feet to the 1/4mi.

My best 2 today, when the tires hooked up,
featured 2.1 s (60feet), 11.29 s (60 to 1/4mi),
and 2.17 s( 60ft), 11.13 s (60 to 1/4 mi).

So you can see that in 2 weeks my time went down
by .3 s from one strip to another. I think
the strips are comparable except for the launch
pad--Cecil's was sticker in the right lane today.

What a blast, racing other 'vettes. I got massacered by a '96 grand sport running 12.09 vs
that 13.3 of mine and I loved it!

Time is slowing down for me in the cockpit now,
on that 3rd run (13.3 w/11.13 60 to 1/4 time) I
shifted at the right time each shift, perfectly.
The first run, the 13.29 one, I overreved the
1-2 shift and that probably cost me .05 or more.

I think I can make this car do 13.2 if I did everything right, without changing anything.

I think 2800 rpm for launch was too much, at least in the slippery left lane.

Summary: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE COOLANT BYPASS
AND A CLEAN FUEL FILTER TO ANY LT1/LT4 OWNERS WHO
WANT A LITTLE PERFORMANCE AT LOW COST!!!!!!!!!!!
IT IS THE VERY FIRST MOD YOU SHOULD DO TO THIS
CAR!!!!!!!

 

[rrubel]

Congrats, Andy, that's GREAT!

Remember, though, that today was probably 15 degrees cooler than last time at Capitol Raceway - that makes a difference. Also, didn't we install a cooler thermostat?

I know some of my recent mods have made a difference - I'm breaking traction in first much more often by accident than before.
[RICHR]

 

[Edmond]

I think with just a couple of more mods sothpaw will be in the high 12's.

Congrats on the excellent runs. Did you catch what kind of work that GS had done?

 

[sothpaw]

Rich,
It wasn't the day time temp as much as it
was me controlling how hot the car got
before launch. We had long lines with
lots of waiting. I was careful to put
the hood up and use the clutch to coast in
line, and not let the car over heat.

My first run (13.29 s), I launched with
178 oil temp. Shot up to 195 after the
run!

I think to launch above 200 oil temp
is a waste and I wouldn't ever do it again.

--There were 2 Grand Sports. I looked at
one with the hood open (I think this is
the one I raced), he had a stock looking air
box and coolant bypass. Tires were race
tires on all 4, hand there was a cool looking
hose to take heat away from the front brake caliper area and out a hole where the side
marker lights should be (right in front of
the tire).
--I really am not sure what he did to get the
power, it was not supercharging. My guess is
rear gears, unless nitrous is easy to hide
under hood.

 

[rrubel]

I believe with nitrous you'd have a different throttle body with a pair of nipples for gas intake. The bottle itself is usually inside the car. Have you seen your cousin Dyan's Pantera? Steve and one of his uncles put a bottle on it.
[RICHr]

 

[fastglass95]

Those are some good times, "Sothpaw", for an LT1.
I take it you had the 1.6 roller rockers on two years ago?

If you really want some lower E.T.'s, get a hold of a set of 4:09, or at least 3:73 rear-end gears, and some drag radials and "Hang-On"

Note: Isn't that fuel filter a real P.I.T.A. to get at??? ad At least on my 96 is was. Now that I've done one, the next will be alot easier (but I'm not in any hurry!)