hey guys! i just got home from racing a 98 3000gt VR-4. i lost! what the heck? they run like 13.5 stock. he is running 14.5 lbs of boost (these are twin turbo and awd) and he has some blow off valve and a K&N filter. he wouldnt say if he is running anything else.

i raced him from a 10 or 15 mph roll, from a stop he was in front of me, and like 30 mph roll. he beat me by at least a car every time. why? here is my setup. when i got home my header bolts had all come loose. but that wouldnt make me loose would it?

350 bored .030 over
Flat top Pistons
Trick Flow 23 degree heads
2.02 1.6 valves
TrickFlow Roller Cam
292/296 .528/.539 110
Edelbrock RPM Air Gap Manifold
Holley 650 DP
31 front discharge nozzle
35 rear discharge nozzle
67 front jets, 73 rear jets
blue pump cams #2 hole
2.73 rear gears
shifting at 6k rpm via Hurst Dual Gate

 

Huge exhaust....um yeah it slowed you down. Fixing an exhaust leak gave me a "butt dyno" improvement. Fix that exhaust leak and do some tuning. you should be around 325+ Horsepower, probably closer to around 375. Header leaks suck badly....very badly.

 

well depending on what kinda psi a stock 3000GT pushes, it wouldnt be suprising that he whooped you. they are 300hp stock, awd so he wil get you off the line and continue to pull. imo 325 would not be enough(if thats what your pushing)

 

I would say that the 2.73 gears with that cam would be holding you back quite a bit.Also, what converter are you running and what type of exhaust do you have?

 

wow didnt even notice the gears...yeah they are holding you back....3.42+ or go home

 

Definately time to swap gears. 2.73... what are you kidding? Those should be in grocery getters! LOL

 

I hope your rearend has a Posi and you're on drag radials. Once he turns up the boost, it's hard to tell if you're running a 13 second car or a 10 second car. Remember the Buick GNs and T-types.

 

yea i figured the gears ruined it for me. i have some 3.73 gears laying here brand new just havent got to put them in yet. and yes its posi but no on the drag radials.

i have hooker 2055s with the air tube capped (smog and AC delete), no cat, a cutout, and a hooker aerochamber muffler all 3 inch.

i have a b&m 2400 or 2800 stall convertor. i dont know how to use it though. i held the brake but at 1500 rpm it started to spin the tires. my brakes suck anyway i think the cam gives me low vacuum so i may need a reserve tank.

325 hp? to the wheels? better be closer to 375 to the wheels. i will be disappointed if it isnt. i was thinking i would get 360-375 out of this combo. i know i wont with the gears or the leak.

i dunno where in the race the leak opened up probably after the first 6k shift because i was fine then. after the shift i was still in the powerband at 3k but it took forever to hit another shift and he pulled a car between the time my rpms climbed and we shut down at 80 or 85.

at first i held my own i thought i would have him after the first shift ( i was counting ong him not reaching boost right away and i would be in my powerband which is like 3k to 6k) but i lost. oh well i guess i know the guy from a local car forum so i am going to fix my leak and get the gears in and take another stab at him. any suggestions?

 

Go to a shop, put it on the chassis dyno and get your baseline numbers.

 

The 3.73 gears along with some sticky tires should give you all you need and then some to make up one car length. I think your converter is to tight for your cam. If you have the $ I'd say get one of those 9.5 lock up converters that stalls around 3500 rpm.

 

you act like a VR4 cant be made fast.........you make enough power to go mid 12's or so....

that VR4 must have had a lot done to go that quick.

nice runs

 

With that much horsepower to the rear wheels, and after you swap to either 3.55's or 3.73's, you'll annihilate him on the streets (provided you can get that power to the ground)...

 

i am not trying to say they cant be fast. im saying why am i not faster? he says he runs 13.4 @ 15psi but he has a manual boost controller cant he crank it up if he wants?

so i need the gears put in i know that much. i am going to get some of those spliting header bolts so i dont drop more out. also does the carb sound like its set up right? my plugs say its lean but the exhaust burns my eyes (maybe because i dont have a cat?)

do you have any suggestions to get it running mid 12s like i thought it would? i really appreciate the help sorry if i sound cocky or disrespectful i dont mean to.

Kevin

 

gears should make a big difference, but even with 2.73's from a roll, i would like to think you would have came out on top after 90 or from a higher roll speed like 55-60mph

 

The Gears should get you .3 to .5 in the 1/4 a better converter could get you another .3. You should not have touched the carb with out baselining it either at the track or on a dyno.What is your total timing set at?Also make sure that the butterflies are fully opened when pedal is to the floor. I picked up almost a full second with my first street strip car because mine were only opening up about 3/4.

 

i guess after the gears i will go to the track and lay down some times maybe even dyno it. but i know i dont have a lot of money to keep dynoing the car every time i mess with the carb. is that even going to show? i dont know how dynos work i just know it sounds expensive haha

we only raced to 80 i think and thats the time i was trapped behind him and i wasnt going to rear end the guy or anything. that time (from a slight roll) i think i would have won had i not been behind him. but the gears probably would have screwed me anyway.

keep the suggestions/comments coming i can use the help.

 

3000gt's are pigs. they weigh 3700+lbs. they run low 14's high 13's stock, and they arnt very comprable to lc2's. there is not an aftermarket for the 3000 like there is for the buick. get some gears!!

 

Too bad you're not closer to Cleveland. One of our local shops is having a Dyno Day on Saturday, $20 1st pull and $15 additional pulls.

 

i went to the track tonight and guess who was there.... yep thats right the vr4!

he ran 13.184 @ 104.43 1.9 60 ft

i replaced the header bolts with stage 8 bolts and it still leaked so i took a closer examination with the car running and a big chunk of the header gasket was gone so i replaced that and now she does alright. i got the money together to get the gears put in now i just need axle bearings and seals and i can take it to the guy who is going to do it. so within the next 2 weeks i am going to get the gears installed, dyno it, and make a few passes at the track. wish me luck!

Kevin

 

my friend had an N/A with a stage 3 spec, fipk K&N intake, and some suspension... it was a "pig", but it ran 14.8s and the VR-4's have 100 more horsepower, and if you have ever been to 3sx.org, there is a lot more aftermaret than you think... *not trying to be a jerk or anything, im still new, but it's there...* he never got to the track on the bottle (100 dry shot) but it was fast! i agree about the gears, but don't underestimate TT AWD...

 

yea that guy is thinking the N/A version or that they are heavy like pigs. i dont think 13.1 is a "pig" thats pretty quick for 3700lbs! anyway when you hear TT AWD in the same sentence its not too pretty. imagine if they were 2800lbs with driver. now that would be crazy!

so right now its gears gears gears. if i had em and didnt loose the bolts i have no doubt i would have stomped him.

2.73 gears im only in 2nd at almost 80mph so 3.73 will help me reach the powerband faster and use it quicker not slowly climb from 3k to 6k i should pull him like crazy.

granted 12.5 and 13.1 isnt a huge gap but .001 is enough to win at the track!

he says he pulled on a stock 00 T/A T56 which sounds far fetched but the 3000gt vr4 is twin turbo, awd, 6-speed, running 14.5 psi of boost so all and all put that in a lighter car and you have a sleeper thats for sure!

 

Wow, that's a lousy 60 ft. for AWD! My buddies Talon does 12.8's @ 105 on a 1.6-1.7 60 ft. and that's on junk radials.

It's not surprising he pulled a 00 T56 T/A. A T56 LS1 would be hard pressed to cut a 1.9 60 ft., especially if it happened on the street.

 

why is that? i seen a drag radial bolt on LS1 T/A doing 1.7's. a bone stocker should be able to hit 1.8's EASY

yeah that is... its a huge gap. i raced a C6 vette that did 13.88 to my 13.89, and that was about a car and half difference

and Vr4's are heavy. their awd system is heavy and sucks up power, so not all of that 320hp stock is hitting the ground, but they can still run some decent times. a LS1 TA would rape one from any dig or roll, stock for stock

 

Depends on the situation! The track I spend most of my time on is rarely prepped. My other buddies '00 SS M6 has run a best of 13.4 @ 108 with a 2.25 60 ft. on this crappy track, on the original tires. The same car at Norwalk, the weekend prior, on a real track, ran a 13.15 @ 107.5 with a 2.01 60 ft. On the street, my car eats the SS, up to about 65-70 MPH and my 60ft has been 1.92 of late, on the aforementioned crappy track. Sure a DR LS1 is going to 60ft. better but most of what I run into around here is on factory rubber and that means certain death in the stoplight wars.

 

Agreed that 12.5 and 13.1 is a huge gap, probably about 6 cars but 13.88 to a 13.89 would look like a tie. The vette must of had roughly a .15 better reaction time, if you lost by a car and a half.