17 second quarter mile... wtf?

[flosho]

My roommate went to the track today, and ran a best of 17.6 ET. He has a 98 GSX w/~100k on it. It is an automatic but why was this thing sooo doggy today?? Temps were around 90 degrees and his car is stock except for a cone filter...WTF

Anyways I'm just trying to help him out, any suggestions on what to check first? Maybe what could allow this to happen? I know there is some oil by the plugs, not IN THE plug wells, but on top of the head, but under the plastic plug wire covers.

He ran a 17.6 w/ OD off and was in the 19 second range with it off?? But he didn't even get into the 16s. Almost lost to a honda insight!!!


Any suggestions??

 

[diablos991]

Boost leak test. http://www.vfaq.com/mods/ICtester.html

Compression test. http://www.dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/compression.htm

Does he have an aftermarket boost gauge?

 

[flosho]

No aftermarket boost gauge...

Maybe we'll pull the car into the garage and do a compression test and a boost leak test tonite..

 

[diablos991]

You should have some sort of accurate boost gauge to do the boost leak test. You wouldn't want to put too much pressure into the system.

 

[flosho]

Well we don't have the stuff for the boost test but can do that soon. The stock gauge seems to be showing its building boost pretty quickly.

 

[phillabaum03]

Well tell your friend not to feel bad. My friend went to the track in his 98 gsx with evo 3, all intercooler piping, full exhaust, safc, and 660s and was hoping to run 13s.. Well he ran 16.2. Its also a auto and would bog off the start and never recover.

 

[president95]

The stock gauge seems to be showing its building boost pretty quickly.

The stock gauge is basically worthless, completely unreliable and useless.

 

[flosho]

So whats the cure for the slushbox bogging syndrom? Higher stall tq converter?

 

[andytalon]

If the car is bogging, you most likely have a major boost leak. Do a boost leak test, make sure it can hold atleast 18psi if not 20 psi. When I say hold, it should not loose pressure at all!

 

[RedTurboEclipse]

It is an automatic, personally I am not surprised. You said it is basically stock, 90degree temps, and auto. I would imagine that is normal. The launch I'm sure is killing the times. Perhaps I believe its called a torque converter that autos use, and of course a bunch of other extreme DSM modifications will help.

 

[antlip]

I also have an automatic and had a similar problem. I use to run 16.5 and higher with my 1995 gsx. This was with a BOV and intake. You will have to learn to power brake at the light and launch it at its peak to make a good pass. If i did this i ran 15.5 wtih the intake only. Dont let people tell you that its slow because its an automatic. I have some work done to mine now just totally raping a 14 second gst now. Give this a shot and good luck.
.

I also wanted to add about the torque convertor. Im still on the stock one. A higher one is obviously better and will make you faster. It will allow you to stlah to a higher rpm and launch harder.

 

[kenamond]

Well we don't have the stuff for the boost test but can do that soon. The stock gauge seems to be showing its building boost pretty quickly.

You can build boost quickly with major boost leaks. And you won't be able to use the stock gauge for any boost leak tests. You need numbers on the gauge.

 

[xveganxcowboyx]

I agree. The stocker is useless and a boost leak is a likely culprit.

 

[nightspeed87]

automatics..... Not for racing in my opinion plain and simple....
My 5speed 1g n/t ran better than 17s so yea thats slow.
My friend had a auto and had a torque converter and will make you feel like a manual
because its slams into each gear so hard ! Try that out maybe..

 

[TurboSportAWD]

automatics..... Not for racing in my opinion plain and simple....

Maybe not for autocross, but an automatic is ideal for bracket racing. I have a buddy who has almost the exact same setup as I do except he has a manual transmission and we're pretty much dead even. So don't let people tell you autos suck because you just need to learn to launch it properly and you'll make consistantly quick passes all day long.

 

[Jeff822]

automatics..... Not for racing in my opinion plain and simple....
My 5speed 1g n/t ran better than 17s so yea thats slow.
My friend had a auto and had a torque converter and will make you feel like a manual
because its slams into each gear so hard ! Try that out maybe..

Hmm, seems like most of the drag cars i see have automatic trannys and are running somewhere in the 8's and 9's, am i missing something?

 

[daren_p]

automatics..... Not for racing in my opinion plain and simple....

Hmm, thats funny how many fast cars do you see nowadays (10 seconds or less) that the driver does their own manuel shifting

Follow everyones suggestions, boost leak test, compression test, get a proper boost gauge, etc. How is he lanching, is he on the break and just punching the gas when the light goes green? If so, don't do that. Have one foot on the brake and the other on the gas, rev it up and hold it at a higher rpm (say 3000 or so, not sure what works best on these autos). When the light goes green, let go of the brake and pin the gas. This way it won't bog out on the lanch.

 

[bushy]

automatics..... Not for racing in my opinion plain and simple....

Havent you ever seen the old muscle cars? Many low ET cars are automatic. You just need to know how to set them up, and you have a rocket.

 

[flosho]

I asked him if he power braked, meaning pin the brakes and give it gas to just before it takes off... He said he was doing that, but I don't think he was doing it properly..

This was also his first time racing at any track.

 

[GSTBlack95]

I asked him if he power braked, meaning pin the brakes and give it gas to just before it takes off... He said he was doing that, but I don't think he was doing it properly..

This was also his first time racing at any track.

Thats the probelm right there, I went to the track my first time ever, I ran a 16.8, that same day at the end of the day, with many passes under my belt I hit a 15.3....and they were all around 90 mph trap speed.

 

[talonTSIDriver]

For a stock auto, thats probably somewhat right considering the engine is probably not running at 100%. I am sure he's got some small boost leaks. Fix boost leaks, do the regular maintanance stuff like new plugs (NGK's BPR6's) and then try.

 

[pariahboardshop]

maybe i didnt catch it, but what was the 60ft time? just curious

 

[brute]

Hmm, seems like most of the drag cars i see have automatic trannys and are running somewhere in the 8's and 9's, am i missing something?

Hmm, thats funny how many fast cars do you see nowadays (10 seconds or less) that the driver does their own manuel shifting

We could get in a huge discussion, but why? If someone has a car and they like driving it, let them. If I had an automatic, and I loved it, who are any of you to tell me yours is better just because you put it in gear physically? And if I had a standard, why would I tell people to sell their autos to get standards?

It's personal preference. Sure there's lots of fast cars from both transmission realms. I mean, Shep is in the high-7's and he still shifts himself...

 

[kenamond]

We could get in a huge discussion, but why? If someone has a car and they like driving it, let them. If I had an automatic, and I loved it, who are any of you to tell me yours is better just because you put it in gear physically? And if I had a standard, why would I tell people to sell their autos to get standards?

It's personal preference. Sure there's lots of fast cars from both transmission realms. I mean, Shep is in the high-7's and he still shifts himself...

That wasn't the issue here at all. Folks were defending automatics. You just need to learn how to launch them.

 

[Grimis]

dont feel bad, i ran a 17.6 my first run, but by the end of the night was running low 16's and got one pass of 15.6 all around 90 trap speeds. My problem was for starters did't know how to launch the car. Got that down packed now. Do as the others stated, leak down test and such, Came to find out on my both o2 sensors where shot to hell and back, i had a 1 1/4 hole in my down pipe and 2 bad injectors.... It wasn't fun to find them...

And dont forget about Russ Coxe ran 9's in his auto..