dhouston Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Hey all - I got a great chance to run my stock '08 Shelby GT500 down the track in Commerce, GA over the weekend on Friday night. It was really hot, in the mid 90's and humid. The track was a bit slick as well. Ran 7 passes and consistently paced in best times around 13.9. I really thought the car would do high 12's to low 13's. But couldnt get there. I think a lot of it had to do with my driving. I was not real hard on the car coming out and also had the traction control on. It seemed the car would do fine after I got started and the supercharger really wound up good through midway to end of the runs. It was a lot of fun, but the times were a bit disapointing. So, I was wanting to see what others here thought. I have heard that the air cleaner may be an issue as it may not be allowing the computer to send enough fuel flow? Or maybe my clutch is slipping off the block? It didnt take off like it should and shuddered at times. But any other suggestions on what may be a miss here (other than the Driver ! Be easy on me.) Should I take it and have it looked at? It is all stock right now, so I am considering the Filter replacement, exhaust and possibly Tune. Any input is greatly appreciated. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formervettowner Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Hey all - I got a great chance to run my stock '08 Shelby GT500 down the track in Commerce, GA over the weekend on Friday night. It was really hot, in the mid 90's and humid. The track was a bit slick as well. Ran 7 passes and consistently paced in best times around 13.9. I really thought the car would do high 12's to low 13's. But couldnt get there. I think a lot of it had to do with my driving. I was not real hard on the car coming out and also had the traction control on. It seemed the car would do fine after I got started and the supercharger really wound up good through midway to end of the runs. It was a lot of fun, but the times were a bit disapointing. So, I was wanting to see what others here thought. I have heard that the air cleaner may be an issue as it may not be allowing the computer to send enough fuel flow? Or maybe my clutch is slipping off the block? It didnt take off like it should and shuddered at times. But any other suggestions on what may be a miss here (other than the Driver ! Be easy on me.) Should I take it and have it looked at? It is all stock right now, so I am considering the Filter replacement, exhaust and possibly Tune. Any input is greatly appreciated. Dave What were your 60ft times? What was your speed at the end of the 1/4 mile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhouston Posted August 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 What were your 60ft times? What was your speed at the end of the 1/4 mile? 60FT = 2.348 1/4 = 13.95 1/4 MPH = 105 By the way, there was another '07 GT500 there that night too, he had mods, pulley, tune, slicks, etc. He was only running 13.3 and really thrashing his car. Big burnouts, etc. Wondering how much the heat affected us??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluscher Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 60FT = 2.348 1/4 = 13.95 1/4 MPH = 105 By the way, there was another '07 GT500 there that night too, he had mods, pulley, tune, slicks, etc. He was only running 13.3 and really thrashing his car. Big burnouts, etc. Wondering how much the heat affected us??? Well, seems like the driver has an awful lot to do with it even with the heat. Your 60' times are real slow..........so you're not getting off the line. Even on stock tires with the traction control off you should be able to pick up a half second if you come out of the box well (tire chirp only while squeezing the throttle hard). This is is quite an art, especially w/ the wheel hop issue. Your mph even with the slow 60' time suggests the hp is there, and it's a matter of getting the power to the ground and pointed in the right direction...........down the track. Two simple mods...u/l control arms and drag radials will help immensely in bringing your times down, even before getting into CAI, tune, etc. By eliminating wheel hop and gaining traction w/tires you should be able to get into the high 12s without doing any of the "conventional" mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhouston Posted August 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Well, seems like the driver has an awful lot to do with it even with the heat. Your 60' times are real slow..........so you're not getting off the line. Even on stock tires with the traction control off you should be able to pick up a half second if you come out of the box well (tire chirp only while squeezing the throttle hard). This is is quite an art, especially w/ the wheel hop issue. Your mph even with the slow 60' time suggests the hp is there, and it's a matter of getting the power to the ground and pointed in the right direction...........down the track. Two simple mods...u/l control arms and drag radials will help immensely in bringing your times down, even before getting into CAI, tune, etc. By eliminating wheel hop and gaining traction w/tires you should be able to get into the high 12s without doing any of the "conventional" mods. Yea, I knew I didnt get off to any great start's at all. I hadn't drag raced in quite a while, so the Driver was definitely one, if not the factor in my poor times. I guess I have a good goal now to get my times down. Thanks for the tips on things to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCMO-GT500 Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 these things just hate the heat, I have a stage two evo setup, and barely killed a mildy modded vette yesterday with a second gear run. Very hot and humid in kansas city right now, and it really makes a difference. To me it felt like I lost 50 -60 hp or more. Also work on the 0 - 60. Some folks claim that taking a tenth off of that takes 2 tenths off of the 1/4 mile et. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msy Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 I was at Mustang Week a couple of weeks ago and at Darlington Dragway there were a couple of mildly moded GT500's running low twelves on stock tires. I spoke to the owner of one. His mods were pulley, Cai, tune and long tubes. No suspension mods. This was his first time ever at a track and he consistently ran 12.05 Temp was 95 and humidity was the same. I would look beyond the weather for those speeds. A stock 2008 GT will run high 13's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang5 Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Hi Dave, When I took my 100% stock 07' GT 500 to the drags for the first time I was also a bit disappointed. Luckily I can clear up your problem right here. I did four runs that day. The first two runs are as follows. 1) 13.72 @ 104 2) 13.485 @105.63 The first two runs were traction control on. The next two were traction control off: 3) 13.04 @ 109.1 4) 13.02 @ 110.6 You can see a huge difference between the two runs. Basically the traction control stole 50-60 horses from me. Now I'm no drag strip pro, but I usually hit the strip about 4 times a year. I come off the line at 2500 rpm and slip the clutch a little and add throttle as I feel the car hooking up. Then shift at 6000 rpm and take it through the traps in 3rd gear. My best now is a 12.75 @ 112. Part of that is better driving and perhaps having 10000 miles on the car probably doesn't hurt either. I don't think you mentioned wheel hop, but my car had it as bad as any. My cure was to put on the FRPP springs. It gives the car the perfect stance and has but all eliminated any wheel hop. Yeh. Hope this helps. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordyd4 Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Drove from San Diego and ran my car last week at speed world in phoenix AZ. The temp was about 95deg at 9pm. I ran a consistent times of 13.65 to 13.85 at about 104 to 106mph. my 60 ft times were around 2.2 to 2.4 with and without traction control. I even tried a run with traction control for the first 30 feet or so and then turned it off. I made 11 passes. I was disappointed also, but I am sure a little better driving would of helped the 60 ft times. My car is stock except the springs and had 1200 miles on it. I did notice that after I lowered it, the wheel hop went away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhouston Posted August 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Thanks for all the input, guys. Definitely will be back on the track to try again. I would like to get my times down to a respectable baseline level at stock before I start doing modifications. I am going to try for a better launch as well as go without the traction control and see if my times improve. Being that I hadnt been on the track in a while, hopefully as I gain more experience, can get better results. Kind of releived that it is the Driver and not my car at issue here! Great feedback. So thanks again. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobeydick Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Hey all - I got a great chance to run my stock '08 Shelby GT500 down the track in Commerce, GA over the weekend on Friday night. It was really hot, in the mid 90's and humid. The track was a bit slick as well. Ran 7 passes and consistently paced in best times around 13.9. I really thought the car would do high 12's to low 13's. But couldnt get there. I think a lot of it had to do with my driving. I was not real hard on the car coming out and also had the traction control on. It seemed the car would do fine after I got started and the supercharger really wound up good through midway to end of the runs. It was a lot of fun, but the times were a bit disapointing. So, I was wanting to see what others here thought. I have heard that the air cleaner may be an issue as it may not be allowing the computer to send enough fuel flow? Or maybe my clutch is slipping off the block? It didnt take off like it should and shuddered at times. But any other suggestions on what may be a miss here (other than the Driver ! Be easy on me.) Should I take it and have it looked at? It is all stock right now, so I am considering the Filter replacement, exhaust and possibly Tune. Any input is greatly appreciated. Dave Commerce is a Terrible track especially on Friday night. The do very little to prep the track. Go down to Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds GA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobramach1 Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 You need to turn the traction control off and then feather it out of the start. It will take several passes to learn your car and how much throttle you can give it and when to take it down the track quickly. Even with the heat you should be turning low 13's and on a really good day, high 12's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin00Stang Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 When my car had 300 miles on it I took it to the track, totally stock, at our local track that we call "spinworld". I went 13.3, and after that it was all down hill. I went back during an even where they actually prep the track, and went 12.3@116 with just a tune in pretty warm weather, on stock tires. It just comes down to practice, and getting the car to perform consistently. The factory tune does not turn the intercooler pump on until the fluid is already heat soaked, you can run a jumper wire on the relay to help with this. And a good 60ft is key, at least 2.1-2.2, but the lower the better, it has a great effect on ET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
500-VERT Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 I have an 07 GT500 w/ 40th mods and some other power upgrades. On street tires in Tulsa (Mid-America Meet) I was able to run 11.6's, but the tires spun all the way down the track! I am having another set of razors widened and trying the Nitto drag radials - I would love to get to the 10's - but don't know if I can without real slicks. The problem with the real slicks is that the smaller wheels won't clear the larger Bear brakes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06ragtopGT Posted August 7, 2008 Report Share Posted August 7, 2008 Commerce is a Terrible track especially on Friday night. The do very little to prep the track. Go down to Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds GA. What he said. Or the Carolina Dragway in Jackson S.C. neither of which are close to me. I would go back in late Oct (coldest possible) and run again and you will drop a second. And turn off that traction control! Your mph should still be higher though even if spinning and in the heat. Anyone heading to Commerce (Atlanta Dragway) on a Friday night this fall send me a PM and well meet up since its the only halfway practical 1/4 mile I can get to from Greenville SC. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Getting these cars to launch without wheel hop or spin is typically the biggest issue. Best thing to do is practice, practice, practice. You can play with your tire pressure to try and get the stock tires to hook better. I run around 18-20psi or so. My stock tires are about done....DRs next. Heat soak is also another big issue. The more passes you make, the hotter your car will be, and slower. As Justin said, you can install switches to turn on the fan & intercooler pump, and flip em on between runs while you're sitting in the lanes. I've done it on my car and it definitely helps. dhouston or 06ragtopGT, are you going to be at Commerce tomorrow (8th)? I'll be there in my red vert. We're bringing the 69 GTO also, but I don't know if we'll run it or not as its currently for sale and I really don't want to risk breaking it. I'm really excited. I haven't been to the track since spring, so I'm a little out of practice. PIG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06ragtopGT Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Ill be there when it cools down in a month or three. My car hates this heat. :devil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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