>Todd - One thing that I noticed with the Nitto's is that
>they will slow the car down at the top end of the track.

Sam, I noticed that too

>It's almost too much traction with the 225/50-16s. I
>switched to 225/50-15s and the BFG drag radials on 15x7.5
>Kosei K1 Racing wheels.

I'm not sure if it's too much, seemed good to me and I didn't bog it. I can get a drag radial about the same size (or just slightly smaller than) the stock 195/70R14 tires then I might be all set. More power would help too, heh heh.

>I'm launching at about 5200RPMs and slipping the clutch
>aggressively. I was able to pull a 2.191 60' time and get
>the 1/8th mile time down to 9.987 at 69.75MPH.

That's a better 60' than I got with the nittos on. But, I'm getting 2 mph faster trap speeds inthe 1/8th than you are with my stock tires, don't ask me why, I don't know.

Have you tried the 14 inch rims with stock tires recently?

>Since these tires are about 1" shorter than stock, you can
>either run out 1st-3rd, or you can short shift 1st a little
>but you'll have to throw it into 4th just after the 1000'
>mark.

Right now I'm getting very close to the rev limiter in 3rd gear running 15.4s to 15.5s. I think leaving it in gear as long as possible is a bit better, as I'd rather not shift if I don't have to.

>Right now, I just think both of our cars are lacking a
>little top end power to really get the times down.

That's why I can't wait for the next mod! Although my top end does feel pretty good in 3rd gear as long as I've got the 14 inch rims on the car.

>(BTW...congrats on the 15.4)

Thanks Sam, I've got to try and keep things interesting for everyone, right?

The front air dam has a lot to
>do with that in my opinion. I actually think a 95-96 front
>end would be faster.

I disagree. I'm getting to about 90 mph or so. At that speed aerodynamics does make a difference, but not that much (another 30 mph and it would be even more of a factor, as air resistance increases with either the square or cube of the speed you are travelling, don't remember exactly, I've got to look up that equation) From what I have been able to find out, a 95-96 bumper gives our cars a 0.28 drag coefficient, the 97-99 a 0.29 cD. That is not enough of a difference from one tot he other to matter at 90 mph (especially since both of those coefficients are already so good).

Now, if we were comparing 0.28 to 0.38, that would be a different story.

I think you might be noticing some more "drag" at the top of 3rd due to the tires. You'll notice the effect from heavier tires far more in higher gears than in lower gears. (due to less actual torque getting to the ground in higher gears, you are trading power to the ground for vehicle speed)

The bigger tires seemed to make a big difference for me once I hit 3rd gear. The 1/8th mile on my nitto drag radial run was 9.998 which should have been a 15.5X sec run easily with the stock tires (I am in 3rd gear for maybe a second onceI hit the 1/8th mile, so the 1/8th is almost all 1st and 2nd gear), but the 1/4 mile was 15.67, so the car certainly had a harder time once it hit 3rd.

And it just felt like the car was having a hard time pulling once in 3rd. Sometimes you know what is going on with your car just by the way it feels.

>My race season is over for this year. Next year, I'll have
>a pair of slicks and a pair of drag radials. I'm hoping to
>get the motor rebuilt this winter with 11.5:1 compression on
>top of the rest of the mods.

Well then, I'd better get moving! Good luck with the rebuild Sam.

"Tutto fa brodo."

Todd Scungio
98 RS
15.173 @ 90.70 MPH

And also a 2011 Ralliart