Cedar Falls, IA Raceway 07-23-04...

[FiveO]

Hi gang!

John (TooManyFords) and I met at Cedar Falls Raceway in Iowa tonight...had a pretty good time.

Only got 3 runs in as they have a big race tomorrow and all the heavy drag cars were there doing test and tune.

I've never seen so many 7-8 and 9 second cars in one place. They only charged us $15 to run...so it was definitely worth it.

I was very mildly disappointed with my runs....ran 14.97, 14.99 and 15.11 ( the last one was with the traction control OFF)...just wanted to test it.

I only have 4.10 gears, K&N Panel and a Plasma Booster....and after thinking about it...I didn't do too bad considering I can't take out any stereo equipment and have probably an additional 30-40 pounds of stuff in the car.

My first two 0-60 foot times were identical..... 2.237. Considering the 4.10's I was hoping for better....but considering no aftermarket chip I'm not worried...as that will come

My low end is weak...no doubt. I can feel it. The Kooks and PI Torque converter going in within the next couple weeks may change that!!!


John ran an impressive 14.19 on his last run. Man those ceramic coated Kooks look nice! He also has the 4.30's so he's running well. I absolutely love the electric cutouts and the sound!

Couple pics...my dad took them.











I was at the track for a baseline for coming mods. My Taurus SHO is supposed to be picked up by the new owner (buyer) at 11am this morning...sale price....$7500....wonder what that will buy

[TooManyFords]

John ran an impressive 14.19 on his last run. Man those ceramic coated Kooks look nice! He also has the 4.30's so he's running well. I absolutely love the electric cutouts and the sound!

Thanks for the pictures Mark! It was a fun night, for sure. I did make sure to run against my g-timer for that last run and it was extremely close. I ran a 14.197 and it clocked a 14.20, I ran 97.67 mph and it said I had 97.6. So, I'm really really close with my settings. I'll post what they are as soon as I dig the manual out and figure out how to display them again.

But, it does confirm my earlier runs of 13.88 as my best time on the G-timer would probably have been faster at a track that day!

John

[FiveO]

Thanks for the pictures Mark! It was a fun night, for sure. I did make sure to run against my g-timer for that last run and it was extremely close. I ran a 14.197 and it clocked a 14.20, I ran 97.67 mph and it said I had 97.6. So, I'm really really close with my settings. I'll post what they are as soon as I dig the manual out and figure out how to display them again.

But, it does confirm my earlier runs of 13.88 as my best time on the G-timer would probably have been faster at a track that day!

John

I believe my erroneous GTimer times were due to the tilt/error problem.


I'm mounting it right now with a snazzy HwyCrusier custom made mount...pics later tonight.

Should make it much more accurate.

Great time again John....see you in a few weeks, maybe a month at most.


Mark...

[TooManyFords]

...and all you other mm'ers are welcome too! We have a great track down here and would love to see more of you midwest guys!

Cheers!

john

[BillyGman]

[QUOTE=FiveO]
I only have 4.10 gears, K&N Panel and a Plasma Booster.

My first two 0-60 foot times were identical..... 2.237. Considering the 4.10's I was hoping for better....but considering no aftermarket chip I'm not worried...as that will come

My low end is weak...no doubt. I can feel it. The Kooks and PI Torque converter going in within the next couple weeks may change that!!!


Thanks for the pics!! Both your cars are looking great!! Let me share something w/you here. You're one of the only ones (if not THE only one) besides myself who has went w/the gear change BEFORE installing a chip. And despite how much other people on here argued w/me about this, I can tell you that w/out a doubt that my car accelerated at the EXACT same rate after installing the 4.10 gears as it did w/the stock 3.55 gears in the rear, UNTIL I installed a chip.

I recorded the exact same ET's, trap speed, and 0-60 MPH times w/the 4.10 gears installed as I had w/the stock gears installed. I felt absolutely no difference, and all the times were edentical. It was only after I had installed the chip, that I then noticed a diffrence in the trap speed, ET, and 0-60MPH.

However, my conclusion is that because the change was a full .50 second reduction in the ET, then it must have been a combination of the gears and the chip. I don't believe a chip alone would reduce your ET's by a half second in the quartermile unless you had already done the gear change. So I believe that for some reason when you do a gear change alone w/these cars, the computer must hold the car back, and prevent it from taking advantage of the new gear ratio, until you chip it, or re-flash the computer settings w/an SCT tuner. Not to mention the fact that your speedometer will be trwon off w/a gear change that doesn't also insclude a chip or use of a tuner program that's specifically for the gear ratio you've chosen.

The moral of this story? You'll see better ET's and 60' times once you put the chip in or use the SCT handheld tuner. And BTW, none of those people who argued w/me in the past about this had installed the gears w/out installing a chip like I had done.











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[mpearce]

Hey guys...nice pictures...and congrats on your runs! I was in Council Bluffs not too long ago at the cassino Harrahs...nice place...and a nice state as well...Iowa. Great place to watch severe weather, if you're into that sort of thing like I am. Anyhow...I have a completely stock MM (15.199) my best pass so far on a hot night. Billy brings up some interesting info yet again. I am doing my first mod in a few weeks...it will be a 4.10 gear change and a chip with a tune...that's it. I am very interested to see what will happen to my ET's with just this mod. I don't want to do too many things just yet...I want to see the progression of the car over time. Good luck with all of your future mods!

-Mat

[BillyGman]

Matt, thanks for your post, because I think it would be interesting for all of us to hear what differences in your ET the chip and gears together will make for your car. I'm thinking you'll likely be turning ET's in the 14.6 to 14.7 neighborhood. However, that's assuming that the temperature at the track on the day that you end up going there will be pretty close to what it was during your last visit.(hopefully within 6 or 7 degrees).

It's also important from a comparisant standpoint that you duplicate everything else such as the amount of weight you had in the trunk the last time out as well as the tire pressures, and the amount of gasoline you had in the tank. Please let us know how you do. That can serve as some valuable info to other members who haven't yet modified their Marauders, and who hope to do so in the future.

[mpearce]

Billy,

This mod is something that I have been looking forward to for a while now. I just haven't had the opportunity. This is the first mod in preparation for the Trilogy. I will try to duplicate the conditions as much as possible. The only extra baggage I have in the vechile when I race is a 1/4 tank of gas, and myself, and I weigh 290lbs. Hey, maybe if I shed some lbs, my ET's will pick up! What is the gain...1 tenth per 100lbs? My best run of the summer so far was at Norwalk, and suprisingly enough my ET's got better each time down the track. I'm really hoping this mod will put me somewhere in the high 14's. That will definitely keep me satisfied. I'll let you know how it goes.

-Mat

[BillyGman]

Oh yeah, w/a chip and 4.10 gears, you'll easily be in the 14's. I can assure you of that. The only way you wouldn't be able to count on that is if you go to the track while it's 95 degrees out, and you have a full tank of gas in the car w/a full sized spare tire and a heavy floor jack in the trunk.


Other than that, expect to see some ET numbers in the 14's when you look at that timeslip that they hand you after the race. And feel free to write to me if you have any questions about that, or about the Trilogy S/Cer kit, and/or the installation. What a great modification that is!!!