Unexpected loss in the LT1 today
 

Me and my GF cruising this morning in my stock LT1 (2.73 gears, auto). I run into a Volvo with some guy that wants to run me. Normally I wouldn't waste my gas on something like a Volvo, but something about this car made me change my mind. We rolled out at like 60 mph and I counted off and we both hit it. It was dead even until my car shifted into 3rd gear at about 85 mph and then he started walking away very slowly. I was thinking WTF, and wanted another go at it. This time we were rolling about 65 mph which is slightly better for me. I counted it off again and we both hit it. Same as the last run, it was dead even until my car hit 3rd gear and then he started walking away again very slowly. The race was so close that I think if I had been alone in my car it might have been dead even. All that aside, they were a couple of great runs with me getting the loss both times.

We pulled into a gas station and chatted it up a bit. Turned out it was a 2008 S80 V8 AWD. The guy said it makes 311hp and 325tq (I confirmed it when I got home). Volvo claims it weighs 4100 lbs. The guy was pretty cool for a Volvo driver.

We never got to run from a stop, but I'd think he'd beat me decently being AWD. Even if he only pulled a little on me out of the hole, I wasn't gonna pull anything back, and up top he'd probably increase the lead. I'd think it's a 13.9 car in decent weather.

I was very impressed with the car and it'll hopefully teach me not to underestimate cars with my stock LT1, lol. Time for some mods I think!

Auto + Roll = Bad Idea...

I'd be willing to bet that out of the hole, if you could hood, it'd have been a closer race. Next time, if you race from a roll, manually select your gear that way you won't have to wait for the kick down.

I wasn't waiting for the kickdown, I was hitting it right before the 3rd count so that it'd take off at the right time. I definitely know that auto's aren't the best from a roll, but we were running from pretty much the best place in my powerband that there is without going from a stop. I don't think I'd get him out of the hole with my 2.73's and him being AWD. Now if I put my drag radials on then we might have a good race...:devil:

It looks like you brought the wrong Z28 to that race...
;)

Isn't it interesting how, especially in the last 5-6 years, "regular" cars have been getting pretty damn quick. I never thought I'd see the day my grandmother would be driving a 380hp car (Lexus LS460 - I warned her to be careful when passing somebody!)

Hyundai is about to put their Genesis sedan on the market, a sporty 370hp v8 RWD sedan with 19 inch wheels + a 7 speed auto. The coupe (still RWD) will offer a 310hp v6 for under $30k and even the base car will be a turbo 2.0 that's related to the Evo powerplant. It looks like the Koreans understand the auto market pretty well. I wonder if that'll drive GM to offer a Solstice hard top. Everybody else is still building high HP FWD cars.

When the LT1 was introduced, I'll bet nobody ever expected a family sedan to stay anywhere near it. It's hard to believe that was over 15 years ago! Kids think I'm lying when I tell them of the 150hp 5 liter v8's from the 80s, where 7 seconds to 60 was good and mid 14s were impressive in a stock car. The LT1 really took all that to the next level.

The moral of all this? Ya gotta mod anything if you want to keep up with the times, at least until this gas crisis pulls the rug from under the high horsepower engines. There are a good number of quick cars on the way from the automakers. I'm doing my part -- my car is getting a healthy round of mods over the next couple of months. I hope 400whp holds 'em off for a while :D

why was you shifting into 3rd at 85?

^With the 2.73 gears, that's just where 2nd gear ends.

Kris93/95Z28, I'd rather lose a close race than win by a few buses, lol.

John M, excellent post and verey good points! How do you like the Subaru? They sem pretty nice and very fast for a sedan.

The Legacy is close to the ultimate sleeper, which is the effect I was looking for. I wanted to blend into the soccer mom traffic -- until I reached the track anyway. It was easy to make it quick; $500 in mods made it a ~ 13.0 @ 105 car. I bought it new, still covered in plastic, and after 3.5 years it has 17k miles. I drive my truck during the week.

I blew the stock turbo for the second time (known issue with stock turbos combined with a crappy oil supply design) and decided to really build it up this time. It's getting a real turbo, front mount intercooler, fuel pump & injectors, exhaust, etc. Others get an easy 390+ whp on 93 octane out of the combination which should keep me happy for a while. No wing, no fart noises, no clue that it isn't just another stock "Camry with a hoodscoop."

According to the tracking numbers, my parts start arriving tomorrow!

Very cool! Keep us up to date on your performance numbers when you get them. Sounds like the perfect sleeper to me!

Driver mod...learn it......

2005 ZO6?
:confused:

lol he makes up a new car every time he posts dont mind the 15 year old troll

Maybe he could try making up a car that was produced that year...

LOL, maybe he should tell me how to get better at driving my auto while he's at it...

not to rag on ya, but if you could drive, and hook, the LT1 coupled with the 4l60e puts out nasty torque in first and second. Third gear is when a stocker starts to fall off. You would have been better off racing him from a dead stop or like 5-10 mph roll. You need to learn your cars' strengths a little better. Even though the 2.73's hurt you alot, the gear ratio in the 4l60e in first gear is like 3.06. I love 1st and 2nd in my car (h/c/exh.+some spray w/3.73's). You just need to learn to launch, and get some good tires.