Breaking into the 10's for a daily driver??

[Gary B]

I just read an article in GM High Tech's website about a very low 11 sec car thats a DD. I started thinking if its possible to make a high 10 sec DD? By that, I mean on a good track with good weather it will crack a 10, not run it anywhere, anytime. If so, whats the dollar investment on a stocker to do that, motor and drivetrain? Also, what would be the mechanical upkeep to keep it running consistent? That'd be a hell of a ride!!!

[GNCOL]

Combo in my sig. is a high 10 second car using 93 octane and alky injection and it can be driven anywhere. It even has an old style TE-61 turbo. Just don't detonate these motors and they should last a reasonable amount of time with normal maintenance.

[Steve Wood]

There are at least three aspects to building a quick car

parts combination
tuning ability
driving ability

Some guys do it relatively cheaply...others spend a ton of money.

This is a daily driver Melissa's "secret" 9.94 @ 138.17 combo

I would not expect most to have the same performance, but, having a firm understanding as to how things work, and some experience to go along with the knowledge really helps.

Jim (GNCOL) is a classical advantage of a guy that runs quick without a ton of money.

Pacecarta is another.

[Yullose]

Originally Posted by Steve Wood

Some guys do it relatively cheaply...others spend a ton of money.

And then you have some that start out cheap, then spend into oblivion.

[william brophy]

Originally Posted by Yullose

And then you have some that start out cheap, then spend into oblivion.

Right-on! I was running 10.50's way way back in 1999/2000 on the cheap but since I have unloaded some money, after awhile us cheap guys get tired of being so cheap and want some good stuff.

[Steve Wood]

wanting stuff is the American way!

I still want stuff even tho I may not remember why the next day

[1970gsx]

I'm also a mid 10 guy that didn't spend a ton. I don't use it as a DD, but I could if I chose to. As stated earlier, keep it simple with a nice combo and good tuning.

[Grumpy]

yup.. Melissa's is driven everyday !!! Hotter than hell here the past few weeks.. Turn on the AC and go we did have a non LU converter in there but didn't care for the driveabilty compared to a LU. LU 9/11 is back in !! oh the LU is what she ran in the 9s with BUT we were curious about the new converters Dusty sells. That will be goin back in in Oct.. That way we can compare apples to apples

[BEACHBUM RACING]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

yup.. Melissa's is driven everyday !!! Hotter than hell here the past few weeks.. Turn on the AC and go we did have a non LU converter in there but didn't care for the driveabilty compared to a LU. LU 9/11 is back in !! oh the LU is what she ran in the 9s with BUT we were curious about the new converters Dusty sells. That will be goin back in in Oct.. That way we can compare apples to apples

Dan, what was the slip percentage difference between the PTC and the 9/11?

[Gary B]

Those that are in the 10's, how many of you have roll bars or something to stiffen the car up? If nothing, hows the body holding up to the twisting? Also...how many with 11 and 10 sec cars have had them dynoed, and how much rwhp and tq did it make to go that quick? Thanks...

[gbsean]

Be Safe and install a BAR....mine is mid 11's with tuning issues...10:80 is my goal....could be quicker...but that is quick enough for me.............for now....lol

[pacecarta]

if you plan on running under 11.50 at a track youll need a bar

thing is with buick you dont need a huge cam or to change rear gears or even give up the 2004r trans to do 10s and
modern chips (rivaling aftermarket ecu capabilities using the stock ecm ), MTdragradials and alcohol injection have changed what used to be a pain into a true street car , used to be go to track,drain out the 93 in your tank , fill with race gas , bolt on slicks ,open the exhaust , turn up boost change the chip to arace chip , hopefully run fast , change the tires back to your steet tires drain out the fuel ,turn down the boost , swap back in your street chip and drive home

now we have alcohol (alkycontrol.com), tunable chips (turbotweak.com and bailey chips at fullthrottlespeed.com) , MT dragradials and some good builders who pioneered some good parts for the 2004r
with alcohol you can run 93 octane and to me that is a must on the list for a a true street car
with alky no need to swap chips but now we have tunable chips and wideband correction chips and speed density chips so you only need one chip one tune and have the same 10sec tune on the street as at the track
with mt drag radials you can drive in and put down 60' times that guys with slicks used to have trouble doing .
even though a 400 manual VB can be fun and works fine having overdrive is nice for a street car and the stock brf 2004r with overdrive can get you where you want with 23+ mpg and if rebuilt right by a buick 2004r builder can hold up in the 10s
and the little 6 can make enough power that you dont need to gut a car to go fast so you get to keep the pw/pd/ seats and most important the a/c for a true steet car even though you can have a nice cruiser iwithout ac but i like it so much better when the air from the vents is under 40* when its 90+ outside
add dual fans and a 160 therm and not only will it be cool in the car but your engine will run cool as well , i see no more than 176 coolant temp with a/c on

dynos , i dont beleive in them . I like to get my hp numbers on the 1320ft dyno . i know one street car gn that dynoed at almost 400 , we went 10.98 with that one which works out to be 520 to the wheel , melissa works out at 750hp to the wheels, my 86 is just over 600, my 87 worked out at 470 with an unopened engine on a ta49 turbo and has put over 500 with a
te44.

oh and grumpy touched on this , as if we werent fast enough now theres the recent improvement to the buick ...the dusty PTC twisted 6 converters that have made great increases in efficency up at the top end improving top mph by an average of 5mph and dropping the rpm which is great for engine life and still leave the line like a beast on fire

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by BEACHBUM RACING

Dan, what was the slip percentage difference between the PTC and the 9/11?

hopefully Ill let ya know in October. Things should be back to "normal" with Melissa then . PTC was loose the first time around (NOT Dusty's fault !! converter was set up for another car that the guy didn't come up with the $$$ !! soooo it was sitting there calling out our name to try ) . Dusty tweaked it a little for us. Seems to work good BUT I am still a favorite to lock up converters for a street car. Time will tell .

[Gary B]

pacecarta...nice post, very informative! I know a bar would be needed for under 11:50, so I think a good 11:75 car would make a hell of a DD! I guess I need to decide on a newer car with a stick or the good ole' Buick with a nice easy auto.....thanks for the input!

[BEACHBUM RACING]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

hopefully Ill let ya know in October. Things should be back to "normal" with Melissa then . PTC was loose the first time around (NOT Dusty's fault !! converter was set up for another car that the guy didn't come up with the $$$ !! soooo it was sitting there calling out our name to try ) . Dusty tweaked it a little for us. Seems to work good BUT I am still a favorite to lock up converters for a street car. Time will tell .

I know you're set in your ways, but give the NL a shot. My buddy, Joe Biucchi(JB RACING) had a customer that I got a NL convertor from for the price of a bag of hockey pucks. I got my trans guy to swap over my 2004R when he freshened my trans back in July. I'll never go back to a LU again.