Let the games begin...

driller

El Presidente
Staff member
I got back from Colorado just in time to prep the Blue Flame for the track and load it on the trailer Saturday in hopes of taking it to Mason Dixon Sunday for a couple shakedown runs to try to find what the car would do.

In the spirit of the baseball playoffs, the recap goes like this...

4 tunes
3 hits
1 error

:D

The track was packed and runs were at a premium so I ran the car sequentially through each of the 4 tuning points I had set up after the head transplant.

First run / 2nd / 3rd / 4th
R/T 0.179 / -0.024 / -0.057 / 0.215
60ft 1.965 / 1.927 / 1.906 / 1.928
330ft 5.630 / 5.569 / 5.556 / 5.638
1/8th 8.671 / 8.592 / 8.547 / 8.688
mph 80.50 / 80.96 / 82.24 / 80.69
1000' 11.318 / 11.207 / 11.140 / 11.320
1/4 13.540 / 13.404 / 13.326 / 13.540
MPH 101.60 / 102.63 / 103.02 / 101.79

With the red light on the 3rd run in eliminations for the Street Class, I had to 'buy back' in to be able to run the 4th tune. It turned out to go downhill on that last run but at least we now have a starting point to work from with no unanswered questions.

The weather was atypical for Mason Dixon, with relatively low humidity and temps in the 60s. I have to analyze the data recorded at the track to see what the density altitude was. Overall, I was very pleased to be in the saddle again and hope to see better times before the end of the season. :)
 
Thanks! The trip was a good beginning attempt to get the car back in tune. All in all it ran very well. It was difficult to do much anything than test each tune since it was a rather crowded event. It has rained out quite a few weekends lately, so all the locals were catching up on their track time before the weather turns south.

Tune 3 looks like the winner ;). nice 60ft times also.

LOL, yeah that's the same thing I determined. :p

The first tune was the same as before the surgery with the exception of compensating for the bigger injectors. The subsequent tunes upped the shift points and rev limiter incrementally. The 3rd and 4th tune increased timing along with the shift points. So either the 4th tune had the timing too high, the shift points too high or both. I could tell the 4th run was not right on the big end of the track.

JP... what tires are you running on the back of that?

I run the Hoosier Quick Time Pro DOT drag tires, 26 x 9.50s mounted on a spare set of snowflakes. There was some concern whether they would afford traction, but they seemed to do well. But the track was prepped better than usual for the venue as compared to most other times.

How were these runs as compared to your previous "best"?

Last fall at Cecil County Dragway (which is a better track at a lower elevation), the best was 13.113 @ 104.31 in cold conditions with a negative density altitude. I expect to run there again this year after SSHS9. :)

Regardless, the car launched good and pulled consistently to the end of the traps without offering to fall back. It will be a matter of experimentation with timing, shift points and fuel to find the sweet spot for each, but I feel we have a good starting point to work from.
 
Last fall at Cecil County Dragway (which is a better track at a lower elevation), the best was 13.113 @ 104.31 in cold conditions with a negative density altitude. I expect to run there again this year after SSHS9. :)

Regardless, the car launched good and pulled consistently to the end of the traps without offering to fall back. It will be a matter of experimentation with timing, shift points and fuel to find the sweet spot for each, but I feel we have a good starting point to work from.

You sure do.....a long way from where you started from many moons ago!!!
 
You sure do.....a long way from where you started from many moons ago!!!

Yes sir, starting out from 13.3 is a long way from starting out with 14.5! I remember it seemed to take forever to break the 13 second barrier! I hope it doesn't take as long to break into the 12s! :D
 
Congrats JP.
Those are good times for the first time with new combo.
BTW: Blue flame will be running 12's sooner then you think .
 
Thanks Burbank. :)

The most encouraging sign is the MPH gain. Looking quickly back in the database, I find the car is running at least 3 mph over previous runs in similar conditions. The 103 mph run was only 1 mph slower than my previous bests in much more favorable conditions.

When comparing the limited data, the further down the track, the greater the gains are apparent. That backs up what it feels like driving it. Before it felt like it was running out of breath where now it is still pulling strong at the top end.
 
Nice times, JP. :) Glad to hear the Blue Flame is back in it's element :)

I will be going to the track this Sunday to get the cob webs out of The Mark, and get ready for SSHS9. Going to either Brainerd 1/8mi or Steele 1/4mi once Aric makes up his mind which track to go to.
 
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