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Eric91Z
10-16-2005, 05:07 PM
Well, got the car to the track yesterday. We had been planning this for a couple of weeks and the weather held good. Went with a group of GM car buddies. There was 1 '05 Corvette C6, 1 2003 Corvette Z06, 1 '99 C5 Coupe with heads, cam, exhaust, intake, etc, 1 '99 (I think) C5 Coupe with A&A supercharger kit (and slipping stock clutch), 2 LS1 WS6 Trans Ams, 1 LT1 Trans Am, 1 supercharged LT1 Z28, 1 newer body style Grand Prix GTP.

There was a Grand Prix and Thunderbird SC clubs there that were running. And some other fast cars like a high 8-second Grand National that was fun to watch. And one other Marauder owner from the list here. He was doing double duty today - hitting Tri-State and then heading over to Cedar Falls Raceway.

Anyway, I only did 3 runs with the car. I was just looking to see how she did. I ran it the way I drive it - spare tire, jumper cables, etc - and I had just over 1/2 tank of gas. Weighed the car at the track and it weighed 4180 pounds in that setup which means about 4420 with me in it. I dropped rear air pressure from 40 psi to 30 psi.

I kept it simple when I ran. Turned off the traction control, drove around the water, and pulled right up to stage. Once staged I would bring the rpms up just a little and let off the break and hit the gas on the last yellow. Worked well for me. Best reation time was a .153 and worst was a .238. 60' ranged from 2.275 to 2.311.

So, to the best run (which is now on the Timeslips page). I ran a 14.707 @ 96.37 mph. At the beginning of the day I said I would be happy just to break in to the 14's period. And this is a little faster than my '91 Camaro Z28 ever ran there (barely). Then again, all the times I ran the Camaro there, it was about 20 degrees hotter and much more humid.

It was about mid-60's yesterday with a cross wind on the track. Basically about perfect. Not sure what the elevation is at the track there. All in all, I am very happy considering what is done to the car. For performance, about all I have is the JLT CAI and the XCal2 on the 93 octane tune. I also have the ProGard, but not sure if that contributes anything at all. And I was running faster than the Grand Prix GTP (which was stock) by about 4/10ths of a second. And the Marauder was consistent. First run, after driving about 2 1/2 hours to get there, was a 14.748 @ 96.31. The third run was a hot lap right after the second run (which was the best) and the third run slowed to a 14.817 @ 95.87. That was the run with my best R/T, but everything else was slower than the second run. Also had a slight bit of spin of the line that time which shows in the slower 60'. Plus, when I got done with that 3rd run, I started wondering if I actually had the pedal all the way to the floor like I did on the previous 2 runs.

Either way, I now have what I wanted when I was ready to get a replacement for my Honda Accord. I wanted a 4-door family car that could run in the 14's and that is what I have. I will enjoy it like this until I can afford the Trilogy and go from there!!!!

Tallboy
10-16-2005, 05:36 PM
Nice job! The more you go to the track, the more comfortable/confident you'll become. It took quite a few passes for me to get my launch technique down. Stay with it and have fun! :)

Eric91Z
10-16-2005, 06:41 PM
Here is the ffirst rounds of photos from the track. I have not gotten mine uploaded yet:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v320/Darkhalf/Tristate/

And here is a video of the heads/cam C5 vs. the exhaust only '03 Z06

http://media.putfile.com/JoelvsJosh05

stormtroopin'
10-16-2005, 07:28 PM
It was great to meet you Eric. Your silver birch is beautiful...my black mm looked like crap even after its early morning hand wash and chamois.

Previously my best was a 15.651 at 90.70 mph with 2.353 r/t, so I followed the advisements from my previous thread http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18595 and had good results. Full spare, 1/8th of a tank of gas, 32psi in the tires, stock Marauder, and my fat azz. First run, 15.281 @ 93.87mph with 2.347 60 ft & .212 r/t. Second run 15 min later, 15.352 @ 93.93 with 2.355 60 ft & .205 r/t. ---During the waiting period I added the stock type K & N filter I bought off of TooManyFords (thanks again!)---Third run 1 1/2 hours later (the best run), 14.977 @ 95.03 with 2.294 60 ft & .073 r/t. Final run 1/2 hour later, 15.215 @ 94.55 with 2.342 60 ft & .101 r/t.

Each run I went around the water and barely did a burnout just to clean them off. After the second staging bulb I had the left foot on the brake and the right on the gas until I reached 1500 rpm's. Last yellow and then stabbed the gas pedal to the floor...still need to practice but was very happy to get the .073 on the best run. WHAT A BLAST!!! And with only a K&N filter!:banana:

Have a great winter Eric...send me a pic with your winter boots (winter tires and the CV wheels.

I put 2 pics in my album...check them out.

Eric91Z
10-16-2005, 07:57 PM
It was great to meet you Eric. Your silver birch is beautiful...my black mm looked like crap even after its early morning hand wash and chamois.

Have a great winter Eric...send me a pic with your winter boots (winter tires and the CV wheels.

I put 2 pics in my album...check them out.

It was great to meet you, too and great to see another Marauder on the track.

I will get pictures up once the winter shoes go on. I really hope to put that off as long as possible!!!!

Eric91Z
10-16-2005, 08:51 PM
Here is a link to the video of me against the '03 Z06. This was my first run of the day and first run ever at the track with the Marauder. I am downloading now, so I have not watched it yet:

http://www.midwestfbodymeet.com/tristate.html

Click on the Mitchell vs. Eric one and save

And the first one, "Dad vs. Marauder" should be the C6 against Storm Troopin'. I think that is the run where the C6 ran a 14.0.

stormtroopin'
10-16-2005, 10:22 PM
And the first one, "Dad vs. Marauder" should be the C6 against Storm Troopin'. I think that is the run where the C6 ran a 14.0.Thanks for posting that! That was my second run.

Mr Johnson
10-17-2005, 08:14 AM
Ahh... a Firehawk. Brought back sweet memories. :cool4:

Nice runs Eric!

Eric91Z
10-17-2005, 08:50 AM
Ahh... a Firehawk. Brought back sweet memories. :cool4:

Nice runs Eric!

Yes, there were actually 2 Firehawks there and another friend of ours with one did not make it. There was a red one that is from the Cedar Falls area. The silver one has a nice 383 in it and the black one that did not come has a built 396 in it.

I, personally, would love to have the extremely rare '92 Firehawk myself...