First of all, been there, done that.

Please bear with me.

When I first got my 05 A4 GTO, I was expecting no worse than a 13.5, this is due to the brochure stating 13.0 and most magazines getting 13.3's.

I mean, how hard is it to put the car in gear, wait for the lights to go down, then haul azz?

Well, it is harder than one may think.

My first night out at the track, my best was right at 14.0. Talk about grossly disappointing. I made a posting on ls1gto.com titled something like 'bummed out at the track'. I told my story and got some really good help. Even bone stock, there is easy weight to take out, car had only about 1,000 miles on her, weather and track conditions. There are a lot of variables that can cost you tenths of seconds. Tenths of seconds...............3 tenths is the difference between running your G8 GT a great 13.8, or a sad 14.1.

Anyhow we had a great support system with the Houston Goat Herd and I was learning on a weekly basis. The first thing is that the car was too new, it had not had any time for things to loosen up. Secondly, it isn't as easy as punch and go while running. There were some tricks of the trade that my good buddy and ls1gto.com admin. HRJ taught me. Things like resetting a fuse, tricking the fan to be running all the time, patience and not to run the car too much without cool down time, to bypass the water and get a quick burnout to clean off the tires, how to gauge your launch rpms to determine how many rpm's to start off at.

Anyhow HRJ got my first 12 in the car, but it took a tune and drag radials to get there. My best was a 13.13 with the same mods. After I got my final mods (in my signature below) I was expecting a 12.7 or so. By now the car had around 5,000 or so miles and was pretty well broken in. My first night out with my mods, I hit around a 12.5. Now, I was finally happy, and I figured that on a good night with low humidity, cool air, and proper prep at the track (Houston Raceway Park.......about 25 feet above sea level) I may be able to hit a 12.3.

A few weeks later I went to the track (I had about 100 runs on the car, but remember that the runs with the torque converter and headers was like running a totally different car) and low and behold I hit a 12.23. This put my car in the number 1 slot on the ls1gto.com 'Top NA LS2 ET's - Modified - Bolt Ons / Tune Only' classifaction. A member on a thread was blown away that my car with stock heads and stock cam was running a 12.23. His comments were "12.23 at only 110mph out of an only 370rwhp 3700 car is damn impressive.", and "Seriously.....I'm very impressed with your times", and "Your name John Force or what? ":

So within a year and a half, I had gone from some 14.0 racer wannabe, to having the fastest car in her class, which she stayed at number 1 for awhile, lost out, then went back on top of her class on a perfect night when she hit a 12.12.

As of the past year, there have been 3 stock head/stock cam cars hit very high 11's. The number one slot is again held by my old car driven by her new owner, with an 11.90...........the only mod being 300 pounds of weight reduction, plus her other mods.

I am not making this post to pat myself on the back, or to show off. I am making it to say, "been there, done that".

Getting to a realistic time takes practice, time, and most importantly patience. If you car isn't hitting your preset goal, just give her some time and practice her.

Also, for most G8 GT's, I would set a goal of 13.8 (like the magazines) with a great night reaching a 13.5. If you set a goal of 13.1, you probably won't reach it (bone stock) and you may be disappointed with your car. It's like setting up a goal to 'hit' Beyonce, but only being able to 'hit' a blow up doll. :D

My goal was to get even a 13.9. Came closest with a 14.08. I'll be using tips from the members to hopefully hit those 13's next week.

First of all, been there, done that.

Please bear with me.

When I first got my 05 A4 GTO, I was expecting no worse than a 13.5, this is due to the brochure stating 13.0 and most magazines getting 13.3's.

I mean, how hard is it to put the car in gear, wait for the lights to go down, then haul azz?

Well, it is harder than one may think.

My first night out at the track, my best was right at 14.0. Talk about grossly disappointing. I made a posting on ls1gto.com titled something like 'bummed out at the track'. I told my story and got some really good help. Even bone stock, there is easy weight to take out, car had only about 1,000 miles on her, weather and track conditions. There are a lot of variables that can cost you tenths of seconds. Tenths of seconds...............3 tenths is the difference between running your G8 GT a great 13.8, or a sad 14.1.

Anyhow we had a great support system with the Houston Goat Herd and I was learning on a weekly basis. The first thing is that the car was too new, it had not had any time for things to loosen up. Secondly, it isn't as easy as punch and go while running. There were some tricks of the trade that my good buddy and ls1gto.com admin. HRJ taught me. Things like resetting a fuse, tricking the fan to be running all the time, patience and not to run the car too much without cool down time, to bypass the water and get a quick burnout to clean off the tires, how to gauge your launch rpms to determine how many rpm's to start off at.

Anyhow HRJ got my first 12 in the car, but it took a tune and drag radials to get there. My best was a 13.13 with the same mods. After I got my final mods (in my signature below) I was expecting a 12.7 or so. By now the car had around 5,000 or so miles and was pretty well broken in. My first night out with my mods, I hit around a 12.5. Now, I was finally happy, and I figured that on a good night with low humidity, cool air, and proper prep at the track (Houston Raceway Park.......about 25 feet above sea level) I may be able to hit a 12.3.

A few weeks later I went to the track (I had about 100 runs on the car, but remember that the runs with the torque converter and headers was like running a totally different car) and low and behold I hit a 12.23. This put my car in the number 1 slot on the ls1gto.com 'Top NA LS2 ET's - Modified - Bolt Ons / Tune Only' classifaction. A member on a thread was blown away that my car with stock heads and stock cam was running a 12.23. His comments were "12.23 at only 110mph out of an only 370rwhp 3700 car is damn impressive.", and "Seriously.....I'm very impressed with your times", and "Your name John Force or what? ":

So within a year and a half, I had gone from some 14.0 racer wannabe, to having the fastest car in her class, which she stayed at number 1 for awhile, lost out, then went back on top of her class on a perfect night when she hit a 12.12.

As of the past year, there have been 3 stock head/stock cam cars hit very high 11's. The number one slot is again held by my old car driven by her new owner, with an 11.90...........the only mod being 300 pounds of weight reduction, plus her other mods.

I am not making this post to pat myself on the back, or to show off. I am making it to say, "been there, done that".

Getting to a realistic time takes practice, time, and most importantly patience. If you car isn't hitting your preset goal, just give her some time and practice her.

Also, for most G8 GT's, I would set a goal of 13.8 (like the magazines) with a great night reaching a 13.5. If you set a goal of 13.1, you probably won't reach it (bone stock) and you may be disappointed with your car. It's like setting up a goal to 'hit' Beyonce, but only being able to 'hit' a blow up doll. :D


How do you explain how, Road and Track get a 13.5 (June 08) on a completely "stock" G8 GT?


...

How do you explain how, Road and Track get a 13.5 (June 08) on a completely "stock" G8 GT?


...

It is possible that they have "corrected" the numbers they actually ran to NHRA Standard Conditions - This would make it easier to compare between cars run at different tracks at different times.

Of course, it could be that their car is faster than sh*t and everyone else is just a loser...

:)

Tom

How do you explain how, Road and Track get a 13.5 (June 08) on a completely "stock" G8 GT?


...

I explain it the same way that the 05-06 GTO's were turning 13.3, according to the car mags. They have professional drivers making many passes on a really good track and they show their best times.

Most of us regular Joes/Janes were making the first trip ever to the track or the first time in years to the track, and it took time, practice, and patience to learn how to launch, and how to run.

For example, the 60' time meant nothing to me, however learning about how important the launch is, I figured out that the 60' is everything.

All this thread is about is that it takes some time and effort to get what times you guys/gals are aiming for. The 14.0 you are running now (summer in Texas) will be a 13.8 when the weather cools down. Just be patient.

How do you explain how, Road and Track get a 13.5 (June 08) on a completely "stock" G8 GT?


...

My first time at the track in my stock Ve SS/G8 I ran 12 passes and most of em were 13.5's with some 13.6's and 1 x 13.4.
Leave you spare at home and only have a few gallons of fuel take a few gallons of fuel with you.

cheers

I explain it the same way that the 05-06 GTO's were turning 13.3, according to the car mags. They have professional drivers making many passes on a really good track and they show their best times.

Most of us regular Joes/Janes were making the first trip ever to the track or the first time in years to the track, and it took time, practice, and patience to learn how to launch, and how to run.

For example, the 60' time meant nothing to me, however learning about how important the launch is, I figured out that the 60' is everything.

All this thread is about is that it takes some time and effort to get what times you guys/gals are aiming for. The 14.0 you are running now (summer in Texas) will be a 13.8 when the weather cools down. Just be patient.

I totally agree with you some of these people need to read the NHRA mags instead of road and track to see all the drivers that have different times and speeds on the same car at different tracks every place is different.

Its all practise, I set my best time after 38 passes down the track.

OLD_GOAT speaks truths.

After running my beginner 14s passes in my 400mi brand new Goat I read up on some info, found out about heat soak, timing reduction, TM....etc.... Then I was off to the races. I started trying different launch RPMs and getting used to the car in other situations as well such as normal street driving.

I remember a week where I went to the track and ran 13.7x then 13.6x then 13.4x in a row. Now I was getting somewhere. It takes time to get to know the car and what it likes.

As for the magazine time, pro drivers at a great track like ATCO can do amazing things. DA means alot.

Stock for stock, a fast GTO time at ATCO is 12.7-12.9. Out here in Phoenix, even in the winter time when the temps cool, a fast stock GTO time is 13.3-13.5.

Tips I can add? Heat soak is a bitch.
-Dont sit there in the staging lanes idling your engine.
-Take the engine cover off for the track, it traps heat.
-Keep your hood up as much as possible.
-Push that heavy ass car all the way to the final position in the staging lanes, do not drive it spot to spot (tracks require the hood being down when car is in motion, it can be tedious going back and forth from push to hood pop, but its worth it)
-Avoid water box
-Stay in the "groove" (the blackend area of the strip)
-Buy a portable air compressor for the tires (lame little cigarette lighter thing from Wal-Mart for like $20 bucks). 40 PSI front, 25 PSI rear
-Do cheap mods for heat loss. Remove hood scoop inserts (if G8s have them?), 160' thermostat with 65% water, 35% DEXCOOL (if you live in a "warm" area that wont freeze)

I had a similar experience, it took me a long time before I got good times out of my car. Granted a manual is more difficult to learn, but even so like the OP was saying, it takes a lot of practice and good conditions.

1st time at the track - best time of 14.01
2nd time at the track - Best time of 13.89
3rd time at the track - Best time of 13.65
4th time at the track - Best time of 13.8

I finally went to a GTO track rental and got tons of great advice and made 30 passes in one afternoon. Plus the track was prepped well and the weather was better than what I'd been getting at the other track.

I started out running high-13s, then knocked down a 13.3, which had me really happy as my goal was low-13s. I decided since I was there I'd go out and keep running, and soon ran a 13.2. Then a 13.1. Then I hit the 12.940 listed in my sig, and I couldn't believe it. I followed it up with a couple 13-flats, but it took me almost 50 passes down the strip before I got those times.

Now I have different tires and have only been to the track once since then. I also have drag bags and just picked up some drag radials, which means I basically have to start the learning process all over again. The point is, be patient and practice, and the times will come. Once you run consistently low 60-foots, all that's left is some better weather and better track prep and you'll see your times fall like you wouldn't believe.

Good thread, Old_Goat.

Yeppers...it's all in the sixty foot...

You've probably heard before but the old saying goes "a tenth down on your sixty foot is worth 2 tenths on the big end..."

I was reading through old threads and found this one. Great read. Alot of good information here. I have to say I also read another thread where a sponsor said drag radials aren't important in the beginning! Couldn't belive what I was reading! No matter the weight or power of your car, w/o traction your 1/4 mile times will suffer. The better the first 60ft the better the overall time. A persons opinion or failure at their own attempts does not constitute a fact. Better to learn from the old fogeys that know over the years of testing and learning what REALYY works. Wish I had seen this thread earlier Old Goat.

How do you explain how, Road and Track get a 13.5 (June 08) on a completely "stock" G8 GT?


...

Track location (D/A), track prep, was it on a regular day or was it closed to the public track rental.

If they got to let the car sit for over an hour right near the staging lanes and just fire it up and go on a cold motor that's going to be worth 2-3 mph right there.

Tips I can add? Heat soak is a bitch.
-Dont sit there in the staging lanes idling your engine.
-Take the engine cover off for the track, it traps heat.
-Keep your hood up as much as possible.
-Push that heavy ass car all the way to the final position in the staging lanes, do not drive it spot to spot (tracks require the hood being down when car is in motion, it can be tedious going back and forth from push to hood pop, but its worth it)
-Avoid water box


+1000

lol i was shooting for a 12 second pass in my stock G8 the first time out. 13.02 was close though.

Great info, I'll be trying these tips tonight.

best thing to do really ? is to ask. ask some one that is going to the track.
ask why they did that .
some tracks are just faster than others , closer to sea level has a lot to do with it .
cool air and a hot track .
my fastest times are on a track in fla.

362rwhp and im very low 12sec car even got 2 11 sec passes.

i have headers and a small stall converter, everything else is weight reduction (cheep and easy )
and efficiency type stuff (one piece driveshaft ,stiffer bushings)

First of all, been there, done that.

Please bear with me.

When I first got my 05 A4 GTO, I was expecting no worse than a 13.5, this is due to the brochure stating 13.0 and most magazines getting 13.3's.

I mean, how hard is it to put the car in gear, wait for the lights to go down, then haul azz?

Well, it is harder than one may think.

My first night out at the track, my best was right at 14.0. Talk about grossly disappointing. I made a posting on ls1gto.com titled something like 'bummed out at the track'. I told my story and got some really good help. Even bone stock, there is easy weight to take out, car had only about 1,000 miles on her, weather and track conditions. There are a lot of variables that can cost you tenths of seconds. Tenths of seconds...............3 tenths is the difference between running your G8 GT a great 13.8, or a sad 14.1.

Anyhow we had a great support system with the Houston Goat Herd and I was learning on a weekly basis. The first thing is that the car was too new, it had not had any time for things to loosen up. Secondly, it isn't as easy as punch and go while running. There were some tricks of the trade that my good buddy and ls1gto.com admin. HRJ taught me. Things like resetting a fuse, tricking the fan to be running all the time, patience and not to run the car too much without cool down time, to bypass the water and get a quick burnout to clean off the tires, how to gauge your launch rpms to determine how many rpm's to start off at.

Anyhow HRJ got my first 12 in the car, but it took a tune and drag radials to get there. My best was a 13.13 with the same mods. After I got my final mods (in my signature below) I was expecting a 12.7 or so. By now the car had around 5,000 or so miles and was pretty well broken in. My first night out with my mods, I hit around a 12.5. Now, I was finally happy, and I figured that on a good night with low humidity, cool air, and proper prep at the track (Houston Raceway Park.......about 25 feet above sea level) I may be able to hit a 12.3.

A few weeks later I went to the track (I had about 100 runs on the car, but remember that the runs with the torque converter and headers was like running a totally different car) and low and behold I hit a 12.23. This put my car in the number 1 slot on the ls1gto.com 'Top NA LS2 ET's - Modified - Bolt Ons / Tune Only' classifaction. A member on a thread was blown away that my car with stock heads and stock cam was running a 12.23. His comments were "12.23 at only 110mph out of an only 370rwhp 3700 car is damn impressive.", and "Seriously.....I'm very impressed with your times", and "Your name John Force or what? ":

So within a year and a half, I had gone from some 14.0 racer wannabe, to having the fastest car in her class, which she stayed at number 1 for awhile, lost out, then went back on top of her class on a perfect night when she hit a 12.12.

As of the past year, there have been 3 stock head/stock cam cars hit very high 11's. The number one slot is again held by my old car driven by her new owner, with an 11.90...........the only mod being 300 pounds of weight reduction, plus her other mods.

I am not making this post to pat myself on the back, or to show off. I am making it to say, "been there, done that".

Getting to a realistic time takes practice, time, and most importantly patience. If you car isn't hitting your preset goal, just give her some time and practice her.

Also, for most G8 GT's, I would set a goal of 13.8 (like the magazines) with a great night reaching a 13.5. If you set a goal of 13.1, you probably won't reach it (bone stock) and you may be disappointed with your car. It's like setting up a goal to 'hit' Beyonce, but only being able to 'hit' a blow up doll. :D


Wow this guy is speaking the truth... take out references to a particular make and model and stick any vehicle in its place as it will apply.

Good point!!!

few weeks later I went to the track (I had about 100 runs on the car, but remember that the runs with the torque converter and headers was like running a totally different car) and low and behold I hit a 12.23. This put my car in the number 1 slot on the ls1gto.com 'Top NA LS2 ET's - Modified - Bolt Ons / Tune Only' classifaction. A member on a thread was blown away that my car with stock heads and stock cam was running a 12.23. His comments were "12.23 at only 110mph out of an only 370rwhp 3700 car is damn impressive.", and "Seriously.....I'm very impressed with your times", and "Your name John Force or what? ":


lol i have gotten into the 11s with just bolt ons

3700lbs??? what did you strip off of it???

lol i have gotten into the 11s with just bolt ons

After I posted this, the same car also got into 11's. Some more weight was dropped.

my gto in race trim is 3330lbs