Primary trip to track, 2013 auto, bone stock

[old_goat]

As posted in a prior post, I traded in my manual for an auto, and the reasons why are listed here.

WWW.S197FORUM.COM

I made my primary trips in a manual to the track here.

WWW.S197FORUM.COM

I made follow up trips to the track in my manual here.

WWW.S197FORUM.COM

The primary trips and a couple of follow up trips bone stock was a 12.82, while my PB (lower control arms, FRPP tune, line lock, GT 500 mufflers, MGW shifter) led me to a PB of 12.53, with a best mph of 113.61. I felt that unless we could get some mineshaft DA in the Houston area, the 12.53 was about as good as I could get with the stock Pirelli 235/18 tires. Even though I had some rough goings on with the manual car, I felt I learned quickly and had some very successful runs. Could a better driver get my car into the 12.4's, I believe so, but I don't think a better driver could have gotten my car into the 12.3's.

The trips tomorrow brings me back to square one, back to my 2005 Pontiac GTO, my 2009 Corvette, and my 2009 G8 GXP days. All were automatics, and given time the GTO and G8 GXP had bolt ons. Basically I'm in a comfort zone with the auto. Last night I found a nice quiet church parking lot and did a quick burnout and everything was just fine.

No line lock needed here.

As nervous as I was my first night out in the manual, I'm at peace about the auto. The things that concern me are this:

What rpm to launch at? I will probably start at about 1500 and go from there.

I will put the transmission in sport mode. No matter GM or Ford, none of us can outshift the computer, and if the 'paddle' mode on the Mustang is as bad as the paddles I had on my Vette, I will never use them due to too much lag time. Also with the computer shifting, I should never hit the rev. limiter.

I will click on the TC button fast twice and get in advance track sport (ATS) mode. I'm not sure about the auto, but when I did this on the manual, I dropped .2 from my PB. Yes, it helped THAT much. So, we'll see about the different TC settings if the ATS doesn't feel right.

I will probably drop the tire pressure to about 25-28 pounds.

This may be my only trip to the track bone stock. I removed the GT 500 mufflers and kept the hand held tuner, and I have another 'chip' for the hand held tuner on the way, and it should be here by next Tuesday, and I will probably have in installed a day or two after that. If I get some bad wheel hop like I did in the manual, then a new set of Steeda LCA's will be in the works.

DA tomorrow should be between +500 to about +800 as we are having 80% plus humidity.

Goal for tomorrow...........realistic 12.8's........really good night 12.7's.......fantasy island........12.6's........12.9's or worse, really bummed out. I would accept this my first night out in the manual, but not for the auto.

Car only has at most 400 miles.
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[DIB5.0]

Best bet is to launch off idle. Turn your TC/Advance trace off by holding it down for 7 sec with your foot on the brake. Best i could muster stock with stock tires was a 12.8 @ 110. Depends what track also. You see guys running much faster at Cecil with stock cars.

 

[squeak93]

Launch it from idle. Just stab the throttle and let it rip. My best all stock was only,13.30@108 2500da though.

The car had since ran a12.67@112 1500da still on stock premium 19's with just a Procal tune.

 

[squeak93]

Damn double posting phone lol.

 

[5bites]

As the others said launch from a dead idle. Otherwise you will just go up in smoke. Or buy some good tires and launch whatever you can stall to.

 

[old_goat]

OK, let's discuss my first ever trip to the track in my 350 mile auto. Bone stock. When I received the car, it already had a full tank of gas that the dealer shoved in, and I don't know whether it as 87,89, or 93 octane. I do know all tanks from this point on will be 93.

First of all, I'm an unhappy camper. Not the results I got, but the results I didn't get.

When taking the car to the track, I always try to be the first car in line, first car to get teched, and the first car to run in the right hand lane. All of this was accomplished.

I did a minor burnout (no line lock need for this car) put the car in advance track mode, put the transmission in S and left off idle on the last yellow. My PB 60' of the night, which was 2.002. So what was my quarter mile time? I don't know, the people in the booth don't know, nobody knows. There was something wrong with the lights and all I got was my reaction time and 60' time. Yes, I'm pissed off, but it is what it is.

Run number 2 was a waste of time and effort. I did everything that I did on run number 1, but launched at 2,000 rpm. 13.78 @ 110, 2.456 60'. This was the last time I launched at any rpm other than off idle.

Run number three.......was my PB of the night that I have a slip for.
12.82 @ 110.42............2.014 sixty foot. Seat of the pants told me this was a good run. Minimal spin and wheel hop. This is my official PB that I can back up with a time slip. DA was about +100 with around 80% humidity.

Run number four and the last run of the night......12.95 @ 110.47, basically everything the same as runs 1 and 3.

Since I'm learning the car I need more runs, but the humidity was really getting high and the lines were beyond long. It has been a long day since getting up at 5:30 am and it was time to head home. Had the lines been more manageable I would've made another pass or two, but there was at least 75 cars waiting in those lines.

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I'm upset that I didn't get the timeslip for number 1 run, as I feel it was in the 12.7's, but without a slip, I don't have proof. I'm pretty happy with the 12.82 because of the low mileage on the car and the unknown factor of what gas the dealer put in.

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Someone asked about future mods. I got lucky that FRPP sent me a free update for the tuner, so in a couple of weeks I wil get the FRPP tune installed on the car. I was thinking about having it done this next week, however the weather appears to be highly favorable for a negative DA night next Friday, so I will try to have another night running without a tune. I will have the GT 500 mufflers that I kept from the other car installed on this one, and I will think about a set of lower control arms for this car. Last night the wheel hop wasn't near as bad as with the manual.

In a year or so, I will probably consider a full blown tune vs. the FRPP tune, a torque converter, and a set of non catted long tube headers. Drag radials will be the first mod, outside of the 20 minute FRPP tune that I already have parts for.


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As I've just raced a bone stock manual, a very mildly modded manual, and a bone stock auto, allow me to compare one against the other.

AUTO.............since I've ran auto 2005 GTO and 2009 G8 GXP, both bone stock and modded, and a bone stock 2013 Mustang GT.........my reply would be *YAWN* as compared with the manual Mustang GT. OK, I warm up the tires by power braking, I put it in S, I haul ass on the last yellow from off idle. The track gets smaller and smaller as I go down the track. Nobody can argue with results, but as a driver, it's not anywhere as exciting as driving the manual. Yes, it was fun, but I felt that as a driver I accomplished far more driving the manual. I also realize that with the auto I will never have dyno results or have the high mileage in the quarter the manual guys have.

MANUAL..........both bone stock and mildly modded. The car seemed more 'raw' and powerful than the auto. It jerked and yanked. I had to do everything right to get the several 12.5's I got. I earned those 12.5's! Launch at 2500, shift at 6800, shift again at 6800 pedal to the floor and don't lift the gas pedal when shifting, shift again at 6800 and hope you can make it through the lights without going into 5th, and as soon as you pass the quarter end line, quickly shift into 5th, then coast a bit and exit the track.

I'm not downing the auto. (today the wife is driving it all over town, and this makes me very happy as her diabetic neuropathy (leg and feet problems)) intimidated her from driving the manual. The auto is a fantastic transmission and I was sick and tired of reading anti-MT82 posts on several forums.

Even though the times will be better, as a guy, as a car nut, and as a person who sets goals, I just prefer racing the manual.

At the end of the day, there was a sense of accomplishment I received when I got the bone stock manual in the 12's, that I didn't feel getting the auto into the 12.8's or even the 12.7's. With my GTO and G8 GXP, I never saw things in this context, but it took having a manual to really appreciate what the manual drivers have accomplished over the many years.

Yes, the auto is faster and will be more problem free, but the manual gave me a sense of being a better driver that the auto will never allow me to feel.
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[Doug1227]

You say a couple of times that you put the car in "S". What the hell is that?? Mine's a '12, so maybe I'm missing something.

 

[11dsgGT]

I need to work on my suspension because the power and MPH are there, but everything else isnt. I think you need to as well, unless you just want to have crazy MPH, but attain a 11.5 or something.

You should start a blog.

 

[slagburn]

You say a couple of times that you put the car in "S". What the hell is that?? Mine's a '12, so maybe I'm missing something.

Select shift mode. Doubt I'd use it at the track

 

[old_goat]

You say a couple of times that you put the car in "S". What the hell is that?? Mine's a '12, so maybe I'm missing something.

Page 161 of the 2013 Mustang users manual should describe everything for you.

It's the 'sport' mode and it's basically a performance mode of driving, with more aggressive shifting.

Select shift mode. Doubt I'd use it at the track

You use select shift off the sport mode, but I'll never use this form of GM's 'paddle' shifting. When I had my 2009 automatic Vette, there was too much lag time between when the paddle was hit and the transmission did the shifting. If the rev. limiter was set at 7,000 and you hit the + button at 6800, the lag time was too great and the rev. limiter would be hit.

I just let the computer shift the car for me.

 

[try03venom]

I ran a 12.98 in my 11 auto with advance track left on driving around the water box nailing the gas off idle. Bone stock everything base GT

 

[11GT50]

AUTO.............since I've ran auto 2005 GTO and 2009 G8 GXP, both bone stock and modded, and a bone stock 2013 Mustang GT.........my reply would be *YAWN* as compared with the manual Mustang GT. OK, I warm up the tires by power braking, I put it in S, I haul ass on the last yellow from off idle. The track gets smaller and smaller as I go down the track. Nobody can argue with results, but as a driver, it's not anywhere as exciting as driving the manual. Yes, it was fun, but I felt that as a driver I accomplished far more driving the manual. I also realize that with the auto I will never have dyno results or have the high mileage in the quarter the manual guys have.

You had a G8 GXP? How does it compare to your stock auto GT?

 

[old_goat]

You had a G8 GXP? How does it compare to your stock auto GT?

4300 pound 4 door car vs 3800 pound 2 door car.

For one, she was a beautiful car that always got looks of admiration whether at the store, track, or just a bunch of car people hanging out. Every time I took her to the track, they always took pictures and posted them on the Royal Purple website. With the Mustang, I rarely get pictures taken at the track, I think they look for unusual cars to take pics from and there are many 5.0 Stangs at the track.

Well the LS3 is a fantastic motor, and the complete drivetrain was problem free. Bone stock (415 to the crank) I got a 12.93 out of her, which is amazing for the weight of the car. With bolt ons (3200 yank converter, ARH 1 7/8 catted long tubes, Nitto NT05R drag radials on 17" GTO rims, Rotofab CAI, tuned by Patrick G of Victoria Texas 409 RWHP) and in good weather her PB was 11.91. No doubt she was a sleeper and fooled a lot of hot rods, Vettes, etc. at the track.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the car, but I was able to sell her and make a huge profit. It was time for another car, and the Mustang GT is, by far, the best bang for the buck anywhere. Plus I wanted to get away from a big 4 door car and move into a sporty 2 door car.

You won't hear anything bad about the G8 GXP, or the LS3 and complete drivetrain, from me. The young lady who bought the car is as happy as she can be, plus her family is a G8 family with about 5 G8's.

RIP Old Blue, you were a magnificent car, but it was time to move on to another project.

I don't really miss her, but I will always remember my Australian (body by Holden in Australia) lady.