Hit the track tonight for my first set of runs in almost two years. Best I could muster was 15.4 @ 92 mph with another set of crappy 60' times (2.5 best).
The sad thing is I ran my best time when it was the hottest outside and the engine was also hottest.
This was one a bone stock motor with stock ecm, 3.42 posi rear, 255/50/16 yokohama v4s, flowcrap headers and y-pipe into 3" with slp dual/ dual muffler, plus some suspension stuff.
First, I need to get a bunch of runs in, so that I can get decent launches.
Second, I need to get back into burning chips, once I get a working burner, I'm going to buy the EBL.
Third, I need to finish my cold air intake.

Questions.
Should I be that disappointed?
Does the stock ecm run better when the motor is warmer?

 

Your results sound about normal. Dewey ran a 14.5 with a T5 and simliar mods but his run is far from the norm. Heat is the killer of these cars. My buds A4 '91 RS with the same mods as you could only muster a 15.5 at 92 (with tuning). A little work on your 60' and you will see big changes. Don't feel bad. You are very close to 14's with a few simple items (I too have the blowtechs and they belong in the trash).

 

I wouldn't be too disappointed with that. Your mph isn't bad but a 2.5 60' is horrible! How are you lauching it and when are you shifting then? Best I could pull a year or so ago when my car was stock was a 2.2 60' I'd think with a good launch you could get low 2's

 

My launch is mostly dropping the clutch at 2400, which I think might be too high. On my best run, I accidently launched at 1800 with absolutely zero wheel spin. I've been shifting at 5300 rpm based on the stock tach.

My rear traction mods include boxed rear control arms, poly bushings, dropzone springs, lcarbs, adjustable panhard bar, 3.42's, auburn diff (from 96 TA), so I think I should have more than enough.

 

Yeah, you should be able to get a good launch out of that. How do your tires look? BTW those lowering springs don't help with straight line traction they hinder it. But nothing at all to worry about. You just have to keep testing it and find a sweet spot to launch it at and I wouldn't just dump the clutch on it either, if you get any wheel hop especially. I would maybe try coming out of the hole coming out of the clutch aggressively but not dropping it. Try shifting at 5000 as well, 5300 is a bit high, stock cam runs out well before that. Also, if you can improve your shifts try to, that can make a big difference, at the track I usually don't come out of the gas when i shift just a quick clutch and shift action. Its all just one of those practice makes perfect things, good luck

 

Tires are 8 months old, so they are still nice and new. Next time, I'm just going to get a launch technique down. Its simple to say that I just don't have enough track experience. I think 5000 rpm shifts would also be better, once I verify my tach, (its pretty close).

 

Think of your engine like a big flywheel, the higher you spin it on launch the more energy you're storing in the form of centrifigul force. The problem is that if you let all that stored energy go at once you just spin the tires. The trick is to slip the clutch gradually only putting down as much power as your tires will take.

Good for the 60', bad for the clutch. Stock WRX's and even NA legacy's can pull 1.7 60's using this method, the legacy's have almost 100 less HP but they can pull the same 60' as the WRX's, it's all in the cetrifugal force. Don't ask why I know about subaru stuff.

 

Your times aren't bad at all. We have VERY similar setups, and your times are a little better than mine, especially the mph. My best was 87, I believe.

A couple of suggestions on improving those 60' times.

Lowering springs kill traction. I'd suggest you get a set of Spohn's LCA relocation brackets. I have mine, but don't have them installed yet, so I don't have any first-hand data, but a search will show LOTS of people who installed lowering springs, lost all their traction, then got it back with the LCA relocation brackets..

When I first installed my 3.42 posi, I felt the car was strongest when I launched at around 3000 rpm. There was wheelspin, but the car felt like it was MOVING. At the track, however, I found out this was not the case. I couldn't get below the 2.6-2.7 range. My best 60' times came from launching at around 2000 rpm, holding the throttle steady as the tires "chirped", then hooked up. Only then would I nail it. The car actually bogged and felt slow, but the 60' times were the best I'd seen, consistent 2.3s, occasionally 2.4s.

Not long ago, I was watching an episode of Dream Car Garage where some Stock Eliminator drivers showed Peter how to launch a COPO 69 Camaro. Can you imagine trying to get A ZL1 427 to launch on 70 series tires? He tried on his own at first, varying the launch rpms, but couldn't do anything but go up in smoke. What the Stock Eliminator drivers showed him was to launch from idle, essentially the same as you would from a traffic light, then rolling on the throttle when the clutch was fully engaged.

I took my G-Tech and experimented a bit, and got good results. My rear tires are about worn out, so the times weren't great, but I definitely got the best times when I used that method. The beauty of our cars is that you can nail the throttle as soon as the tires quit spinning, we don't have enough power to break them back loose again at the dragstrip, where the starting lines have been prepped.

Now, I can tell you that the further you go, the less accurate the G-Tech is. I've found the 60' times, however, to be pretty accurate, and trust them. Also, the 60' times I've posted here are all from the track, not the G-Tech. I'm in the process of gathering parts to swap in my 9 bolt (3.45 posi), C5 front brakes, lowering springs, new wheels and tires, etc., so it'll be awhile before I can get it to the track to get more data, but I definitely believe you will see a lot of improvement in your short times with LCA relocation brackets and improved technique.

Oh, and don't forget aout tire pressure. I've seen my best 60' times with 23-24 lbs in the rear tires. Any less and you may seperate a tire. With your mph, you could get into the low 15s, maybe even crack a 14.99 if you could get into the 2.0-2.1 range with your 60' times. Getting my 60' times from the 2.6-2.7 range to the 2.3-2.4 range was worth 3 tenth off my time.
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Why do you know about Subaru stuff?

 

You might also want to lower your shift point a bit. The tachs in our cars tend to be a little slow. I set the shift light on my G-Tech at 5500, and have consistently seen the tach sitting at 4800-4900 when it goes off. Even at the track, i've used the G-Tech as my shift light. When I lowered the shift point from 5500 to 5200, I picked up 2 mph. It does no good to continue to rev an L03 after it noses over. Also, shifting at a lower rpm drops you even a bit further into the torque curve, the one good thing about our cars. I actually want to experiment with lowering the shift point a bit more, but it would be a waste of time with the rear tires being so bad.

 

I already have a set of lcarb installed and they felt like they made a big difference on the street. Looks like I just need the time to get the launches down and shift a bit earlier.
My tire pressure was a tad high too (~32-33 psi), but being a dummy I forgot a gauge that night.

 

I saw your car at the track Friday night it nice looking.

 

I think seanof3036 is right on with his advice on better launches. If you can get your 60' times down I think your ET's will dip into the high 14's. I have a setup very similary to yours, only with 3.73 gears. I've had the best 60' times (2.030 sec with crappy tires) by launching around 3000 rpm and modulating the cluth out to avoid wheel spin, then WFO once hooked up. I loose about .2 to .3 sec of ET if I dump the clutch. I run the tires a little below 30 psi. Cleaning the tires off and heating them up a bit in the burnout pit will help too.

 

Well, I guess I didn't pay enough attention to details again this week. My best time of 15.57 came from a 2.229 60' time. That was also the launch that the bogged the engine pretty hard, so maybe I am closer to the right track that I thought. Now, I just need to net constant 60' times and get my shift point dead on.

I can't wait for this thing to get fast someday.