Lined up against a Ford Lightning in test and tune at the local 1/8mile track. I wasnt even concentrating on cutting a good light since I was concentrating on launching with my new 2800 stall converter and TH350 Tranny. REaction time 1.0 seconds
I still beat the lightning by almost two car lenghts. I thought those things were supposed to be fast. I have seen some fast ones out there tho, HALO (Houston area Lightning Owners) club, running in the high 7s in the 1/8 mile. I ran lik 8.7, wasnt' my best time but OK. Probably surprised the Lightning dude, his truck was new looking and spiffy, me in a 13 year old Firebird

 

Either he cannot drive or he fell asleep at the wheel....Now I am assuming that this was a 2nd Gen Lightning you are talking about correct?? Those things run mid to low 13's stock and your bird probably ran mid to high 14's stock. Now with your mods listed, I see your car running low to mid 14's.

A kill is a kill no doubt.....but something was definitely not right with the driver.

Later

 

with a 1/8 like that he should be running better than me.

i didnt think the lightnings where that fast.

 

ya but if u read his sig he is spraying so depending on the shot i dont see why he cant win. i raced a lighting from a roll and killed it, never raced one from a stop though i had know clue they were 13s trucks i never bothered looken them up, they are really nice trucks too, maby i should get one lol.

 

Doesnt an 8.7 on the 1/8th mile convert to mid to high 13's in the 1/4? so he is running better than low 14's. Oh and I have seen stock lightnings pull anywhere from a 13.4 to a 14.0 so it sometimes depends on the driver.

 

Nice job Larry, its always fun surprising the Lightnings. You're definitely in the 13's now. You should go out to HRP some time and get some 1/4 times. With your mods, you should definitely pull most stock Lightnings, atleast the '01s and older. I pulled a stock '98 (?) Lightning on the highway one night with just the cam and gears. From a stop you should do even better, those things are hard to launch. I drove my friends '00 a while back and couldn't keep it from spinning.

when are we going to run them?

 

YOu are right man, Ive got to get to HRP and get some official 1/4 mile times. Best Ive run in the 1/8 was 8.55 so Im assuming low 13s. This Supperram intake is supposed to help on the high end rpm and mph compared to the stock l98 so it shoul show up even better in the 1/4.

the Lightning looked pretty new, not brand new, but I didn't get a chance to talk to they guy, it started raining right after that and everyone left. Like I said, I have seen lightnings from the HALO club run in the high 7s out there, so thats like 12s in the 1/4. I know they can be fast

Texal LT1, when are you going to be around? I would definitely like to meet you at HRP. Im not going to be doing any mods to the car for a while (no more money), and Im not going to improve on my best times with the hot weather being here, so the only fun will be to race against other similar cars, especially people I know. Heck I'll race anybody, Im not the type that's afraid to lose. Wiinning is fun, but just competing is fun too.

 

With an 8.55 I would say you are good for about 13.0-13.3, or at least somewhere around there. I ran a 12.8 with a 8.38 1/8, so take that for what its worth.

I won't be back in town till June 5, and I leave again on the 26th. If I've got the time, I'll probably spend at least one day a weekend at HRP get my car lined out. Now that I've got tunercat I plan on optimizing the tune a little bit. Can't really get into the fuel maps, but there is still plenty to play with.

I hear you about the money situation, I had planned on doing a complete front end rebuild on mine, get rid of all the popping and groaning, gonna have to wait for another time.


Tristan

 

Nice Kill. I have never seen a Lightning hit a low 13(corrected). I have a friend with a 01 and stock he ran a 14.8 corrected thats a 13.8-13.9 and yes he can drive as he owns a 10 second(here in El Paso) 93 Cobra. Damn trucks are fast though. I want a SRT-10 so that I can go truck Vs Truck.

 

If he is spraying....It is not in his sig. Sprayed is a difference maker and I could see him definitely winning. I just wish he had headers on that thing, then he would run .5 tenth quicker (most probably) with that intake.

Later

 

Spraying??? what the heck you guys talking about. NO spraying here. Ive got lots of boltons (intake and exaust), drag radials, and a TH350 tranny with 2800 stall, thats it. I want to go into the motor, Ive already got a LPE 219 cam, want to do cam and AFR heads, and eventually 383 stroker. I dont think I will ever go nitrous, tho, I wouldnt mind a supercharger tho. I should be low 13s with what I got, cam and heads should get me to 12s down there with Texas LT1,

Let me know when you get back in June and we'll run em.

 

Hey Larry I was just wondering if you were running exhaust manifolds or headers on your car because I dont see headers in your sig. I am sure headers would make at least a couple tenths improvement considering the bolt ons you already have. Just thougt I would throw in my two cents.

 

Wow, dont know how I forgot to put my headers in my sig, after all that work to put them on. Anyway, yes, 1 5/8" SLP Ceramic coated headers. They were a big help. Ive pretty much got all the bolt ons you can get. Im going to do gears, 3.73, then next step will be go into the engine, heads, cam etc. I think Im going to wait a while tho

 

Ahh be brave man, go for the 4.10 gears and 3500 stall

 

Way to put that Ford in its place

I've seen plenty of Lightnings running around. It would take a real good driver under ideal conditions to hit low 13s, even in the newer 380HP versions. Most stockers I've seen are good for high 13s.

Heck, even high 13s are impressive for these trucks. The 99 Lightning is only good for a 14.6 according to Ford - says so right in the owners manual LOL!

 

My buddy has a 1999 lightning and we run almost identical E.T's (without my spray) my all time best is still better than his, but we are both consistant in the 13.70- 13.80 range with 8.7's in the 1/8 mile... He still paid 26 grand though. and i got alot of hard beaten miles on mine
nice kill