Me vs. "290RWHP RX-7"

[BowTie Eater 5 Liter]

Well, the guy at school who everyone kept comparing my car up to, got a new supposed 290rwhp motor built up for his car(he also has nitrous, but it isnt involved in this story). Well, i asked if he would take me for a ride in it, so i could see how fast it was. I went for a ride, and he was in the process of braking the motor in, so he couldnt rev past 5500. I thought it was a little slow, even for keeping it under 5500(he redlines somewhere above 8k), but just to see, I challanged him to a race today.

Well, it is lunch time, and i head out to my car. I pull out ahead of him & drive to the spot. i had a passanger, because when we left, so did he, but he dropped his off at the end to watch the finish.

There were a lot of cars(i thought it was just going to be me & him, funny how word gets around, eh?).

well, he turns around, and im sitting waiting for him. we line up, and phil flaggs us off. I get on the gas first, but due to some wheelspin, he pulls a little ahead(even though he is spinning???). i catch traction in 1st, and pull a little on him. 2nd comes with a nice soft shift, and i pull even. by the time 3rd comes, he is at my back bumper, and i pull 2 cars (and a bit) by the time i hit the brakes in 3rd.

we turn around, and i lay a 40foot patch of rubber. he said it was "really" close, and that he wad at my back bumper. I thought i beat him by more than that, WTF????

I ask some people who saw the finish, and they said i was a good 2+ cars ahead, so that is where it stands for now.

now he is going to fill the n2o bottle, and run a small shot, and i am going to advance my timing to 14*(i was at about 8* for this race), and inflate my tires properly, and loose a passanger.

what are my odds once he is running a small shot, and i do my timing??????

thanks

[Dark_5.0]

exactly "0" IMO

[blue00gt]

Sounds like he is full of crap if he is claiming 290rwhp. If you beat him by a couple carlengths the first time, he doesn't even have that much at the crank. I raced my buddy's '90 RX7 turbo with 220+hp at the wheels with my '00 GT and it was pretty even on top end (I didn't gain any more) after I pulled ahead off the line. Sounds like another guy that doesn't know horsepower from a hole in his head.

[Dark_5.0]

RX-7's get it off the line and then die out on the top end. A good launch and a shot of nitrous would cure that problem and make it hard for a 14 second stang to win.

I do agree though that he has nowhere near 290RWHP.

[Unit 5302]

Well, the shot the kid is supposed to run is 55hp. If you advance your timing from 8* to 14* you're gonna pick up a lot of snap. Losing a passenger will easily give you a good 1-2 tenths/carlengths over the 1/4.

You need to launch better. If you have your car tuned better and launch well, you can kiss him goodbye again.

He doesn't have anywhere close to 290rwhp, or 290 at the crank even. Probably no more than 250 at the crank, even if he's lucky. For all the money that kid has in his car he should be pretty embarrased.

The RX-7 TT (this RX7 is N/A) pulls hard off the line because of it's light weight. The engines mass is small, and it doesn't do well as the speeds pick up. From 80-120 they are not strong. After 120 the aerodynamics really come in though. You'll get dusted racing an RX7 120mph+ while in a Fox Body.

[gsxkilla]

u never know he might have a faster car then 14's have u ran it at a track yet cuz i have an 87 5.0 that is stock besides for underdrive pulleys and i ran 13.9 ET but then again i think my car my just be odd cuz i owned a 91 5.0 and it wasnt as fast as this one is
ryan

[BowTie Eater 5 Liter]

i ran a 14.6 way back when, with out my exhaust, shifter, and some really shitty tires, and the electric fan.

that was with a 2.24 60ft, and no powershifting, just spinning through 1st, and maby a little in 2nd.

[inferno]

This guy is dreaming of 290hp....sounds to me like he would be lucky to have 200whp. I also find it odd that this guy says one day that he is breaking the motor in and can't rev past 5500 and the next day races you. Seems like he will be needing a new motor again pretty soon.

[Severisth]

I would also recommend borrowing a set of Nittos or BFGs from someone. Or even better, a set of ET Streets, like these:
http://www.pomoforacing.com/Mike/26-115-16_ET_Streets.jpg

Cure that spinning and you'll have a much better chance :D

[Severisth]

Also, here are two 100% completely free mods you can do to shave 100lbs off the front tip of the car and help weight transfer:

Under the front bumper, remove the white fiberglass bumper support and the two 5 mph bumpstops. Just be sure to put them back in after the race if you are concerned that you might one day rear-end someone. Personally, I removed mine for good, but then, I habitually leave 5+ carlengths between me and the car in front of me.

Second, remove the front sway bar. It's quite heavy and limits suspension travel which in turn limits weight transfer. I haven't done this on mine yet, but it's been done a thousand times with great success.

Both of these should net you a couple more carlengths, for free! :D

[BowTie Eater 5 Liter]

i dont like removing all that stuff, just for a race, when i race, i want to race my car as i would have it on the street(the only exception will be 1 day at the track, with everything off, except the bumper stuff. i will pull the passanger seat, the back seats, the sway bar......


how long would drag radials(or et-streets, or other dot slicks) last on street driving?

[Severisth]

Why?

It's a bit different than removing the seats, because with the bumper you're removing things that aren't visibile or necessary.

I guess when I race, I race so that the car I'm racing is as far behind me as possible. I wouldn't want to hear the guy talking trash for the rest of the year. :D

Nittos last about 10,000 miles and ET Streets last less (but hook up MUCH better).