Nitrous Test & Tune (05/05/07)

[71 Nova]

Went to Famoso Raceway in Bakersfield CA on Sat. for a little T&T. Nice day, mid 70’s with a light breeze. Here are my results.

Run #1 (11:13am): Ran the car NA for a couple of baseline runs. Did a burnout, staged and launched. The car went 13.44 @ 101.63 mph with a 1.975 sec. 60 ft. Best NA pass on the car to date. AFR indicated the carb is running rich WOT (10.8-11.2), so I got some more HP locked up there.

Run #2 (12:20pm): Ran another NA run. Went 13.55 @ 101.87 mph. 60ft was 2.030 sec. Launched at a little too high RPM I think (1800 RPM).

Run #3 (1:08pm): Got in one more NA run. 13.502 @ 101.91 mph. 60 ft. time was 2.010 sec. Consistent 13.50’s. OK, ready for some nitrous.

Run #4 (2:28pm): First N2O run. Swapped the plugs, went from NGK R5671A-7’s to -9’s. Cracked the bottle and turned on the bottle heater to get the pressure up (~ 1000 psi). Did a good burnout, armed the nitrous and got staged. Launched but the car didn’t accelerate too well. Ran a 13.718 @ 99.72 mph with a 2.022 sec. 60 ft. Car slowed down because of the N2O timing retard (6 degrees) when the N2O is armed. Ok so now I’m bummed. Back in the pits, I checked everything, bottle and fuel pressure, nitrous is arming OK, everything looks good. I readjusted the full throttle activation switch to be sure it is picking up. OK, try again.

Run #5 (3:01pm): Second N2O pass. Heated the tires, staged and launched. N2O activated this time, OK now we moving! Ran an 11.675 @ 118.14 mph, which is the fastest pass for the car so far. 60 ft. was 1.837 sec. Not bad, damn good actually, I’m impressed with the car. AFR was steady at 10.5-10.8. Plugs looked clean, electrode heat mark was close to the bend but a little to the electrode’s end, so I guess I could add a bit of timing if need be. Still more HP to be wrung out of this combo. Readjusted the lower N2O window activation point to 2400 RPM to see if I could improve my 60 ft time (was at 2500 RPM on a 2500 stall converter).

Run #6 (3:31pm): Third N2O run. Heated the tires, staged and launched. Better launch this time. The car liked the N2O earlier. Ran an 11.511 @ 117.97 mph with a 1.754 sec. 60 ft. Best ever again. Humm, I’m a 1/100 sec. away from needing a roll bar (which I don’t have yet). AFR was steady at 10.5-10.8. The car’s working well.

Run #7: (4:21pm): Last call for the day. Things are working well, and I’m getting used to the car. Heated the tires, staged and launched. Great launch this time. Ran an 11.410 @ 118.45 mph with a 1.669 sec. 60 ft. Again a best run for the car, but (oops) I’m going too fast without a roll cage. Now I have a summer project. The 60 ft is respectable I think. Craig, I think those shocks (Rancho 9000’s) are helping me hook (thx). AFR was steady at 10.5-10.8.

All in all, it was a fun day. The Nova performed much better than I expected. I was just hoping to break into the eleven’s but ran much better than that. Not to bad for a mild 8.5 comp. ratio, .500 lift cam SBC thru a full exhaust. Man this nitrous is addicting! I now need a roll cage to run the car any harder. Maybe I’ll drop down to a 100 HP shot from the 150 that’s in it now for the next T&T. Really hate to do that though!

Here's a link to a few pictures from the event:
http://www.shutterpoint.com/Photos-Brow ... PHOTOMAN65

[John_Heard]

Good race report! Sounds like it went very well, you'll be in the 10's before you know it!

[sc racing]

Great news 71nova glad your running good.

[mytmouz]

Cage it and add the 250 jets! Just kidding...

[project71nova]

I love storys like this.

[a1elec]

glad you had a good day. im jealous, my car is still in the paint shop and the motor is on the stand. john

[rustbucket]

bravo!

[71 Nova]

Thanks guys! It was a real blast. Never expected to run that well.

Cage it and add the 250 jets! Just kidding...

Just kidding? Hey that's the plan! A cage is now #1 on the list.

Ken

[mytmouz]

OH NO! Another addict...

[71 Nova]

Hey, it doesn't take much to get hooked!

[Craig W.]

Congrats on the good runs! Glad the shocks are working for you. They worked well for me.

I just hope I won't get lost on my new shocks this weekend.