Took the 69 Camaro to the 1/8th mile last night
 

Went with a buddy that has a pro-street 68 chevelle. Thought it would be fun to see what the 69 would do.

I have a philosophy when I run at the track. I like to run the car on street tires with the exact air pressure that I run on the street and full street gear. I think it is silly to lighten the car, run funny fuel, etc. because then it is apples to oranges when you are taking it out for a Friday night cruise.

With that said I had fun and improved on each of my 4 runs. I decided not to run in the actual race.

I had two problems. One, is obviously the Goodyear EMT 18" rubber on the rear that has serious traction issues. Two, when I leave the 4L60E in Drive, it shifts really mushy and dumps into the next gear pre-mature. When I shift manually, the trans will stick in gear for a second or two and cause the engine to bounce off the rev limiter. All we did to the trans is install a stall converter, the rest of it is bone stock put together from left over parts out of my buddies tool box (I am not kidding here). I need to put a wake up kit in it for more positive shifting, etc.

My best run:

.570 Reaction
2.012 60'
89.64 mph
8.204 ET

I am pretty postive that a bit more practice and squeezing that down to a 1.8 60' and getting the trans to shift right would have dropped me in the 7s with 90 plus mph.

With only four runs and the trans hanging on street tires...that aint too bad.

NO NO NO
You NEED to talk with Steveo about the tranny. 15 minutes with a laptop he can cure all your shifting woes if you have the right controller. He worked his majic on the goat recently and it shifts like it should, when it should and just like I like it. That is the beauty of the electronic trannys, you fix them with a laptop, not a kit. In fact, you do not even need a rag to wipe your hands when you are finished, just a napkin to wipe the drool.....lol

I love to hear you took it to the strip though. Go ahead and slip a pair of drag radials on the back next time, heck you can run them on the street too and they would help some of the traction issues, yet still be an apple/apple comparision.

Good Job !!

Glad to see that you took it to the strip and drove it. People here have some pretty awesome cars and they are made to be driven. Bill probably would agree, if you don't want to drive it, buy a house.

Go pirate some drag radials next time.

Your dad would be proud. :)

LOL, I always say if you want a piece of art, buy a painting, they take up a lot less room. Drive it like you will never get to again.

cool
 

so ya run the crap out of it..very cool.....fun huh....did ya compare with your past vehicles time slips?
thanks for getting me in touch with your mother-in-law ...

later
radrambler

:cool: :thumbsup: :yes:

David

Your ECU is calibrated for an entirely different car: Different converter, different gear, different tire diameter different vehicle weight. So you can get LS1Edit, find a local LS1Edit tuner, or get an aftermarket transmission controller. All of those options have pros and cons. Regardless of which path you choose, you will find that a properly calibrated transmission will function and feel like an entirely different car (a much better car). In the case of Bill Howell's transmission, it was so far off, the difference was like going from a 307 2bbl (before) to his blown LS1 (after). A traditional shift kit can still be beneficial for improving mechanical line pressure, but the calibration might still be way off. An effective digital calibration is the key.

With the calibration done, you will probably need to shift manually to compensate for wheelspin. A quick, low rpm 1-2 shift can help.

I had the ECM tuned for the engine mods, tire size, and gear ratio. My buddy hooked up his tech II a while back and monitored the functions. He seems to think it is a mechanical issue, but I can't rule out the tune as it was a mail order job (from a very reputable tuner).

Bill....did yours ever hang in gear and bounce off the rev limiter? We were listening to the video of the track run last night and MAN...it is like the car went on pause for a full second plus between shifts on a couple of runs.

For whatever reason, even after you manually move it into the next gear, it still shifts on its own when it feels like it ONLY after hanging up at the rev limiter and bouncing back a few times.

Thayt pretty cool, looks like she has 12s in her. I assume you went to Lakeland? Interesting little track huh? I can wear out some brakes trying to get stopped there.

THat track is a trip. There is a big sign when you come in "Warning-No Insurance!" They didn't tech check anything...just kinda run what you brung....

There were some motorcycles turning 140 plus in the 1/8th. I have no idea how they were able to stop in time.

Right next door is the mud bog track...only in Central Florida!