[RPavkov]

Last night I took my totally stock 90 Coupe L (auto) to the track, just to see what it would do. I've only had it a couple months and I'm about ready to do some mods, but I thought I'd take it to the track so can have a baseline to work from. When I say stock, I mean 87 octane gas, standard out-of-the-manual tire pressure.....everything pretty much standard.

I ran 17.505 1st time down, and then I ran it about 4 or 5 more times within an hour. As the engine heated up, the times slowly got worse to about 17.9. That's just physics, I understand that.

Then I took off the air box cover and removed the air filter, and took it back out, and ran a 17.490 (best time yet).

Then I let it cool off for about 1/2 hour or 40 minutes, and it ran a 17.450 (best time all day). Keep in mind it was about 80 degrees outside yesterday, so that didn't help.

My question is, has anyone out there done the 1/4 mile, and made adjustments to the car (not changing parts), that increased performance? Maybe using 92 gas, or adjusting the tire pressure, anything like that?

 

[89aCuRa]

well i have never taken my car to the track but i would think stiffer tires and higher octane would help a lil bit. i always keep my tires pressure around 35psi all the way around. and ive always used 93 octane. i used to have an 87 coupe that ran on 87 octane and when i switched that car to 93 octane i gained 20mi to a tank. right now with my 89 coupe i run 93 in it. hey next time u go out try that ocatne boost they sell at auto stores, they say it increases horse power. did u really run your car without the air filter? i know u probably didnt do it for long, but its cool to see slight difference.

 

[firestorm]

Does it really make a difference by putting different octane fuel in it? I've always put regular in mine. Also, that octane stuff they sell is probaly a gimmeck. It's prolly the same as just putting premium in.
I know you didn't want to change parts, but to let ya know- new rotor and cap, and NGK copper spark plugs should make a lil difference for spending less money than a tank of premium. New wires could help. Cleaning out/replacing your air filter. Using fuel injector cleaner to get rid of junk. Cleaning out the intake valve. Just some food for thought.

 

[RICDOGG]

Never ran an auto at the track..but id recommend doing your basic tune up so you'd have a true baseline.

as far as anything else...your times will drop as you gain experience...load up the torque converter...you'll break into the 16's if you do

 

[firestorm]

Never ran an auto at the track..but id recommend doing your basic tune up so you'd have a true baseline.

as far as anything else...your times will drop as you gain experience...load up the torque converter...you'll break into the 16's if you do

Just out of curiousity, how do you gain experience on an automatic? And, how do you load up the torque converter? Thanks.

 

[UR in the rearview]

you def want lower psi in the front tires maybe 22psi and my car ran 16.4??all stock

 

[RICDOGG]

Just out of curiousity, how do you gain experience on an automatic? And, how do you load up the torque converter? Thanks.

easy...the more times you run, you can learn your car...launch RPM's what shift technique works best...I.E. D1-D2 or just leave in D3. etc.

when you press the gas & have your foot on the brake, you're loading up the torque converter.

 

[firestorm]

easy...the more times you run, you can learn your car...launch RPM's what shift technique works best...I.E. D1-D2 or just leave in D3. etc.

when you press the gas & have your foot on the brake, you're loading up the torque converter.

Ahh... thanks. Isn't it bad to load up the torque converter more than just a lil bit?

 

[RPavkov]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll definately work on loading up the RPM's before launch, and lower the front tire PSI. Being an auto, I imagine it won't run quite as fast as the 5 speeds, but I'll let you all know what happens. Thanks.

 

[RICDOGG]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll definately work on loading up the RPM's before launch, and lower the front tire PSI. Being an auto, I imagine it won't run quite as fast as the 5 speeds, but I'll let you all know what happens. Thanks.

if you didnt peel out, dont bother lowering yout tire pressure...it'll just slow you down

 

[89LCoupe]

need for speed

I agree, If you're not losing traction, keep the PSI high to minimise the amount of rubber on the road & friction.
Yes it's not so good to torque brake too much - I'd say you wouldn't want to rev more than 2500 rpm, but It depends a lot on the condition of the tranny. Someone on these boards recently had to do a rebuild after a little too much torque braking / neutral drops. I don't think the g1 tranny is bulletproof by a long shot so I'd be really careful.
I also wouldn't reccomend removing your air filter completely.
I'd buy a big cone filter and attach it to the stock intake piping - it takes about half an hour, costs relatively little and will make a slight difference.
What I would recommend would be to remove all the crap out of the car including spare tyre to reduce weight. The back seat isn't an easy remove but weighs a tonne and should improve times.
The tune up will also make a difference, partic a throttle body clean, spark plugs cap and rotor - check your maintenance records to see when this has been done last. Injector cleaner is also a good idea.
There's been a lot of discussion about what octane to run, and from memory I don't think the higher premium fuels really do that much as our car's timing etc is not set up for premium. A search should elicit some more info about this.
Regarding auto launches, I think s3 all the way, 3/4 throttle on launch then floor it works best for me.

rich

 

[acpac_jet]

i put the fuel pressure cleaner stuff in, noticed a huge difference. I got about 20-30 miles more per tank, and better performance, at the same time that I put my system in (it was also basically the same time I put new spark plugs and wires in, and the muffler in).

 

[RICDOGG]

i put the fuel pressure cleaner stuff in, noticed a huge difference. I got about 20-30 miles more per tank, and better performance, at the same time that I put my system in (it was also basically the same time I put new spark plugs and wires in, and the muffler in).

what kind of glass packs do you have installed?

 

[UR in the rearview]

I only read about a muffler no glass packs

 

[RICDOGG]

I only read about a muffler no glass packs

check his sig homeskillet

16.4 with your 5spd?
what RPM's are you launching at?

PS the only reason i asked what type of glass packs used is because cherry bombs are ribbed..so it slows down the airflow creating in somecases MORE backpressure than stock...just something to look into

 

[UR in the rearview]

o my bad there chief
that was my 1st time i wasn't really ready to launch so like 1g next time i plan on launching at 1500r

 

[acpac_jet]

i dunno, I should check into it. I'm beggining to regret getting the damn thing, as it is kind of annoying. Could you describe what a cherry bomb looks like, w/maybe some pics? That would help.