12.54@111 no cool down...bone stock automatic

[SLEEPER SS]

reason why i wont buy a zl1 lol rather just mod mine and make it faster

[SGOS252382]

Originally Posted by Blue Menace

New to the whole numbers game of trap speeds, 1/4 times, etc, I've been learning a lot over the past few months. What puzzles me is temperature. People are quick to point out hot temps and I recognize hot air equals less power. But then others point out cold weather as being bad for traction. So my question is: what is the window of opportunity for this car? It seems pretty narrow, and if so, what's the point of debating all these times if it requires such a small window of opportunity to reach said times?

Yes, cars produce less HP as the temperatures increase. Cold air = more HP. If you can get your tires to hook, you'll run considerably faster in cold air.

But as you mentioned, colder air can create issue with traction.

A good temperature for racing, that's not too cold (traction problems) would be in the 60s - 70s. With decent track prep, you should be able to run good times in those conditions.
Once the temps get down in the 50s or colder, traction becomes more difficult (especially running the stock tires on a track that isn't prepped well).

Sunny 65- 70 degrees, high pressure, light winds = a great day at the track .

But on well prepped tracks, guys can still hook up in pretty chilly weather. But its definitely harder to hook up in cold weather.

[Blue Menace]

^^ Thanks for the answer! So, yeah, small window. So, what's all the fuss about then, really?

[CAM....ZL1]

Originally Posted by SGOS252382

Yes, cars produce less HP as the temperatures increase. Cold air = more HP. If you can get your tires to hook, you'll run considerably faster in cold air.

But as you mentioned, colder air can create issue with traction.

A good temperature for racing, that's not too cold (traction problems) would be in the 60s - 70s. With decent track prep, you should be able to run good times in those conditions.
Once the temps get down in the 50s or colder, traction becomes more difficult (especially running the stock tires on a track that isn't prepped well).

Sunny 65- 70 degrees, high pressure, light winds = a great day at the track .

But on well prepped tracks, guys can still hook up in pretty chilly weather. But its definitely harder to hook up in cold weather.

The 1/8 mi. track close by that I can get to in 10 min.
doesn't have too much daytime racing, mostly done in
the evening and at night. So when I get to 1500 on my
Z I will be going there at Fri. nite test and tune, the temps
will be down and I'll catch a nite with low humidity, There
track is well prepped, so hopefully I should run in the
high 7's.

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

She will get allot quicker once you get around 10K miles on her. Just like the SS the car will pull much stronger when she gets 10-15K miles on her.

[E.T.]

Could be the track conditions, but but maybe not. Guess we will just have to wait and see what happens with better weather. That does seem kind of weak, though. It seems like we're always making excuses for Chevy. This sounds awfully familiar. Remember when the SS first came out, and people were saying they were a lot slower than they should be? I hear a lot about heat soak, weather, car not broken in yet, tuning, etc. For this much cash, I'd expect a really fast car right out of the box—no mods needed. Ford seems to be able to deliver this; GM? Not so much.

[SEVEN-OH JOE]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

everything was running slow including me. Yes, taking a little air out of a stock tire will help with traction vs stock tire pressure (35psi). I didn't air down much, just to 25 psi. I have no doubt the ECU was pulling timing due to high IATs and total heat soak. IMHO, this is about as slow as this car should run ever. 111mph is pathetic and I totally agree with most of the prior statements. I have lots of drag racing experience so this is definitely not my first rodeo either.

How many total miles on your ZL1?

Were the good folks @ that other forum able to assist with a proper explanation and supportive recommendations, when you posted 12.54 @ 111 over there?

[jleews6]

Originally Posted by SGOS252382

I do see an issue (this car if it's an isolated case - which we will see as the summer goes on).

My car traps 112 mph all day long in 90 degree air (DA+2000 ft). My car is a bolt ons Camaro SS making around 360 rwhp (actually a little less).

Warm air definitely slows a car down, but something else must be going on. A 90 degree day shouldn't have a ZL1 automatic trapping 111 mph.

I love the ZL1 (would love to own one), but I'd be a little bummed if my ZL1 only trapped 111 mph on a summer day at the track.

Your car is a perfect example of why I said he was around 430 to 440 FWHP hp. I know the DA was high and he didn't have a cool down but 111 is slow. I think something might be wrong or like someone else said,it could be the knock sensors.
I know this is way off but think about this,My Cobra made 427rwhp and weighed 3700 and it ran 121 in 90 degree weather. Even with my 427 hp this car would have still run much better then it did.

One thing I have always done when running a new car is I always run a gallon of Xylene just to keep the knock sensors happy.

[L99CAMA2011]

Originally Posted by SLEEPER SS

reason why i wont buy a zl1 lol rather just mod mine and make it faster

[SGOS252382]

Originally Posted by E.T.

Could be the track conditions, but but maybe not. Guess we will just have to wait and see what happens with better weather. That does seem kind of weak, though. It seems like we're always making excuses for Chevy. This sounds awfully familiar. Remember when the SS first came out, and people were saying they were a lot slower than they should be? I hear a lot about heat soak, weather, car not broken in yet, tuning, etc. For this much cash, I'd expect a really fast car right out of the box—no mods needed. Ford seems to be able to deliver this; GM? Not so much.

Yeah, over in the Camaro vs ...... forum a guy was running 13s @ 110 - 111 mph in 2500 ft. DA.
He was definitely having some traction issues based on the video. But could you imagine showing up at the track in your new ZL1 and running 13s @ 110mph?

[Pro Stock John]

@ Steve12ZL1, props for posting up times even if though you knew folks would probably rag on the lack luster time.
That's cool you went 1.85 on stock tires, I went 1.94 with my regular SS auto but it took about 15 tries.

With what I've personally experienced with newer GM cars, my Camaro, my old Trailblazer SS, I would not run it hot with no cooldown. What I do is cool down, then run two passes back to back if there is no line. My car will put 1-2mph running real hot.

[1967rsss]

A lot off the tachs produced today have a lag. The tach may read 5500 but rpms could have been 5900-6000. Data logging the run is the only way to know for sure.

The low MPH could be a shift RPM issue, heat soak as said which will yank all the timing out and fatten the fuel up, and or a combination of both.

Also I would like to point out torque management. Even when the traction control says its off does mean it real is. This has been true for Ford and GM for a long time. Thats one of the first things tuners due to increase the performance. They control torque output many ways from pulling timing on just before and during the shifts to closing the throttle blade for a split second. Thats one of the reasons why if you start modifying without programming, the gains are more dismal.

[adamgl]

Originally Posted by avcbm

Over and Over again... how does a 580 HP, automatic, run 12.5.......... something is not adding up... something is holding it back... if you look at all the SS with with bolt-ons and supercharges (http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21013), with about the same amount of HP, they seem to be running faster.....so what's the deal? I'm really starting to think something is wrong with this car.....

Conservative tuning?

[E.T.]

Originally Posted by adamgl

Conservative tuning?

Could be. I know a tune will really do wonders for the L99. As another poster said, "GM really cuts the balls off the L99 at the factory" (or something along those lines. It just sucks to have to blow your warranty, just to make a car run the way it should've from the factory.

They didn't put AFM on these too, did they?