after about 2 weeks of revisions in tunes (i lost count, i dont think don even wants to think about how many he did), time money, head scratching, chain smoking, alcohol abuse and nervous breakdowns (kidding on the last 2) don an myself worked on the tuning. he did spot things that he fixed, but there was still a big bog at low rpm. i remember him saying "ok, i am going to try something. i am going to throw a **** ton of fuel at this thing and see if that works" went out on the highway to give it a go.
the dam thing folded me over the seat, i had to call him and say "yup, that worked". i even screwed up on the first log and left it in drive, meaning it took off in first and not second. i sent it to him to show him how quick first gear comes and goes. what i didnt know myself was just how fast it was.
he messaged me saying i went from 0 to 50mph in 3.6 seconds. my reaction.....what???!!!!
he gave me the thumbs up to send it down the 1/4. today was the second last day the track will be open before it closes for the season.
there were a few "what the hell's" when i was sitting in the tech lane with the hood open.
first run out, lined up put it in 4x4 (praying the front diff wouldnt explode) then hammered it. it even sounded like it spun. one of don's buddys that i know was there also and came up to me saying he couldnt believe how high the front end came up to the point he thought it hung the front wheels.
the time slip,
i almost crapped myself when i saw that. i figured maaaaaybe a 12.9, but NOT a 12.65. and certainly not at 107mph!
second run wasnt as great but not shabby. one thing don and myself were having a problem with was trying to figure out the 1-2 shifts because once again, it goes through first so fast, it doesnt have enough time to shift. we set the shift point to 42mph. on the second run it hit the rev limiter then shifted. you can see the front end dive down just as it shifted.
this is the timeslip from that run.
my buddy was in his mustang in the other lane. he was kinda butt hurt that i spanked him hard. lol
there was also a problem with that run as well. while in the staging lane, i keep the truck running. it was probably running for 4 maybe 5 mins before getting to the starting line therefor heat soaking the motor. more on that one.
third run i put the shift point down to 40mph to see if that helped. it did however bog off the line, but i think that was because i didnt have the rpms up enough. if you watch the video, you can see it puff of black come out the pipes, then it takes off. if you also watch the front tires, you can see them spin off the line as well.
and the time slip
that run i didnt leave the truck running in staging. i would start it, move, then shut off. that was also a blessing to. when i came back to the pits, i wanted to see what the iat was, well because if starting and turning it off, it screwed up the dataloging. i also didnt get a log from the first run because i forgot to turn it on, but the second one i was able to log. i saw my iat's look kinda high. then i saw the coolant temp. it was at 220! i discovered the cooling fans werent coming on (corroded wire at the battery) so that ended the day for me. didnt want to chance it. i also think that may have slowed me a bit in the second run, and may have caused the bog in the third run. the nice thing was its all highway home so i wasnt worried about driving it back.
the pits are open to the public at the track i went to. there were a few people walk up, look under the hood, mention god for some reason (lol). one guy said he raced me once, thought he was fast, then today realized what he messed with, and didnt feel so bad. there was another couple of guys that i talked to that i mentioned "yea, i kinda fibbed on the tech card. i said i had a 302 in it" they told me they knew i was full of it when i launched it and saw the front lift the way it did.
when i sent a pic of the timecard to don, he said he was going to see what the horsepower conversion was. for some reason i didnt think of that.
so using et, mph and how much evil weights (4600lbs with me in it. one of us needs to go on a diet, and i like my food, so guess who loses). it converts to 450 hp. now whether thats rwhp or crank, i cant say for sure. all i know is i have finally reached a goal of owning a 12 second 1/4 mile vehicle, just would have never dreamed it would be a explorer. it also kinda freaks others out as well.
i gotta give a major shout out to dono! there is no way in hell i could have done this without your help! thank you again!!!!
. just kidding. i dont think this thing will ever do 11's. then again thats what i also said about 13's and 12's.
