Arriving at the Live Oak gate (L.O. west off the 605 fwy), I entered the North Main Entrance to Irwindale and paid my $20. In return, I received a Tech Card and complimentary trunk inspection. I then pulled forward for my vehicle inspection.



After a successful inspection, you get your windows graffiti’d in 3 places & then pull forward a whopping 20 feet, park it and then “register”. Registration requires you to present your Driver’s License, as well as sign the disclaimer. You will then receive an official limited edition Irwindale plastic wristband award for your efforts.



Irwindale is an 1/8 mile & gets crowded, quickly. I ran into MrTomCat (my350z) with his APS TT 350z, and his buddy (sorry, forgot his name!) in the pits.

 

Later on in the evening we were joined by Davidchoi425 (David / G35Driver, OCG35 (Mike / G35Driver), Sein (My350z), and Nuttyprof (G35Driver)

Local domestics were pretty friendly and the Monterey Park PD 350z was there with his buddies. I was messing around and walked up to his car as he was getting ready to load and started questioning. “Were you aware, sir, that upon visual inspection, that your vehicle has modifications to its smog equipment? I also noticed that you do not have CARB approval sticker for the Turbonetics aftermarket product, or do you have documentation to support your operation of this vehicle under its current level of modification? I let him off with a warning, since he had a pretty good sense of humor.





Temps ranged from 88 at 5p to 70 at 945p. Didn’t like the fact that you could not avoid the water box and the crews thought it funny to soak the entire staging area. Was not a problem at first, but then water built up and you had to do a little burn out past the water box to clear your wet rubber.

On my Dunlop 19” DZ101 Direzzas, I was running with 32psi. Sein set his pressure at 20 (wtf) on his stock 19’s. There was no “bracket racing” at Irwindale. When there is you must be in the 7’s to qualify and pay an additional $20. Prize money comes from the bracket registration. So at Irwindale, bracket racing is just for the “big boys”.



A little competition for Mike … and you thought you get nervous when a cruiser pulls up on you!

 

First run was at 88deg
SOCALTED vs. Integra
Reaction .554 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.346
330 6.359
1/8 9.704 (68.57MPH) . . . . Opponent (10.464 / 70.2MPH)

FYI… I banged the rev limiter on 1-2 and 2-3. My bad!!!

Run #2 was at 88deg
SOCALTED vs. 240Z
Reaction .685 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.286
330 6.242
1/8 9.432 (77.06MPH) . . . . Opponent (10.080 / 69.13MPH)


Run #3 was at 86deg
SOCALTED vs. Drag S10 pickup
Reaction .633 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.240
330 6.160
1/8 9.331 (77.52MPH) . . . . Opponent (7.974 / 87.22MPH)


Run #4 was at 79deg**
SOCALTED vs. Drag Monte Carlo
Reaction 1.146 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.293
330 6.205
1/8 9.294 (79.92MPH) . . . . Opponent (8.932 / 83.78MPH)

**This was my run with DMH Performance's Electric Cutouts open **

Run #5 was at ??deg
SOCALTED vs. OCG35
Reaction .595 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.510
330 6.456
1/8 9.656 (76.95MPH)

OCG35
Reaction .854 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.395
330 6.496
1/8 9.698 (76.60MPH)

As a side note, the crew really soaked the water box and approach. Both Mike and I spun our tires like crazy at launch, as we don’t do burn outs. So, we learned on the next round to “spin” a little to dry them off.


Run #6 was at 73deg
SOCALTED vs. OCG35
Reaction .591 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.233
330 6.126
1/8 9.286 (77.90MPH)

OCG35
Reaction .785 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.253
330 6.143
1/8 9.292 (77.56MPH)

Last Race!! #7 at 71deg
Unfortunately, I think Mike walked away with my last slip. Mike if you have one slip with #3416 in the right lane, lemme know what it says. It was vs. a newer Impala and I think it was in the 9.3’s, not sure (yes, I beat him!)

I'd also like to congratulate and welcome Sein as the newest member of Team Transport! BTW... Sein ran an 8.9 and MrTomCat ran a 7.777!

Until next time... cheers, Ted

 

For those of you following my DMH Performance Electric Exhaust cutout experiment, this was an interesting experience.

Run #4 was at 79deg**
SOCALTED vs. Drag Monte Carlo
Reaction 1.146 (at Irwindale .500 is perfect)
60’ 2.293
330 6.205
1/8 9.294 (79.92MPH)

**This was my run with DMH Performance's Electric Cutouts open **

You can see that my reaction time sucked.. but that wasn't me... that was the car not moving over the line at launch... and I did not spin the tires. You can see that, even on the worst of launches, my reaction time has NEVER exceeded .690

Now let's take the average of my five runs (1,2,3,5,6) 4 is left out because that is the Cutout run, and I do not have the numbers for Run 7.

5 Run Avg vs. DMH
Slowed my avg. "reaction time" by 0.534
Shaved -0.030 off my avg. 60'
Shaved -0.064 off my avg. 330'
Shaved -0.188 off my avg. 1/8 mile
Increased avg. max MPH by 4.320mph

VS. my 4 run average (eliminating run #1 where I hit the rev limiter twice)
Slowed my avg. "reaction time" by 0.520
Shaved -0.024 off my avg. 60'
Shaved -0.041 off my avg. 330'
Shaved -0.132 off my avg. 1/8 mile
Increased avg. max MPH by 2.563mph

This very much correlates to what I felt in the car when last I ran the cutouts at LACR. It's a DOG off the line, having lost all low end power (more accurately, the "Will to Move"). BUT, as she gets going, she really starts picking up!

Being only a 1/8th mile course, I don't feel the run really gave the car the headroom it needed. On the other hand, I can't really say that I like having a lead bottom at the last yellow.

I wish that I had run a second E-cutout run, but wasn't sure how many more runs we'd get. I was trying to see if I could break into the 8's. Maybe next time if don't run with half a tank of gas and changeout my 19's for the stock 17's?

Cheers, Ted

Please note: The above are observations based on a single open pipe run and are not to be considered guarantees that it will be repeatable for you or me. This is an experiment in process!!

 

nice report...
Dude you got *****...I was afraid of running that cop car because I knew I'd beat him...

Speaking of beating...here's my new best:

 

hats off to you man...freakin' hot times.

Cheers, Ted

 

Do you guys get wheelhop going into 2nd gear for Irwindale?

 

no wheel hop here.

 

only if I'm not heated up enough

 

I did do the 20 psi but I also ran a 8.95 on only my 2nd run. I will only get better. My 60 was a 2.109. I am working on it though.

 

I am so freakin pissed!!! I went to LACR tonight and my best time was a 14.4 @ 94 MPH. How are others getting into the hundres on stock Z? I am so pissed. I wanted a least a 14.0.

 

Sein:

"Wanting and receiving are two different things at LACR."
~SoCalTed

There are so many variables up there, that it is more about consistency than about "fastest pass". The conditions, literally, drastically change with every run!

Patience, 14.4 is a very respectable time for a non FI Z. My best time up there is 14.807 @ 95.89mph. I think Clint's (THX723) best time in his 6MT sedan is 14.1, and that boy can launch/drive.

On Wed night, our sedans (OCG35/Mike and I) couldn't do better than a 15.0, and that was the best performance out of the VQ's that were there (no FI's).

Some other best #'s from LACR:
GurgenPB - G35 Sedan (PE TT's) 13.420 @ 104.3

My worst at LACR was a 15.8, but then again, I had 4 adults in the car

-Ted

 

Yea your right. Maybe next time

 

LACR has very high elevation, dust and bad traction...hitting 14.4 on your car there is very good. I'm going next friday and I will not be surprised if I can only get a 12.9 there...

 

......and the track has a "slight" uphill grade to it.

 

I completely forgot to ask: Did anyone watch the Skyline run and if so how did he do?

Not to forget the Porsche launching in reverse....that was a classic

 

I totally missed the Skyline, only saw it when i was coming off a run and coming back around thru the pits. It was gone before the end of the night.

Dang, i wish I'd seen that flubbed porsche launch.. that would have made my night.

-T