No, it's not a Z. But I wanted to let my old Z/G friends know about it.

I went to a track event at Silver Dollar Raceway last weekend to make a few baseline passes in my GTI before adding a stage 1 tune. A friend of ours drove his DD 2007 SL65 down so we could make a few passes in that as well, and it's all stock!

It was a very wet early part of the morning, followed by strong easterly headwinds. This made the track slippery and hard to manage if you made decent power. It wasn't a problem for my GTI, other than launching.

My friends best pass in his Sl65 was a 12.0 at 118. Then he handed me the keys and said, make a couple of passes, but it's breaking lose at the 1/3 to 1/2 track area, under full power. This causes the ECU to shift early and hold back power, even with ESP off. On my first pass I managed an 11.6! I was stoked. On the second pass, I caught just a piece of that slippery section of track and broke loose for a second before the ecu shifted up and cut power. I didn't run a third time because the track conditions weren't getting better. His car has trapped as high as 124 mph with full power on tap from the ecu and his previous best time was an 11.7, during perfect track conditions and cold er weather. I'm thinking I can get her down to an 11.3-11.4 in better conditions, so we will give it another shot soon! My GTI can't seem to better mid 14's stock, so it's time for a tune and some mods. MY SL65 passes were made with the ESP off, having to fight the cars wanting to push left and right under full power, while holding it straight as possible down the groove.

Anyway, just wanted to share with my old Z/G drag strip compadres!

Here is video from my first pass.


Time slip from first pass. (left lane) I was racing a built 95 Mustang GT, likely with Nitrous.




In car video from me racing the GTI against the SL65, my daughter was videoing the pass.


A few more pics from the event.

The SL65, which was very dirty from days of rain, and it is a DD.



Our pit area. I thought of making a pass in the Odyssey, but thought better of it. Bet it could run a mid to high 15 though...lol. My wife wasn't receptive when I asked about running it. Probably a good idea on her end to intervene.



Pulling the GTI around to race the SL65.



Pulling the SL into the staging area.



Just before my first pass.



Thanks for letting me share. I hope to buy another HR Z one day soon, and continue my quest for a stock 12....lol.

 

nice!! What did the C7 run if you know?

 

I watched him run a low 13, driver and conditions inhibited. I think he got down to the high 12's. I know it's capable of much better times.

 

That makes me appreciate the GTR even that much more. My bosses bone stock 2012 GTR ran an 11.08 in the quarter, while a TTV12 Merc ran an 11.6.

 

I agree. The GTR is easy to launch, not much of a driving challenge. While I love the GTR, I prefer the RWD driving dynamics of the SL65, even if it shifts slower and is harder to launch. A RWD TT V12, completely different and challenging, especially when it is in slippery and conditions were as bad as they were. Keep in mind, I managed a 1.7 60 ft. on the street tires (RE050A's), but had to watch the power delivery and line, even at half track, or it would break loose. During excellent conditions, the car has trapped 124, on a sticky track with the owner driving. In those conditions, I could get it down to a lower 11, not a high 10 or 11.0 like the 12+ GTR is capable of, but still fun enough. All this in a car that the top comes down on and rides with all the luxury of a high end mercedes. You have to be skilled and wise in the SL65, if you want to push the envelope. The rear end will break loose at any legal speed if you stomp the go pedal, up to around 70. That, imo, makes it a blast to drive.

 

I should also add that the curb weight of the SL65 is around 4,555, definitely no lightweight. That said, the brakes are amazing, as they should be, so stopping fast is no problem.