September 24, 2005

After months of humid, hot days. today was a really nice day for racing at St. Thomas Dragway. Temps were in the high 60's, with clear skies and relatively dry air. I was able to squeeze 6 runs in (two were purposely heat-soaked hot lapping), and all were better than my previous best of 14.8@95. My minor modifications (JLT Intake, Gears and Lidio Tune) made for a .5 reduction in ET. Here are my results:

	RUN 1	RUN 2	RUN 3	RUN 4	RUN 5	RUN 6
TIME	11:25	12:29	1:28	3:10	3:23	3:38
60'	2.197	???	2.162	2.185	???	2.184
1/8 ET	???	???	???	???	???	???
1/8 MPH	???	???	???	???	???	???
1/4 ET	14.308	14.281	14.287	14.420	14.506	14.341
1/4 MPH	97.38	96.96	96.81	96.35	95.54	96.74

I'm pretty happy with the way the car performed. In another month, once the temps drop down to the mid 50's I'll head back, and see if I can'r drop another .1 or .2. I'd like to eventually (next year) put the car into the 13's.

April 16 , 2005

Today was a perfect day for racing at St. Thomas Dragway. I made 5 runs, and other than the first one (right off the road and onto the track), all were in the 14's. All were completed, 100% bone stock. No modifications, no weight reduction - nothing. Here are my results:

	RUN 1	RUN 2	RUN 3	RUN 4	RUN 5
TIME	11:53	12:30	1:02	1:51	2:30
60'	???	???	???	2.344	2.417
1/8 ET	9.799	9.695	9.737	9.683	9.710
1/8 MPH	???	???	???	74.97	74.63
1/4 ET	15.006	14.878	14.922	14.838	14.883
1/4 MPH	93.73	94.30	94.14	95.13	94.89

At this point, it's time to be happy I have a strong stocker, and give up on trying for the quickest stock Marauder. At 17,000km, I'm not sure there's too much more break-in speed to be found. I'm a good 2-tenths slower than the quickest, and I'm not sure I could make it up, unless I had the perfect conditions and track prep, all on the same day. So... Let the MODS begin!

 

October 17 , 2004

Today was a cool day, with no planned events at the track. Sounds like a plan! I went with video camera in tow, so video may find a home on the site, sooner, or later. Here are my results:

	RUN 1	RUN 2	RUN 3
TIME	11:25	12:15	1:00
60'	2.244	2.246	2.216
1/8 ET	9.641	9.657	9.708
1/8 MPH	74.98	74.73	74.64
1/4 ET	14.831	14.874	14.910
1/4 MPH	94.97	94.47	94.86

So, I had a blast! The car now has 4500 miles on it, at the time of this, so I think there may still be more break in, before it runs it's best (this is based on my experience with other Fords and the experiences of other Marauder owners). Basically, it looks like a consistant launch can be had by raising launch rpm up to 1700, and easing into the throttle.

I'm hoping that I can duplicate the 14.8xx next season, and would really like to better it. I still have played with any other variables (such as air pressure), and am completely bone stock, other than oil changes. At the risk of putting my head out, I think that in time, I can get a 14.7xx, under the right circumstances.

 

June 25, 2004

Today was STAP - A day filled with activities for Crown Vics, Grand Marquis' and Marauders. The evening consisted of drag racing, at St. Thomas Dragway. Here are my results:

	RUN 1	RUN 2	RUN 3	RUN 4
TIME	6:46	7:44	9:20	9:41
60'	2.290	2.320	2.344	2.417
1/8 ET	9.985	10.006	10.013	10.358
1/8 MPH	72.49	72.58	72.93	71.44
1/4 ET	15.256	15.272	15.264	15.691
1/4 MPH	93.22	92.97	93.35	92.60

So, I had fun! The car has 1500 miles on it, at the time of this, so I know it will take some time to break in, and run it's best (this is based on my experience with other Fords and the experiences of other Marauder owners). Even though I kept playing with the launch (raising launch rpm, etc.), the car was bang-on consistent, at 15.2, with the only exception being the last run, where I hot-lapped, and messed up the launch.

Now I've got a baseline, for what this car can do, and a target to shoot for... I know this thing has a 14.xxx in it, once it loosens up, a little bit more, and once I get the launch down. Now, I'm looking forward to the next opportunity to test it out!