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View Full Version : Took the 'Benz to the drag strip today...


Geeky1
14 Oct 2004, 6:52am
...and it did pretty well. Not great, but not bad.

The best run was the first one, which was a 15.741 @ 89.018mph; my best reaction time was 0.095s. That's not far off the 15.5 @ 90 Car & Driver got when they road tested one in 1987, and I think with some experimentation I may be able to get it lower than that. It would also have helped if I had removed the 100-odd lbs of subs from the trunk, but i left my screwdrivers at home by accident when I came back to school on Sunday :(

Anyhow... I got in four runs; won two, lost two. Would've won three if I hadn't gotten into a huge argument with the transmission in the middle of the run about whether the car in fact belonged in 2nd or 3rd gear :rolleyes:

Got some strange looks from people when I got into the line to race in the 'Benz... heard some people talking about how slow it was. The attitude changed somewhat after the first couple of runs. :D Had a couple of people tell me that they were surpised that it was that fast because it's so heavy...

And on the last run, I did a massive burnout. Wish someone had been there to take pics. But I decided before the run that since I was starting to get a little tired (I'm running on <4hrs of sleep) and the idea of smacking the wall at 90MPH didn't really appeal to me, I'd stop while I was ahead. But yeah, I felt like showing off a bit, so I did. I stopped when clouds of tire smoke started billowing past the front windows. :D

So yeah... that was fun. Got a couple ideas on how to get the ET down a bit, and I'm bugging my dad to bring his older 'Benz out to settle our little debate about which car is faster... :D

TheBaron
14 Oct 2004, 6:57am
15 seconds? get a turbo

Geeky1
14 Oct 2004, 7:43am
Nah. I can't do anything to the car for the next 4 years, since my parents are still paying for the insurance.

And the transmission can't handle it anyhow. AND if I were going to do anything, I'd supercharge it. It's not all that fast compared to a late-model Trans Am or Z-28, but for a luxury sedan that weighs 4200lbs, was never designed with drag racing in mind, and was built at one of the worst times in automotive history from the standpoint of horsepower output, it's not bad. :p

Thrax
14 Oct 2004, 7:50am
Your car has a teeny weener. ;D

Leonardo
14 Oct 2004, 8:04am
And here comes stick in the mud Leo:

Man, you bend your car in one of those events, your insurance company will legally tell you to go pack sand.

mcwc
14 Oct 2004, 8:06am
You play, you pay.

Geeky1
14 Oct 2004, 8:10am
And here comes stick in the mud Leo:

Man, you bend your car in one of those events, your insurance company will legally tell you to go pack sand.

That's why you don't bend the car. :p

dragonV8
14 Oct 2004, 1:29pm
All things considering, that was a pretty good time for a car of that weight. Good to be able to do a burnout too without getting in trouble with the cops. :thumbsup:

Glad you didn't hit the wall or anything. That would most definitely take the fun out of it. :(

Where we are in Perth, we have a day for private cars just like yours and lots of people from all walks of life go for a run. Dad's in the station wagons, young guys in their crappy GM's (cause i'm a Ford lover), you name it they go out and have a bit of controlled fun. :)

GHoosdum
14 Oct 2004, 3:35pm
Geeky - were shifting the automatic manually? Is that what caused the 2/3 gear confusion?

Yes, 15.741 is a good 1/4 mile time for a 4200 pound car - probably closer to 4500 with you and the trunk junk. You probably could have run the 15.5 without that 100 pounds of crap in the trunk - probably even lower with stickier tires.

Geeky1
14 Oct 2004, 5:16pm
Geeky - were shifting the automatic manually? Is that what caused the 2/3 gear confusion?

Yup. That's the only way to get it to start in 1st, so...

TheBaron
14 Oct 2004, 5:46pm
one of my friends has a turbo 300E, its a beautiful piece of machinery

Geeky1
15 Oct 2004, 1:48am
Cool. The 300Es weren't turboed from the factory; you sure it's not a 300D? If it is a 300E, you have any idea where he got the turbo setup for it?