More Road test Ringers....

In the last post I promised some more Road Test "Ringers". I aim to please, so here they are. # 1. 1987 Buick Grand National. The Grand National was a big hit with the buff magazines in the late '80's. The '84 and earlier versions of the GN and Regal T-Type which had an electronically controlled Rochester Quadrajet Carburator on the Turbo 3.8 were erratic performers at best. Like the ill-fated Turbo Trans-Am of 1980-81-they just couldn't make the cars run and pass emissions with a Turbo and a Carburator. That all changed in 1985 with the debut of Multi-Port Fuel Injection. With MPFI the engineers could program the fuel curve precisely and set the ECM to back up the timing if detonation was detected. An intercooler also helped greatly. Now instead of stumbling and chugging and running high 15 or low 16 second 1/4 mile times, the Fuelie models ripped off blistering low to mid 14 second times. Car and Driver ran a 14.41, Hot Rod ran a 14.30. Since most L98 Corvettes ran 14.50's Buick could lay claim to building the fastest American production car. One tester however-at Englishtown New Jersey ripped off a blistering 13.85. Other magazines and Buick engineers wanted to examine the car and test it themselves. On the first pass it laid down a 13.95. Subsequent passes were a string of 14.01s, 14.03s and the slowest a 14.05. Still a good 3 or 4 tenths quicker ( 3 or 4 car lengths ) than the other magazines, but except for the first pass-no 13 second runs. It was finally ascertained that the car was running a 160 degree thermostat instead of a 195, and had a modified electric fan switch that turned the fan on at 180 degrees instead of 220. Do you think the engine running 40 degrees cooler would net a much cooler, denser fuel charge-which would help the Turbo's performance greatly? Further the car was filled with 104 octane racing gas-which would ensure that the ECM would deliver full timing all the time, rather than retarding it to run on 87 or 91 octane pump gas!!  Think this made a difference?  Lastly-the original tester also admitted that he put wet towels on the intake manifold between runs!! This all explains how this "stock" GN could break into the 13s when all others could only manage mid 14s!!  # 2. 1991 Ford Mustang LX "5.0".  Car Craft boasted about their "Basically Stock" "5.0" Mustang that ripped of a blistering 14.04 second 1/4. Since other magazines ran between 14.72 ( Hot Rod ) and 15.29 ( Road and Track ). This merited investigation. Yes CC's Mustang was "basically stock". Except for a K&N airbox and filter,a Flowmaster "Cat-Back" exhaust system, swapping the 3.08 gears for some 3.73:1s, and swapping the 225/60VR15 Goodyear Gatorbacks for 235/60R15 M&H Drag Radials. So come on guys-the car's stock-except for the intake and exhaust, stiffer gears, and stickier tires!!  I mean if your going to nit-pick.... # 3. 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4. These swoopy Japanese exotics featured a twin-turbo V6 and all-wheel drive. Their "Controlled Conditons with a professional driver" is almost as audacious as Pontiac swapping the engines in 1964. Most of the buff magazines ran 14.50s with these cars. Mitsubishi claimed a blistering 13.75. This was accomplished by disconnecting the rev limiter, disconnecting the knock sensor, filling the tank with 104 octane gas, and lowering tire pressure to 15 psi. The "professional driver" then dropped the clutch at 6,300 rpm and powershifted at 7,000 ( 500 rpm over the redline ) which grenaded the $5,749 transaxle after 3 runs!!  My neighbor had one of these cars and was totally shocked when my Hurst / Olds blew his doors off.  Not so much when I showed him the "Contolled Conditions".  Like the old saying goes only believe half of what you read and none of what you hear... Mastermind