Went to the drag strip a few months ago and raced a Ford F-150 Lightning truck. These Lightnings are no ordinary trucks. They are powered by a supercharged 5.7L Triton motor. Over 400ftlb of torque is available for this truck smoke the competition.

Luckily we still have the 4G63 on our side. I was shocked to see the truck right next to me all the way through second gear. I have a front wheel drive Eclipse so I don’t start to get traction until 65 MPH. Once I threw it in 3rd, it was all over for him. I pulled away hard at half track and smoked him by over 5 cars at the end. The 110 MPH trap speed also shows how hard the 4G63 can pull you at the top end. The Lightning’s big bad V8 ran out of steam and posted a 103 MPH at the end. At the end of the race I checked out his ride and found out that he was on “the bottle”. This explained how the truck could sort of keep up with me.

Why did I write this drag war story? I feel that too much emphasis is given to how much horsepower the US version of the EVO will get. WHO CARES!!!!! Just as long as the 4G63 is there with an All-Wheel-Drive transmission. There will be so much support from the aftermarket that it won’t matter if Mitsubishi detuned the motor down to 195HP like they did in the 1990-1994 Eclipse. The motor has so much potential that even a street tuned version of the 4G63 can run 110+ trap speeds.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. Front wheel drive cars suck. I will never buy another one because all I do is spin my tires until I reach 4th gear on normal tires. Notice how mediocre my 60ft. launch is even though I had the slicks on in that race.

Jeff

 

maybe its cuz i dont go to the strip but u only beat him by a little over 3 tenths of a second. doesnt seem like much to me. you make it sound like you totally slaughtered him...but yeah fwd sucks and i never own or will ever own a fwd car.

 

1 mile = 5,280 feet

his top speed 110.29mph = 582,331.2 feet per hour

582,331.2 feet per hour = 9,705.52 feet per minute

9,705.52 feet per minute = 161.7856 (Truncated rather than rounded up) feet per second.

His time: 13.068

The Lightning's time: 13.417

The difference = 0.349

0.349 sec * 161.7856 fps = approx 56.46'

And a win is always a win. If you've ever competed in a timed sport (i.e. track or swimming) think of how much the tiniest measure of time means. When the speeds are raised the smallest fractions become huge distances. Think how big a difference a 0.3 second loss in a funny car would be.

EDIT: btw, someone tell me if I screwed up on the math. I hope I at least get partial credit for showing all my work.

 

I don't think you realize how fast both cars are going.

110 MPH = 161 Feet per second.
1 Car length = Around 10 feet

Example
If I ran 13.0 and my opponent ran 14.5, this means that I beat the guy by 24 cars. One second may not seem like much, but beating a car by over 241 feet is a lot.

13.0 to 13.4

I beat the Lightning by 52 Feet according to the timeslip.
.3229 Seconds * 161 Ft/sec = 52 Feet.

Not only did I beat him by 52 feet, but I was pulling away by another 7 MPH and probably more if the race kept going.

Ever watch NHRA Top Fuel drags?? They run in the high 4s all the time at speed around 310 MPH.

4.700 seconds vs. 4.850 seconds

One guy beat the other by only .150 seconds.
But he also beat him by 65 feet which looks like the other guy got smoked by 6 car lengths. Things go by pretty fast at the end of the track. .15 does not seem like alot but if I say I beat someone by 6 cars, you would think that was alot.

Jeff

 

3 minute difference in replies at 110.29 mph =

I win!

 

I wish I typed as fast as my 4G63

Jeff

 

Your motor can type?

 

Well just to correct you JeffGST. The F-150 SVT Lightning is a supercharged 5.4L Triton V8 and I think it runs between 5-7Psi. With a pulley swap on the supercharger that thing will run an 11 I believe with around 10-13Psi of boost. Watch out for that guy in the future cause if he ever modifies that thing you'll only be seeing his tail.

EDIT: If he was on the bottle he should have beaten you.

 

1.988 on the 60' times . . . that's damn good! most can't hit that . . . I know some Galant VR4 guys, and they are trying their damnest to break under 2.0 sec on the 60' times.

 

i hate to get OT but can someone explain all the crap on a time slip.....i have never dynoed a car nor ran one on the track, but i would like to do this with the lancer to post my time slip- with the mods i have


Cory

 

Jeff, have you ever looked into getting an LSD, or maybe just keep a set of drag slicks on a an old set of wheels to swap to on the track? The second solution seems like more of a band aid approach, but still something to look into.

 

From what I know about the Lighting (which, admitably isn't much) the s/c starts to run into breathing problems past stock boost levels. There's a place in Vegas called Silverstate Motorsports that do a lot of work on Fords. They took a look at the stock set-up and decided that a turbo application made much more sense, so they're doing just that. They may even have a kit for it now. I saw the prototype kit and it looked beautiful. TIG welded stainless manifold and exhaust. Nice stuff.

e in la

 

Actually, at over 100mph, it is all about aerodynamics. While the Lightning is quite aerodynamic for a truck, it can't compare to a low slung Eclipse.

 

R/T = reaction time. It has no bearing on final ET, except during handicap bracket racing for prize money. Basically, it's a holeshot off the line.

60' = 60 feet times. Most important to tell about your traction. For NA, 2.6 sec is usually not revving at the line. 2.4 sec is good. 2.2 is great! For TC, 2.2 is decent. Anything under 2.0 is great. This can have major bearing on final ET.

330' = 330 feet. I don't used this info.

1/8 = 1/8 timeslip and mph

1000' = 1000 feet. Again, I don't use this info.

1/4 = 1/4 timeslip and mph.

 

I did some research and you are right about the Lightning being equipped with a 5.4L supercharged engine. He had an open exhaust and a nitrous system that allowed him to stay with me for half the race. Remember that this run was made in the high desert in Nevada. The hot, high altitude air does not favor supercharged or turbo charged motors. I believe that he has more room for improvement and can probably be in the 12s once winter comes around. That does not mean I'll be seeing any tail lights.

Jeff
I'm not completely through with my motor yet.