FTO Drivers Club, Western Australia

[(vlad)]

....well ill prove everyone wrong.

[RichardH]

Ah yes, now I remember. That infernal .003!!!!

If only you'd eaten the other half of that Mars Bar you had in the glove box. You'd have been in the 14's with the weight saving!

- Rich

[pevans]

Judging by the response to Turbogals claims I�m guessing no one is taking her to seriously. 12 sec flat does seem like a bit of a stretch for an FTO even if it does have a turbo and Nitrous.

Vlad can�t say how much I�m looking forward to seeing you get yours on the track. If it performs anywhere near as well as it looks, I�ll be impressed. So I�m taking it you imported it pretty much ready to race like that?

I think the biggest factor on the day to consider will be reaction times. I checked out that UK website that Rich suggested, The quickest time on that list was a 14.5. His reaction time was almost 0.9 secs. Speaking to a mate than is a regular at the drags, he reckons that�s worse than average�

Think I�ll be finding a nice quiet street somewhere to practise my �LAUNCHES�

[vlad]

i'll be practicing my launches aswell

my first runs will be low 3000-3500 rpm but than i will gradually increase to over 5k!!!!

[marke]

Reaction time doesnt affect your actual time down the 1/4 mile. The clock doesnt start counting till you actually start moving. So you can sit there for up to 6 seconds (i think it is?) before leaving the line. You will have a crap reaction time, but you might get a better launch due to preparation.

Speaking from experience vlad, launching at 5k @ motorplex will give you a lot of tramlining and not a lot of accelleration. About 3.5-4k is perfect. but if the track is especially grippy keep upping your launch RPM till it feels right.

[Leigh]

for my launches I have it at only 2k and raise it from there as I pull out the clutch . I probably should experiment a bit more with more clutch riding, I just didnt want to hurt the car too much, since I get too much wheel spin any higher.

but first gear wasnt much a problem.. in fact I always got out infront of skylines and all that, pretty much every time.
it was the lag in second when the revs drop to 4.5k, that makes my car feel slow. this is when most turbo ones get past me.

2nd to 3rd is fine.
.

also I hit redline cut out in 3rd just before I cross the line, but I have not enough time to hit 4th. so if I could raise my rev limiter a teeny bit I could probably get a better time again!

[Guest]

"rev limiter?" are you saying that in tiptronic i could stomp my foot down on the accel in 1st gear and my car wont overheat?

[RichardH]

Well, overheating isn't really the issue.

The rev limiter stops the engine revving over 8000rpm (actually, a wee bit more), pure and simple.

In a manual - or, in your case, in 'tip' mode - you will simply find yourself bouncing off 8000 until you remember to change gears.

You won't blow up the engine revving it to redline... as long as you run a good maintenance regime. eg. Change the oil+filter regularly (I do mine every 4500-5000km, but I'm an obsessive, hehe). Use the right oil. Keep track of your 3 belts in terms of age, mileage, quality.

There is also an idiot-limiter that stops the engine revving over 6500rpm when cold. But if you're taking it to high rpm in the first 10 to 15 minutes driving from cold, you're simply asking for trouble anyway. Oil takes that long to heat up.

98 octane fuel is also a must if you're going to give it some stick. It was built to run on Jap domestic 100RON fuel... so give it as close as we have here in Oz. BP Ultimate is good stuff.

As for overheating... that depends on when your last coolant flush was, whether you use correct coolant, etc. I've never in 3.5 years had an overheating FTO... although thrashing around for 15 minutes on a track will get your oil temp waaay high!! Just remember to do cool-down time after driving hard - be nice to that machinery and it will be nice to you.

But can you stomp your foot to the floor in 'D' in a tiptronic FTO and be assured of mechanical happiness? Dunno! Any tiptronic owners like to comment? How good is its changing? Does it ever 'forget' to change as the rev limit approaches? Or does it change early, and spoil all the fun?

- Rich

[BASSULA]

in D it will go right up to 8k but only for a very small period of time.... was quite surprised that it did actually get that high..

cheers

[payaya]

ok vlad go get your 13! im wating for the other people to see you do this.

[vlad]

13's........hopefully.

anytime around 14.5, ill be happy

[payaya]

u wanna see you get this 14.5 from yuor freak!

you'll be the first into the mids 14's without induction, your the man!

[vlad]

thanx man, thats the encouragement i need.

[pevans]

[RichardH]

> knock off a couple of stockers (fto's)

Original factory induction, exhaust, throttle body, fuel pressure regulator. Yeah, mine's certainly a stocker when it comes to engine mods. I'll be there at the Motorplex on Wednesday, awaiting my ass-whooping...

- Rich