I got my first GN at the young age of 17 years old just 8 days ago. Shes a looker all right. I never knew what one was till i saw the black beast stomp an eclipse at morocco, IN (US 41 dragway). I fell in love with them after that. First day i took it to school to show it off to everyone, people were impressed with its look and surprised by its 12.27 1/4 mile time. Currently, it is the car to beat, but the way it looks now, people are gaining on me. Last saturday, i was just cruising down the highway at 55 and a 99 cavalier comes flying by me. I decided to show off for the girl in the passenger seat of my car and got on the back end of the cavvy in no time flat. Since my speedo only goes up to 85, i wasnt sure of my speed, but i estimated about 115-120, i knew that cavalier was smashed and i had OD left. I didnt try anything stupid, because the girl was scared to death. It is a great feeling going from a 96 white grand marquis (daily driver) to an 87 black grand national. I hope to one day give this car to one of my kids. Pics are located at www.level7racing.net under the members section.
Slo down, don't get into the habit of jumping on cars that past you fast. TR's stomp better from standstill. Purchase a scan tool,perform the spring cleaning.Did you run at the track or is this a time slip given to you? Learn about these cars before you go boom.
What do you mean by spring clean exactly? I never really get on it much. Only a few times to show my friends what it had, but other than that, its speed limit or less. I don't plan on dragging it much during the summer. I want to make it into a nice show car more than anything. The slip was given to me by the previous owner. I am sure she runs quite close to it. My friend's 13sec camaro doesnt have the speed this does. All i need is a pair of slicks for the tracks. I am looking at tires for my GN now. The local performance guy said i should get a 275/50/15 BF Goodrich drag radials on 15x8 weld racing rims. By my estimations, ill have about a half inch between the wheel well and the tire. I am not sure if that will work.
The 275/50/15 BFG drag will fit on the car. I use to run them. They hook fine with a 93 chip and stock boost levels but with good gas and 22+ boost that is another story.
Dean posted this on the list:
Adam,
See : http://www.gnttype.org/maint/basics.html
Since you haven't seen that, then you certainly haven't seen a lot of
what gnttype.org has to offer. I suggest you go through every tab under
the "Resources" menu, found in the upper right corner of the gnttype.org
pages. Read and try to (mostly) understand what everything is. When I
don't understand something I do a web search on that term until I find a
description I could grasp.
When I began learning about these cars I printed tons of stuff and put
it in a 3-ring binder for future reference when I was working in the
garage. I suggest you do the same, and I further suggest you focus on
the General Maintenance Procedures first, particularly:
- Quick Reference
- Spring Cleaning
- IAC Adjustment
- TPS Adjustment
- T.V. Cable Adjustment
But don't stop there. Read 'em ALL. Also see
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/faq/BLMINT.html.
GET A SCAN TOOL, and a data logger if funds allow. Scan Master is very
useful as it can be installed permanently and is therefore always
available for reference. TurboLink & Direct Scan are both good data
loggers, each with pros and cons. I suggest having both SM & TL or
DS... I have all 3 and wouldn't want to be without any of them. There
are others available, but I have no experience with them (OTC, WinALDL,
etc.).
I also suggest you not buy anything for your car just yet unless it is
maintenance related. After you understand the basics and have at least
a scan tool, move on to the recipe page :
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/recipes/recipepage.html. Now don't run
off to the web just yet for a buying spree, though. Think long (weeks
or months) and hard about what you want to achieve first. Many folks
have spent lots of $$ unnecessarily because of a lack of understanding ,
including me. You can go pretty quick with a couple simple items, so
there is no need to go out and spend thousands on turbos, intercoolers,
heads, etc., though these will allow you to quicker easier. It is
better to understand and utilize what you have first.
Last suggestion, PLEASE be careful driving on public roads.
Dean Nelson
You should read as much as you can and BE CAREFUL!! It only takes one time to blow it up. While the car has run a 12.2, I would guess that was a best and the car is turned down but still, a 12 second car for someone whose driver's license still smells brand new.....it can be a bad combination. You know the car is fast and has power, there is no need to show everybody that comes along. And I definitely wouldn't waste my gas on a Cavalier. Again, read and learn the car and above all, respect the car. We'd hate to see you in here asking about replacement parts or where you can find another one. If someone really wants to run, take it to the track.
I have done all the things for spring cleaning already. Only thing i need to do yet it fuel filter and rear end fluid which will be done tomorrow. I dont like to drive it that fast anyways, but the kid pissed me off. The car is fast, and is powerful. I am still getting used to it right now, therefore im taking it easy whenever i drive it around. Besides that time, i have never had it over 60. Thanks for the warnings, i will heed them, because i dont want to hurt the car, me or anyone else.
You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, hopefully things will stay that way and you and the car will be around for a very long time,(hopefully together.) Another thing to think about is a ticket or worse, the cops taking the car. I usually have that voice come on whenever I feel like doing something silly. I don't want to have to pay a ticket or have my insurance go up. Most of the time I just laugh and shake my head because they usually don't have a CLUE as to what they are dealing with. Matter of fact at the track the other night my girlfriend said she overheard two guys talking behind her when the announcer said "Grand National." The one guy said "Grand National?", his buddy being the car guy he is said,"Ahhh, just a V-6." And then the GN proceeded to blow the doors off of a new corvette I think, running a high 12. Course she said they didn't say anything after that.;) I've had my car for about 5 years now and I'm still getting used to it, it's not a daily driver anymore so it tends to scare me a little when I take it for a spin, but it's a good scare. Definitely get the scantool and learn the car, I still haven't gotten my car tuned right so I still don't know what it likes exactly, they're all different. I'd get in contact with the previous owner and find out everything you can from them about the car, especially how to tune it, or I guess how it likes to be tuned. Good luck, have fun, and be safe.
Thanks for the advice. I was wondering, what exactly is a scantool? I don't want to sound like a newbie, but everyon mentions it, so it must be vital. Also, where can i buy it, and for how much?
No problem really, everybody was a newbie at some point. Not to mention there are quite a few guys here that know so much I often feel like a newbie.;) Basically a scantool is something you use to be able to "see" what the car's computer sees. It will tell you what's going on, like TPS voltage, O2 voltage(to let you know if you are rich or lean) and other stuff that can help you tune the car or troubleshoot a problem. There are quite a few out there and all have pros and cons. This link can help show you what I mean http://www.turbo-link.com/tlink/scanchart.html
Personally I use Turbo-Link and I like it. I happened to have an old laptop laying around to use, it is cheaper than most and it gives more info than a scanmaster like boost. Some people have two or more, like a scanmaster which is always in the car and then another which gives more info to help tune, which they use at the track, which would be good but one is enough.