PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

Hi guys,

I'm joining the forum, so I figured I'd say "hi". I guess I am what you'd call an "import" guy; my first car was a '99 2.5RS with a pityful 165hp N/A 4 cylinder engine. Over 3 years I swapped the motor anddrivetrain to a forged piston, larger turbo, ported and polished 2L turbocharged STI engine that spun to 8100RPMs under 20lbs of boost and put down an honest 320horsepower to the ground. The car itself weighted sub 2800lbs and would make some incredible all wheel drive launches, as well as consume all kinds of parts at regular intervals.

http://www.powerlabs.org/images/bestenginebay.jpg

When my 4rth engine blew up, only a few weeks after my 3rd transmission failure, I decided it was time to sell it (losing a TON of money) andbuy something more reliable; I got a low mileage 2005 Subaru STI. Unlike the RS, which had every single suspension, brake and drivetrain upgrade conceivable, this one had a simple full exhaust, larger intercooler, retune and some mild suspension and brake upgrades. The brakes and handling (assisted by a computer controlled electromagnetic center differential that splits the power bias as needed to control oversteer and understeer) were AMAZING. The power, however, in a car that was over 400lbs heavier than my previous vehicle, left a lot to be desired.

http://www.powerlabs.org/images/newcar.jpg

Then one of the local low lifes where I live ran a stop sign and destroyed the STI. I always wanted to put a bigger turbo on it, crank up the boost, and make good power numbers (around 400 at the wheels) for a fast daily driver.
Trouble is, I am moving to California, and under desert heat, with 91 octane, 400 at the wheels will either not happen, or come at the cost of a lot of lag and probably not much reliability. Oh yeah, it also won't pass any kind of emissions test.

So now I'm buying a black 2003 Corvette Z06... Hoping I won't miss the STI brakes or the traction I had with full time AWD. And looking forward to all the power and torque, of course ;)

BTW here is my web page (has some stuff on my cars and research): http://www.powerlabs.org/

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

Welcome, looks like you have had a little bit of a journey to the vette. Just to let you know at the track I have never been out launched by an STi or an evo.:)Not saying a heavilymodified one wouldn't out launch me because they would but stock or lightly modifiedvs my car it's no contest. I was in the market for an Evo before I got my vette, I test drove one and was not satisfied with the power or gearing. As far as your concern with breaking goes, if you don't like the stock brakes replace them, I did and haven't looked back. Enjoy the new ride!

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

WEelcome to CF! :)
We won't hold the "import" thing against ya. :D
You sound like a performance guy, you won't regret gettin' a Vette! ;)
Put up some pics when ya get your Z06.

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

Welcome to the Corvette Forum!!

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RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

You should've seen my STI before it was wrecked then ;) I had launch control and flat foot shifting programmed into the ECU: I would hold the throttle down together with the clutch, and by bouncing into a secondary rev limiter the turbo would build 10PSI of boost just sitting still. Then by holding the gas to the floor between shifts I could maintain 18PSI between shifts as well. Here's a video of the launch control in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhzs7Tefr40

Plus, remember, this is not a launch with hot tires on a specially treated surface; my RS ran an 11.8 second 1/4 on the street, with 225 45 17 Falken street tires. ;)

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

Welcome to the site. You'll love your vette as much if not more than the other great cars you've had. With your tuning ability just think what you will be able to do with the vette. Like Starship said ....to me a motor head is a motor head. again, welcome to a great place with great folks. Cheers.

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

11.8s are nice, where do you live? I run very low 12's up at 6000 feet above sea level with 1.9-2.2 60 foot times( I know average at best but all the STi's I have seen run at Bandimere run mid to high 14's:(, not very impressive if you ask me),but I have to put between 295s and 305s on my car and they are street tires as well. I think with drag radialsup hereI would hit high 11s with 1.6-1.7 60 foot times. I think in cali I would be very low 11's with drs and mid 11's with my street tires. Whatdid you run for 60 foot times with that anyway?

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

14s? Are you sure you're not racing base model Imprezas with the non turbo engine and a big wing? Or is everyone you are racing not used to a manual transmission? Wait, they know you are racing them, right?
STOCK STI's have broken into the 12s with a decent driver. I think the factory spec is 13.1 or somewhere in that range?

Anyways. I'm in Upper Peninsula Michigan, the elevation here is 1093ft. I ran a 12.6 second 1/4 mile on Bridgestone Blizzak Revo 1 (that's a snow tire rated at 90 miles an hour) sized 205 55 16s when the weather was in the mid 30s F. Oh, the beauty of all wheel drive. You will NEVER see a corvette do that. Or win an ice race, or a rallycross... etc;)
But then again I'm not living in Michigan any more and I chose the vette because I also think it is the fastest car for the money when AWD stops being a requirement. We will see; I will let you know what I think once I drive it.

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

Not anywhere near12's at 6000 feet of elevation man LOL, it plays a huge part. Factory specs are rated at sea level, the fastest STi or evo at bandimere out of about 7 was a 13.6 and this was over multiple runsand he had a bigger turbo.... LMAO. Stocks were anywhere from 14.8-14.2, put it this way, typhoons where running faster than they were. The typhoons were not stock of course but still. BTW stock specs from car and driverfor the 293 hp 07STi at sea level was running 13.4 1/4 mile times.... Thats a huge difference over 13.1. Altitude correction for a 13.4 second carat 6000 feet of elevation = 14.1 second car with a good driver. Facts are facts, if you don'tbelieve it just google altitude correction factor. This info is also where I'm getting my info that my car would run very low 11s with drs and mid 11s with my street tireseven where you lived in Michigan.

Also you said "Wait, they know your racing right" I would hope so since this is at the track on test and tune night. I mean would you line up at the tree and go hey, I wonder if that guy is going to race me? Another thing, blizzaks are very very very very very soft tires, which makes them very very very very easy to gain traction with............... I would have been more impressed if it would have been done with run flats on the car. Also you hype up AWD but you needed blizzaks???? I used blizzaks on my mustang and got around all winter in Colorado without AWD.... So my stang could do what your STi did???? I'm just curious, not trying to start crap or anything.

You still didn't tell me your 60 foot times, I just want to see how big of a lead you would have out of a dig. I would say average on street tires for me is a 2.0 which is pretty crappy, I should be around 1.7 with drs on the car.

Here is a link,STis andEvosare just veryaverage cars up here inDenver, I guess thats why I went a different direction.
http://www.caranddriver.com/previews...i-limited.html
http://www.wallaceracing.com/altitud...m#superorturbo

RE: PowerLabs checking in here. Hi guys :)
 

AHAHAHAHA!!! You're kidding right? Or are you one of the people I pull out of the ditch every winter because they believe that somehowif the drivetrain transfers power to all 4 wheels, then it must also somehowgrant their car magical powers when it comes to cornering and stopping. Really hope you just said that to make some kind of ridiculous argument that a front heavyrear wheel drive econobox is somehow comparable to a rally car in the snow and that you at least understand how traction works.
Also you've clearly never driven on snow tires. They might be soft, but they are also the narrowest tires you can get in any size and havemore siping and thread blocks than any other kind of tire, and as suchprovide worse traction ondry pavement than even thecheapest all seasons money can buy. My car will usually make full boost in 1st gear and never even chirp the tires, but with snows I can spin all 4 in 1st and 2nd if I try hard. There is a good reason you've never seen anyone at a drag strip with them.

Answering your question, my best 60ft launches were usually in the 1.6X range. This is not terribly unusual for all wheel drive cars on street tires. It helps a lot that I could hold each gear to 8000RPMs and reduce the number of shifts overall.