GN vs M3 vs Viper

[aeonflux]

Some of you may remember my previous post of my first introduction to the Grand National (and the reason I found this board).

Well, I ran into another one a few nights ago.

I was travelling home one night in my M3 (E46) with my friend (Viper) as we always do. (Actually, another friend in his WRX is usually there, but not this night.) We were cruising north on US19 in Clearwater, FL.

As my friend and I made our way through traffic to get some space, I noticed a car with some square headlights hanging with us and looking for a place to pass. As he went by I knew exactly what it was...yet another Grand National. This one was silver and looked to have two darker stripes running from stem to stern over the hood and roof. Dark tint and low profile tires gave away that this was not my grandmother's Buick.

Getting clear of traffic, the GN hit it once. A big, black cloud of smoke belched from the rear as the turbo spooled up. [cough cough] A little playing here and there with me on one side and my friend on the other side of the GN and we cleared the overpass that leads to a nice light.

The three of us slowed to a crawl trying to get the light to change, but to no avail. :(

Through the intersection, we all lined up at about 40 MPH, seeing who was going to get impatient enough to throw down the gauntlet. Wouldn't you know it, it was the GN. :)

A sharp whine from my left signaled that the race was on. Hammer down, the three of us took off in a flash. The speeds climbed to about 70 MPH when the Viper and I hit our power bands.

I always lose to the Viper at the top end...that's just the natural way of things. It's still fun, though. This GN, though, wasn't quite up to the challenge as I started walking away from it. By 100 MPH I was at least a car-length away and pulling.

T'was fun, though. I never did get to give him a thumbs up. (I race because I like my car and it's fun, not to be an ass beating people. Shoot, I lose quite often enough to the Viper, thank you.) We pulled onto Curlew but found a cop down the road a little and all split up. (The cop ended up pulling someone else over.) At least 2 other cops were in the immediate area, so there was no chance at a nice standing start.

So, there you have it. I still respect the GNs, which is why I read this board. When I get beat by one (because I'm only "so fast", but someone putting some mobs in their GN is "hella fast".), I will be sure to post it and my respect as well.

Cheers!

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by aeonflux
As he went by I knew exactly what it was...yet another Grand National. This one was silver and looked to have two darker stripes running from stem to stern over the hood and roof. Dark tint and low profile tires gave away that this was not my grandmother's Buick.

Not grandma's Buick, but not a GN either. They're all black, except for a few that you'll likely never see on the street.

Jim

[87gnNV]

T-type maybe?

[d0n_3d]

i think you raced a hotair 84 or 85 buick regal t-type...all GNs are black from bumper to bumper...

a mildly modded GN (like mine) will take a Viper...up to 120 of course

[aeonflux]

Hmmm...I figured it received a paint job. [shrugs] What do I know? :) I'm still learning about GNs.

It did have the same "3.8sfiturbo" badge on the back as the GN I had raced before, which was one reason I assumed this, too, was a GN. (That, and the same body shape.)

Oh well...if it was not a GN, my apologies for the assumption. I post 'em as I see 'em. ;)

[lyonsd]

http://turbobuick.com/forums/showthr...threadid=50358

Originally posted by aeonflux

It did have the same "3.8sfiturbo" badge on the back as the GN I had raced before, which was one reason I assumed this, too, was a GN. (That, and the same body shape.)

GNs have a "Grand National" badge on the back. That sounds like a T-type, WE4 , Turbo T or Limited with turbo. Don't worry, they're all just as quick as a GN.

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by lyonsd
http://turbobuick.com/forums/showthr...threadid=50358



GNs have a "Grand National" badge on the back. That sounds like a T-type, WE4 , Turbo T or Limited with turbo. Don't worry, they're all just as quick as a GN.

Just a point of clarification - GNs don't have a 3.8 LITER SFI TURBO badge on the back. I know that's what we're trying to get across, but it hasn't been said explicitly. They all perform the same anyway, except for the hot-airs, which was already pointed out.

Jim

[Cleaner13]

hey sorry to get off subject
but I noticed you and I share almost the same exact mods just in different brand names

I was wondering what you run as I havent been to the track since sept and that was when I had like exhaust and a downpipe only

please tell me what boost you ran as well

thanks

Carl

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by Cleaner13
hey sorry to get off subject
but I noticed you and I share almost the same exact mods just in different brand names

I was wondering what you run as I havent been to the track since sept and that was when I had like exhaust and a downpipe only

please tell me what boost you ran as well

thanks

Carl

Who me?

If you meant me, my best is the 12.2x @ 111.6 in my sig. Details behind all my runs are at: http://www.turbojimmy.com/drgrace.html (I'm not sure that the server is up at the moment, I was getting an error earlier in the day).

Now for the excuses:

I've only gotten a handful of runs in since I rebuilt the engine. I told the builder that I wanted solid mid-11s. He said I should be able to do better than that with this motor. Anyhow, all the runs to date were while trying to tune my alky. On every run, it bogged BAD out of the hole and really didn't get moving until it was a few hundred feet down the track - you can see it in my time slips. Max boost was 22-23PSI @ 26 degrees timing.

I definitely have a lot of tuning to do. I'm thinking I should be able to wring at least 115-116 MPH out of it (and the resulting mid/high-11 timeslips). Right now I have a nasty vibe and disconcerting knock (related, me thinks) that I'll have to resolve before I get back out to the track.

Jim

[Cleaner13]

whoops Im sorry

I was referring to the guy with the name

d0n_3d

but thank you for your info as well
since it gives me more info of how TRs respond with different mixtures of mods

Carl

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by Cleaner13
whoops Im sorry

I was referring to the guy with the name

d0n_3d

but thank you for your info as well
since it gives me more info of how TRs respond with different mixtures of mods

Carl

I missed the don_3d in the subject line AND took his sig for yours. I'm an idiot today....sorry.

Jim

[d0n_3d]

i haven't run with this new combo yet...with stock turbo, intercooler, injectors i ran 12.2 @ 112 mph with slicks, race gas, race chip, cold air outside

with my motor still being factory internally...i would suspect it can hit 11.7's all day...with ported and polished heads and a little larger cam 11.2's...

we will see what she does here once the weather breaks and the track opens up...it feels strong on the street...much stronger than with the stock stuff...

buuuuuuut i am having a problem with a code 44 and also my stock D5 converter no longer locks up! so i may have a while

[OneLethal87GN]

I kept having a problem with code 44 and kept replacing my O2 sensor. It turns out my most recent code 44 came from the vacuum hose to my vapor canister coming off. It has come off several times so I just trimmed about an inch off and now it fits tight, just like new. Hope ya get it fixed, and hopefully your l/u problem is just a TTC switch.

[steveyellowz06]

Wow! That race was right in my backyard. My parents live right off of Curlew. I'd like to run the Viper.

[vader t]

I'm a little skeptical on the "turbo buick" part of the trio. I also have an E46 M3 and I don't think it hang with my GN. My ride is still more virgin... all that will change soon but my M3 wouldn't have anything for the GN on a rolling start to 100.

[aeonflux]

Originally posted by vader t
I'm a little skeptical on the "turbo buick" part of the trio. I also have an E46 M3 and I don't think it hang with my GN. My ride is still more virgin... all that will change soon but my M3 wouldn't have anything for the GN on a rolling start to 100.

Well, like folks have said...it may not have been a GN proper, but it was a "turbo buick" of some model. When I did run against a GN, the outcome was a little different. Neither of us were pulling on the other significantly. (The GN was inching away at one point.)