A couple weeks back a bunch of friends and I went to MAPerformance's Proving Grounds out at Brainerd International Raceway in MN. We started going to this event last year and are hooked! Its a 3 day event that has drag racing, roll racing, drifting, autox, road course, burnout contest, camping, partying, etc. Just something going on at all hours or the day and throughout the night each day.

Out of the 3 times I've been there I've roll raced every time, but this was the first time I drag raced at Proving Grounds and the first time drag racing on the turbo setup. I ended up racing all 3 days.

Friday I left the cabin we rented, put the slicks on, and went to tech inspection. Got in line and knew that I was going to have some work to do to beat my old personal best of 12.23 @118.2mph back on the TVS setup with over 200whp less than what my car makes on party mode now. My WOT box also died so I was launching with no 2-step, so I made a dead spot in my timing map for launching so I could at least build a little boost.

I ended up running some mid-low 12's @126-128mph as I started turning the boost up after a few runs. Ended up Friday with a 12.2 @128 with a 2.1x 60' IIRC. Saturday was a nicer day with some more traffic so the track was getting some more heat in it, and I was working on my burnouts and getting better 60' times. Had the boost around 30-32 lbs and clicked off a 12.1@127-128 with another 2.1x 60'. I spun through 2nd every run, but with the better burnouts I didn't have to pedal it quite as much, and I could tell I was getting quicker and trapping higher each time I got the tires warmer throughout the days as more of the power was being put down. My next run I missed 3rd after getting my best 60', and I had my first pass in the 11's! So I made one more pass for the day, and this video captures those 2 runs.


Finally a mid 11 second pass! I stopped there for the day since I was happy enough and I didn't want to get grief if I went under 11.5, not until next year anyways I did want to trap a little higher though since I know the car should be well into the 130's, but that will come with practice and traction to get me moving forward better.



My friend Alex (SPDDMN36) and his brother Zach and their dad came to the event too! Alex ran a 12.6 @117 on the limiter in 3rd for a few passes to feel the car out. The car is running strong and he's ready to chop those times down!

Our turbo LSJ's cooling off.



Here's the early bird Friday Bismarck crew before all of the rest of our friends came that night.



And my favorite view from 4 stories up on the tower after the burnout contest.



All in all it was the best proving grounds yet, and I was very pleased with my car. I ended up making about 20 passes down the track between the days without a single major issue, and even got a laugh when some people wouldn't race me when I showed up to the roll races on slicks I loaded my car in the trailer and towed it home very happy knowing I could drive it home if I wanted to, even after all the abuse it took all weekend.

I apologize if this got a bit long, but I haven't made a post like this in a while

Until next time Proving Grounds

 

dayum, congrtas, that mph tho!
car looks total sleeper, I love it

 

Nice man those are great numbers your car is a beast!!! We all need a Redline like that lol

 

nice runs man!~

 

I never liked redlines..until yours.

 

I actually think they are nice i could of gotten one but went for the Balt instead

 

Nice job man!!

 

Holy crap that's a great time and speed

 

Great runs Taylor. When r u gonna hit 10s?

 

You killed that guy in the first race lol

 

Thanks man! It got a lot of attention there actually, was pretty cool.

Some think I'm insane, so its cool to see the people that appreciate it

Thanks man! I was happy for my first time out with it.

Glad I could help sway that opinion a bit lol!

Nothing wrong with a nice refined LNF!

Thank ya sir! Time for more practice.

Thanks man, I hit my goals this time around.

Maybe someday, but I need lots of practice and some traction work haha. Might run wastegate pressure, 22psi, through 1st and 2nd on a boost switch and hit full boost in 3rd for next year. My short game is what needs work.

That's my friend Britton. Its an FP Red setup on a built 2.0. Was set at 500whp for that race, but he was having issues getting locked out of gear when trying to NLS in the higher rpms. He missed 2 gears that race. Ended up shifting lower and slower and not using NLS later on and ran a 12.5 @122 on his 570-580whp setting. The shifts and having to shift early killed his time and trap though. Time for a new clutch and/or trans setup for him!

 

Ah that makes sense hopefully he can get that squared away and rematch lol

 

Your car sounds sexy as hell, nice runs!!!!!

 

Your bro in law run his silver tvs ion?

 

He will get into the 11's next year! He ran 12.1 @115 back a few years ago in his Ralliart that he put an Evo X turbo on and we tuned it on E85. But after the launch the Ralli pretty much drove itself and shifted perfect every time lol.

Thanks man! It does sound pretty good, if I do say so myself lol

He did, but not much. He's never launched on the slicks, so he rode the clutch a little too long and didn't launch real well and ran a 13.0 @113, then his clutch slipped on the next run, so he called it quits. It was fine after it cooled down, but he was nervous about it so he called it quits until next time.

 

good runs- i had always raced on automatics with stall converters and i'm still trying to figure out how to run perfectly down the track on these sticks. Turbo 400 with 3,500 converter with rwd is soo much easier. That trap has alot of potential for 10's, sounded like you didn't get into 2nd quite as quick as you wanted.

 

Great job America! The best is when you were first feeling out the car and track the first day having traction problems and you text me "last run I cranked it up to 34psi half way through 3rd to make up for lost time" priceless

 

your biggest thing is your super late on the tree

 

I feel like that would be an epic meme... "Has traction issues.....turns up the boost to make up time!"

 

Wow congrats! To alex too! Looks like its running real strong

What color is your coolant tank??

 

Lol rice you need to paint your tanks that's the only way to do it

 

Just like an LNF can do factory?

My car is slow Rice which color adds the most powa??

 

late on the tree? what does that matter? reaction time doenst matter one bit in e/ts

 

Its definitely a little challenging, especially since I only drag race once a year usually. The 1-2 shift wasn't too bad on the last few runs, but not great. I had only ever shifted from 1st to 2nd under power on the turbo setup probably 5 times ever before doing it at the strip haha.

Haha it was slippery that day so I had to make up for it somewhere! Mainly was just watching to make sure everything was good for high boost since I knew I'd wanna crank it up for roll racing

I just took my time since the reaction time plays no part in my ET. Timer doesn't start until I trip the beams. We weren't bracket racing.

I just wanted to feel that high boost action! Haha

Thanks man! My coolant tank is factory plastic, and its still pretty clear since its only a year old haha

Yep same with the factory LSJ. I just wouldn't trust that factory LNF or LSJ EBCS to consistently control my boost at 30+ psi and 600+whp. I do not care for even aftermarket electronic boost controllers.

 

Thank ya sir! Sadly I only got a snapchat video of my best run. Need to work on my launches and I'll be set. Felt good to drive it 6 hours up, beat it like a red headed step child, and drive it back home.

And my coolant tank is this faded orangey yellow color. Might be slowing me down a little.