quartel mile.

[devilfish]

Anyone done som quartermile runs with there esprit se or s4?
I know that the car isent build for that, and the tranny will take som abuse.
Im just curious if anyone got som stock times on this cars before and after mods.
Is a se with s4 chip exhaust,dump etc going to make 12sec runs?

Thanks

[lotusguy]

Hi,

I think you may have mistakenly gotten the wrong list. Not many quarter-milers here...at least not for long!

What's the fascination with going North-South at speed in an Esprit anyway? A trained Monkey could do it!

Now, carving up some East-West curves on a good road course or twisty lane,... that's where the real attributes of both the car and the driver come into play. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE

[devilfish]

Im not a big fan of dragracing ethier.
But to say a trained monkey can drive a 6000HP top fuel car down the 402meter in 4.5 sec is mayby a wrong statement? I think you should wet in your pants if you even sat in a dragaster.

The question whas not if dragracing is fun or not.
Im just curious to se some numbers. And compare them to other sportcars.
And if you find the question extremly insulting im sorry.

[Skerd]

Stock is low 13's, so high 12's is possible with mods.

[kylie]

Sorry Jim, a trained monkey doing it, I would like to see that Just jokes.....Seriously now, its a mean sport that takes a lot of skill getting it all together, money and all your time.
dictys posted a link of a chap doing some serious stuff with his Esprit on the strip if your interested as attached. There was a post a while back from someone claiming they did a respectable time alwww.dragster.gr/images/present/FilipposPapafilippou/so.
Hope this helps,
Kylie

[dictys]

Lotus Esprit V8 GT 12.7s
Lotus Esprit Sport 350 13.0s
Lotus Esprit S4S 13.4s
Lotus Esprit GT3 13.7s
Lotus Esprit Turbo HC 14.1s

1/4 Mile Times for Stock Esprits.

By the way a top fuel car around 5 sec for the 1/4 mile, not the best on corners mind you

>> Edited by dictys on Tuesday 10th June 09:26

[cnh1990]

It is more of a better machine thing with fast reaction time required and different from road course skill. I must admit there is a bit of a thrill to accelerating very fast. Can't live on a diet of it but fun once in a while. Never did in my Esprit, only in my Road Runner.
Calvin 90 SE

[madmike]

Andy Wheeler's S4: 13.8 seconds @104 Mph

[lotusguy]

devilfish said: Im not a big fan of dragracing ethier.
But to say a trained monkey can drive a 6000HP top fuel car down the 402meter in 4.5 sec is mayby a wrong statement? I think you should wet in your pants if you even sat in a dragaster.

Devilfish,

Au contraire, I am a big fan of drag racing. It is very thrilling to watch. But, the kudos belong much more to the crew than the driver.

The crew must prep this machine to perform at max performance and do so several times in a single day.

The driver by contrast need merely posess fast reaction times, but no more so than any other motor sport, or actually any sport, as well as the courage to get in this potential bomb.

The car's electronics control the shifting
or at least the timing of it. Steering input is next to nil and braking is not sophisticated, just hard. Considering some of the stunts and tricks I've seen performed by Chimpanzees, I believe that they could be trained to do it.

The driver does not need to dynamically compute fuel usage, lap position, car condition, track condition or the like. In fact, there's little time for any comprehensive decision making at all.

My contention is that it's silly to make an Esprit do things it was not designed to do and a waste to try. You can make a 1/4 miler out of a Yugo or a Vespa if that is your ilk, I would just question why...?? The Esprit is a superb road car period. It's not meant to be all things to all people and is less adaptable than many cars designed with greater potential for multi-task use.

As far as my wetting my pants, I've done the equivalent of 1.68 quarter-mile times at least a hundred times, and that on three wheels without the benefits of Nomex® or a run-off area. So, I'm fairly confident that I would 'hold my water' on a drag strip. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE

[kmaier]

Sorry Jim,

But tell Michael Schumacher his crew is more valueable and you'll probably get some contradicting opinions. While I haven't been to any recent drag-racing events (I value my hearing more), years ago I had the luxury of being in the pits at Englishtown Raceway (NJ) and met "Jungle Jim" and even wrenched a bit inbetween races with him and his crew. Yes, even JJ was wrenching to get the car ready for the next race. While he went by "Jungle Jim", he wasn't a trained monkey by any stretch.

If you volunteer to the trained Monkey, I'll travel to watch. You must also submit to the absurd theory that given enough time and enough monkeys, they could randomly write "War and Peace" banging away on typewriters.

Sorry, but with all due respect, your most disappointing post yet.

Regards, KM
2000 V8

[devilfish]

about the "wet in your pants" it whas ofcourse a joke. no offence. I stod behind a top fuel car when it ran, and I almost wet my pants hehe.
The crew in elit dragracing cars is one of the BEST mechanics out there, period!
You think its easy to pull 6000hp out of a V8?
I dont think a F1 driver could drive a dragster in the 5 sec. Its 2 kind of racing styles.

Well I have owend a corvette, and that is a good car for dragracing. I liked it alot, its fun to play
No whay I ask about 1/4mile times on esprit is beacuse it shows how the car compares to other sport cars on power VS wieght ratio, and how much effect a chiped esprit vs a stock esprit have.
A 14 sec cars is quick, a 12 sec car is a killer. And if you can combine a 12sec car with good handeling you have a winner.
Then ofcourse it comes down to HP curves in the RPM powerband etc etc.
So please dont kill me when I say - im going to try the esprit on the 1/4mile, just for fun. Hell I would even try a vespa in the 1/4 mile cause its fun
And if it brakes down? No one to blame but me! But I hade fun doing it

So do you think a stage3 chiped turbo SE can make a 12 sec run?
Place your bet...

>> Edited by devilfish on Tuesday 10th June 22:22

[dictys]

All this talk of 1/4 mile stuff has got me thinking

If you chip you se can you still do the overboost takeoff to improve your start?

What the best method of getting that perfect start?

Dial 3500-4000 and side step the clutch? ( I suspect the box will not take too much of this treatment)

I think a chipped Esprit should hit the 12s depending on the above.

[jbrauer]

devilfish: If you're willing to accept the possible breakage to your car, I say "Go for it!" Sure the Esprit isn't made specifically for straight line acceleration, but how many of us have quoted the 0 - 60 times compared to some other car? Acceleration must mean something, right?

As far as the trained monkey theory. I suggest that if it is soooooo easy, there are millions of $$$ to be made when you, lotusguy, become an instant success in professional drag racing. Afterall, it's so easy.

Like most things, successfully driving a competitve drag car is tougher to do than just push the gas & steer. It's a head game, it's reaction, it's concentration, it's flawless repeatability, it's experiece to know the proper set-up, and changing that set-up numerous times the same day, it's expereimenting with the edge in technology, etc, etc. In the end, it's putting your money where your mouth is!

Remember, it may only be a short race, but I don't know of any other form of auto racing where the difference between winning and losing is a few hunderdths or even thousandths of a second! Not much room for error.

I suggest that you or that monkey of yours get that drag racing career going ASAP! Then with all of the the winnings you can buy a barn full of "Loti" to run on any type of track you wish!

BTW: I'm not a big fan of drag racing or any other form of auto racing. Just someone that's tired of hearing people that know it all, but usually haven't ever tried it...

... and been successful.

Sorry for ranting.

devilfish - Be sure to let us know how you do!

Jeff
'98 V8

[Doors]

Good luck devilfish - let us know how it goes.
I was at Lotus day a few weeks ago and was the only one in my group that took the car on the track - I didn't care if it broke, caught fire, crashed etc. - why? because I bought it to have fun in, not just to stare at!
Let me know what times you get - it would be very interesting to know just how the Esprit holds up compared to other cars.
Doors.

[Doors]

Hi again Devilfish,
Check this out unless youa lready have:
www.dragster.gr/images/present/FilipposPapafilippou/

Now, that's cool!

[cnh1990]

lotusguy said
As far as my wetting my pants, I've done the equivalent of 1.68 quarter-mile times at least a hundred times, and that on three wheels without the benefits of Nomex® or a run-off area. So, I'm fairly confident that I would 'hold my water' on a drag strip. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE

---

While I would not go as far as Jim in comparing a driver of a 1/4 miler to a monkey. I do agree that the car and crew is very important and much is dependent on reaction time and practice to launch off the line plus some luck on if you are having a good day or not.

Many times in the heat of the race reaction time does suffer and things do not go well some days. I do not think it would be that difficult to come up with an unmanned automated car if all it were to do was shoot down a straight course. Driving an F1 over the course of a complete is a bit different as a lot more things dymanically change with the car and track conditions over a period of time requiring a lot more of the human element and judgement. That was what Jim was getting at.

I do have to hand it to Jim on going very fast on a straight line. He has probably accelerated faster than many of us will ever do. Although I have ridden in fighter in the second seat, I have never been shot off a carrier deck by a steam cat.

In all fairness to the 1/4 mile drivers, they do not have the luxury of a ejection seat and helo standing by to pluck you out of the water. Not to mean that to eject out a plane is trivial. I have been told it is a very unpleasent experience but much better than certain death. To get out of sorts in either case would probably make me soil myself.
Calvin 90 SE


>> Edited by cnh1990 on Wednesday 11th June 19:36