During our first test of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale we has some issues spinning the aged Pirelli PZero tires when using launch control both on the street and at the drag strip with a best time of 11.34 @ 125.5 MPH.  We swapped out the Pirelli’s for a new set of Toyo R888 tires and hit Palm Beach International Raceway again to see how the car performs with some better traction.

Weather was great with temps in the mid 60′s with a DA of almost even.  We arrived a little late and with some of the track prep gone, the R888′s we spinning just a bit with the 5,200 RPM launch control setting.   After the track  was re-prepped, we lined up to make the first pass out to see if we could get a pass with no wheel spin.  While the car dead hooked with no spinning, the LP570′s naturally aspirated 5.2L V10 rated at 570HP and 397 ft-lbs of torque just didn’t have enough torque down low to pull through first gear resulting in a slight bog and drop in RPM at launch.  We ended up making 3 passes all in the 11.2x range with the best being 11.205 @ 126.52 MPH.

Some other stats from the VBOX were 0-60 MPH in 3.2 seconds and 0-100 MPH in 6.9 seconds.  Weight came in at 3,348 pounds with 1/4 tank of fuel.  Lamborghini states the car weighs in at 2,950 pounds dry, after subtracting 35 pounds or so for the 1/4 tank of fuel, we’re not sure where the extra 360 pounds comes from.

We used our new GoPro setup with external microphone  to record the dash along with the awesome exhaust sound from the Super Trofeo Stradale’s launch control, take a look at the video below:

Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale Timeslip Data

We’ve run our first set of tests with a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale, also know for short as the STS.    The Super Trofeo Stradale is Lamborghini’s all out race car for the street modeled after the real Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, the automaker’s exclusive annual racing series.   The STS is the lightest Gallardo available with a host of carbon fiber parts including a large adjustable rear wing and carbon fiber engine compartment lid, which is easily removable and held in place by a quick-release system pulled from the race car.  The STS is powered by a 5.2L V10 with a rated output of 570 horsepower.

Our car is equipped with the 6 speed e-gear transmission with, multi-media system (the car doesn’t normally come with a stereo), black carbon interior, top in black and is painted in a striking Rosso Mars with matt black accents and plenty of carbon fiber exterior pieces.  For some more pictures, visit the gallery of STS images we posted last week.

Our first stop was a visit with Jack over at HP Logic in Royal Palm Beach for a quick set of baseline dyno runs.  Once strapped down to the Mustang AWD dyno we made two pulls where the STS put down 509 horsepower and 361 ft-lbs of torque to all 4 wheels with back to back pulls.  Using a 15% drive line loss, that puts this all out racing Lambo at 598 horsepower at the crank, a bit more than the 570 horsepower number that Lamborghini specifies.

After leaving HP Logic we headed up to Palm Beach International Raceway to attend their Friday night test and tune.  With the weather being decent at 65 degrees the track was packed and constant delays from cars breaking down limited the amount of time we had to test out the STS.   On the first pass we engaged Launch Control AKA Thrust Mode by putting the STS in Corsa mode with ESC (traction control) completely off.    With the left foot on the brake and the right foot all the way down on the throttle the STS held 5,000 RPM for the launch.  Releasing the brake resulted in quite a bit of spin which caused the car to lay down a little from the start with the car running a 11.3 @ 125 MPH.   On our next run the track prep had deteriorated some and the STS spun even more from the aggressive launch and we had to abort the run.   The factory provided Pirelli PZero tires just couldn’t hook up with the 5,000 RPM the car is programmed to launch at.  Our next two passes were made with no launch control and the car ran 11.3-11.4 @ 126 MPH.  We’re pretty sure this is the quickest real world stock Lamborghini Gallardo pass at a real drag strip to date.

VBOX data showed 0-60 MPH in 3.3 – 3.4 seconds on passes with and without launch control with 0-100 MPH in 7.2 seconds.  Our best 60-130 run was done outside the track with 2 shifts with a best time of 7.69 seconds.

In the next few weeks we plan on putting some better tires on the car, Toyo R888′s and giving the STS another try, if the new  tires hook better as we think they will, we’ll be looking at some 1.7x 60′ times and very low 11 second passes and possible a 10.9x if the weather is perfect.  We might even try some passes with the large wing removed to see how the effects the car down the 1/4 mile.

It just so happens there was a brand new Porsche 991 Turbo at the track, so we lined them up for a few heads up passes.  Keep in mind this was our first pass ever with the STS and we need some time to get the light timing right with the launches.  Take a look at the dyno results, timeslips, pictures and videos below and check back soon for some more Super Trofeo Stradale data.  Special thanks to ToTheFloor for the video footage at PBIR and Jack over at HPLogic for the dyno session!

Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale Data

Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale Dyno

Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale 60-130

Timeslips

Dyno Video

Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale vs 2013 Porsche 991 Turbo Drag Racing 1/4 Mile

We were at the last StreetCarDrags event on January 26th, 2014 at Palm Beach International Raceway with two McLaren MP4-12Cs to do some testing on an aftermarket ECU tune from Evolution Motorsports.   The tune consists of a ICM (Intelligent Engine Control Module) that intercepts a few of the MP4-12C’s sensors to increase boost pressure and adjust fuel pressure to increase horsepower from the stock 616 HP to 659 HP.  Cost for the Evolution Motorsports ICM is $5,250 which works out to $122 per horsepower.

Both the stock McLaren MP4-12C and the one modified with the tune were running the same Toyo R888 tires and were raced back to back by the same driver, in the same lane at Palm Beach International Raceway within just a few minutes of each other.  This was done to eliminate driver,  track prep and weather differences.  Weather was favorable with a temperature of 65 degrees and a Density Altitude (DA) of 325 feet for both runs.  In order to gather a more complete comparison beyond the 1/4 mile we raced both cars past the 1/4 mile mark to reach 150 MPH and had a VBOX on board to record the results.

Test Results

* Includes 1 foot roll out
** Actual timeslip data from track

0-150 MPH Graph from VBOX

As you can see from the results the tuned McLaren is quicker and faster than the stock McLaren by a small margin and is indicative of a 30-40 horsepower gain.   In a real world race it’s around a 1 car margin through the 1/4 mile as the cars were less than 1/10 of a second apart.  Of course that assumes a perfectly even start which is hard to come by, as you can see in the last video below, the stock McLaren beat the tuned McLaren to the finish in a heads up 1/4 mile race due to a slightly better reaction time.

While there are not many other tuning options out there, we did reach out to Fabspeed who are specifiying a 80 horsepower gain to the wheels on their website with their tune, however, they responded back that they were not able to provide us with a unit to review.  We’re also contacting another vendor, Zeusflash, who are also tuning the MP4-12C and hope to review their tune soon.

Check out the videos, pictures and timeslip data below:

• 2012 McLaren MP4-12C Stock
• 2012 McLaren MP4-12C Tuned

Stock McLaren MP4-12C Pass

Tuned McLaren MP4-12C Pass

Heads up run with both cars

We’ve seen dozens of new 2014 Corvette Stingray’s hitting the 1/4 mile since they started hitting the streets a few weeks ago with the first few going low 12′s.   It was just a matter of time until someone brought one to ATCO Raceway which is well known for it’s great weather, excellent track prep and very quick 1/4 mile times.

Take a look at this Crystal Red Tintcoat C7 with the 6 speed automatic transmission running well into the 11′s in stock form down to the factory provided tires.   The best pass was 11.67 @ 119 6 MPH.   There was a VBOX on board that recorded 0-60 MPH in 3.7 seconds and a 60-130 time of 10.6 seconds.

On a Mustang Dyno, this car made 379 horsepower and 380 ft lbs of torque to the rear wheels.

Take a look at the videos, timeslips, dyno graphs and pictures below.

Stock 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 Automatic 1/4 Mile Data

AMS Performance out of Chicago set a world record for the quickest and fastest Nissan GT-R with their Alpha Omega shop car.   With a specially built 4.0L motor, monster size turbos pushing 42 psi along with a host of other AMS parts, this monster GT-R with 1,800+ horsepower became the first GT-R to dip in the 7′s with a 7.984 @ 186.14 MPH.

Some other stats from the pass were 0-60 MPH in just 1.72 seconds and a 60-130 time if 2.67 seconds.   Check out the timeslip, pictures and video below.  If your ready to join this exclusive fraternity head on over to AMS Performance with your GT-R and a large checkbook to start the pledge process!

AMS Alpha Omega GT-R Data

While we’ve done quite a few tests with the 2012 and 2013 Tesla Model S 85 Performance, we recently had some seat time in Tesla’s base model, the Model S 60 kWh.  The base Model S with the 60 kWh battery is rated at 302 HP (225 kW) and 317 ft-lbs of torque.   Tesla claims a 0-60 MPH time of 5.9 seconds and a 1/4 mile of 14.2 but as we’ve seen in the past with the high end Model S 85 performance, Tesla seems under rate their cars, so we decided to bring out the VBOX and test it out.

This Model S was equipped with the 19″ wheels, technology package,  no panoramic roof and was painted in what we think is not the best color for the Model S, BROWN.  We charged up the Model S 60 to it’s full capacity (208 EPA rated miles) and headed out for a few runs.   The Model S 60 was amazing consistent running 3 consecutive 0-60 MPH runs in just 5.1 seconds with 0-100 MPH coming in at 12.8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 13.7 @ 102.8 MPH.  This is significantly  quicker and faster than what Tesla quotes and actually beats Tesla’s numbers for the Tesla Model S 85 Non-Performance. View our world record run for the Model S Performance.

We noticed that the while on full throttle, the Tesla Model S 60 was showing a peak power of 240 kW on the digital dash display, this is a little higher than what Tesla lists on their website, 225 kW.   So maybe they are sending out these base models with a bit more power.   The Model S 85 is rated at 270 kW (362HP) and the 85 Performance at 310 kW (416 HP).

We put together two videos, one of just the Model S 60 and another that shows the Model S 60 vs the 85 Performance digital dashes side by side from 0-114 MPH.   Both runs were done on the same road but at different times, enjoy!

[Show as slideshow]

We did some more testing with the McLaren MP4-12C in an attempt to get the best 0-60 MPH time we could on the street with street tires.   The McLaren’s launch control system along with it’s 7 speed SSG transmission does a great job putting down the 3.8L V8 Twin Turbo’s 616HP to the ground.

With just a slight hint of wheel spin from the stop, the McLaren rockets ahead hitting 60 MPH in 2.8 seconds and 100 MPH in just 6 seconds flat as per the in car VBOX.   Tires on the McLaren were street legal Toyo R888′s which are the same compound and tread wear rating as the Pirelli Corsa’s that are available on the McLaren from the factory.

This 0-60 MPH time matches the 2012 Nissan GT-R we tested with it’s advanced AWD systems and brutal 4,100 RPM launch control.  Having tested both cars, the MP4-12C’s launch control feels much easier and less abusive than the GT-R.   By looking at the VBOX graph below you can see why, the Nissan GT-R comes off the line super hard with a peak of 1.13 G, while the McLaren MP4-12C comes out softer at .98 G.   About 2 seconds into the run you can see the tides turn with the McLaren’s G forces staying higher while the Nissan’s drop.

The lines intersect at 60MPH and from there on the McLaren continues on hitting 100 MPH a full second before the Nissan.  It should be noted that this graph does not account for the normal 1 foot roll out, which is why the 0-60 times in the graph are at 3 seconds instead of 2.8 seconds.  There is a new player in off the line acceleration even without AWD, Aventadors, 911 Turbos and GT-Rs beware.  Check out the graph and videos below!

Click to Enlarge

The team at SRT sent us a 2013 SRT Viper in Bright White to test out at the StreetCarDrags event at Palm Beach International Raceway on April 7th, 2013.   The all new SRT Viper is powered by an 8.4L V10 with 640 horsepower and 600 ft-lbs of torque  with a 6 speed manual transmission.

Our test car came in with 2,500 miles on the clock and was equipped with a set of Mickey Thompson drag radials to help out with traction at the drag strip.  However, the tires were taller than the stock SRT Viper sizes making the SRT Viper’s already long gearing, especially 1st gear even longer which plagued us with a bog after the initial launch that we just couldn’t get away from.   We tested launching Viper manually as well as with the all new launch control system.  Results between the two launching methods were similar although our best run of the day  11.1 @ 127.4 MPH was using the launch control system.  VBOX data shows 0-60 MPH time of  3.1 seconds, 0-100 MPH in 7.1 seconds with a 60-130 MPH time of 8.08 seconds.

To launch the new SRT Viper using launch control we staged the car with the traction control system off and pressed the launch button on the steering wheel.   A message in the digital gauge cluster indicates to launch when ready.  With the clutch pedal depressed and the car in 1st gear we then applied 100% throttle.  The Viper would then rev and hold at 5,5k RPM at which time we released the clutch at a moderate tempo.  Having done a burnout beforehand the tires were sticky and the car would come off nicely with no wheel spin.  However as you can see in the videos, the long 1st gear would give us a decent bog near the end of the 60′ mark which would really slow us down thereby keeping us just out of the 10′s.

Weather was also not optimal being hot and humid with a Density Altitude (DA) over 1,200 feet.   With the right weather and a shorter drag radial or even stock tires (Pilot Cup Sports or similar), we’re confident the new SRT Viper will be into the 10′s.

We didn’t get a chance to get the car on the Dyno, but Edmunds had a pre-production car on the their dyno where it put down 558 HP and 528 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels.  Using a 14% driveline loss that puts the SRT Viper at around 648 HP.

Take a look at the pictures, videos, timesilps and vbox data below:

2013 SRT Viper Data Sheet

2013 SRT Viper Video

2013 SRT Viper Pictures

[Show as slideshow]

VBOX: 60-130 MPH Time: 8.08 Seconds

We took our new 2013 Nissan GT-R that we tested a month ago back to Palm Beach International Raceway for some more testing.  With better weather and some more miles on the car we were able to consistently run well into the 10′s with Nissan’s latest and greatest.   The quickest run of the night was a 10.87 @ 125.26 MPH with 0-60 MPH coming up in just 2.7 seconds and a 60-130 MPH time of 8.89 seconds (VBOX).  Peak G forces on the launch were 1.3 G’s.

The little extra power and torque of the 2013 Nissan GT-R along with the updated LC5 Launch Control system clearly shows when compared against the 2012 we tested last year which had a best time of 11.07 @ 124 MPH.  Take a look at the timeslips, pictures and video below.

Stock 2013 Nissan GT-R runs 10.87 @ 125.2 MPH Timeslips

2013 Nissan GT-R 60-130 MPH in 8.89 seconds

VBOX Graph Showing Peak G Forces

We had some time with a brand new 2012 BMW 328i Luxury Line  powered by an all new 2.0L Inline 4 TwinPower Turbo engine producing 240 horsepower and 255 ft-lbs of torque through an 8 speed automatic transmission.   We ran some straight line acceleration tests using a Racelogic Performancebox and recorded some pretty impressive numbers from BMW’s entry level 3 series.    We had the car in sport mode with the  traction control systems off and used a slight power brake to around 2,000 RPM.   The car had a slight amount of wheel spin as shown in the video below but was still able to pull off 0-60 MPH in just 5.5 seconds and finish the 1/4 mile in 14.1 seconds at 99.8 MPH.  With a little better launch at a drag strip we expect the 328i to dip in the 13′s which is right inline with the older BMW M3.   Automobile put their 2012 328i on the Dyno and measured 222 horsepower and 245 ft-lbs of  torque to the rear wheels.  With a 16% drive line loss that puts the new 328i at 264 horsepower, which explains how it’s so fast.   We expect some big things for this motor as soon as the tuners start upping the boost and making even more power.

Take a look at the video of the run below:

2012 BMW 328i Dyno Results