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

We had some time with the brand new 2013 Nissan GT-R and ran it through some dyno and drag racing tests to get some real world data Nissan’s latest version of it’s flagship car.   For 2013 the Nissan GT-R was updated a host of minor enhancements.  Power from the 3.8L V6 Twin Turbo was increased 15HP and 15 ft-lbs of torque over the 2012 model with a total of 545 HP and 463 ft-lbs of torque.  Additional features for the 2013 model year include upgrades to the DCT transmission as well as suspension.  While the list of 2013 changes is small the bump in price was huge, increasing over $6,000 from the 2012.  Our test car was the Solid Red Premium Model with a MSRP of $98,100.

First stop was over at at HP Logic in West Palm Beach, FL to get some baseline dyno numbers for the 2013 Nissan GT-R and compare it against the 2012 we tested last year.  The 2013 Nissan GT-R showed a very modest increase in power with 480 horsepower and 430 ft-lbs of torque at all 4 wheels.  This is a peak of 6 horsepower and 10 ft-lbs of torque increase over the 2012 GT-R we tested on the same dyno last year.  There are larger increases in power and torque for the 2013 over the 2012 in the lower RPM’s as shown in the graph which contribute to the 2013′s harder launches and quicker 0-60 MPH times shown later.

After the dyno session we headed a few miles north to Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) for their Test and Tune night where the weather was in the high 70′s with a Density Altitude (DA) hovering around 1,300 feet.   For the first run down the track we engaged the R-Start Mode (AKA Launch Control) and left the transmission in Auto Shifting Mode.   The car came off the line brutally hard with zero wheel spin and recorded a 60′ time of 1.61 seconds, but for some reason the car did not make the 1st to 2nd gear shift and the run was botched.   We immediately brought the car back to the line and used Manual Shifting Mode and the same thing happened, after pulling an even better 60′ time of 1.60, when we pulled the (+) paddle at 6,900 RPM, the car hesitated on the shift.

Not sure what to do next, we let the car cool down and power cycled it a few times before  trying again.  We then tried Auto Shifting Mode again, and this time, as well as the rest of the night, the car shifted perfectly in both Auto and Manual modes.  This run netted a slower 60′ time of 1.64 and finished the 1/4 mile at 11.01 @ 123.18 MPH.  As the night went on and more cars started running the track prep deteriorated and the car started to slightly spin on the launch, thereby slowing down the times a bit from 11.04 to 11.1 with the highest trap speed coming in at 123.94 MPH.  The 2012 we tested last year ran 11.07 @ 124.45 with a 1.64 60′ as well in slightly better weather with a DA of 1117 feet.

The Racelogic Performancebox (VBOX) recorded a 0-60 MPH time of just 2.78 seconds and a 60-130 MPH time of 9.3 seconds.  Last year the 2012 GT-R we tested ran 0-60 MPH in 2.9 seconds and a 60-130 MPH time of 9.4 seconds.

While we didn’t get the 2013 Nissan GT-R to break into the 10′s we’re very confident that car will dip into the high 10′s with better weather or one those hard launches we had at the beginning of the night with the car shifting properly.  We’ll be trying again soon so keep checking back.

UPDATE (4-26-2012):  We ran the car again running a 10.87 @ 125.2 MPH.

Browse through the timeslips, pictures, dyno graphs and videos below.

• Complete 2013 Nissan GT-R Data

2013 vs 2012 Nissan GT-R Dyno Comparison

2013 Nissan GT-R Dyno Video

2013 Nissan GT-R Drag Racing Video

2013 Nissan GT-R 60-130 Graph

While the 2012 Nissan GT-R has been on the streets for a couple months now, Cobb Tuning has been working hard on cracking and tuning the new GT-R’s updated ECU to allow for boost and power.  Cobb has succeeded and HP Logic in West Palm Beach, FL is one of the first tuning shops to start testing the new software upgrades.

We took the same 2012 Nissan GT-R we tested back on March over to Jack at HP Logic to see what the new software from Cobb can do.   We hooked up the Cobb AccessPort to the 2012 GT-R and after about 10 minutes the updated software was installed and we were ready to go.   The results were impressive on the dyno, the same 2012 GT-R that put down 474 horsepower and 420 ft-lbs of torque in stock form now produces 528 horsepower and 512 ft-lbs of torque at the wheels, a pick-up of 54 horsepower and 95 ft-lbs of torque.  Using the same 13% driveline loss as we used back in March this 2012 GT-R is now producing over 600 horsepower.   Even more impressive are the gains in mid-range powerband where the car picked up over 100 horsepower.

After the tuning and dyno sessions at HP Logic were finished up we headed over the Palm Beach International Raceway to see what the tuned up 2012 Nissan GT-R could do at the drag strip.  Our first run was the best, the car was an absolute monster off the line ripping off an amazing 60′ time of 1.58 and finishing the 1/4 mile at 10.74 @ 127.45 MPH.  We had a Racelogic VBOX in the car as well that recorded a 0-60 MPH time of just 2.7 seconds and peak G forces of 1.24 Gs.  We made a few more runs at the track but as the night went on the track prep deteriorated and the GT-R had some wheel spin off the line producing some more runs in the 10.8 range with a top trap speed of 127.95 MPH.

We expect some better times in the 10.60′s at 129-130 MPH with some better  weather as the Density Altitude (DA) was just over 2,000 feet with temps around 88 degrees for our testing.  It should also be noted that we are running the first revision of the 2012 Nissan GT-R software and additional power gains are expected in the next few weeks.  Take a look at the dyno graphs, timeslips and in car video below:

2012 Nissan GT-R Cobb AP HP Logic Tune Test Results

We’re giving away a Racelogic VBOX PeformanceBox valued at $499 to the DragTimes.com FaceBook fan that obtains the most number of “Likes” for their car. To participate in the contest simply email a picture of your car to facebook@dragtimes.com. Once your car is posted on our FaceBook contest gallery page share the photo/link to your friends and get as many “Likes” as possible. The picture with the most likes on July 4th, 2011 @ 12 PM EST will win the VBOX PeformanceBox.

The PerformanceBox is suited to:

• Straight-line performance: 0-60, 0-100, 60-130, 60-0, 0-100-0, ¼-mile etc.
• Horsepower calculation: calculate both wheel and flywheel HP.
• Lap Timing: using GPS, there is no need for an external lap timing beacon. Accurate to 1/10th of a second.
• Speed and Compass display: use it as a super-accurate speedometer, updating 10 times per second, to calibrate or verify your vehicle’s speedometer.

No matter how you use the PerformanceBox, it logs your speed, position, G-forces, and distance to its memory card ten times every second for detailed analysis in the included software.  View your performance and lap data on the PerformanceBox’s built-in display, and log all your data to the SD memory card. Saved data files can easily be stored and compared, to see the difference between cars, drivers, parts, or setups.

Be sure and become a fan of our main DragTimes.com FaceBook Fan page and enter now!

We got our hands on a 2012 Nissan GT-R in Deep Pearl Blue to do some real world testing on the dyno and the drag strip. Nissan’s modest refresh of the Nissan GT-R for 2012 includes a power bump from 485HP to 530HP along with updated suspension components, new seats, LED daytime running lights and a host of other interior and exterior improvements. Nissan states that the increase in power comes from tweaking the intake and exhaust along with an increase in boost pressure to 13.5 PSI. The GT-R we tested had two options, floor mats and a back-up camera brining the MSRP to $91,980.

Also included with the 2012 Nissan GT-R is updated launch control system nicknamed around the net as LC4. The launch control system holds the RPM’s at 4,000 and allows for an easy and perfect launch with 0-60 MPH times of just 2.8 seconds as recorded by our VBOX.

We dyno tested the 2012 Nissan GT-R on a Mustang AWD dyno at HP Logic in West Palm Beach, FL where it put down 474 horsepower and 420 ft-lbs of torque to all 4 wheels. HP Logic has dyno tested many 2009-2011 GT-R’s that average around 430 horsepower on the same dyno. The 44 horsepower increase we saw on the dyno from the 2012 over the 2009-2011 cars matches up perfectly the 45 horsepower increase stated by Nissan. If we use a 13% driveline loss from the GT-R’s dual clutch transmission and AWD system, we come up with 545 horsepower and 483 ft-lbs of torque.

Even though the 2012 Nissan GT-R is a portly 3800+ pounds, it’s new found power combined with a super fast shifting dual clutch transmission, all wheel drive and launch control systems allowed us to run a 11.07 @ 124.45 MPH at Palm Beach International Raceway in West Palm Beach, FL, which appears to be the best time recorded for the new GT-R so far. Average times for stock 2009-2011 GT-R’s in our database are around 11.7 @ 120 MPH, so the new GT-R is clearly much quicker and faster.

Temperature at the drag strip was 73 degrees with a Density Altitude (DA) of 1,117 feet. With some better weather the new GT-R should be able to break into the 10′s in stock form.  Browse through the pictures, timeslips, dyno graphs and videos below:

2012 Nissan GT-R Test Results

We did some dyno testing and drag racing passes with 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo setup with a Twin Turbo Bolt-On kit by Heffner Performance.  We first headed over to HorsePower Logic in West Palm Beach, FL and strapped down the Gallardo to an AWD Mustang Dyno where it put down 740 AWHP on MS109 fuel at around 9 pounds of boost.  From the dyno we headed out to Palm Beach International Raceway to make a few passes down the drag strip.

The best ET at the drag strip was a 10.61 with the highest trap speed coming in at 138.63 MPH.   We had some issues determining when to shift since the car’s tachometer can’t quite keep up with how fast the engine is running through the gears with the twin turbo setup resulting in us tagging the limiter on a couple runs.  We used the VBOX to record some performance numbers with 0-60 MPH in just 2.9 seconds and 60-130 MPH coming in at 5.49 seconds with one shift from 3rd to 4th gear.

We also did some heads up runs with a very fast Nissan GT-R that currently holds the quickest ET and highest MPH records for any Nissan GT-R equipped with stock turbochargers.  To make things somewhat fair, we ran the GT-R without using it’s full launch control system, so both cars rolled off the line without a full launch.  The runs were recorded by ToTheFloor.com as well has having a GoPro camera attached to the side of the Gallardo.

Take a look at the pictures, vbox graph, timeslips and videos below:

Full Dyno, Timeslip and VBOX Data: Lamborghini Twin Turbo

As modern day vehicles from both the factory and from the tuner world become more powerful, quicker and faster, a new benchmark for performance has been catching on to quantify just how fast these cars are, 60-130 times.

A device made by Racelogic, called the Performance Box (VBOX) uses GPS and accelerometer data to record just about any performance metric you want to setup. The PerformanceBox logs your speed, position, G-forces, and distance to its memory card ten times every second for detailed analysis in the included software.  The Performance Box (VBOX) can be purchased online from around $450-$500 for the standard model.

One of the standard measurements in the Performance Box records the time it takes for a car to accelerate from 60-130 MPH. Testing how quick different cars accelerate from 60-130 MPH is a great way to compare how fast and how hard the cars are pulling since some of the traction issues on more powerful cars are taken away when accelerating from a roll.

DragTimes.com has added a few new fields to it’s database to start collecting,  organizing and comparing 60-130 MPH times from cars around the world.   In order for a car’s 60-130 MPH data to be published, the graph to support the run is required along with any modifications that are on the car.   As with all of the data on DragTimes.com, each submission is reviewed before going live and in some cases additional supporting data might be required.  Click on the links below to view the current 60-130 MPH times we have, add your 60-130 MPH times or find a VBOX to buy and start testing!

• 60-130 MPH Times
• New and Used PerformanceBox VBOX units for sale