96 Ram Air TA against 93 Dakota

[racintracy]

Last year my dad got sick and had to go into the hospital and didn't have ins. so he said to sell his 96 Ram Air 6spd. Trans AM. He hated to sell it but you know how it is. We went to his house to pick it up to take it to our house and my wife dropped me off in my 93 Dakota. I had driven the TA before and got on it some and thought it felt good but was curious how my V8 Dak would do against it. Much to my surprise my wife was all for draggin me with her in the truck (cause she didn't drive a stick). We have a great place to drag just about 2 mi. from our house so that's where we went. We hammered it hard with me jammin gears as hard and fast as I could. Took me until 110+ mph to catch the Dakota. I couldn't hardly believe it. I knew my Dak ran strong but thought a TA would beat it. On the high end it will of course take the Dak mostly due to the Dak's brick like aerodynamics but in the quarter it was 1-2 car lengths behind it with my wife driving the Dak and she has never raced anything before. We tried it a second time and I lost even worse. I roasted the hides and she blew me away bad. have to say though it was one of those bittersweet losses. Got beat by my wife in my own truck. he-he

96 Trans Am, Ram AIR, 6spd. 3.23 gear, WS6, The big dog of TA's. All stock.

93 Dak 318/auto. 3.55 crazy wheel rear. Mods- shorty headers, true dual exh., MSD 6A and coil, homemade ram-air, K&N, Mopar perf. computer, shift kit, relocated battery to toolbox in bed. 85,000 mi without a valve cover off or major problem.

[Maxwedge]

a 1996 ram air car will do mid to low 13s....Those mods you list on the Dak dont = mid to low 13s

[racintracy]

Your right about my truck not doing mid to low 13's. It has ran a best of 14.70. As far as mid to low 13's for a TA I've been to the track many times and rarely see anything better than a 13.90 out of them. Most of the time their in the low 14 range when their stock. I also did a search and came up with a test time of 14.00 on this car. If you really need to know I'll try to look it up again and let you know the url. I've also ran against another friends Formula 6 spd. car and his didn't run any better. It was a 98.

[Maxwedge]

A buddy of mine got his 1998WS6 to do a 13.44....that is after much practice at IRP and a low 40deg night. the only Mods were a K+N airfilter and a ripper shifter(it was a 6 speed).

[racintracy]

Man that is a good time for a stock vehicle. I don't know why my Dad's was so slow then in comparison. Hadn't been long since it was tune up. Since I know my Dak runs 14.70-80 it must have been right around 15 flat. It seemed to run excellent and got great gas mileage when cruising. The top end was awesome I will have to say. That is where it stomps my Dak. My buddies 98 of course is the LS1 but isn't a RA car but it never ran much better if any. I've heard guys claim theirs ran in the 13's but just haven't seen one myself. I will have to say I'm sure a professional could have done better than me with the stick. I'm pretty good but a long way from pro. Same goes for my buddy.

[Diego SST]

Well, you were racing on a public road right? so, you didn't have the traction you would get at a track and are you sure of exactly when you reached the 1/4 mile mark? I used to blow the doors off 5.0s in highschool (not junkers either) with a 92dak V6. That was redlight to redlight though. If we went a full1/4 they would blow by me not long before the end of the quarter and going allot faster.
I'd bet that TA would do allot better on a track than it seems to on the street. However, you were racing on the street so the kill still stands.

[Maxwedge]

as mentioned street traction, bad gear selection(if its from a rolling start), the weather that particular night he clicked a 13.44 was perfect. The biggest factor is the driver and how aggresivly he shifts. All that could end up with a full second difference.

[steves86TA]

your dads is an lt-1 motor, the other guys whose buddy's is a 98 is a ls-1 motor, The lt1's are goor for low 14's to high 13's (driver permitting) the ls1's are good for mid to low 13's, and its not unheardof a couple of high 12's (driver permitting of course) and if you arent hitting low 13's high 12's stock it dosent take much, the ls1 is one of the best engines of our time. They react better to modifications, than anything ive ever seen