Sold my fully built 12' 396 M6 ZL1 for a 15' auto.... Am I crazy

[CanadianZL1#992]

Originally Posted by jessrayo

Well Lance I'm sorry to see one of the fastest manual ZL1 guys retire his car but I understand completely. When it comes to drag racing with power upgrades the auto trans is a huge advantage. Now that I have all of the bills for the quad disc clutch and another rebuild on my manual transmission I'm thinking I should have converted my car to an auto.... You must have got a pretty good price for the car or it would have been better to just convert the old car to an auto.

Congrats. Look forward to seeing more good times ahead. I'm hoping to get mine up and make a few 1/4 miles before the drag season ends. Do you think you are going to have the new set-up running this season?

Thanks Jess. I hated to let it go but the timing was right and not knowing what the 6th gen holds kind of gave me a push. I basically got book value for the car and 75% for the mods. Well worth the good times I had with the car. Right now Chevy has camaros on in Canada for 0% interest for up to 84 month which doesn't hurt either. After seeing what my wife's car will do with the minimal mods it was hard to resist the auto. I am building another forged 396 on the LSA block I'm pretty sure. Doing different heads this time, still thinking on induction. Yesterday I was at the Rocky Mountain nationals at Castrol raceway. Sitting there watching all the cars thinking Blower or turbos. Then the jet cars pulled up and found myself thinking Hmmmmm...lol. As for the statement above about my wife's car it is the presumption of many that it may not be the mods but in fact she is a better driver.... It is very possible.

Hoping to have something together to run before October Jess. My wife is getting pretty possessive with her car at the track. Last time we loaded the tires up I said I'd better grab my helmet, she looked at me and said why? Are you going to run your truck.

[TobysZL1]

Originally Posted by CanadianZL1#992

So after 3 years of building my ZL1 I see what my wife's auto can do with minimal mods and decide if I don't want to get beat I have to join the club. Never even got to put my old ZL1 up for sale. Davenport makes 2 calls and the car is sold. It all happened fairly fast. Just picked up a black 15' auto that is going straight to davenport for a big build..... Am I crazy. Lol

Just did the same thing here. Just traded in my 13 manual for my 13 auto.
Done shifting! No need for that crap anymore, the autos get better and better.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[2NASSTY]

Sounds like a mass exodus from some of the fastest 6M ZL1's in the Country. Sad to see this but it is understandable when you want to be competitive at the strip.

It is not easy to get a 4200 lb blower car making over 700 rwhp to hook-up and catch a good light. That's exactly why I like it so much, and I am no where near close on figuring it out yet lol. Still haven't put together a solid pass with a 1.6X short time or better, and not missing a shift.

I have had some fast heavy auto cars and there is no way you can beat them with a manual all other things being equal. The last auto Ride I had put me to sleep however. I could not take much credit for how it performed. It was all GM and a proven mod list with great tuning. That's the rub with being in a fast Auto however. Is it you or is it the Car that is making it happen?

[vatechguy3]

definitely sorry to read this!

you were one of the fastest guys here rocking a manual!!

but in the end, an auto is just plain faster.

twin tubros definitely have more potential than a blower, just look at what Jess is bringing to the table!! now, I have thought about trading mine in for a z/28 and sending it down to ADM for a twin turbo build. then I wake up and realize that's not going to happen!!

enjoy the new car and build!!

tony

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by CanadianZL1#992

My wife's ZL1 auto runs 10.50's with a cam and bolt ons. It took a whole lot more to get my manual to run the same times and never consistently. Bog off the line or 1 missed shift and run was blown. I wanted to take that out of the equation.

Do y'all require a cage up there running that fast? 6 point?

[CanadianZL1#992]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Do y'all require a cage up there running that fast? 6 point?

No cage. Our track has been really good about letting us run "under the 08'+ newer unaltered rule". I would say there must be a dozen or more street cars at our track that run from 10.1 to 10.9's on a regular basis. They do make us run in the hitter lane. They also insisted on driveshaft loop and we wear a fire jacket.

[CanadianZL1#992]

Originally Posted by 2NASSTY

Sounds like a mass exodus from some of the fastest 6M ZL1's in the Country. Sad to see this but it is understandable when you want to be competitive at the strip.

It is not easy to get a 4200 lb blower car making over 700 rwhp to hook-up and catch a good light. That's exactly why I like it so much, and I am no where near close on figuring it out yet lol. Still haven't put together a solid pass with a 1.6X short time or better, and not missing a shift.

I have had some fast heavy auto cars and there is no way you can beat them with a manual all other things being equal. The last auto Ride I had put me to sleep however. I could not take much credit for how it performed. It was all GM and a proven mod list with great tuning. That's the rub with being in a fast Auto however. Is it you or is it the Car that is making it happen?

I have a few videos of me launching my car on YouTube nasty. You should check them out. 5000rpm come off the clutch real aggressive with slicks. Pretty much dead hook. 1.53 ish 60 ft and no lift shift down the track. All you can see is the tail of the car do a quick bob when I shift. Lol. There is so much going on that first 100ft. Car trying a violently as possible to throw you in the back seat meanwhile trying to watch the rpm so you don't hit the limiter time the gear change and clutch so you don't miss. Haha. I miss it already.

[2NASSTY]

Lance, please send us those YouTube vid links or what name we should put in the search window. I love seeing and hearing 6M LSAs go down the track and try to pick up tips from Everyone who has overcome what I haven't figured out yet. They could probably help others too.

And you described the first 100' perfectly!! You WILL miss it Man! Good luck with the new combo. You will outrun 6M on the 1st pass!

[CanadianZL1#992]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X4k34qkW9_Y
I think this is a pretty good one. It was my wife and I last summer.

[CanadianZL1#992]

I have some others at home I'll try to load up to you tube tonight nasty. Including my 10.59 pass last fall.

[Redlineviper]

Originally Posted by 2NASSTY

Lance, please send us those YouTube vid links or what name we should put in the search window. I love seeing and hearing 6M LSAs go down the track and try to pick up tips from Everyone who has overcome what I haven't figured out yet. They could probably help others too.

And you described the first 100' perfectly!! You WILL miss it Man! Good luck with the new combo. You will outrun 6M on the 1st pass!

I think one of the bigger differences is that in his new car he will be looking at the sky for the first 100ft.

[EvilZL1]

Beast pass man. Jess wish you would have went on with the swap lol, you've done everything else

[TOO.BAD]

Hi Canadian ZL1 #992. I see you and your wife are on the Fast List. Very impressive times! What Wheels, Tires, and hot tire pressure, were you running front and back on your M6 to get those times?

[CanadianZL1#992]

We both run 17" bogart race wheels with Hoosier slicks and skinnies. 28X10R17 slick. 27.5X4.5R17 skinny. Usually set the rears to 16psi cold and the fronts to 35psi