Snake Bite XLR-V
- Thread starter GizmoQ
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #62
GizmoQ
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2010
- Messages
- 1,079
- Location
- Traveling the Country
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2006 Black Raven XLR-V; 1996 Eldorado ESC-V
From the start line to the timing lights is exactly one mile. Then you have a half mile to slow down before the turnoff.
So does that mean the brakes need to be bigger than the motor since you only have half the distance?
Or... Is it because you have 4 wheels braking and only 2 wheels driving?
LiveFast
New Member
Is this currently the most powerful V that's known of? Also have cams been done?
LiveFast
New Member
- Thread starter
- #68
GizmoQ
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2010
- Messages
- 1,079
- Location
- Traveling the Country
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2006 Black Raven XLR-V; 1996 Eldorado ESC-V
We took our first real trip this weekend. I had a car show I signed up for months ago and the weather had a possibility of some rain. So we decided to load the car on the bus and take it that way. I also wanted to check out Big River State Park and overnight there.
Of course, we had no idea what all we needed for the trip. We packed everything we thought we'd need, but inevitably we forgot stuff. Also being our first trip, we had no plan for where or how things should be stored. I left that up to her and we failed miserably. We filled every orifice on that bus and still needed more. We have a few ideas to remedy the space issue, but the packing and organizing is going to take time and planning.
I kept most of my tools in the garage section in case they were needed, luckily they weren't.
We arrived in Peoria late (as expected) so I had to park on the absolute far end of the parking lot in order to get a spot I knew I could get out of.
Gotta look hard and squint to see it way back in the back just left of center.
I think I was parked in the spectator parking lot.
So by the time I was parked and chocked, It started to drizzle. It was already colder than I expected. The fog on the way had me bummed, the bus struggled to climb the hills to get here, we're late, and now this. I decided to open up the garage and wait.
Pretty soon I realized the car would have fit right in, but the bus was actually a bigger attraction.
Pretty soon (word of mouth spreads quickly) mobs of folks were all around the bus asking question, wanting to see the interior, asking how it was built, by whom, telling stories of other conversions they'd seen. After an hour, I decided to just leave the car in it and enjoy the show. We locked the garage door, locked the front door and walked around and enjoyed seeing the other cars, truck, and bikes in attendance.
I couldn't resist taking a picture of a bumper sticker I want for the bus:
I may need this when we start boondocking long-term in any given place.
And we both drooled all over this COE truck:
By noon the show was over. We walked across the street and had lunch. Got back to the bus, buttoned it up, and set off for the next 90 miles to Big River.
Even without the Spring colors, Big River State Park is pretty nice. There are a variety of locations (by the river, by the road, way back in the woods, a couple group sites, a playground, several buildings throughout (I saw one marked as a "warming station"). We went to the office but they posted a sign "Out in the Area" and couldn't find anyone to take our money. We waited an hour and decided to find a spot and let them come to us.
We setup in a nice spot by the road thinking if the staff ever came back to the office, they'd be able to see us from the office and come over.... they never did. We knocked, we called, we left a note.... if that's not due diligence screw it our night there was free (and OBTW, our phones had no signal, but my WiFi extender was able to pick up a signal from the office so we had that).
The night in the park was nice. I think we were both guilty of overcompensating to insure the night went smoothly. I stayed up front while she hopped from couch to dinette to her nav seat looking to get a feel for the accommodations. The bathroom surprised her at its efficiency, convenience, and surprise, surprise it worked as advertised - no smell, no mess, no issues. What we hadn't anticipated was the temps dropped rapidly after sunset. By 10PM, it was below freezing outside and it was getting chilly inside. So I broke the cardinal rule of boondocking - I fired up the generator and turned on some heat. I know ... kick me later.
Bed time was another learning experience. She stored the bedding below the dinette. I opened the couch before it was retrieved and we both realized the open couch made the storage under the dinette inaccessible. So we had to put the couch back upright, get the stuff out and do it again. The bathroom is not enough room for dressing so we've decided to create a dressing room by curtaining the bathroom across to the fridge. The slide-in decorative panels of the fridge are going to have to be replaced with a mirror-like surface for this dressing room. The couch was fairly comfortable to sleep on. The console to the right of the driver's seat made a perfect bedside table. Next time I want to lower both the couch and the dinette and sleep over there so I'll know what a guest is going to have to deal with.
Sunday morning was glorious. It warmed up faster than I expected outside so we opened a few windows and listened to the birds and the river. PJ cooked breakfast in our tiny kitchen with no problems. We ate at the table with a spectacular view. Then explored the area and loitered about till we just couldn't stay any longer if we wanted to get home before nightfall. We slowly packed everything away and headed for home.
Overall, PJ's happy, I'm happy, she wants to do it again (YEAH!), and I didn't need a tow truck - success. 435 miles, appx 7MPG, and no breakdown. A mile or 2 before we got home, I filled the tank and had ET weighed at Flying J. Max GVW on the bus is 23.6K the scale with a full tank and the car in the back was 22.1K ... I could add another thousand pounds and still be under my max, whoopie.
I still have a lot of little tasks and the motor and tranny probably both need to be rebuilt, but I'll get it done. I'm really motivated right now to get things done. More storage space will go in this week. The bathroom vanity and dressing room curtain and mirrors will be her job. I think this is going to work for us.
Of course, we had no idea what all we needed for the trip. We packed everything we thought we'd need, but inevitably we forgot stuff. Also being our first trip, we had no plan for where or how things should be stored. I left that up to her and we failed miserably. We filled every orifice on that bus and still needed more. We have a few ideas to remedy the space issue, but the packing and organizing is going to take time and planning.
I kept most of my tools in the garage section in case they were needed, luckily they weren't.
We arrived in Peoria late (as expected) so I had to park on the absolute far end of the parking lot in order to get a spot I knew I could get out of.
Gotta look hard and squint to see it way back in the back just left of center.
I think I was parked in the spectator parking lot.
So by the time I was parked and chocked, It started to drizzle. It was already colder than I expected. The fog on the way had me bummed, the bus struggled to climb the hills to get here, we're late, and now this. I decided to open up the garage and wait.
Pretty soon I realized the car would have fit right in, but the bus was actually a bigger attraction.
Pretty soon (word of mouth spreads quickly) mobs of folks were all around the bus asking question, wanting to see the interior, asking how it was built, by whom, telling stories of other conversions they'd seen. After an hour, I decided to just leave the car in it and enjoy the show. We locked the garage door, locked the front door and walked around and enjoyed seeing the other cars, truck, and bikes in attendance.
I couldn't resist taking a picture of a bumper sticker I want for the bus:
I may need this when we start boondocking long-term in any given place.
And we both drooled all over this COE truck:
By noon the show was over. We walked across the street and had lunch. Got back to the bus, buttoned it up, and set off for the next 90 miles to Big River.
Even without the Spring colors, Big River State Park is pretty nice. There are a variety of locations (by the river, by the road, way back in the woods, a couple group sites, a playground, several buildings throughout (I saw one marked as a "warming station"). We went to the office but they posted a sign "Out in the Area" and couldn't find anyone to take our money. We waited an hour and decided to find a spot and let them come to us.
We setup in a nice spot by the road thinking if the staff ever came back to the office, they'd be able to see us from the office and come over.... they never did. We knocked, we called, we left a note.... if that's not due diligence screw it our night there was free (and OBTW, our phones had no signal, but my WiFi extender was able to pick up a signal from the office so we had that).
The night in the park was nice. I think we were both guilty of overcompensating to insure the night went smoothly. I stayed up front while she hopped from couch to dinette to her nav seat looking to get a feel for the accommodations. The bathroom surprised her at its efficiency, convenience, and surprise, surprise it worked as advertised - no smell, no mess, no issues. What we hadn't anticipated was the temps dropped rapidly after sunset. By 10PM, it was below freezing outside and it was getting chilly inside. So I broke the cardinal rule of boondocking - I fired up the generator and turned on some heat. I know ... kick me later.
Bed time was another learning experience. She stored the bedding below the dinette. I opened the couch before it was retrieved and we both realized the open couch made the storage under the dinette inaccessible. So we had to put the couch back upright, get the stuff out and do it again. The bathroom is not enough room for dressing so we've decided to create a dressing room by curtaining the bathroom across to the fridge. The slide-in decorative panels of the fridge are going to have to be replaced with a mirror-like surface for this dressing room. The couch was fairly comfortable to sleep on. The console to the right of the driver's seat made a perfect bedside table. Next time I want to lower both the couch and the dinette and sleep over there so I'll know what a guest is going to have to deal with.
Sunday morning was glorious. It warmed up faster than I expected outside so we opened a few windows and listened to the birds and the river. PJ cooked breakfast in our tiny kitchen with no problems. We ate at the table with a spectacular view. Then explored the area and loitered about till we just couldn't stay any longer if we wanted to get home before nightfall. We slowly packed everything away and headed for home.
Overall, PJ's happy, I'm happy, she wants to do it again (YEAH!), and I didn't need a tow truck - success. 435 miles, appx 7MPG, and no breakdown. A mile or 2 before we got home, I filled the tank and had ET weighed at Flying J. Max GVW on the bus is 23.6K the scale with a full tank and the car in the back was 22.1K ... I could add another thousand pounds and still be under my max, whoopie.
I still have a lot of little tasks and the motor and tranny probably both need to be rebuilt, but I'll get it done. I'm really motivated right now to get things done. More storage space will go in this week. The bathroom vanity and dressing room curtain and mirrors will be her job. I think this is going to work for us.
05 GRAND DADDY
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2011
- Messages
- 2,728
- Location
- South Central PA (Littlestown)
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2005 Light Platinium Silver XLR
We took our first real trip this weekend. I had a car show I signed up for months ago and the weather had a possibility of some rain. So we decided to load the car on the bus and take it that way. I also wanted to check out Big River State Park and overnight there.
Of course, we had no idea what all we needed for the trip. We packed everything we thought we'd need, but inevitably we forgot stuff. Also being our first trip, we had no plan for where or how things should be stored. I left that up to her and we failed miserably. We filled every orifice on that bus and still needed more. We have a few ideas to remedy the space issue, but the packing and organizing is going to take time and planning.
I kept most of my tools in the garage section in case they were needed, luckily they weren't.
We arrived in Peoria late (as expected) so I had to park on the absolute far end of the parking lot in order to get a spot I knew I could get out of.
Gotta look hard and squint to see it way back in the back just left of center.
I think I was parked in the spectator parking lot.
So by the time I was parked and chocked, It started to drizzle. It was already colder than I expected. The fog on the way had me bummed, the bus struggled to climb the hills to get here, we're late, and now this. I decided to open up the garage and wait.
Pretty soon I realized the car would have fit right in, but the bus was actually a bigger attraction.
Pretty soon (word of mouth spreads quickly) mobs of folks were all around the bus asking question, wanting to see the interior, asking how it was built, by whom, telling stories of other conversions they'd seen. After an hour, I decided to just leave the car in it and enjoy the show. We locked the garage door, locked the front door and walked around and enjoyed seeing the other cars, truck, and bikes in attendance.
I couldn't resist taking a picture of a bumper sticker I want for the bus:
I may need this when we start boondocking long-term in any given place.
And we both drooled all over this COE truck:
By noon the show was over. We walked across the street and had lunch. Got back to the bus, buttoned it up, and set off for the next 90 miles to Big River.
Even without the Spring colors, Big River State Park is pretty nice. There are a variety of locations (by the river, by the road, way back in the woods, a couple group sites, a playground, several buildings throughout (I saw one marked as a "warming station"). We went to the office but they posted a sign "Out in the Area" and couldn't find anyone to take our money. We waited an hour and decided to find a spot and let them come to us.
We setup in a nice spot by the road thinking if the staff ever came back to the office, they'd be able to see us from the office and come over.... they never did. We knocked, we called, we left a note.... if that's not due diligence screw it our night there was free (and OBTW, our phones had no signal, but my WiFi extender was able to pick up a signal from the office so we had that).
The night in the park was nice. I think we were both guilty of overcompensating to insure the night went smoothly. I stayed up front while she hopped from couch to dinette to her nav seat looking to get a feel for the accommodations. The bathroom surprised her at its efficiency, convenience, and surprise, surprise it worked as advertised - no smell, no mess, no issues. What we hadn't anticipated was the temps dropped rapidly after sunset. By 10PM, it was below freezing outside and it was getting chilly inside. So I broke the cardinal rule of boondocking - I fired up the generator and turned on some heat. I know ... kick me later.
Bed time was another learning experience. She stored the bedding below the dinette. I opened the couch before it was retrieved and we both realized the open couch made the storage under the dinette inaccessible. So we had to put the couch back upright, get the stuff out and do it again. The bathroom is not enough room for dressing so we've decided to create a dressing room by curtaining the bathroom across to the fridge. The slide-in decorative panels of the fridge are going to have to be replaced with a mirror-like surface for this dressing room. The couch was fairly comfortable to sleep on. The console to the right of the driver's seat made a perfect bedside table. Next time I want to lower both the couch and the dinette and sleep over there so I'll know what a guest is going to have to deal with.
Sunday morning was glorious. It warmed up faster than I expected outside so we opened a few windows and listened to the birds and the river. PJ cooked breakfast in our tiny kitchen with no problems. We ate at the table with a spectacular view. Then explored the area and loitered about till we just couldn't stay any longer if we wanted to get home before nightfall. We slowly packed everything away and headed for home.
Overall, PJ's happy, I'm happy, she wants to do it again (YEAH!), and I didn't need a tow truck - success. 435 miles, appx 7MPG, and no breakdown. A mile or 2 before we got home, I filled the tank and had ET weighed at Flying J. Max GVW on the bus is 23.6K the scale with a full tank and the car in the back was 22.1K ... I could add another thousand pounds and still be under my max, whoopie.
I still have a lot of little tasks and the motor and tranny probably both need to be rebuilt, but I'll get it done. I'm really motivated right now to get things done. More storage space will go in this week. The bathroom vanity and dressing room curtain and mirrors will be her job. I think this is going to work for us.
Hey Gizmo & PJ glad to read that it all came together! I know when we were all at Carmel IN show we was talking about how you had been planning this! Happy Tripping & Camping
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Dan & Wendy
"05 GRAND DADDY"
Crimson Pearl
Seasoned Member
Thanks for posting!
Great read!
Glad to hear your trip was a success. Can't wait to see it in person sometime.
Great read!
Glad to hear your trip was a success. Can't wait to see it in person sometime.
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2011
- Messages
- 1,086
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2009 XLR Crystal Red Metalic
- Thread starter
- #72
GizmoQ
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2010
- Messages
- 1,079
- Location
- Traveling the Country
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2006 Black Raven XLR-V; 1996 Eldorado ESC-V
There ia a wall separating the "house" from the garage. The house side of the wall is finished, while the garage side will be an aluminum diamond plate wall once I am satisfied I'm done with all the wiring. The bus interior is 7 1/2 foot wide. The house section is 16' from the windshield to the wall while the garage is a little over 18' long.
This is the wall separating the two sections viewed from the house side. (Refrigerator is on the right, bathroom is on tne left.)
Its basically a mini RV with an attached garage. In keeping with the Mad Max theme, I bought a old 36' Fleetwood RV that had sat unused for years, took everything salvageable from it (the master bedroom and bath had water damage), added a couple kitchen bases, built a few walls, and the accommodations were basically done. The 12V and 110 wiring as well as the plumbing I had to do myself although I documented the RV systems thoroughly so I had a template.
This is my kitchen. Deep bar sink, hot and cold running water, goosneck 2-speed faucet, Convection/Microwave above, Induction cooktop hidden in drawer, 3-way refrigerator/freezer.
A very small bathroom with a Loveable Loo style compost toilet. (I just knew PJ was going to hate it, but it works as advertised and well and she never complained.) Again wall removed for wiring. Bathroom locks from the inside, garage door locks from the house side.
The remainder of the house section is the nav seat and dinette on the passenger side and the jack-knife couch on the driver side.
The last things I put in were the entertainment center and the overhead cabinets above the dinette and couch.
There's lots more to do before its "DONE". Lots of moldings, finish pieces, another computer server, wifi and cellular antennae , more storage in the garage, bike racks for the front bumper, etc., etc., etc. I currently have one house battery and will be adding two more next month.
And then I need to work on the front of the bus - driver seat, dashboard, overhead. I already have a plan to do a dash swap with a '68 Coupe DeVille, but my fabricator says he can't get to it till Fall.
Oh and a view of the garage when the bus was empty. I started my construction from the back of the bus and worked my way forward.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2011
- Messages
- 1,086
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2009 XLR Crystal Red Metalic
Wow, looks like you have had your hands full doing that. I assume you have been recording your restoration/conversion with photos. I would love to see the entire process photo documentary once complete. So it looks like you may have storage under the car ramps or do those ramps drop down after loading the car? Looks perfect for a 'Race & Stay' rig for you. Not sure about long term RV'ing though.
Tell PJ hi
for me.
Phil105
Seasoned Member
Slick rig. Ought to make for some fun outings and I'm sure you're enjoying the construction phase - that's usually more fun than the finished product!
GM MUSL
Seasoned Member
Looks awsome. I have always dreamed or finding a way to combine a few of my favorite things - going to car events while RVing. For now they are separate for me. Good luck finishing it off.
- Thread starter
- #76
GizmoQ
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2010
- Messages
- 1,079
- Location
- Traveling the Country
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2006 Black Raven XLR-V; 1996 Eldorado ESC-V
Arkansas Mile
Its been a while since I updated this post. Between working on the bus and attending local car shows, I haven't had much computer time. Oh yeah I forgot about the April road trip to the NoFlyZone Midwest side-by-side 1/2 mile racing event. To make up for it I'll reshare an article I wrote on the inaugural Arkansas Mile event:
This past weekend was the inaugural running of the Arkansas Mile Top Speed Racing event. From the same folks that bring you the Texas Mile and the Colorado Mile, U.S. Mile Top Speed Racing organization put on a great event this weekend in Blytheville, AR. I got to meet a lot of new people and visit with old racing friends as well. Overall, 110 cars were preregistered for all three days, another 30-40 came for only one or two days. The Caddy Shack was non-existent at this event although there were 5 CTS-V participants. It seemed that Dodge Challengers outnumbered all other models present, but there were actually more Corvettes. The loudest cars participating were of course the few Mustangs. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me first talk about the venue, the area, the conditions and then a little about the participants.
Blythville’s Arkansas International Airport is no stranger to auto racing. For many years SCCA has hosted local, regional, and national Autocross events here. Why? Large swaths of pristine CONCRETE! And for the standing mile, a very long, level runway made out of the stuff is just the ticket for fast acceleration.
The U.S. Mile folks setup the standing mile course with the starting line on the North edge of the runway and the finish line just past midway, allowing one of the longest shutdown areas of any Land Speed Racing/Top Speed locations in the country. (When bad things happen at over 200MPH a long shut down area can be a lifesaver) Large open pavillions were setup at the start and finish for spectators viewing with a little shade. The taxiway to the left of the runway was made available for teams/participants to set up their pit areas. Some were as simple as a place to park with maybe a canopy for shade or as extravagant as a mobile shop setup wuth 4 enclosed double decker race haulers and several motorhomes. There was plenty of room for everyone, even my bus. And once setup, we lived there on the taxiway all weekend long. There were three food vendors and of course U. S. Mile merchandise vendors.
Above is Ashley, the Director of Operations, who is a key figure in all U.S Mile events. She was there before the track opened and came around to several of the paddocks after the track shut down every day to insure every one was happy with the accommodations.
The Blytheville area is a great location for Top Speed racing. It has one major advantage for me and that is its central location - only 3 1/2 hours from St Louis as apposed to the Texas Mile at 1100 miles from me. Its a former military base so its far enough away from the major metropolitan area that the sounds of high horsepower cars don’t disturb the neighbors, but downtown Blytheville is only 10 miles away. The airport is 4 miles off the Interstate and 6 miles from the Super Walmart.
As mentioned earlier, the participants varied widely. Many drove the cars/trucks/motorcycles they raced to the venue while others towed, trailered, or shipped cars in. one unusual trailer setup caught my eye:
The most unusual race vehicle was a 1989 Vixen 376TD Lift-top BMW turbo diesel motorhome with a 5 speed transmission. This thing is less than 4 ft tall and 20 ft long, but he was serious about setting a record as the faster of this model - his best trap speed was just over 108MPH. I was impressed cause I know my bus will only do 80... and that’s falling off a cliff.
Some folks didn’t even take their car out of the trailer.
Others broke their cars on Friday and had to spectate for the rest of the weekend. 6 cars broke Friday; one broke trying to do a burnout prior to the run and burnt up her clutch.Another guy had to have a whole transmission overnited to him Saturday.
There were lots of fast cars. Of the Mustangs, one did 221MPH. One of the Audi’s did 190. One of the Challengers did 189. One of the Caddies did 189. There was one streamliner Corvette that did 235.
And of course the Texas Mile record holder, M2K Motorsports, waited till Sunday for his first full speed run. They brought their 2500+HP Ford GT. Their record in Texas is 278.2MPH in the standing mile. He made 2 passes in Arkansas. His record.... 280.1 MPH! Unfortunately his second pass blew the motor.
PJ and I had a good time. We hung out with the "Shake & Bake" team of Challenger drivers on Friday. Saturday we helped a local CTS-V owner fix his car and then went out to the starting line to watch the racers launch into their runs. Sunday we were all over the place. PJ was with Ashley and haggling with the vendors. I was rabbitting from the start to finish line trying to shoot videos of the CTS-Vs and the two cars above.
I will say one thing about M2K, they really know how to close an event. By 3:30PM everybody else had pretty much started packing up to go home. M2K towed their Ford GT to the start line for one last pass. After 20 min, we realized they were waiting for the strong crosswind to die down. But this also gave everyone plenty of time to congregate at the finish line in anticipation. When they finally made their pass, it seemed normal till 3/4 mile and we could hear him peddle it, then BOOM! Just before the finish, one of the turbo must have let go and we all saw a 20' fireball erupt from the rear of the car. His chute immediately deployed and he got it stopped safely, but thats gotta be the most expensive fireworks to close a show I've seen lately.
Its been a while since I updated this post. Between working on the bus and attending local car shows, I haven't had much computer time. Oh yeah I forgot about the April road trip to the NoFlyZone Midwest side-by-side 1/2 mile racing event. To make up for it I'll reshare an article I wrote on the inaugural Arkansas Mile event:
This past weekend was the inaugural running of the Arkansas Mile Top Speed Racing event. From the same folks that bring you the Texas Mile and the Colorado Mile, U.S. Mile Top Speed Racing organization put on a great event this weekend in Blytheville, AR. I got to meet a lot of new people and visit with old racing friends as well. Overall, 110 cars were preregistered for all three days, another 30-40 came for only one or two days. The Caddy Shack was non-existent at this event although there were 5 CTS-V participants. It seemed that Dodge Challengers outnumbered all other models present, but there were actually more Corvettes. The loudest cars participating were of course the few Mustangs. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me first talk about the venue, the area, the conditions and then a little about the participants.
Blythville’s Arkansas International Airport is no stranger to auto racing. For many years SCCA has hosted local, regional, and national Autocross events here. Why? Large swaths of pristine CONCRETE! And for the standing mile, a very long, level runway made out of the stuff is just the ticket for fast acceleration.
The U.S. Mile folks setup the standing mile course with the starting line on the North edge of the runway and the finish line just past midway, allowing one of the longest shutdown areas of any Land Speed Racing/Top Speed locations in the country. (When bad things happen at over 200MPH a long shut down area can be a lifesaver) Large open pavillions were setup at the start and finish for spectators viewing with a little shade. The taxiway to the left of the runway was made available for teams/participants to set up their pit areas. Some were as simple as a place to park with maybe a canopy for shade or as extravagant as a mobile shop setup wuth 4 enclosed double decker race haulers and several motorhomes. There was plenty of room for everyone, even my bus. And once setup, we lived there on the taxiway all weekend long. There were three food vendors and of course U. S. Mile merchandise vendors.
Above is Ashley, the Director of Operations, who is a key figure in all U.S Mile events. She was there before the track opened and came around to several of the paddocks after the track shut down every day to insure every one was happy with the accommodations.
The Blytheville area is a great location for Top Speed racing. It has one major advantage for me and that is its central location - only 3 1/2 hours from St Louis as apposed to the Texas Mile at 1100 miles from me. Its a former military base so its far enough away from the major metropolitan area that the sounds of high horsepower cars don’t disturb the neighbors, but downtown Blytheville is only 10 miles away. The airport is 4 miles off the Interstate and 6 miles from the Super Walmart.
As mentioned earlier, the participants varied widely. Many drove the cars/trucks/motorcycles they raced to the venue while others towed, trailered, or shipped cars in. one unusual trailer setup caught my eye:
The most unusual race vehicle was a 1989 Vixen 376TD Lift-top BMW turbo diesel motorhome with a 5 speed transmission. This thing is less than 4 ft tall and 20 ft long, but he was serious about setting a record as the faster of this model - his best trap speed was just over 108MPH. I was impressed cause I know my bus will only do 80... and that’s falling off a cliff.
Some folks didn’t even take their car out of the trailer.
Others broke their cars on Friday and had to spectate for the rest of the weekend. 6 cars broke Friday; one broke trying to do a burnout prior to the run and burnt up her clutch.Another guy had to have a whole transmission overnited to him Saturday.
There were lots of fast cars. Of the Mustangs, one did 221MPH. One of the Audi’s did 190. One of the Challengers did 189. One of the Caddies did 189. There was one streamliner Corvette that did 235.
And of course the Texas Mile record holder, M2K Motorsports, waited till Sunday for his first full speed run. They brought their 2500+HP Ford GT. Their record in Texas is 278.2MPH in the standing mile. He made 2 passes in Arkansas. His record.... 280.1 MPH! Unfortunately his second pass blew the motor.
PJ and I had a good time. We hung out with the "Shake & Bake" team of Challenger drivers on Friday. Saturday we helped a local CTS-V owner fix his car and then went out to the starting line to watch the racers launch into their runs. Sunday we were all over the place. PJ was with Ashley and haggling with the vendors. I was rabbitting from the start to finish line trying to shoot videos of the CTS-Vs and the two cars above.
I will say one thing about M2K, they really know how to close an event. By 3:30PM everybody else had pretty much started packing up to go home. M2K towed their Ford GT to the start line for one last pass. After 20 min, we realized they were waiting for the strong crosswind to die down. But this also gave everyone plenty of time to congregate at the finish line in anticipation. When they finally made their pass, it seemed normal till 3/4 mile and we could hear him peddle it, then BOOM! Just before the finish, one of the turbo must have let go and we all saw a 20' fireball erupt from the rear of the car. His chute immediately deployed and he got it stopped safely, but thats gotta be the most expensive fireworks to close a show I've seen lately.
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2011
- Messages
- 1,086
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2009 XLR Crystal Red Metalic
Well then Mr Gizmo..... you never told us how YOU and Snake Bite XLR-V did!!!!
Hugs, Sandy
HarvesterUT
Seasoned Member
GizmoQ,
I tried sending you a PM, but your inbox is full.
I have a question about cooling the air coming through the supercharger. I read that you have used a higher-flowing intercooler pump and then went with a super chiller. Are those mods used together, or does the super chiller set-up completely replace the water and water pump system? My V is stock, but I plan to add a smaller supercharger pulley and do an intake along with tuning. I was considering using one of the higher-flowing VariMax or upgraded Bosch Heavy Duty pumps, but I am also interested in the super chiller systems as well.
Also, where would one get an XLR-V tuned? Is there special software that is needed, or should any reputable GM/Caddy tuner be able to do it?
Thanks!
I tried sending you a PM, but your inbox is full.
I have a question about cooling the air coming through the supercharger. I read that you have used a higher-flowing intercooler pump and then went with a super chiller. Are those mods used together, or does the super chiller set-up completely replace the water and water pump system? My V is stock, but I plan to add a smaller supercharger pulley and do an intake along with tuning. I was considering using one of the higher-flowing VariMax or upgraded Bosch Heavy Duty pumps, but I am also interested in the super chiller systems as well.
Also, where would one get an XLR-V tuned? Is there special software that is needed, or should any reputable GM/Caddy tuner be able to do it?
Thanks!
scott8060
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2017
- Messages
- 78
- Location
- Hurricane, West Virginia
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2008 XLR/V, Arctic White, Cashmere interior
Hey I have an upgraded Lingenfelter high flow varimax pump. I also installed D3 upgraded intercooler and intercooler reservoir.
Works like a charm. I am getting ready to install a super chiller on my V in about one month. Purchased from http://www.activeinterchiller.com
Mine is only the second he has manufactured for a V the other being GizmoQ's. Told me 6-8 weeks for delivery took 10 months...not kidding. Very difficult to communicate with also. I am fortunate that my good friend is a certified V mechanic and the local cadillac service manager. So we already have the refrigerant out of the car. So the way it works is you can program a set ambient temp you want the unit to run at...below set temp runs through the D3 air to water intercooler. When set temp calls for the system to come a diverter valve sends coolant through the super chiller and turns on my AC system. I upgraded the controller so I have a switch so I can turn the AC to the superchiller on 100% and over-ride the programer if I want too. So the system does not add any horsepower but what it does is lower the AT temps of the coolant to chill the charge of air going into the motor. On a good summer day the stock engine management system may pull 24 degrees of timing out of the motor which kills horsepower. This superchiller system will keep the air charge cooler therefore allow the motor to pull less timing out and in theory realize more horsepower to be available at the gas pedal.
Works like a charm. I am getting ready to install a super chiller on my V in about one month. Purchased from http://www.activeinterchiller.com
Mine is only the second he has manufactured for a V the other being GizmoQ's. Told me 6-8 weeks for delivery took 10 months...not kidding. Very difficult to communicate with also. I am fortunate that my good friend is a certified V mechanic and the local cadillac service manager. So we already have the refrigerant out of the car. So the way it works is you can program a set ambient temp you want the unit to run at...below set temp runs through the D3 air to water intercooler. When set temp calls for the system to come a diverter valve sends coolant through the super chiller and turns on my AC system. I upgraded the controller so I have a switch so I can turn the AC to the superchiller on 100% and over-ride the programer if I want too. So the system does not add any horsepower but what it does is lower the AT temps of the coolant to chill the charge of air going into the motor. On a good summer day the stock engine management system may pull 24 degrees of timing out of the motor which kills horsepower. This superchiller system will keep the air charge cooler therefore allow the motor to pull less timing out and in theory realize more horsepower to be available at the gas pedal.
scott8060
Seasoned Member
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2017
- Messages
- 78
- Location
- Hurricane, West Virginia
- My XLR/V(s)
- 2008 XLR/V, Arctic White, Cashmere interior
Looks like I have the same car you do. 2008 V Alpine White, mine has a cashmere interior...yours? I have done a lot of work to mine - lambo door hinges, ported supercharger, smaller pulley, D3 intercooler radiator, D3 reservoir, D2 long tube headers, not cats, exhaust cut outs, Willwood big brake kit, coil over shocks all around, huge Hotchkis sway bars front and rear. She drives like a dream !! New Focal speakers in the doors, Focal 10" sub, and sound audio amp and DSP going in on 2/18.
Cadillac XLR Forums
Win 2 Supercharged Cadillacs!
Supporting Vendors
Cadillac XLR Registry
