The Quest for 275 MPH

Well the high from 252 MPH is starting to wear off and we all know what the next number should be. I'm looking into what it will take to reach the next logical goal of 275+. Some of the concerns are the tires and which ones should I be using considering the speeds I want to attempt. I have been speaking to some very knowledgeable people regarding this and hopefully we can come up with a solution that we all are comfortable with. I feel like the team is capable of making enough WHP/Torque from the engine to reach the 275+ and the car is gear capable provided the engine is able to push it to those speeds. We will probably make a switch from C16 to E85/E98 considering some of the issues we had last time with temps. As to safety I don't know how much more I can do beyond what we have done already, maybe update the gear I wear and a new HANs, it's about time for that anyway. I feel the car is aero capable of 275 although I might put a very small spoiler on rear to tighten up the back of the car. I would probably have 3 to 4 spoilers made from maybe 1/2" to 1.25" tall so that I can make a few 225 to 250 MPH passes to see how each feels and then bolt on the one that feels best. It does like to dance side to side just a little bit at top speeds and a small amount of downforce could help with that. The nose seems to create enough downforce at speed that the car feels very connected up front. I just need to get the balance right between adding small amount of downforce at the rear and none up front. I want to limit the distance to 1.5 miles max which will help with the IAT issues we had in the past. As before I'm not trying to be the fastest Viper in the half mile, mile or any specified distance, I'm just chasing the top speed at any distance.

I have looked at many of the peoples cars doing speed runs. I have not seen your car run or don't remember it. my concern is the rake these cars are running. If you run a boat or car noise high you will flip backwards some time. like some Vipers have on the drag track. if your frount down force is ok, drop the frount ride height(at speed) 3 degrees lower than the rear ride height(at speed). this will do several things, keep air out from under creating more down force, will permit removal of down force generators reducing drag(increasing speed). find a tire that has a stronger side wall that will not colaps under down force like somany do, but has the rubber for tracsion (maybe nascar tire)

Thanks for the input, I do rake the car prior to any runs. The front is lowered as much as possible and the rear is typically a few inches higher. I have some data from past runs that we use to make these adjustments. The tires obviously grow in height with the centrifugal forces acting on them and as the speed increases the downforce acting on the car can result in the tires rubbing the wheel wells. We have learned over time what clearances we need to prevent this. As to tires which are the biggest concern I'm looking at Nascar and Formula 1 tires and trying to find a workable solution that will give me some comfort at those speeds.

I think Bugatti was working with Michelin or someone and had a carbon fiber reinforced tire that could hold up to 300mph

Why get stability from drag when a vertical fin could be the answer you're looking for.

Excellent thought, could take the tail wagging out of the car at higher speeds. I will look into that. I am looking into possible time in a wind tunnel and adding vertical fins will be on the list of options to run. I will let u know how it turns out. Thanks

You sound like you really know what you are doing. Don't push to hard that we don't hear from you again. Work your way up and God be with you.

Thank you, I want the 275 but I'm also not afraid to lift if that's what the situation requires. Besides the little bit of tail wagging it's a very stable car, but of course every mph gets it closer to the edge of that. I will take great care to make sure it's a safe run.

Hey everyone, been a while since I've discussed the plans for the next attempt at a big speed. We are back on the car making changes and prepping it for the effort to break 275+ but honestly any speed faster than the 252 MPH run gives us more data to work with. We have the tires/wheel combination worked out and the new transmission will arrive soon. In addition to that we are making the obvious changes to bump the WHP/torque to a level to allow for this. The team is also making some additional safety improvements which everyone that does any form of racing should be concerned with. I will come back and hopefully be able to provide some pictures and more details on the build. I really appreciate the support from everyone and looking forward to a time when we don't all have to stand 6 feet apart with our masks on. Thanks, David

FST SNAKE said:

Hey everyone, been a while since I've discussed the plans for the next attempt at a big speed. We are back on the car making changes and prepping it for the effort to break 275+ but honestly any speed faster than the 252 MPH run gives us more data to work with. We have the tires/wheel combination worked out and the new transmission will arrive soon. In addition to that we are making the obvious changes to bump the WHP/torque to a level to allow for this. The team is also making some additional safety improvements which everyone that does any form of racing should be concerned with. I will come back and hopefully be able to provide some pictures and more details on the build. I really appreciate the support from everyone and looking forward to a time when we don't all have to stand 6 feet apart with our masks on. Thanks, David

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Do you have videos of your 252 mile run?

Shaggy said:

Do you have videos of your 252 mile run?

Click to expand...

This is the link to my run on Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds YouTube channel which has a lot of videos

The progress marches onward and I have had to switch to a sequential as I can't find a 6060 or T56 that has the gears I need along with the torque rating required. I'm an old school guy who really wanted to do this with a H pattern but the choices were don't run, run with a sequential or run with an automatic. This is a 6 speed from RTS up in Kannapolis NC, probably some of the best machine work I've seen. The gearing actually allows me at max RPM to top out over 300+ but that isn't going to happen with me driving. My goal is anything over the last run of 252.588 MPH and hopefully 275 if that's possible. Here's a few pictures of the transmission, installation is already in the works. It has a load cell and will be managed by the Pro EFI system to allow for no lift shifts once I leave the line.

I had the Greg Good heads off of Blucifer refreshed by Nelson Competition over in Pinellas Park Florida. Kris did a great job, checked everything form pushrods, lifters, rockers, valves and springs etc to make sure it was all in spec. Heads were decked, valve seats cleaned up and everything reassembled and ready to go back on.

Headers had a few small cracks that were repaired by Lakeland Speed and Custom and then Jamie had them recoated. They will be putting heads back on soon and bolting up headers, turbos, etc. It's coming together and we are making sure it's as ready as we can possibly make it for the next run. I'm so looking forward to the moment it's all back assembled and on the dyno for the tuning.

In an effort to make the car a little more aero at the speeds I'm hoping to reach we are making small tweaks to the body, diffuser, etc. This picture shows the fog light covers being made, the metal is rolled/formed to tightly fit up against the bumper. Then a "angled cup" is tig welded to the back and the assembly is bolted in from the backside. I wanted to keep it removeable to allow me to return to the stock look later on. After that it's the diffusers turn for some modifications.

We are working on the piping to route it in the best position and keeping the bends to a minimum. Hopefully we will wrap this part of the project soon so we can get the car on a dyno and start tuning for the big WHP and big speed.

I have the rear 20" tires and I'm expecting the 19" fronts soon. The Forgeline wheels should arrive Monday. Refreshed heads etc are back on the car, other minor stuff done so we are closing in on the dyno/tuning session. After that maybe a little seat time and then lets see if Blucifer is up to the task. Appreciate the support and encouragement from everyone.

thanks for posting all these updates, hopefully you see the 275 you're hoping for!

Thanks Proedge, we are working toward that. Hopefully early 2021 we will have it ready to make an attempt at it. We are working on the intercooler and ice box now, getting them positioned and the lines and pipes ran. I will post some more pictures once we have those items completed.

Here's a few pictures of the wheels and tires for the rear of the car. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 345/30-20s and the wheels are Forgelines are 20" by 12" wide. The front tires will arrive in mid Jan, I will post a picture once they are all on Blucifer.

I have discovered 20" Forgeline/Michelins make the rear brakes on Blucifer look tiny now.

Here are some pictures of the piping for the turbo/intercooler.

In addition to new piping, intercooler, ice box etc I am also upgrading the turbos. I need a bit more WHP to make sure that Blucifer makes that 275 number.

Been a while since I've shared anything so I thought I would post some pics and see what you guys think of Blucifer's new twin turbo layout, it's me thinking outside the box.

These are the 2 water to air intercoolers located, rated 3000 WHP. Should be an interesting attempt at 275 MPH. As many have told me " it's only 22 more MPH than your last run, should be easy " lol. I guess I will find out.

now that's a full blown race car. Where were the turbos mounted before?

Hi Proedge, the turbos were located in the framework under the car at the drivers left foot and passengers right foot before, which is the typical location on TT Vipers. The problem for me was with the new larger turbos, intercoolers, ice boxes etc there was no room for those components so I decided to do some outside the box thinking with this design. Fitting the parts has been much easier and I expect the IATs to be substantially lower which will keep the WHP/torque numbers up toward the end of the run. There will be some lag off the line but reality is I can use some lag, the engine alone will launch it hard enough and by the time the boost comes in I will need all the traction control I can get to keep the tires from spinning. We set it up for boost by gear which further helps with traction and there will be a nitrous shot programed to come in at a certain IAT to keep the engine management system happy. I am expecting 275 MPH but who knows, might be 265 or 285, all I do is hold down the noisy pedal and steer it straight and hope it works as planned. I will share more pics as the build progresses, you guys ask any questions you want and I will do my best to answer them. Thanks, David

I decided to rework the trunk floor that supports all the components such as turbos, intercoolers, dry sump tank, battery etc. I wasn't happy with the quality/appearance of the first version and this one definitely will fix that issue.

Here is the new floor installed in Blucifer, the recessed area is for the battery. I needed some room for the intercooler pumps so I decided to recess the battery and mount the pumps on top of the cover. That keeps the clearance I needed from the rear glass.

The turbos are mounted off brackets and the battery box. This is the final location for them as it allows all the piping from the intercoolers, exhaust etc to line up properly.