for a second i thought u said stickies.... hahaha, which he should if he's going ot the track >=D

 

Hey its Sunday.....what happened??????????????????????? Probably low 14's maybe high 13's with race gas, a push, and cold intake temps

 

Yeah, I'm curious too. How'd it go?

 

out eating... Lowest time 14 flat with a trunk full of bacon and goats... I'm drained like my battery lol... I know I can get 13s...

Pics and writeup to come

 

At the Entrance



I took my G/F on a run, actually wan a 14.617 with her and a fun trunk This is the view head on from the passenger seat for those that have never dragged their Lexus before. 100.79 MPH


My fastest time 14.057...my 2nd run..it was downhill after that 14.2, 14.4, 14.6, then a 15 lol..... My battery only had 4 bars at the time....so I had more power but that was my best. It was cooler at the time...


Not sure what vehicle that was but I got smoked


Look at that weight transfer!


Hybrid power, all stock engine bay


GOATS on the way back!!!!

 

Awesome! I'm curious as to the methods you used to get those results. I assume that VDIM was all the way off? How much did you brake torque? Was there a direct correlation to battery state of charge? Did you have a spare tire and tools or were you emptied out?

Great pictures btw. I love the one of the hunkered down GS.

 

Not bad at all. It's very impressive that a big luxury hybrid car can pull off a 14.

 

Thank you lucasb7! I did use your power charge method. It did take 5 min. I never got it fully charged though so this hurt my times.

VSC was off, VDIM was on. I never could launch right.


I've gone to the drag strip before and hosted events before but it really was different in a hybrid. Whereas in the past I, like everyone else, just get in the car and go (never used any cooling etc methods on my 400/430, why lol) the 450h is different b/c of the battery......which was kind of a PITA today...

So after a couple runs, I drained my battery down to the low reserve "purple" area, 2 bars or less. Uhhhh....the GS 450h is detuned at 292hp vs the GS 350 303hp (same 3.5 DI engine) and the car does accelerate faster/slower depending on the battery charge.

So I had to drive around some, so the motor would recharge the battery. Coasting also recharges the battery as well as braking. Uhhhhhhhhh So after my 1/4 mile run, instead of exiting off the track at the earlier gate, I would coast to the end like I am in a 8 second drag car trying to get the brakes to recharge the battery D

There is also a "Flash Charge" I can do, but its only recommended once every 3-4 days or so. It takes about 5 minutes and basically you are charging the battery stationary. My of my runs were with a half full battery to 75% full, I could never charge her up past that. Dammit

The other part is I could not get comfy launching the car and it is an issue I've had at "lights". Since its a hybrid, THERE IS NO TORQUE BRAKING!!! lol In the 450h, if you press the gas, NOTHING HAPPENS. It doesn't rev, it doesn't make a sound. I got in 18 runs and still really couldn't figure out the best method for launching. This hurt my times

Overall I had fun and it was a VERY DIFFERENT experience taking a hybrid to the drag strip compared to a conventional car. Its hilarious that everyone around is BOOMING and VROOMING and well, I am creeping up to the start up line not making a sound as the car is running on the battery under 20 MPH..... Its funny to see peoples faces like "WTF is this ****".....


I'll post more pics later and link pics of the other cars that were there taken by professionals. A couple of GT-Rs were running against one another and the old school muscle was just killer!

 

I am completely confident I can crack 13s...I also had a half tank of gas and I could lose 20 lbs.

The next event will be in the spring so that is my goal.

 

congrats mike on a great run! time for performance mods!

btw, what did you set your tire pressure at?

 

14 flat that's awesome man! congrats! next time definitely sub 14!!!!

interesting to see how fast the battery got drained huh

 

What a great first day at the track with your h!!

Sounds like you're already deep into the learning curve already. The launch does sound tricky since there is no reving but with the times you posted the torque must have more than made up for it. I know some hybrids have EV mode, but does yours have a sport mode for the engine/trans?

As for keeping the battery charged I was thinking you have an extra challenge there even when just waiting for your turn in line. My understanding is every time you creep forward in line your probably on batt only power plus you really can't even run the a/c blower, nav screen etc etc as they are all using power while your just sitting there. Unless they use a separate battery? Either way it will be all that much sweeter in the spring when you post those 13.xx numbers while running with a 1/2 tank of gas!

PS thanks for the goat pictures nice find!

 

Since I was running on stockies, I left it alone. If I have a bigger print next time (new wheels) I will drop air out the back....

Yeah and I should have "charged it up" driving around BEFORE I entered the track. I should have went in with a full battery so when I drained it, I could recharge it back to full. I entered with a pretty low battery so I could never charge it as high as I wanted.
Thanks. Yeah I was TRYING not to creep to drain any battery power by keeping the car over 20mph... Launching this car is a lot different than my 2GS.

 

 

14.0 is very impressive! 13's shouldn't be a problem.