[Armada]

Has anyone taken their Armada to the dragstrip yet? I see that our moderator has posted some number for his Titan, but don't see anything for our trucks yet. I'd be curious to see how our trucks are doing under the harsh real light of the official timers at the strip.

I took my SE Offroad 4x4 to Gulfport Dragway back in the summer. It was really not broken in but ran consistent 15.4's in three runs in 90 degree temperature. Only difference from the present setup is that I also have a K&N AirCharger and had it attached that day rather than the drop in. You can swap them in about 15-20 minutes once the AirCharger kit is put together. Pretty good for how big and heavy it is. I did not keep the slips, so I intend to return in a few weeks, run it again and try to scan and post the results.

I do have an accelerometer. A G-Tech Pro Comp. It is not as good as timers at the strip, but if you set it up properly, especially calibrating the tachometer and dialing in the weight properly, it is pretty accurate and repeatable. It was showing the same times within a tenth as the strip runs, but a couple mph higher trap speeds. There are technical reasons for that.

It also shows hp and torque curves, which for me are ranging from about 247-253 horses at the rear wheels and about 315-320 pounds of torque at the rear wheels. Recognizing that this is at the wheel and not the crankshaft, I think those are pretty good numbers for a truck that is bascially stock except for the airbox mod and the drop-in air filter.

Now that the weather is cooler, the quarter mile times by the accelerometer have fallen to 15.1's. Denser air and a fully broken in engine will do that.

I have no frame of reference as to how these numbers stack up to other Armadas and whether exhaust or more serious intake mods will help.

I know that running a behemoth SUV on the strip may not make sense, and I don't intent to try to turn the truck into a bracket racer or something! But objective data is useful in seeing what our trucks do and what mods work and which ones do not.

Anyone have any results they would like to share?

 

[SedonaArmada]

I'll be going next week and hope to get in the 14's. I'll report back on this.

Anyone have numbers for their Armada?

 

[Armada]

I'll be going next week and hope to get in the 14's. I'll report back on this.

Anyone have numbers for their Armada?

Please let us know. The accelerometer I'm using actually showed a high 14.8 and a low 14.9 on back to back runs on the same road from opposite directions. This was back in April when things were cooler. I think it is a tenth or two optimistic and have not been back to the strip yet. I think a 15.1 or maybe a 15.0 might be in the works if it is not too hot, but I don't think I can really get mine down into the 14's yet. No mods except the air box internal snorkel partially removed and the K&N drop in.

Please keep your time slip and share it with us.

Here is a post of the G-Tech chart generated from those back-to-back runs. These were done without the AirCharger intake, just the drop-in filter. As you can see, 0-60 was only 6.8, but boy did it come on on the top end.

 

[VeeTec]

I am going on Sept 2nd, at a GTO meet. I will be there to race my Z, but I am going to run the Armada as well. I expect high 14's.

 

[92TripleBlack]

Should get high 14s and 0-60 in low 7s. Obviously this will vary depending on 4x2 vs. 4x4, SE vs. LE, wheels and tires, aftermarket stuff, etc.

 

[SedonaArmada]

Anyone have any suggestions on how to launch this beast?

 

[Armada]

Personally, I think there has been way more speculation on this issue than it is worth. On some other boards are gobs (that is a technical term of measurement) of posts on the subject, and gobs of different opinions.

When it's all said and done, there does not seem to be much difference. All do seem to agree to turn VDC off, as that could cut horsepower if you should light up a tire. But most Armadas are getting good grip and either do not break loose or only minimally so.

Most folks with the best times are just putting the tranny in auto, letting it shift itself, and are leaving on the last yellow light. If you are just trying to get consistent times and not worried about beating the guy in the other lane, wait for the green.

Some are saying powerbraking does not help. I tend to agree. See no benefit with our trucks.

Some are saying it is best to sort of "roll" into the throttle through first gear, rather than just flooring it. They think the engine's torque management system (part of our fly by wire throttle) works better that way. I've tried it both ways. I can't see any difference, but usually do sort of "roll" the throttle anyway, pushing it down about half way and then flooring it as the revs climb in first gear so that it is wide open before the shift to second.

Except for four runs on the strip last summer, all of my timed runs, however, have been using a G-Tech Pro accelerometer and that is the basis for most of what I have said. Very consistent 6.8's and 15.0's right now, the occasional high 14.8 to 14.9. But I have 4x4. You should be quicker with both a lighter truck and your mods.

 

[SedonaArmada]

Good info and thanks Armada-guy.

I am planning to go to the strip tonight but it is raining this morning and the forcast is for more rain. I was hoping to go today since I have only a couple of gallons of gas left.

 

[Armada]

Did you go? Do you have numbers? It's hot here now in Mississippi, mid '90's and those 14.8's and 14.9's quarter times with 6.8 60 mph times by G-Tech back in early April have now risen to 15.2's and 7.1. High humidity and 95 degree temps hurt. This is about 30-35 degrees warmer than the runs I made back in the early spring.

If you get into the 14's in these conditions, you are doing something.

 

[SedonaArmada]

Didnt go last Wed with all the rain. Next chance may be this Wed. I'll let you know if I go.

 

[scr38]

Did you go? Do you have numbers? It's hot here now in Mississippi, mid '90's and those 14.8's and 14.9's quarter times with 6.8 60 mph times by G-Tech back in early April have now risen to 15.2's and 7.1. High humidity and 95 degree temps hurt. This is about 30-35 degrees warmer than the runs I made back in the early spring.

If you get into the 14's in these conditions, you are doing something.

Armada, I just got a G-Tech Pro SS unit and have made a couple of test runs. Temps are in the mid 90's here, high humidity. I am getting 15.4, 90 MPH. 0-60 7.08, 1/8 mile is 9.99 at 72 MPH. Max G is .6.
What weight did you use, and what pitch factor did you use?

 

[Armada]

Armada, I just got a G-Tech Pro SS unit and have made a couple of test runs. Temps are in the mid 90's here, high humidity. I am getting 15.4, 90 MPH. 0-60 7.08, 1/8 mile is 9.99 at 72 MPH. Max G is .6.
What weight did you use, and what pitch factor did you use?

Those times are appropriate for the temp and humidity. I am using either 5800 or 5900 as the weight, depending on how full the tank is. It should not make any difference on your acceleration runs if you don't get the weight just right. It will make a little difference on your horsepower and torque. I have a 4x4 which I understand has a curb weight of 5600.

My G-Tech Pro Competition does not have a "pitch factor" calibration to my knowledge. There is a roll-out calibration, which is important and can make a pretty big difference in times. Is that what you are referring to or is that something else?

If you are simulating shallow staging (which produces the best drag strip numbers but starts you a few inches further away from the finish line), then something between 15 inches and 17 inches is what I use, typically 16 inches. I have the 285/17/70 tires, 33 inches tall. I was told that 16 or 17 inch roll-out would be appropriate. I don't know, but that is what I am using right now.

 

[scr38]

The Pitch factor corrects for the change in the level of the vehicle when the front raises under acceleration. On the SS model you select the factor depending on how soft or stiff the supension is.
The rollout on the SS is set at 12 inches.
There are several things your Competition model will do that my SS won't. I think I will send my unit in and have it upgraded to the RR model.
The only units G-Tech currently sells are the SS and the RR.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Armada]

Yes. The RR is nice. There is a free software flash upgrade for the Comp that makes it an RR, and a new generation of the PASS software with some other features. I've not installed any of that, but since it's free, I guess I will.

I sent G-Tech an e-mail earlier today asking them if they have any recommendations on what the roll-out should be for 33 inch tires. I'll pass that on if I get a reply.

Cool instruments, aren't they.

 

[SilverQShip]

I took my Qx to a drag strip to see how fast it would fun to 60 and the quarter (just for kicks) Well i came back very suprised 04 stock fully loaded 4x4 0-60 6.6 and 1/4 14.7

 

[Armada]

I took my Qx to a drag strip to see how fast it would fun to 60 and the quarter (just for kicks) Well i came back very suprised 04 stock fully loaded 4x4 0-60 6.6 and 1/4 14.7

Nice! Can you please post the print out they gave you? A scanned attachment would be great. I'd like to analyze the intermediate numbers. Where are you? Do you know the temperature, barometric pressure, etc. the day of your run? Those numbers are amazing for a full-sized Nissan SUV. I think that is even better than the lightest 4x2 King Cab Titan pickups are running. Way faster than the stock ones and faster than all but one modded one, to my knowledge. And you should be maybe 800 pounds heavier.

"The Head" over at TitanTalk has the fastest Titan I know of, a KC 4x2 stripped. He has a lot of mods with Volant intake, high flow aftermarket exhaust and other goodies and is even running 29 inch tires on the back. He also has nitrous injection and has put several thousand dollars into a highly modded transmission with a high stall speed torque converter and modified valve body to tighten up shifts. He also has dual electric fans in place of the stock clutch activated fan. Long list of other mods and a lot of drag racing experience.

He did get down to as low as 14.6 running without the "juice." Being within a tenth of his best time "on motor alone" tells me you are one of the lucky ones to get a truly superior motor off the assembly line. That can happen. I don't think any of the rest of us whether in Armadas or Q's can get close. Congrats. Please post the slip!

Here's the link to the posted times and mods over there on the Titans:

http://www.titantalk.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=13271