1991 Talon: 0-100mph in 7.43 seconds (with video)
Monday, October 29, 2007
So, what does my old 1991 Talon Tsi AWD Turbo have in common with the 2008 Corvette ZO6, 2008 Dodge Viper, 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2008 Audi R8 and the 2007 Mustang Shelby GT 500? It's quicker than all of them from 0 to 100mph! For those that may think I'm smoking something, I've compiled all of the specs from those vehicles at the bottom of this post.
Last weekend I took the old girl back to the local 1/8 mile dragstrip to have a
little fun before winter sets in and to see if I could improve on my previous best 1/8 mile ET and MPH. I wasn't expecting a great ET, as I'm still babying it off the line to preserve the stock 3 bolt rear differential and 100% stock transmission, but I did nail a 100mph trap speed! Also, with some basic math, my 0-60mph time is an estimated 2.66 seconds. Fun!
Here's a picture of the timeslip, a few pictures from the track, and an in-car video of the run prior to the 7.43 run, which was a 7.50 at 100mph.
~~~~~~~0 to 100mph figures from the cars I mentioned above~~~~~~
All data compiled from Car and Driver Magazine
2008 Chevrolet Corvette Zo6
Price: $70,000
0-100mph: 7.7 seconds
Horsepower: 505
Curb Weight: 3198lbs
2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
Price: $86,000
0-100mph: 7.6 seconds
Horsepower: 600
Curb Weight: 3455lbs
2008 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Price: $143,995
0-100mph: 9.3 seconds
Horsepower: 415
Curb Weight: 3180 lbs
2008 Audi R8
Price: $125,000
0-100mph: 10.1 seconds
Horsepower: 420
Curb Weight: 3583 lbs
2007 Ford Shelby GT500
Price: $50,000
0-100mph: 10.3 seconds
Horsepower: 500
Curb Weight: 3896 lbs
1991 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD
Price: El cheapo
0-100mph: 7.43 seconds
Horsepower: 500-520 (estimate)
3150 lbs (estimated w/o driver)
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posted by Tom T. @ 10:11 AM,
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1991 Talon Track Visit: New Best!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The last time I took the Talon out to the track was way back in February. Since then, I haven't changed a single thing on the car, other than the oil, filter and a fresh set of NGK spark plugs. I have been driving the heck out of it, and it's turned out to be a great commuter car with power to spare, good handling, an ipod-friendly stereo and ice-cold air conditioning. It's also averaging 27 mpg with a 70/30 mix of highway/city driving, so overall, I'm very pleased.
This visit to the track was an act of impulse, as I needed to blow off some steam on Friday after a long week of work, and a little drag racing was an inexpensive, legal way to do so.
Friday night's test & tune sessions are mainly attended by full-on race cars with a few street cars mixed in. I was one of those street cars, and the only 4 cylinder in the whole place. As you could imagine, I felt a little out of place. I had heard that the surface of this track had been smoothed and re-paved, so I was excited to try it out.
As the trailers filled with expensive toys filed in, a few cars started making passes and I decided to head to the lanes. As I got closer to my turn, I noticed that the track folks had put up some cones that forced everyone to drive through the water box. Good for the RWD race cars, bad for me! The lanes were moving fast, so I quickly hopped out of the car and spoke with the official, who graciously moved the cones (slightly) to allow me to bypass the burnout box.
As I staged, I brought the revs way up and quickly feathered the clutch and floored the gas. I hardly ever launch like this on the street and it definitely caught me off guard. The car shot off the line and almost instantly I heard a couple pops of the 10,000 rpm rev limiter. After this quick misstep, I banged second and then rode out third through the traps. The guy at the booth handed me my slip and I was pleased to see a 7.6 second run at 95.5 mph, even with my lazy 1-2 shift. This would be my best 60 foot of the day, a 1.78. My second run was my best E.T and MPH (see the slip below) but I not my best launch or 60 foot. I was lined up with a race car on this run and literally could not hear myself think over that beast's thumping v8.
After my third run being very similar to my second, the lanes were getting full and I decided to head home. According to my datalogs, my 680cc injectors are totally overworked. I've got a set of 850s waiting to go in, which should allow me to run more boost and get a few more horses on 93 octane.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
The Talon Looks a little out of place here, I think. Some nice, fast cars were in attendance.
Here's a shot of the newly re-surfaced track. Smooooth!
This fascinated me. I applaud the cost-saving tactic employed here.
This Ford wanted to race me from a "dig." Hardy, Har.
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posted by Tom T. @ 6:26 PM,
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1991 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD Photoshoot
Friday, March 16, 2007
Click on any image to see a larger version
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posted by Tom T. @ 3:35 PM,
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Back to the track in the 1991 Talon
Monday, February 26, 2007
As much as I enjoy drag racing, the Talon has only made it to the strip once, and that was way back in December 2005. This is due mostly to the lack of a 1/4 mile track nearby. Outside of this town, people just don't respond to someone quoting their 1/8 mile times and mph, plus I enjoy the higher speeds and the ability to reel in cars that the 1/4 mile affords.
Back in 2005, I ran a best of 8.2 seconds at 89mph with a 20g turbocharger at this track with similar conditions. That wasn't too bad, but this time out, I ran a best of 7.6 seconds at 97mph. Although the E.T. is six tenths quicker, I was really babying the car off the line, as weakness of the stock 3 bolt rear is well known in the DSM community. I have a beefier four bolt rear waiting to go in, but I probably won't get around to that for some time. A more aggressive launch could knock off another few tenths.
I'm pretty happy with the MPH, as I picked up 8mph over last time! This was all done on 93 octane pump gas and full weight with freezin' air conditioning. Also, this also works out to an estimated 0-60 time of 2.95 seconds. Not too shabby!
Enjoy the pics and check out the in-car video!
--OR--
Right click and "Save As"
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posted by Tom T. @ 7:02 AM,
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1991 Talon update: Giant Intercooler!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Below is my solution to global warming. Yes, as a matter of fact that is a 28" x 10.5" Garrett intercooler. It should do the trick.
Here is the install somewhere between a bloody finger and 10 consecutive f-bombs
More to come!
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posted by Tom T. @ 8:02 AM,
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The old switcheroo
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Recently I whipped up a little video entitled "FWD still sucks" featuring my 1989 Mirage. You can see it here, if you haven't already.
The day after filming this video, I was driving into work and noticed the set of two long rubber patches that I had laid down the day before. That's when it started getting to me. Sure, I may have posted a fun video on the Interweb that got thousands of views, but am I really having fun burning 14 inch drag radials off at 115mph in 4th gear? The answer was a resounding "no". (Don't be surprised by the self-derived dialogue, I have conversations like this with myself pretty much all day long. Ask my co-workers, they'll tell ya!)
Each time I drove the Mirage I grew more frustrated with the lack of traction and poor handling dynamics that come from front wheels spinning at the apex of a turn. Even while running a modest 20g turbo, the car had become too powerful for most uses. The thing had no traction to speak of at full throttle until around 100mph, and at part throttle, it would spin its tires in gears 1, 2 and 3.
I spent the next few days reminiscing about a simpler time, before HKS Cams, Super AFCs, front mount intercoolers and dual stage boost controllers. It was 2001, and the mirage had a mod list that was incredibly short compared to today's standards. We're talking a 16g turbo, stock DSM intercooler, water injection, K&N filter, boost controller, Walbro 255, and 2.5" downpipe/3" cat-back. That was it, nothing else. Those mods were good for mid 12s on pump gas all day long. Back then the car would actually go around turns, instead of trying to send you into a ditch, as it does today.
After a week or so, (and after talking with my buddy Joe) I realized what I should do. Since the Mirage was now hideously overpowered, and the Talon was leaking and burning oil from it's 220k mile engine I would do a switcheroo. I'll let the drawing below explain.
Click on the image to see a full size version
If that illustration didn't explain it, The plan was to pull the awesome built engine out of the Mirage and swap it into the Talon. The stock 220k mile Talon Motor would get rebuilt and slid into the Mirage with a 16g turbo.
Within a couple days I had both engines removed, swapping essential parts like flywheels, engine mount brackets and thermostat housings from one engine to the other. Then the stock Talon engine (which will be bolted into the Mirage after a rebuild) was placed on an engine stand and slid into a corner for a few months.
My current focus was to get the fresh, fully-built motor into my Talon which took a fair amount of customization mainly due to the Magnus intake, that required a relocation of the transistor, coil and battery.
With the new all wheel drive platform, I thought that this would be a great time to step up to a larger turbo. I decided to try a Forced Performance "Red" which is easy to install and has pushed countless cars into the 10s and low 11s in the quarter mile.
Since this car will be driven a couple days a week, with an occasional trip to the drag strip, I decided to keep all of the creature comforts such as air conditioning and my beloved coffee maker.
Stay tuned as I get the Talon buttoned up...
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posted by Tom T. @ 4:27 PM,
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1991 Talon: The Find!
Sunday, July 17, 2005
On Thursday, July 14th 2005, I got the sudden urge to browse a regional DSM message board that I hadn't visited in years. What took me there? Where did this urge come from? What is that strange smell coming from the kitchen? The answer to all three, I have no freaking clue. All that I know is that ever since I sold my 1991 Eclipse GS-T, I have missed owning a DSM. Almost instinctively, I headed right to the "for sale" section and clicked on a posting for a 1991 Eagle Talon AWD 5 speed. The seller sounded like an educated person who knew his car like the back of his hand. He did, and for good reason, he had owned it since 1992! Amazing! After looking at the pictures, I was blown away how clean the car was in and out. It had all of the typical small wear and tear, but with one big difference. The car was meticulously maintained.
There were a hand full of posts from other interested parties, and I feared that the car had already been sold. So without delay I emailed the seller and to my surprise, got a call from him moments later. I was bracing myself for the bad news when I heard, "It's still here." I knew I had to act quick, so I told Phil that I'd take it!
Now I had a whole new problem...How the heck do I get to Atlanta to pick it up? The only fast, cheap option was the big beauty to the left, yep a Greyhound bus. I bought a ticket for 29 bucks and headed to the bus station to catch my 1:15 to Atlanta. If you haven't taken a ride on a Greyhound, let me not recommend this mode of transportation unless absolutely necessary. On a positive note, I made lots of new friends, including the lady who told me that she had stabbed her husband and needed to "get away and clear her mind." The dude that kept preaching to me was pretty cool too. He's right, I am a bad person!
Ahhh, Atlanta. One advantage of the bus, was that I didn't have to drive in the nightmare that is the Atlanta commute. One disadvantage of the bus was the driver who kept yelling at all of us. Anywho, we got to use the carpool lane, which worked quite well.
When I arrived at the bus station in downtown Atlanta, Phil was nice enough to pick me up. In fact, he was nice enough to arrive early, which meant that I didn't have to surrender my wallet and other belongings to a group of large, poor smelling angry men. After a few blocks, Phil jumped out and I got behind the wheel. It had been too long. There's nothing like being back behind the wheel of a DSM again.
After a short drive, we parked and talked about the car. Phil was nice enough to include tons of service/parts receipts, some spare parts and a clean copy of the DSM service manual. He even introduced me to his wife and kids, then invited me to grab a bite with the gang at the CNN center food court. Not only did I get a great car, I made a friend. Which given my unique personality, is no easy task.
Here it is! What a beauty, no? This picture reminds me of the first Talon that I saw in my neighborhood back in 1990.
Here's another angle. The paint on this car is in excellent condition.
From the back...
Given the age and mileage, the interior is in great condition. The stock CD/Cassette stereo works perfect and the air blows nice and cold. The driver's seat leather has some big cracks and the headliner is sagging, so I'll be fixing these in future installments.
The dash on these cars is pretty unique. They definitely have a "jet fighter" thing going on.
Here it is, towering over all...the massive stock shifter. It has been compared to a certain female pleasuring device that rhymes with "hildo" and quite frankly, that makes shifting awkward, unless you're into that sorta thing.
Here is my favorite part! This car is 100% stock. This is what it looked like when you popped the hood back in 1991. The previous owner went to great lengths to keep it this clean. I intend to keep it as close to stock (looking) as possible.
It's the little things that make life great. Like how every single bracket still exists on this car. So many of these cars have been used and abused beyond recognition and are missing all sorts of little do-hickeys.
Phil was nice enough to provide me with volumes 1 and 2 of the DSM Bible. No more dang PDFs! My laptop has taken a beating from being out in the garage with me over the years.
I threw on some fresh NGK spark plug wires and NGK sparkplugs, while I was in there doing a compression test. I'll be doing a timing belt and some other maintenance stuff in the coming weeks.
The boost response was a little weak, and as expected, the stock 14b turbo was toast. Oh, Darn. Life is so unfair, whatever shall I do?
Hey, whatd'ya know? I've got this Buschur Racing / Mitsubishi 20g and Tial wastegate setup just kinda laying here. Life is good.
Happiness is opening up the glovebox and seeing the original owners manual in there! It just keeps getting better!
The illustrations in owners manuals are pretty dang funny. Here's one I like. I'm glad the rear differential really isn't a little person as described in the photo, cause I'm about to punish that little bastard with a couple hundred extra horsepower. How could I live with myself?
Here's another one from the manual that I enjoyed. I have no clue what is going on here, but it seems that the anime cassette is battling the forces of evil or something. What I do know is that this illustration alone could be inspiration for an animated series on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim." The tile would be "Super Cassette Fury!?!"
Ok, last one. The caption below should read "Don't be a redneck." Heck, I wouldn't have even thought of pulling a camper behind my sports car, but I'm not much of an outdoorsman.
Well, that's it for this installment! My plan for this car is to keep the mods clean and simple. I'll be driving the car 60 miles a day through all sorts of weather, so nothing will be done to compromise the reliability. More to come!
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posted by Tom T. @ 1:04 PM,
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