GNX 12.7 @ 113 in the 1/4?

[MrSony]

More and more I've been seeing this floating around. I could've sworn that the GNX was rated at 13.8 at 103mph in the 1/4 before this video came out:

Or am I just delusional? The GNX would've had to have damn near 400 horsepower to go that fast. And a lot of sites are claiming that it was faster than the F40, which is completely false. The F40 did the 1/4 in 11.8 seconds. If a stock GNX could go that fast, sh*t imagine how fast cars would be now!

 

[TURNA]

13.4 sec to 104.0 mph

 

[454GrandPrix]

Short version: the guy in that video is full of sh*t.

Long version: of all major car magazines in the '80s, Car and Driver would consistently get the quickest quarter mile times out of any production vehicle. Indeed, while many rags printed a low-to-mid 14-sec ET for the intercooled GN, it was Car and Driver who got it to run a 13.9 ET. Notice how the dude in this video made a point of using this metric for his ET claim on the regular intercooled GN. He even repeatedly shows pictures from the review.

I'm going off memory here, but when Car and Driver tested the GNX they only shaved about half a second off the GN's ET, ending up with a 13.4 or 13.5 as I vaguely recall. Despite being an avid fan and reading lots of magazine reviews and tests about that car, I cannot recall a single mainstream magazine that printed a lower ET for the GNX. This is one reason why I instantly dismissed that idiot as, well... an idiot. (Another reason is because he couldn't get 10 seconds into his video without making a mistake--we all know the Grand National stuck around for more than three years.)


Now, could a GNX run into the 12s? Of course. But not in 100% stock, as delivered condition.

 

[454GrandPrix]

13.4 sec to 104.0 mph

That sounds like what Car and Driver reported.

 

[MrSony]

I mean, I like the video and all, but as you said and as anyone who knows their *ss from a hole in the ground, it is rife with inaccuracies and outright lies. Whether unintentional or otherwise, it shouldn't have happened. And EVERY internet source on the 1/4 mile time has changed to suit his claimed 12.7 at 113.1 time. Frankly, it pisses me off. If you go to YT and scroll down you'll see all my complaints lol.

 

[UNGN]

12.7@113 in a GNX would be doable with race gas, race chip and a test pipe, even with stock 255 gatorbacks and everything else stock... as long as the track was a 1987 track with the trap lights 66ft past the finish... because 113 mph is tough for a stock sized turbo with 26" tires. 28" tires would make 113 mph a lot easier.

If Buick was prepping ringers (like car companies used to do in the 1960's and 1970's) for magazine tests, there would have been a 12 second GNX run in a magazine, but the stock chip won't let it happen without cranking up the boost some other way (like an adjustable wastegate).

This is my T-type with stock intercooler, stock injectors, stock turbo (and stock trans, stock rear end, stock interior, stock wheels, stock etc). I was running a downpipe and a dump, but the stock elbow and downpipe were only .05 slower into the mid 11's and the GNX exhaust is much better than a regular TR exhaust, so a Dump wouldn't be as necessary on a GNX.

Max boost is only about 18 psi, but the timing on the chip is maxed which is how to make small turbo cars fast. I'm running 26" tall drag radials, but I bet it would almost be at least 2-3 mph faster in the 1/4 with 28" tall regular radials. and only a couple tenth's slower. Track was slick and my 60 fts were only 1.8's. A prepped track and 1.6's and it would have been in the 11's.

 

[motorheadmike]

12.7@113 in a GNX would be doable with race gas, race chip and a test pipe, even with stock 255 gatorbacks and everything else stock... as long as the track was a 1987 track with the trap lights 66ft past the finish... because 113 mph is tough for a stock sized turbo with 26" tires. 28" tires would make 113 mph a lot easier.

If Buick was prepping ringers (like car companies used to do in the 1960's and 1970's) for magazine tests, there would have been a 12 second GNX run in a magazine, but the stock chip won't let it happen without cranking up the boost some other way (like an adjustable wastegate).

This is my T-type with stock intercooler, stock injectors, stock turbo (and stock trans, stock rear end, stock interior, stock wheels, stock etc). I was running a downpipe and a dump, but the stock elbow and downpipe were only .05 slower into the mid 11's and the GNX exhaust is much better than a regular TR exhaust, so a Dump wouldn't be as necessary on a GNX.

Max boost is only about 18 psi, but the timing on the chip is maxed which is how to make small turbo cars fast. I'm running 26" tall drag radials, but I bet it would almost be at least 2-3 mph faster in the 1/4 with 28" tall regular radials. and only a couple tenth's slower. Track was slick and my 60 fts were only 1.8's. A prepped track and 1.6's and it would have been in the 11's.

This is a pretty impressive accomplishment for stock junk: https://www.turbobuick.com/threads/taking-a-stock-engine-with-stock-turbo-to-the-limit.448354

 

[MrSony]

This is a pretty impressive accomplishment for stock junk: https://www.turbobuick.com/threads/taking-a-stock-engine-with-stock-turbo-to-the-limit.448354

Stopped reading when he listed all the mods.

 

[UNGN]

Stopped reading when he listed all the mods.

He was doing a specific thing that someone bragged about: running faster than 11.37 with a stock turbo in a stock head, stock motor TR.

Sure his car was at least 400lbs lighter than stock and it had over $10K in other performance mods, but now HE can claim the stock turbo "record" for the next 20 years - about how long the old "record" stood for.

Nobody will remember the 11.37, now.

The Funny thing is the early thread comments about how slow stock turbos are. I used to get that a lot at the track from GN guys back in the 1990's. A guy with a 'UGE turbo would tell me I needed a huge turbo, too, and then I'd run quicker than him.

 

[motorheadmike]

It is definitely more of a Super Stock concept, but it is still fun to watch what you can do optimizing a car around a basic engine.

I like how the turbo is pushing 23psi... just because.