The last time our L67-swapped ‘Supermang’ VN Berlina graced your screens, Scotty popped its drag racing cherry when we took it up to Heathcote Park Raceway to see what number it could run.
The car was still in full street trim on track, including the crummy 205/60R15 road tyres it had on when we first bought it. They turned out be the Achilles’ heel of the day, the Supermang coming home with a PB of 13.22@104mph with some serious traction issues.
So in this episode of Carnage, we go back to Heathcote all on our own, this time with a fresh set of drag radials. Scotty sourced 15×7 rear alloys and a brand-new pair of 235/60 Mickey Thompson boots, hoping that these would solve our traction issues and see the Supermang into the 12s.
The weather wasn’t playing nice and soaked the drag strip in the morning, but full credit to Lance Warren and the HPR crew, who broke their backs drying and prepping the track so we could still make something from the day.
The first pass on the radials yielded a 13.63@101mph, but Scotty muffed up and short-shifted from first to second gear.
After a bunch of frustrating runs where Scotty battled traction, a decent headwind and a few other issues, he whittled the ET down to a 13.23@103mph.
It was around then that we realised the beefier 235/60 radials and slack 3.08:1 gears in the standard (and open) diff were hurting our performance at the top end of the track, with the bigger rubber effectively gearing up the car.
So before leaving the track, Scotty bolted the original 205/60 tyres back onto the VN to see if the smaller rolling mass would help the cause.
After a pair of 13.3s, track owner Lance pestered Scotty into doing a massive burnout to really heat the old 205s up. The trick worked, with the car leaving well and recording the best run of the day and an overall PB with a 13.19@105mph.
It wasn’t the 12-second pass Scotty had hoped for, but we did finish the day with a PB and the VN still in one piece.
After the Christmas break, the plan is to renovate the VN’s rear end with a better gear ratio and a much-needed LSD, and word has it that Scotty is also tackling the water-to-air intercooler set-up soon, which will keep a lid on the intake temps and allow the L67 to squeeze out even more power.
So keep your eyes peeled to our YouTube channel and socials, as you’ll be seeing more of Supermang in upcoming episodes of Carnage.
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