I'll be attending the 2024 Old Nationals later this month and I'll be entering my bone stock 97,xxx miles 3.4L 1994 Cutlass Supreme in the Drag Races being held at Ozark. Needless to say I entered my car in the slowest category (13 second and slower).

Any takers out there on estimating what my quarter mile time might be? The car is running great, the only thing I plan on doing is running the highest Octane Ethanol Free gas I can find and maybe slip in some Octane Booster. Air Conditioning will be off so that will help.

I'm thinking 15:25 to 15:75, and I'd better make the first run good, as I will probably be eliminated in the 1st pass.

 

Contemporary road tests ran 16.7 in the quarter with 3.4 and AT.

 

Going with the 16.7 Joe P mentions.

In a perfect world it's a 16.2 when new. Everything ideal, theoretically via Automobile Catalog. Test weight 3663 LBS. Their perfect scenario is hard to duplicate though. And many a same model end up running about a 1/2 second slower in the real world.

How is your track experience ? Been there done that or first time ever in any car ?

 

I’m at 17.5, hopefully I’ll turn out to just be Debbie Downer!

DON’T RUN HIGH OCTANE GAS, anything more than 93, even 91 for that matter, will likely slow you down. Ethanol free is a good thing.

Drive around the water unless you’re gonna heat the tires with a smokey burnout. Leave on the last yellow, don’t wait for the green.

Good luck & have fun!

​​​​​​….

 

I own it's cousin. Lumina Z34. MotorTrend tv said that a Z with a 5sp would run a 16.1. So auto, I am with Joe P. should run a mid 16.

Pat

 

I'll say 17.25. As long as you can repeat it and cut a light, you can go rounds in a bracket race.

 

Yep, I knew I was overly optimistic there with running in the 15's, but I will do my best. No burn out box for me, and hopefully no burnout at all, need those tires for the 900 mile trip back home. Its Ethanol Free gas all the way for me, whatever the octane. This car hasn't had ethanol gas in it since 2022 when I got it here in SC from CT. Mid 16's would be fine, I'll take off on the bottom yellow like I'm leaving your everyday traffic light.

Their plan is to judge the cars (with the exception of the race car class which will be judged at the track) that are participating in race day first so they can leave for the track, but it's going to take me a good while to re-install everything I have to take off that car to get it judged, mainly the custom seat covers which are a true headache. No matter, I'll get there when I get there. I think there will be plenty of time to dial in.

 

Let us know what she runs.

 

Will do, hopefully no rain.

 

Optimal conditions she can do it. The biggest issues are the track is almost a 1/4 mile above sea level. And you are making the pass in the heart of summer.

At night, tire pressure correct all around, making sure you go in drive/3rd vs overdrive... maybe ...

 

That's a plan, I'll be hitting O/D alot on the highway, but on the track, not so much. I'd like to keep it in 3rd gear till the tach says its time to shift and by then the qtr should be all but over. One thing great about these 3.4's they rev out/breathe really nicely. They really are great motors when they are on. As an aside, it would have been great to see Olds hang in there and eventually place in a V8 in the Cutlass Supreme. But 1998 and then 2004 killed all of that. Imagine, a baby 32 valve northstar in the CS, one can dream I guess.

 

Perfect. It made a big difference on my 87 442, its been about 15 years but I picked up 4/10s IIRC. By going in drive vs overdrive. The 87 is high strung so it would shift into 4th just before the 1/4 mile marker and stunt final forward progress.

Your baby is equally high strung but with a higher redline. Our gearing coupled to actual gear is very close. Should work out great.

I'm psyched for you! Going to crunch numbers (my favorite pastime) and post again later. And definitely going to touch on the second half of your post. Regarding what could of been.

 

Gearing Comparison

----87 442-------1994 Cutlass Supreme
1st)2.74 (10.22)----2.921 (10.02)
2nd)1.57 (5.86)-----1.568 (5.38)
3rd)1 (3.73)---------1 (3.43)
4th)0.667 (2.49)----0.705 (2.42)

If you hit 100 MPH in the 1/4 you will still have plenty of breathing room. That's 4550 RPM with factory height tires vs the LQ1s 7000 RPM redline.

Theoretically the 87 442 peaks at 91 in 3rd. The 94 C/S, 162 MPH.

"One thing great about these 3.4's they rev out/breathe really nicely." Very much so, a little more power and it would of been lights out.

Just for reference, the 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S hit 162 MPH with 247 HP while weighing 3300 LBS ... And all these years later the 2023 Honda Civic Type R S hit 169 MPH with 315 HP, front wheel drive ... Read between the lines and its easy to see Olds could of still been playing the game. (Both the Porsche and Honda are record breakers.)

P.S. you could actually go in 2nd gear due to your redline... Theoretically, Automobile Catalog says 103 MPH is possible in 2nd. That would likely erase the elevation, heat, and humidities impact on the time slip. But I wouldn't try that.

 

That could actually make it run slower if the engine is designed for 87 octane. Ethanol free wont make any difference.

 

Our corner station sells Ethanol Free gas at 90 Octane, I think that would be sufficient. We have alot of boaters in this area so I benefit from that since there's a market for Ethanol Free gas.

 

Like I said..... if the engine is designed to run on 87 anything more is a waste and can/will hurt performance unless you change the tune for it.

 

I understand what BillK is saying. But I believe you will be great with the ethanol free 90.

The 1994 Cutlass Supreme Owners Manual states. 87 minimum and up, while also saying a max of 10% ethanol is ok. I read that as over and under works best. You are within reason. Especially when you consider that the LQ1 is a detuned high performance engine...

 

Thanks all, I'm really looking forward to this, any tips on what to use to get the track rubber off the car once one, or should I consider that a free undercoating...........

 

"The kids" all are using painter's tape. Just peel it off after the track.
Otherwise, the premoistened, orange hand wipes work really well on tire, tar, and bugs.

 

As long as paint is good & well adhered, wouldn’t want to be peeling off sheets of poorly adhered paint with the tape. Can also tack it off on your clothing to tame the stickiness. Alternatives would be a good (or double) coat of wax on the affected areas and don’t wipe it off. Another is some kind of tire shine, easy to apply on lower quarters & in wheel opening & you could go over the wax with a spritz as well just for overkill.

I have a buddy that sprays tire slime all over the tread of his tires before driving to the track. The trip (100 miles) eliminates the slime but stays in the tread valleys, preventing rubber from sticking in there. It worked and didn’t seem to hurt traction, but wasn’t something I would do.

 

I also own its cousin, a 1993 Grand Prix with the LQ1. MAKE sure you change the cam timing belt, especially since yours is up there with 90K mile range. They are known to fail. My prediction on your 1/4 mile should be in a perfect condition upper 15s. Fwiw, I ran my '90 Turbo Grand Prix (when new) at LACR with a 3500 foot elevation was mid 15s. Have fun, and let us know how you do!

 

Here is my '93 GP.

 

Timing belt was changed 3 years ago and has less than 5000 miles on it, I'm good to go there.

 

Had a friend that worked for a gas station service company.... get your fuel from a station that has a high turnover rate, regardless of grade, fresh gas, day after the tanker is there! with no water in it, (water from condensation in the underground tanks) they would pump out tank bottoms occasionally pull out a drum or 2 of water laden gas.

 

Blue, what did she run ?

I've seen a video but cant make out your passes performance...

 

Thanks for asking, the car did ok but I myself bombed out. I did 3 trial runs and the best was 17.04 with a 0.116 reaction time. This with a trunk full of stuff including a full size spare tire. But, I fouled in both my elimination runs. The first one I got confused with the staging lights and I left so late I fouled. I bought back another run and was determined for that not to happen again. While I swear I nailed it on the bottom yellow, powerbraking at 2200 rpm, I still left early and fouled. For both those runs I went down the track with not much effort and let up way before the finish. I had a great time though, and if I do this again next year I will be better (also, I will not wear shorts and I'll keep my window closed). I'll also note that for all 5 runs I let up at 5800 rpm (redline is 6800 rpm), and I also backed off before the finish line. So, I really did not push the car to the limit, full well knowing I needed it for the 850 mile trip back home.

Next year I'll be bringing my 79 H/O for another try. The trunk will be empty.

 

Yes she did !

As you know the track is high, about a 1/4 mile above sea level. Then the weather was bad, putting your density altitude about 1 mile above sea level. Here below is your corrected performance.




That's more like what you would've run at a fast track like an E-town or Atco in good weather.

That's perfect, peak power is generated at 5200 rpm, you want to go over by a few hundred for optimal performance.


By the way I see she is a Coupe, an S or SL ?

 

Thanks for this conversion calculation & the stat on the optimum RPM. Mine is the Cutlass Supreme SL, bought new by me new in Oct, 1994. Rallye 69 posted a couple of beautiful photos of it at the track, so much so that I've already had a 16 x 20 poster made of both of them. The first one tells it all, my dial in numbers, the year of the car on the license plate, the model, even my Dad's 2019 PA DMV stickers are all clear & sharp. Made it all worth it, another thanx to Rallye 69 for the initial posting of the photos.