How fast will the "Target 550" car go???

[Rex Schimmer]

Marlo and his guys are in Aussie land and getting ready to (hopefully) make some real noise. So let's all give our best guess (estimate, hope!) as to how fast they will go.

 I am going to take 460+ mph. Don't think they can make the big 500 this time but they should be fast and a 460 should get them the wheel driven record.


Rex

[Milwaukee Midget]

If they can keep the drivetrain glued together, that'll be the key.

460 should be a good baseline, and should be achievable, now that they have enough salt to not be worrying about what lies ahead.

My question is this.  Gairdner's at ~125 above sea level.  I think the T550 is pretty aero-smart, but will their engine management let them take advantage of the denser air, or might the air density hurt them at 460+?

[racergeo]

     Yep, kind of a desperation move. Might still have some gremlins. Al and others couldn't replicate there 7500 corrected elevation speeds, but like beer dwarf says, it's plenty aero. Les told me that he just wants to go 500. I know "he ain't afraid". So if it don't break,and the tracks there and they don't get food poisoning or get stuck on the road gettin' out there or--or--  Put me down for 511.

[jfr757]

Last year, our 1968 Camaro, which had run 243+ in the last mile at Bonneville in 2012,  ran 249+ TWICE in the middle mile at Lake Gairdner on Thursday.  We had expected it to run less than 240, because of the higher air density at the Lake Gairdner vs Bonneville venue.  The track was a little moist and loose on Tuesday, but after the rain on Wednesday, and high winds on Wednesday night, it really tightened up.  We run a 600 cu in BBC that produces nearly 1000 hp on race gas.  More often than not, we encounter some wheel-spin, but not on that Thursday.  If you look at the MTOD video, you'll see two perfectly formed white roostertails of salt coming off the rear wheels.  It was hooked up.

That salt was so good, there was not even a pressure-ridge that I could find on the racecourse.  From all reports, it might be even better this year.

So, good luck Target 550.  Betting on 480 if you avoid breaking.

[kiwi belly tank]

Logically you would expect slower NA cars to pick up some HP at Gairdner's altitude compared to B-ville but that becomes more drag when the speed comes up. At B-ville the tough number arrives at about 380 to 400 depending on the DA at the time so it is going to be at lower speed down there.
Target 550 is the same shape as Big Burther Herbert was & that had an extreme directional stability problem due to the vertical chisel nose shape creating a very forward CP & differential side forces. Target 550 appears to have at least 2500lb of lead ballast behind & in front of the front wheels so I expect they have already experienced those directional control problems.
As Al would say when somebody asked how fast he was going to go, "We'll see!"
  Sid.

[superleggera]

T550 is still being sorted and none of the drivetrains issues have allowed true back-to-back runs without issue.  She is a proverbial dinosaur in terms of technology but has insanely incredible potential.  My guess will be a back-to-back run average of 422 mph and hopefully without anything breaking but there needs to be several test runs before that happens.  Ultimately I see a one-way speed if everything goes good of 462mph at the end of the week and a return to Lake Gairdner in 2019.  Given the two decades in her creation, she hasn't spent much time on the salt itself in actually running and has never made a true full-speed complete pass.  I'd just like to see them make a single full-speed pass and the data that goes with it -- we will see her true potential only then.

Also remember if anyone finds pictures, commentary or more on T550 -- please post it to Freud's Facebook page so his daughter can keep him up-to-date on what happens and to keep him involved. 

[Sumner]

From formulas I found in the past that deal with HP loss or gain on a NA motor due to changes in density altitude it is a wash with the changes in HP required to push a vehicle through denser or less dense air.  More HP needed at lower altitudes to push the car through the air but the car picks up corresponding HP to manage the task, if tuned to take advantage of the denser air.  

The catch is that the DA changes regardless of what we do but it is up to us to tune the car so that it achieves maximum HP at the new DA to keep up with it.  That is hard to do with exact certainty.  I always felt that we ran faster in the morning's cool denser air than later in the day but now pretty much feel that our tune was such that we were taking more advantage of the denser air than what we were of the less dense air later in the day.  We weren't tuned optimally at either time, but closer in the morning.

Also this applies to a NA motor and can go out the window with a blown motor.

Sumner

[Elmo Rodge]

After a series of fiasco's we should be leaving Melbourne today for Gairdner. 
Wayno

[racergeo]

     I wouldn't worry about tune as Les Davenport is one of the the best blown alky tuners of ALL TIME. I'd worry about breakage when he starts applying that power. That being said, how much do I win if I'm closest Rex.

[Dynoroom]

    That being said, how much do I win if I'm closest Rex.

The same amount they'll make for setting the record!   

[rgdavid]

What happened Wayno ?
Have a great time.

[Rex Schimmer]

George,
Quoting Dyno Mike: "The same amount they'll make for setting the record! "

Rex

[Milwaukee Midget]

George,
Quoting Dyno Mike: "The same amount they'll make for setting the record! "

Rex

Aren't those negative numbers? 

[kiwi belly tank]

AA/BFS is an open record.
  Sid.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Still a LARGE number of open records at Gairdner.

Even more surprisingly, a LOT of C and D class stuff still open.

Almost makes me want to screw together a small block.