We finally got the Laser to the track, and were overwhelmed with the results.
First, a quick rundown of the mods we've made since buying it: a rebuilt
transmission with a taller first gear and double-synchro first and second
from
TRE, an
ACT 2600 clutch, a
Fidanza aluminum flywheel,
Taboo billet clutch fork, a
K&N FIPK for a non-turbo DSM
adapted to fit ours, and my home-made boost controller set at about 15 psi.
Really, most of the work was reliability-related (the drivetrain stuff),
and only the air filter and boost controller really
added power.
So I was shocked to see a best run of 14.102 seconds at 95.31 mph: only
about a tenth of a second slower than our Eclipse, which has had far more
(admittedly, preparatory) work put into it. In the course of the evening,
the driveshaft thumping became pretty obvious, and the car practically sat
down at launch because of the poor shocks. My first couple of launches also
resulted in a ton of wheel hop, which means the motor mounts could use
replacement soon. But despite all that, we're pretty happy with how fast
the car is running with just these few modifications.
Quick picture that showed up on the
track's website; that's me in
the bright yellow shirt, Erica in the jeans in the front of the picture,
and a friend of mine (Justin Champlin, who was there with his RSX-S)
standing beside me):
