I'm washing my 03 Marauder in one of those self-serve wash bays, and just as I finished, here comes this Red Vette (looked like an 03 , but I cannot tell between 03 and 04's anyway) who also just finished washing his car, through the parking lot headed out to the road just as I was, and when he goes by me, he hammers on the go pedal momentarily to make some noise and get my attention.....
I've had my car supercharged for 15 months now, and every time I see a Vette, there's just too much traffic to be driving nuts on the public streets in. So I've never been challenged by any Vette driver nor had an opportunity before to challenge one had I wanted to. So this was very tempting to say the least since I've beaten three LS1 equipped Camaro SS cars with my Marauder before, one of them being modified (headers, cam, ported cylinder heads).
When we both got out onto the street, I was surpised that there was a pretty big break in the traffic, and that it provided an excellent opportunity for a little duel between us, because it was 3:30 in the afternoon, whereas usually the only time when I'm on a street in my area with some very sparse traffic like that is after midnight on a weeknight when most people are home in bed.
So we both end up side-by-side at a traffic light that turned red. I look over at him as if to say.."Okay, now that we're both out of that parking lot where you chose to make some noise, show me what you got now Vette boy." However, what was also going through my mind was, although I might not get an opportunity like this again in awhile, the tires on his car as well as on my car must still be kind of wet from having just washed them.
So I was concerned about him losing enough traction and perhaps not wanting to get beat by a big tank of a car like mine enough to stay on the gas and fishtailing into my car. So I decided to hesistate just enough when the light turned green to let him get just a little jump to make sure that his car wouldn't end up right against mine.
Light turns greeen, he takes off, and I hear his tires spinning, but it wasn't enough to make his car fishtail, nor enough to smoke em at all. With my drag radials and the 4.56 gears, I usually have to walk my car out of the hole at half throttle for about the first 20 feet, and then just before the trans hits second gear I can hammer it to the floor.
But with the possibility of my rear meats still being a little wet, I decided to walk it out of the hole with half throttle for a good 40 feet instead, and peg it to the floor just as it was going into second gear. So since I deliberately gave him the jump, he gained about one and a half car length lead on me right away. The road was straight for the first 150 feet, and then it bent slightly to the left in a very mild and wide open curve for about the next 30 feet, and then it straightened out to a nice long open stretch for 1,000 feet.
So as the Vette boy took the quick lead, I walked it out of the hole at half throttle as planned for about the first 40 feet, and after that I let out the beast from within underneath the hood and hammered the loud pedal.....
My back tires grabbed perfectly and by that time his had already gained perfect traction too. I began to gain on him, and just as my car was right at his right rear quarterpanel, we were traveling through that brief and mild 30 foot long bend in the road. It was a very mild bend that wasn't sharp at all, and offered perfect visibility on both sides, and w/out any parked cars nor driveways, nor side streets near by for anyone to pull out in front of us, and also with guardrails on both sides. This is why I chose to run up against him, because I knew the area, and it offered very minimal risks.
well, he was in the left lane, and this mild bend went to the left, so he had the advantage going into the turn, because not only was he still in front of me, by a half car length, but he also had the inside of the turn. But that didn't even matter. I passed right by his better handling car right smack in the middle of this brief turn, and did it on the outside of the turn. :-D
He must have been shocked, because I heard his LS1 engine winding up the whole time, and so I know he was into the gas real hard just as I was. Little did he know until that point that he picked the wrong Marauder to mess with that day. Anyway, the road straightened out again, and by the end of that brief bend in the road I was now ahead with his car breathing down my neck and still reving hard trying to regain his lead. But it still didn't matter.
I was not about to give up my lead now that I had it, and I stayed on that go pedal with what must have been all of the 205 LBS in my body! So my Marauder just kept walking away slowly but clearly and steadily. When I hit 110 MPH I had atleast 3-3.5 car lenghts on him, and he then backed off and gave up, and then so did I. Game over. Marauder 1, Vette 0
We both then mellowed out, and it was for the best anyway, because by then we were both coming up on some traffic up ahead as well as an intersection, and it was time to slow way down. As we both blended into the traffic, his lane began to travel faster than mine, and he went by me. I expected to get a look and perhaps a thumbs up from him, or some tyype of positive acknowledgement, since he just got beat.
But to my surprise, he just hit the gas hard momentarily kind of ****y like, as he was going by me, and just as he originaly did in the carwash parking lot. I thought that was pretty lame of him, so then up ahead as my lane began to get less congested, and I went by him, I rolled down my window, and gave him a shrug of the shoulders facing my palms up to the sky as I looked right at him, as if to say..."What happened? Where's the torque?"
So he then did acknowledge me by giving me a friendly beep of the horn. So I gave him a thumbs up. We were coming up to the highway entrance, and so I hit my right turn signal to get on, and as soon as he saw me signal, he jumped behind me into my lane, so that he could get on the highway too.
I thought to myslef.."Alright, I'll be glad to burn you again my friend"......
but alas, the traffic on the highway was just too heavy during that time of day for us to do anything that wouldn't be too risky. So again, we both just mellowed out, and he then got off two exits up ahead. But he showed some class and maturity by not tailgating me, and recognizing that the traffic was too heavy to start rat racing around. And in a situation like that, most ricers would've started tailgaiting me, and attempting to squeeze between my car and the cars in the righthand lane just to get ahead of me despite me having already proved that my car was quicker.
I don't know if this Vette was stock, my guess is that for the most part, it probably was close to it, but the exhaust didn't sound stock anyway, and he also had some type of aftermarket wheels too, but that's all that I know. I wish that I could've had the opportunity to pull over and talk with him to find out about his car, but I didn't. BTW, let me say that this isn't an attempt on my part to bash Vettes. In fact, I happen to like the LS1 & LS2 engines, and I don't think that they're any slouches at all.
I've had my car supercharged for 15 months now, and every time I see a Vette, there's just too much traffic to be driving nuts on the public streets in. So I've never been challenged by any Vette driver nor had an opportunity before to challenge one had I wanted to. So this was very tempting to say the least since I've beaten three LS1 equipped Camaro SS cars with my Marauder before, one of them being modified (headers, cam, ported cylinder heads).
When we both got out onto the street, I was surpised that there was a pretty big break in the traffic, and that it provided an excellent opportunity for a little duel between us, because it was 3:30 in the afternoon, whereas usually the only time when I'm on a street in my area with some very sparse traffic like that is after midnight on a weeknight when most people are home in bed.
So we both end up side-by-side at a traffic light that turned red. I look over at him as if to say.."Okay, now that we're both out of that parking lot where you chose to make some noise, show me what you got now Vette boy." However, what was also going through my mind was, although I might not get an opportunity like this again in awhile, the tires on his car as well as on my car must still be kind of wet from having just washed them.
So I was concerned about him losing enough traction and perhaps not wanting to get beat by a big tank of a car like mine enough to stay on the gas and fishtailing into my car. So I decided to hesistate just enough when the light turned green to let him get just a little jump to make sure that his car wouldn't end up right against mine.
Light turns greeen, he takes off, and I hear his tires spinning, but it wasn't enough to make his car fishtail, nor enough to smoke em at all. With my drag radials and the 4.56 gears, I usually have to walk my car out of the hole at half throttle for about the first 20 feet, and then just before the trans hits second gear I can hammer it to the floor.
But with the possibility of my rear meats still being a little wet, I decided to walk it out of the hole with half throttle for a good 40 feet instead, and peg it to the floor just as it was going into second gear. So since I deliberately gave him the jump, he gained about one and a half car length lead on me right away. The road was straight for the first 150 feet, and then it bent slightly to the left in a very mild and wide open curve for about the next 30 feet, and then it straightened out to a nice long open stretch for 1,000 feet.
So as the Vette boy took the quick lead, I walked it out of the hole at half throttle as planned for about the first 40 feet, and after that I let out the beast from within underneath the hood and hammered the loud pedal.....
My back tires grabbed perfectly and by that time his had already gained perfect traction too. I began to gain on him, and just as my car was right at his right rear quarterpanel, we were traveling through that brief and mild 30 foot long bend in the road. It was a very mild bend that wasn't sharp at all, and offered perfect visibility on both sides, and w/out any parked cars nor driveways, nor side streets near by for anyone to pull out in front of us, and also with guardrails on both sides. This is why I chose to run up against him, because I knew the area, and it offered very minimal risks.
well, he was in the left lane, and this mild bend went to the left, so he had the advantage going into the turn, because not only was he still in front of me, by a half car length, but he also had the inside of the turn. But that didn't even matter. I passed right by his better handling car right smack in the middle of this brief turn, and did it on the outside of the turn. :-D
He must have been shocked, because I heard his LS1 engine winding up the whole time, and so I know he was into the gas real hard just as I was. Little did he know until that point that he picked the wrong Marauder to mess with that day. Anyway, the road straightened out again, and by the end of that brief bend in the road I was now ahead with his car breathing down my neck and still reving hard trying to regain his lead. But it still didn't matter.
I was not about to give up my lead now that I had it, and I stayed on that go pedal with what must have been all of the 205 LBS in my body! So my Marauder just kept walking away slowly but clearly and steadily. When I hit 110 MPH I had atleast 3-3.5 car lenghts on him, and he then backed off and gave up, and then so did I. Game over. Marauder 1, Vette 0
We both then mellowed out, and it was for the best anyway, because by then we were both coming up on some traffic up ahead as well as an intersection, and it was time to slow way down. As we both blended into the traffic, his lane began to travel faster than mine, and he went by me. I expected to get a look and perhaps a thumbs up from him, or some tyype of positive acknowledgement, since he just got beat.
But to my surprise, he just hit the gas hard momentarily kind of ****y like, as he was going by me, and just as he originaly did in the carwash parking lot. I thought that was pretty lame of him, so then up ahead as my lane began to get less congested, and I went by him, I rolled down my window, and gave him a shrug of the shoulders facing my palms up to the sky as I looked right at him, as if to say..."What happened? Where's the torque?"
So he then did acknowledge me by giving me a friendly beep of the horn. So I gave him a thumbs up. We were coming up to the highway entrance, and so I hit my right turn signal to get on, and as soon as he saw me signal, he jumped behind me into my lane, so that he could get on the highway too.
I thought to myslef.."Alright, I'll be glad to burn you again my friend"......
but alas, the traffic on the highway was just too heavy during that time of day for us to do anything that wouldn't be too risky. So again, we both just mellowed out, and he then got off two exits up ahead. But he showed some class and maturity by not tailgating me, and recognizing that the traffic was too heavy to start rat racing around. And in a situation like that, most ricers would've started tailgaiting me, and attempting to squeeze between my car and the cars in the righthand lane just to get ahead of me despite me having already proved that my car was quicker.
I don't know if this Vette was stock, my guess is that for the most part, it probably was close to it, but the exhaust didn't sound stock anyway, and he also had some type of aftermarket wheels too, but that's all that I know. I wish that I could've had the opportunity to pull over and talk with him to find out about his car, but I didn't. BTW, let me say that this isn't an attempt on my part to bash Vettes. In fact, I happen to like the LS1 & LS2 engines, and I don't think that they're any slouches at all.
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