ProChargum 4th of July Parade

[lou1355]

I'll post some pics when I get home tomorrow, but I thought I would share some impressions from my first street venture with the ProChargum.

Edit: Scroll to post 13 for the pics...

I put pump gas (Amoco Ultimate 93 + ACES IV) in it and a preliminary pump gas tune from Johan (no time to dyno tune for pump gas this past week). I trailered it to my home town for the parade (Mount Dora).

Well, here are my impressions:

1. It's a head turner, both visually and audibly. That F1R and the BV get a lot of attention and puzzled looks.

2. I had it washed and waxed at a local car wash. The car wash guys were dying for the keys, but I explained to them it just wouldn't be wise. When I left the place, they understood why.

3. It is difficult but not impossible to drive on the street. It's definitley not a daily driver though. After about 20-30 miles of cruising around, I am starting to get the hang of it, but you can't use much pedal because it will break lose in any of the first three gears at anything less than 65-70 MPH. Also, it will jump to triple digits in a blink of the eye. You have to short shift consistently and be very gentle with the pedal or it's off to the races. If you go a little past 1/4 pedal, it will go open loop, pop the throttle blade back to 1:1, build boost and you better be pointed in the right direction and paying attention cuz you're fixin' to get there in a hurry. This is the first car/build I've had that has humbled me to the point of knowing I need a lot more seat time to stay reasonably safe. I also know I'm not going to hand the keys to anyone--ever. Driving it is like juggling live hand grenades--it's doable, but one must concentrate all the time.

4. Gas mileage. I topped off the 10 gallon fuel cell, idled it through the parade for a mile or two (where it got warm but did not overheat despite the hot ambient temps here in Central Florida and the a/c blasting), then cruised it around for a total of 17 miles and stopped again to check the fuel level. It took 5.6 gallons to top off. 3 MPG? Yep. This evening I cruised around in cooler temps for a total of 24 miles and it only took 3.6 gallons to top off. So, I more than doubled my gas mileage to 6.67. I figure at a constant 70 MPH on the open highway I might get 8-9...possibly 10, giving me a range of maybe 90 miles. At the track, it looks like it's going to be a squeker to make a 20 minute session.

5. Speaking of road courses, my initial impression is that my coolers will manage the heat and with a lot of concentration and caution with the throttle I'll be able to exit turns without losing the backend. I'll just have to be very smooth. Once I'm lined up and headed straight, the acceleration is explosive and I'll have to make sure to keep up with the shifts--they come very quickly.

6. I seem to be improving in the belt slippage arena. With an air filter on I was expecting to choke the F1R down to less than 10 psi. During one 3rd gear romp I made a point of glancing at the boost gauge and saw what I think was 13 psi at around 4800-5200 rpm, which is encouraging. It's pretty hard to take your eyes off the road to look at gauges, though, cuz things are happening pretty fast at that point.

Well, I really like the car. I also really like the fact that I have a comfy F250 Powerstroke to haul my trailer and drive daily!

I look forward to getting full boost at the LX & Beyond Nationals and breaking into new territory in the 1/4 mile.

From my experiences today, I'm very confident I'll be moving the bar at the Texas Mile in October. That is going to be a helluva hoot.

Happy 4th everybody!

[Bagged Mag]

WOW that sounds like some kinda beast! have fun and stay safe.

[NorCalSRT-8]

Wow, that is a excellant write up! Now I really know what I have to look forward to when my build is done. Thank you Lou. I also look forward to seeing some pics from today.

[STREET LIFE R/T]

beans for you.......Great write-up....Glad you got her finished and running up to your specs..CONGRATS.

[HEMI~C~]

Nice Lou, glad to see you were able to tame that beast long enough for the masses to enjoy a look. Nothing like 900+ horses running loose in the street.

[Carfinish]

hope you had a great 4th Lou...great read

[lou1355]

Nice Lou, glad to see you were able to tame that beast long enough for the masses to enjoy a look. Nothing like 900+ horses running loose in the street.

It was a crowd pleaser allright. I'll be interested to see what the pump gas tune yields in power and torque this week on the DiabloSport dyno.

Funny insight into Small Town USA: by the time I went to visit one of my old good friends who lives outside of town (and did not attend the parade), he had already heard from 2 different people about my car at the carwash earlier that morning. They were trying to describe some "big guy" in a bodacious red wagon who wouldn't hand over the keys, etc., etc.,--Danny knew right away who they were talking about even though I haven't seen him for a couple of years.

[BigHemi06]

Very cool Lou.....now post up some pics !!

[EXTREME]

Great review. Looking forward to pics!

[rwalshphoto]

Sure sounds like a hand full. Congrats on the build and owning one of the coolest beasts on the forums.

[legmaker]

damn lou, you were not that far from me!!! would have loved to see the beast!! lol

sounds like fun!! and yeah, it was waaaaay hot yesterday!!! lol

[sergeo'shemi]

congrats on the recognition you deserve

[lou1355]

My good friend from High School, Debbie, is sure looking good 38 years after graduation, huh? She is a sweetheart. We had a blast throwing candy to the munchkins, below (though we ran out of the 12 lbs. of candy I brought in the first three blocks!). Oh, I came up with the crankshaft power and torque numbers by using a 15% driveline loss number--as good as any, I suppose.













We had so much fun we've already decided to do it again next year. We're going to have to bring about 30 lbs. of candy though if we want to have enough for the entire length of the parade.

Here are some stills of the car:











Mount Dora has remained a charming, nice, little town and I enjoy going back there. If I didn't leave my mark there before, I can truly say that I did this time! (On Camp Street, Lincoln Avenue, at the car wash, well, you get the idea.)

[robsrt]

Very cool, Lou. I bet it was definitely a crowd pleaser.

Now enough parades. Let's get that thing back to the track where it belongs.

[lou1355]

Very cool, Lou. I bet it was definitely a crowd pleaser.

Now enough parades. Let's get that thing back to the track where it belongs.

We're looking to change out the T/C one more time and hope to get it back out to PBIR Wednesday the 15th for one last shakedown session. The serpentine seems to be doing well. I'm of course hoping to make more power and have a quicker run under my "belt" before departing on the 16th for Ohio. I also need the seat time.