Part III: A '99 30th Anniversary Edition Trans Am and an '06 GTO Stroke and Spray Their Arrowheads in Asymmetrical Warfare
We are back in the Lone Star state with this edition of our Pavement Pounders Shootout Series, which focuses on late-model Pontiacs, and the excitement that they can bring when they crank up their nasty street combinations and prepare to assault the quarter-mile.
Our venue is Lonestar Motorsports Park in Sealy, Texas, situated alongside I-10 outside of Houston. The diversity of the engine combinations offered up in this series is quite impressive, and being located in one of the most competitive LS-series markets in the country certainly helps. Our next two racers are running popular LS1 and LS2 combinations that add small shots of nitrous to propel them into big-cube performance territory.
David Hewitt of Cypress, Texas, showed up for the Shootout in his '99 30th Anniversary Edition Trans Am. Originally equipped with a 320hp LS1 and a 4L60-E automatic transmission, it's now outfitted with a stroked 383-based LS1 with ported heads and a Moser 12-bolt, spinning 3.73 gears. Will this Daytona 500-striped Anniversary T/A spray its way into the 10s or will a recent gear change leave it revving in the wind?
Shane Lawler of Huffman, Texas, arrived in his black '06 GTO. Originally equipped with a 400hp LS2 and a T56 six-speed transmission, it's been stroked to 402 ci, and utilizes a set of Trick Flow 225cc cylinder heads and an aggressive hydraulic roller cam to shock the beefed-up IRS and test the limits of the differential's 3.46 gears. Will his combination allow Shane to crack the 10s or will it overpower the drag radials and go up in smoke?
Weather Report
Lonestar Motorsports Park temps during our Shootout ranged from 90.5 to 100.7 degrees. Barometric pressure was 29.96 hg and the dew point was 70.2 degrees. This track is 185 feet above sea level and density altitude ranged from 2,500-3,172 feet, so we'll use a factor of 0.9640 for e.t. and 1.0381 for mph for 3,000 feet to chart the theoretical best performance at sea level. This will be applied to the best pass only, based on e.t.
| STRIP TUNING LOG |
| Run/Tuning |
Launch RPM |
Shift Pt. |
60-ft. |
1/8-mile |
1/4-mile |
| 1. ET Street: 20 psi |
Idle |
6,000 |
1.71 |
7.62/91.29 |
11.91/114.93 |
| 2. Same |
2,000 |
6,000 |
1.67 |
7.57/91.33 |
11.86/114.59 |
| 3. Same |
2,500 |
6,000 |
1.72 |
7.63/91.26 |
11.91/114.97 |
| 4. 100-shot of nitrous |
Idle |
6,000 |
1.68 |
7.38/94.40 |
11.52/117.80 |
| BEST PASS CORRECTED |
|
|
|
|
11.10/122.23 |
Owner Bio: David Hewitt
David,...
Owner Bio: David Hewitt
David, a 45-year-old new home salesman, ordered his '99 30th Anniversary T/A because he wanted a modern reinterpretation of the '69 T/A and an LS1 engine to build up. As the owner of a numbers-matching '71 GTO with a 455, David has held title to 52 cars including a '69 Judge, '79 10th Anniversary 400 four-speed T/A, and a '94 25th Anniversary T/A. With 25 years of racing experience, he built the '99 to cruise in style and increase its power. The result is 441 rwhp on the engine and 565 rwhp with a 100-shot of nitrous oxide. His most unusual moment in the Bird was hitting a deer at 1:30 a.m., while on the 2004 Hot Rod Power Tour. Don't worry the damage was only cosmetic-to the Bird, that is.
Run Notes: 1) ET Street radial tires set at 20 psi for all runs; 4) Nitrous worked properly for the 1/8-mile but not for the final 1/8-mile.