For this nitrous issue we did several juice installs, including one on Chris Werner's '01 T/A and one on our project '05 GTO. In the process of those installs we took a look at our bright-red test cars: both were getting 100- to 125-horse nitrous shots, both were six speeds, and both were running street radials. The 41,000-mile T/A is mildly modded, with only an airlid, MAF, exhaust system, and a F.A.S.T. intake. The Goat is bone-stock down to the factory tune, but up 18 ci on its LS1 sibling.
Dyno testing of the lighter, solid-axle LS1 T/A produced 425 horses and 478 lb-ft at the tire with a 125-shot. When we stuck the LS2 GTO on the rollers, we saw 447 horses and 497 lb-ft at the wheels. But dyno numbers only tell half of the story; true bragging rights are won only at the dragstrip. Questions needed answering, such as, could the lighter but down-on-power Trans Am strap it to the Goat? And would the GTO's rubbery drivetrain twist like a paper clip when 500 lb-ft shocked it?
So on a sunny September day, these two GM warriors met at Englishtown's Raceway Park for a juiced-up Gen III/IV death match. The temperature was right at 80 degrees and humidity was low, with only a puff of wind. Baseline runs were made, the bottles were warmed up, the lines were purged-and it was on.