After confirming 15 psi rear-tire pressure with Dan, I donned a fire jacket, jumped into the driver seat and adjusted it, then snugged up the five-point harness. On the steering column in front of me sat a round tach and a shift light, and within arm's reach, the line-lock switch snaked out of the console ashtray. I threw on my helmet, rowed the B&M a few times, and cranked 'er up. The Katech LS7 fired off, sending deep bass notes and vibrations through the Simpson padding and into my skull. The 7.0L mill quickly dropped into what could technically be called an idle-the 233/276 duration, 107 LSA cam was chosen for power, not commuting-and I selected First, did a quick spin to kick the pebbles off, and shallow staged. I figured the first run would be a good throwaway; I'd never raced on M&Hs, so I'd leave soft, get used to the launch and tires, shift nice and easy, and feel the car down the track. The light went green, and with the tach on 5,000, I let out the clutch. The tires hooked and the Chevy bogged for a split-second before the LS7 wailed to life, resulting in a ho-hum 1.79 60-foot. It was seven grand before I pulled Second, and a few hundred feet later Third engaged cleanly. The eighth was crossed in 7.4 seconds at 101.3 mph, and a quick shift to Fourth completed the run. No muss, no fuss, 11.39 at 124.9. I immediately rolled back around, intent on upping the revs to leave harder. After a longer spin I rolled up, and when the tree dropped, I had 5,500 waiting for the M&Hs. This launch was smooth, with a 1.61 60 to show for it, but the shifts were not-run over. I missed the gates again 40 minutes later, this time with a 1.69 60 ... and just like that, it wasn't going to be that simple.
Though I slowed down and made damn sure I hit all the gears in the next few passes, two were mid-11 runs and only one improved on my best-a 1.72 60 with some wheelspin resulted in an 11.34/124.3.
At this point, the smart move was to put Mark in the driver seat; he had the most time in the Camaro, and if we were to see a 10 on the street tires, he would do it. His first run was a throwaway, but the next one was solid-he really punished the M&Hs off the line, feeding in more throttle and letting them spin, as opposed to my using less throttle until I knew the meats were planted. And it worked. A 1.66 60-foot resulted, and an 11.15 at 122.8 flashed. His next was even better, as the hard launch ripped the Camaro sideways to a 1.61 short time, and it blazed through the traps in 10.94 seconds and 126 mph!
At Milan, author Rick Jensen prepares to strap in and make a pass. In addition to the LS7 Camaro, Katech invited several of its employees and customers to bring their Katech-powered vehicles, and we were treated to the LS7's high-rpm wail all day. |  |  |