FREE TRIPLE ZERO PDF Karen Traviss | 427 pages | 01 Mar 2006 | Random House USA Inc | 9780345490094 | English | New York, United States Could there be a triple rainbow? | HowStuffWorks Our chosen agents? Triple Zero and speed, of course. And we just went on a bender that plunged us straight to rock bottom by running five modified sports cars—three of which made more than horsepower—from standstill to mph and back. Five years ago, this test would probably not have even been possible. In those days, any car boasting four figures in the horsepower column was most likely a temperamental Triple Zero racer burning specialized high-octane race gas and generally unfit for street use. But thanks to advances in electronics and turbocharging, several companies today claim to produce modified production cars with Triple Zero more horsepower that run on octane Triple Zero gas and are civilized enough for everyday driving. To prove this seemingly preposterous notion, we Triple Zero five speed sleds—four tuned cars and one production unit. The lone production car is the most powerful domestic available, Triple Zero hp Saleen S7 Twin Turbo. Most readers are familiar with the standard 0-tomph-and-back-to-0 test, which has been used intermittently by a variety of sources Triple Zero the s. Ina Triple Zero Cobra was credited with a record Inwe increased the top-speed number by introducing a 0-toto-0 test. The quickest runner was a Corvette ZR-1 produced by Indiana-based Lingenfelter Performance Engineering; it produced horsepower, reached Triple Zero in Total time: With this mega leap in horsepower, we upped our game, and the 0-toto-0 madness was on. We knew this competition would be a trip into uncharted territory—particularly the part about stopping from mph—and would require some additional space to perform. So we rented an 11,foot airstrip in Oscoda, Michigan, that had once been part of the Wurtsmith U. Air Triple Zero base. To make sure all the cars were using octane pump fuel, we embarked on a mile, hp road trip the day before the test to burn off the fuel the cars came with. There we strapped each car to a brand of chassis dynamometer called the Mustang and Triple Zero the horsepower at the wheels. Since every new-vehicle brochure and our usual specifications list engine horsepower, not the at-the-wheels figure, we calculated the engine horsepower, assuming a percent loss, and used that number for the specs here. We also made changes to our regular testing procedures. To give these cars a chance at putting this enormous power to the ground, we allowed Triple Zero the teams to install sticky street-legal race tires. There were three major rules: The gas had to be 93 octane, and nitrous-oxide injection was outlawed, as were water-cooled brakes. The finishing order was based solely on time—the car with the quickest 0-toto-0 time won. Each car was given four runs, and the teams were allowed to supply the driver or use one of us. In fact, the car was dubbed a "science project" for all its tubes, solenoids, cooling tanks, electronics, and air tanks. Onlookers, giving the car the once-over, inevitably muttered, "Hey, whazzat? Obtaining big horsepower is not the most difficult task in this competition. Compared with the mid-engined Ford GT, the Corvette has an inherent disadvantage Triple Zero less of its weight is on the rear tires. So the Lingenfelter crew developed a system that limits the amount of engine horsepower available when the transmission is in the first three gears and the car is most likely to melt down Triple Zero tires. The system relies on compressed nitrogen to control the turbo waste gates and limit the amount of turbo boost. In first gear, boost is limited to 6. Another useful modification was the switch from the standard final-drive ratio 3. Every other car had to perform a time-consuming shift to fifth or sixth somewhere north of mph. Getting a good launch was plenty difficult because the 7. The engine block was a stock LS7 Z06 unit, true enough, but the internals had been completely replaced with stouter pieces and a second fuel system, and a set of injectors was added to satisfy the extra fuel appetite. Another 35 grand and change were spent on a Baer big-brake kit, LPE-Penske shocks, a Corsa exhaust, and a dual-disc clutch. Working against automotive bliss were a hugely stiff clutch, an overly firm ride, and having to crawl around the safety cage just to get inside. Although definitely acceptable as a daily driver, this car and the Saleen were the least civilized of the bunch. Trouble for the Lingenfelter car began on its maiden run. On the second run, Triple Zero looked fine, and then a small aircraft swooped down and tried, but failed, to hang with this killer Vette. We theorized that perhaps the plane had interfered with the antenna. The tragedy was that the Vette was unable to make another run, with the engine making some very unhealthy noises after run No. Since the engine bay is so packed with turbos, intercoolers, ducts, etc. Back home in Decatur, Indiana, the crew determined that when its driver missed the shift, the engine revved wildly to —about a grand past redline—and cracked a piston and a valve. We had a hard time sleeping after that, wondering what exactly this Vette could do, so we gave the Lingenfelter crew a second chance. Lingenfelter Performance Engineering; ; www. Street drivability: 3 stars Zero to Triple Zero The Saleen S7 Twin Turbo looks as exotic as a Le Mans race car, which is no surprise since it was designed that way from the outset. Of course, the engine is hardly a stock Cleveland It uses an aluminum-alloy block and cylinder heads and Triple Zero cubic inches. Regular S7 Twin Turbos, Triple Zero as they are, make horsepower at the flywheel on 6. For the purposes of this test, the engine made Triple Zero and pound-feet of torque, thanks to higher boost pressure 8. If that appears feeble alongside the power inventories of the Viper, Ford GT, and Corvette, remember that the Saleen was easily the lightest of our contestants at pounds. Still, its power-to-weight ratio, at 4. Ward Reasoner bought the S7 in early as a naturally aspirated car and then sent it to Irvine, California, for a twin-turbo upgrade. He must be one of the most Triple Zero of S7 owners: Not only did he bring his car all the way from Florida to northern Michigan for this test, but he also has miles on the car, an uncommon amount for an exotic. In normal highway driving, the S7 certainly feels like a race car for the street. The driver sits a long way forward in a fixed-position bucket, feet straight ahead in a Triple Zero narrow footwell. Visibility rearward is on the bad side of atrocious. Without the rear-facing camera that is linked to a TV monitor mounted on the center stack, the driver Triple Zero be a nervous wreck in Triple Zero. Wind noise, too, is high, although the exhaust seems muted. In Oscoda, driver Lee Saunders proved that he has cojones of steel. The reasons were pretty simple: The Saleen took a long time to get to mph because it is geared for interplanetary travel in sixth, and its top-end progress was further hampered by aerodynamics that are designed for downforce rather than minimizing drag. Despite great launches, it took Saunders until the fourth run to hit the mph mark. The Saleen ran the quarter-mile in For this last run, the crew removed the windshield wipers and covered panel gaps with tape. In a car Triple Zero nearly large, without anti-lock brakes, from mph, it was a case of steel cojones, indeed. Saleen; ; www. Street drivability: Triple Zero stars Zero to mph: Getting a Gallardo to break the mph barrier requires some additions, as you might expect. But it also requires some deletions, which you might not. Like a lot of power Triple Zero, Bernard Vroom Triple Zero did not make that up wanted his car to stand out from other exotics swimming in the traffic stream around Sarasota, Florida. But in this case, the upgrades went below the skin: lowered compression from The billet steel rods are by Carrillo, and Heffner replaced the con-rod bearings. The upper intake manifold is a Heffner design, as are the stainless-steel exhaust headers, the enlarged airbox intakes, and the high-flow Triple Zero filters. Full boost is a modest 9. At max, the boosted V pulled horsepower on the dyno, which works out to at the crank. Thus, reaching the mph goal required something out of the ordinary, which Heffner supplied: Why Triple Zero make the Lambo a rear-wheel-drive car? Taking away the front differential and half-shafts reduced off-the-line grip but did offset the added weight of the turbo system. With Vroom circling overhead in a light plane, Heffner climbed in and Triple Zero two solid 0-toto-0 runs that ranked the Gallardo third behind the GT and Viper. The Lambo covered the quarter in Vroom then descended from the skies to Triple Zero the helm for the remaining two runs. The clutch effort was light, the engagements were smooth, Triple Zero the engine was content to burble along at relatively low rpm without any stumbles or balks.