Q: What do you get when you mix a new 2010 Lincoln MKS, Ford's new 355-hp, twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6, and an open test-and-tune night at a local dragstrip?
The plan seemed easy enough: meet up with a few Ford folks, and flog the new 2010 Lincoln MKS--now with EcoBoost!--down the quarter-mile track at Milan Dragway. At the time, it sounded like some great seat time, as well as another way to kill an otherwise quiet Wednesday afternoon.
Logistics, however, played its cruel hand in the issue. Milan runs open test-and-tune days every Wednesday, allowing both the "run what you brung" and pro-stock crowds to plunk down $25 for some valuable track time. That time, however, is limited--nearly 50 or 60 competitors showed up, making it difficult, if not impossible, to run consecutive laps. In fact, I didn't even have a chance to get up to the starting grid until 10:05 p.m, approximately five minutes after the track closed.
I rolled up to the line, and started slogging through my mental checklist--traction control off, A/C off, windows up--but managed to blow the last one: keep it in D. I decided to toy with the six-speed automatic's shift paddles, without knowing how much of a delay there is between pulling the trigger and actually engaging a cog. For the record, there is a noticable lag, enough to ruin my 1-2 shift and drastically slow my run. I managed a lousy 14.77 at 102 mph. Yes, I'm still wiping egg off my face.
This wouldn't have been a problem, if both the track and time allowed for another pass, but it wasn't to be. We're promised another run sometime soon (possibly even with a Taurus SHO), and I'm positive--heck, determined--to whittle that time down. After all, one bloke in an EcoBoost MKS managed a 13.9...