13-second, non-slushy minivan?

My CA assembly member wasn't able to get a bill to raise the car-towing-trailer limit raised from 55 to 65 mph to go forward this session.

I don't want to tow a trailer anymore. I'd rather do 70 on the freeway. A racing kart and all of its gear will fit in a minivan. The trouble is:

1) Every satisfactory daily driver I've had for a decade has been able to break 14 seconds or 100 mph in the quarter.

2) I hate the indirect/disconnected feeling of most automatics. Most DCTs feel good, most 8-or-more speed automatics are good, and a 700r4 with a shift kit that either locked or spun the tires on every shift was memorable. If there's a manual swap that doesn't have me re-designing the whole powertrain harness and controls that would be great too.

What should I build? Fairly limited mechanical facilities, machine shop access, no electronics shop but I am competent with a scope and iron for a few changes, and CARB-limited.

Ecoboost Flex?

R63?

I don't think you'll get sliding doors at that speed.

https://www.hotcars.com/fastest-minivans/#mercedes-benz-r-63-amg

You absolutely want a eco boost flex. Plus if you get the limited which is required for the big motor all the seats sit perfectly flat in the rear. You can get a kart, a full set of tools and and several sets of tires and still sit at 80 on the freeway without th car even noticing you have anything in the back.  
 

plus you can sleep in the rear when you get there very comfortably. 

GM fullsize van with an LS. Basicly any 2002 or newer.

Dodge Durango or Ford Ecoboost in Explorer or Flex.

Id choose Flex

https://youtu.be/pNM_ByO37oY

First generation turbo Caravan.  Could be had with a manual trans, people have got them into the 12s without much work.

Also much much MUUUUUCH larger inside than some cramped Flex.  And better overall, too.  I wouldn't own a Flex/Edge/Taurus (same thing) with someone else's money because of how hateful they can be to service.  I'll work on them because I'm paid to but only then.

I don't know what the  quarter or 60 times are,  but my 2017 Grand Caravan GT is faster than it has any right to be.  I have never had any concerns merging into 75+ mph traffic typical of highways in the northeast. 

Yeah I was gonna say the newer Grand Caravans. Aren't newer Siennas pretty quick too?

I haven't driven either so can't comment on the trans and how it feels.

LS swap Astro

CyberEric said:

Yeah I was gonna say the newer Grand Caravans. Aren't newer Siennas pretty quick too?

I haven't driven either so can't comment on the trans and how it feels.

The newest Siennas are hybrid and knock down 36 mpg while hauling a load of gear or people!  But, not towing.

Just tow faster, and pay the speed tax. Speeding tickets are a drop in the motorsports expense bucket.

67LS1 said:

https://www.hotcars.com/fastest-minivans/#mercedes-benz-r-63-amg

While I love those, they're still quite steep price wise, and extremely limited in production numbers, which  means that won't be changing any time soon. The ones I've looked at have been in the upper 30's to mid 40's, with fairly steep mileage. Theyre bitchin, tho. 

In reply to Racebrick :

Not if you're karting! Also, being disqualified from driving is a lousy way to end a racing season, and cycling to work in the rain is a drag.

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I liked the RT 3.6 Caravans. A rear bar helps a lot. Is there something that'll make the transmission engage more positively? Is there a good way to get more power out of the Pentastar?

Modern Caravan does the quarter in 15.3 apparently. I'd say that's pretty close and you should be able to smarten that up a little without too much effort 

The current full size (last 10-15years) mini vans are 260-290 horses, will cruise at 80 effortlessly. My last Odyssey would spin the tires all the way through second gear if I matted it with the traction control off. 

The R63 Is awesome.

I liked it so much I bought my wife the (much tamer) R350 in the same style. Not nearly as fast, but she likes it. The R500 is somewhere in between.

I rented a minivan with the Pentastar v6 or whatever and it was hilarious how fast it was.

yupididit said:

I rented a minivan with the Pentastar v6 or whatever and it was hilarious how fast it was.

The automatic has remarkably close gear ratios, too.  It feels like the revs only drop like 700rpm between shifts when hustling.

I see a lot of them at work and spent a lot of time debugging one that we bought to repair and flip.

I don't think they are anywhere near 13-second vehicles, though.  Maybe low 15 second.

13 seconds is pretty quick. Low 15s is certainly respectable, especially for the size and type of vehicle but that's a pretty considerable gap. At least 10 car lengths if you use the rule of thumb of one tenth = one car length to go from 15.0 to 13.99

Plugging in 283hp and 4483lbs (Grand Caravan specs) into an online calculator says 15.2 at 94mph. You need another 80hp to hit the 13.99 mark at the same weight.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Damn. Well no r63 is going to fit a kart in it lol. 

Eco-boost Expedition + tune + ams turbos and downpipes will probably do 13s. Especially the 10spd ones. 

You're asking for a unicorn. 

Just purchased an explorer st and it's small on the inside but it will definitely go 13's.

If you want space, you're going to be slower. That is unless you do a v8 pickup with boost and a camper shell.

I thought our Grand Caravan w/Pentastar felt much quicker than the numbers would suggest. Fond memories of accidentally (ahem) lighting them up in an underground car park while full of people. 

In reply to Run_Away :

375 hp in a Caravan and some sort of shift kit seems like the way to go. Hmm. I wonder what the engine management headaches would be if I added a centrifugal supercharger.