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Originally Posted by MDP727
Just wanted some input on other times you guys might have. I've been turning a steady 12.5. My car is #211 and has a 408 from custom cars. It has somewhere in the 500hp range. Tranny is a tko 600 with the 3:08 gears. I also have the nitto drag radials.
I'd like to drop into the 11's. Have any of you tried different gears? How about any nitrous applications?
My car is just over a year old with 4500 miles now and it's time to go faster.
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MDP:
I don't think you're turning that bad a time's for what you have. I'm assuming that's a stroked Windsor. You didn't mention your cam but if the car is light you don't need as much torque. You only (LOL) want to pick up .6 and you are there. You didn't mention how many times you have run the car but I assume, enough that the 12.5 is your benchmark. Unfortunately, increments of improvement from a benchmark are usually measured in .01's and not .1's. Your 60ft's are killing you for sure. I think it's attainable with what you have. If you are serious, some suggestions with limited information on your vehicle would be:
1. (REAR)The rear is too high. 3:50's would definitely make a difference and may be worth a lot. Unless you're motor is high winding; 3:70's will be too low. I don't know where you're shifting. In a BB, shifting at redline usually hurts more than helps. If you have enough ratio to get you through the 1/4 without redlining before the trap; I shift at just over peak of the torque curve; i.e.; my motor flattens out at 7000. My peak torque is around 5700 and the shift light pill is at 6000, which means the shift is completed at 6200 by the time my feeble body reacts.
2. (Tires) Go around the water and definitely do NOT do a burn out. Drag "radials" are radials, so the walls don't wrinkle and they get SLICKER with a burnout. I've been to that show. Clean them off for a couple of seconds. That's ALL. Call the manufacturer and get a warning base line on lowest air pressure. Mark the tire and the rim with 2 white lines touching. Drop the air in increments within their range. First time it slips a little, it should "settle", so don't panic if it moves a tad (tire slipping on the rim). Launch it again after the first line move and see if it "seated" at that spot. It usually does. If it moves again; then go up a couple pounds. It should stay there. That will squeeze as much efficiency out of the tires you own. Suggest you test at home; don't want you losing a bead at 100mph.
3. (Shocks) Have one of your sidekicks watch you launch or film it. You gotta squat for traction (and hold weight transfer to the rear). I went to adjustable coil overs and it made a big difference. The front end never drops with my foot in it, once the weight transfers. Big difference with adjustablity.
4. *(SHORTIES)* BIG time transfusion. Take off the side pipes and buy a set of 12" to 16" shorties. Slip on's, held with a sleeve buckle. DRAMATIC increase in HP, probably worth 60HP to 90HP on mine. The difference in accelleration is shocking and it will help you with a SB on the back end of the track. That being said; Re-JET it with the shorties on it and the air filter off. NO restriction. It's a cheap date and not a big deal for major gain.
5 (Distributor) With MSD; two "light" springs to bring total advance in ASAP.
6. (Shift light) If you don't have one; get one. Their cheap and you can hook them up in 1/2 hour. I used a 6" band and attached it to the steering column. I wired it with a male/female plug "in-line". Makes it portable. You will be consistent and can experiment with shift points by changing pills. You can NOT look at a tree, a tach and launch and THINK and then move your hands and feet with all that **** and be consistent. Not if you're trying to improve times and dial-in track efficiency.
These are all cheap mods, excluding the rear. All of it is cheaper than radical mods to the motor. You mentioned a bottle. Personally; I won't do it to mine. Neat stuff, but nitrous pushes the motor beyond the design limit and things BREAK . It's brutal on the engine. Will it get you there? Probably! I raced all summer and last year too with a street / strip car. I ain't broke nuttin yet. Two reasons I believe. NO BOTTLE and I don't stress my motor. I have a rev pill at 7000 and I haven't touched it yet. BTW: that rev limiter is also brutal on your motor. I live by the shift light.
My Cobra's a porker at 3200lbs wet:
Average 60 fts: 1.6's and best at 1.52
Average 660's: 7.0's
Average 1/4 mile: 11.1's all day. Best ET in 2006: 11.03
Average MPH: 118 to 123mph, contingent on track. Best was 126.
Example of a new tweak. My rear at 3:73, is too low (based on my trans gearing) and I'm out of the "real" power curve 100ft before the trap. My shift light stays on through the trap but I don't hit the limiter. I just bought 28" used drag radials which are 2" taller than my M/T ET's at 26". That will raise my rear ratio a tad. When my rear blows (28 splines) then I'll go to 3:50 gears and 33 spline axles. The 3:50's should put me in the 10.8 et area. Slicks would do it now but I don't feel like leaving the rear at the tree on launch. I'm trying a cheap tweak to slip in there.
IMHO, I think you can get into the 11:00's with the motor and car you have. This game truely requires calculated tweaking and you haven't experimented much yet. I have a goal of the 10's, like you want the 11's but I can't afford a Winston Cup motor either. I started out in the HIGH 11's, but NOTHING on my motor has changed. I got .7 by tweaking. (I didn't mention RT's either. Minor detail.) It's time consuming but making subtle changes DOES make a difference. Have fun with your car and the challenge. Gotta go.
Bernie