To much power!

[pablo63]

Would ballast be an option also? I'd think some weight secured in the trunk could help get it to hook up a little sooner. Just wondering out loud.

[FWB]

for me maybe.....i'm at 3200 lbs now, for ernie his is what? 2700....that would be one hell of a ballast. its the weight transfer. the front shocks and springs need travel, the rear needs to be soft, spring\shock combo along with some sticky tires will help ernie. whether either of us will ever fully hook up is doubtful but i think more traction can be gotten...maybe superglue emitters at each rear tire..

several large chested hotties hanging onto my bumper could make a difference, not in the cars performance, but in mine.

[Bobcat]

Put some 90/10 shocks on the front and disconnect the front anti sway bar . The 90/10`s will let the front come up and stay up and transfer weight to the rear . We weren`t very sophisticated in the 60`s .... we just went to the local garage and found a pair of shocks that were totally worn out and used them .
Don`t forget to hook the front bar up before you leave the track ..... makes for a real interesting handling car otherwise .

[Hotfingrs]

You don't want to use 90/10 on the street, you'll ruin a set of front tires in no time. They'll bounce and cup like crazy.

[FWB]

Originally Posted by Bobcat

Put some 90/10 shocks on the front and disconnect the front anti sway bar . The 90/10`s will let the front come up and stay up and transfer weight to the rear . We weren`t very sophisticated in the 60`s .... we just went to the local garage and found a pair of shocks that were totally worn out and used them .
Don`t forget to hook the front bar up before you leave the track ..... makes for a real interesting handling car otherwise .

absolutely, the 90/10's would work but i drive it more on the street, i'm trying to find a happy medium where i can adjust stuff to go to the track,
my car doesn't have a sway bar anyway so thats ok, there isn't much to try except the shocks, i'm waiting for my rear upgrade to a truetrac so i can try a pair of slicks, i don't feel the need to destroy a perfectly good trction-loc to just run slicks once or twice.

before i redid the frontend i hooked but that was with front shocks that were toast. couldn't justify the tires hitting the fenders to keep the bad shocks on

[greg schroeder]

I was thinking about the same as Hotfingrs.

What's your trap speed. That shouldn't change all that much even if the times are all over the place.

[Excaliber]

If I was hauling ass like Hot Fingers, I'd have to make two trips...

I'll continue to dial in the suspension for auto cross and road race so mod's for the drag race are out. However, good accelleration from a standing start is a good thing for an auto cross event as well, so there is some cross over here.

Thinking back on my first run with my new trans, tires and track tweaked suspension (corner weighted, anti roll bar adjust, ride height) I think there are a few primary factors I screwed up on.
1. To much throttle!! Progressive linkage will help, but understanding how fast I can roll on the throttle will take some seat time.
2. Launch rpm, which was surprsingly higher than I thought I would need at first. I found myself steadily increasing the launch rpm with each run and the 60 foot time dropping in response. The slicks do offer some decent traction out of the hole, BUT, there is a very small window between "stick" and "spin". Once they break loose, to much, the motor instantly responds with more rpm. It goes from bad to worse real quick! Perhaps the street radials are more forgiving in that department?
3. 2nd gear shift, CANNOT "nail it" now with the lower ratio. MUST learn better throttle control, or something...
4. Surprisingly 3rd gear ratio is virtually identical on the TKO road race gear's and the close ratio top loader gear's. I can "nail third hard" and it will hook and go. But thats something like 80-85 mph when you make that shift.

Some good tips on this thread, I appreciate it. Disconnecting the anti roll bar isn't that hard, I might try that. While I'm willing to invest in some street drag radials, it's not like I have any plans to get serious about drag racing! I do find it rather interesting and much tougher than I ever thought it would be. Go in a straight line, shift through the gears, how hard can that be? Well, darn, it can be pretty hard to get it right!

My previous trap speeds have been in the 121 to 123 mph range. The big block really eats up that last 1/8th mile, pulls as strong at the end as it does at the front.

[Bobcat]

Hotfingrs , we didn`t run them all the time .... you are correct about the tires . Changed from the street shocks to the 90/10`s just before going to the track and disconnected the sway bar then also . Put it all back shortly after leaving. Some of the really anal racers also put undersize rear shocks on to allow more weight transfer , however , keep in mind I`m talking about guys racing 3400 lb cars back in the 60`s .
FWB , sounds like you answered your own question when you said it hooked up when you had front shocks that were toast . Probably gave the same effect as the 90/10`s ... or in our case ... worn out shocks .
If you have coilovers , changing shocks can be a pain .... maybe a spare set of front shocks/springs for drag only ?? After all , it`s only money ... right ???

[FWB]

yes coilovers now.....the really hard part for me is having a 140 mph trap speed and only running a 11.01. if i could just hook, i may need a pair of depends.....gearing as far as where i'm at seems to be right, high gear shift light comes on just as i cross the finish.
i'm prepping the car now for the 26th of this month at numidia dragway here in PA, so i may just get my elusive time slip in the 10's

[nobby]

Hey Excaliber, Grab yourself a moroso power speed calculator if you havn't got one already. Small tool (piece of cardboard or plastic) that will tell you exactly where you should be in regards to your ET MPH what tire diameter to speed and gear ratio,all on a sliding scale,
, pretty much everything you need to know. Very handy and easy to use. Gives you a starting point anyway and a good base to work off. if you google moroso power speed calculator you should be able to find where to get your hands on one over there, They only cost around ten bucks,

cheers...

..Rob.

[Ant]

Originally Posted by Hotfingrs

I'd say, unless you know how much torque your rear can handle, go with the MT street radial. It doesn't wrinkle, so it will slip some, so you can minimize breakage. I've got a transbrake and usually leave somewhere between 3000 and 3500. 26.1 diameter tire and 3.54 gears. 0-60 under 2 seconds and 0-100 in 5 seconds. Running right at 6 seconds at 1/8 mile and between 118-120 Mph. Mid 9's in the quarter at 135+

I think a fair bit has been said, 500 real bhp is not be scoffed at and I think its all in your car setup with weight distribution, rear suspension geometry, tires etc.

I would hardly think 500 bhp in a 3000+ Ib car is excessive especially if you want to run with the big boys, I have 675bhp in 2000Ib car, which doesnt go yet apart from engine dyno work, and I would think I could easily encourage oversteer and wheelspin at lower speeds, but hopefully when we are road racing on slicks or good radial slicks we can put it down, I think it all boils down to development work and spending large amounts of money at the track to get the results........!

[undy]

I'm running right at 600 fwhp and also running a set of 315/35/17 M/T ET Street drag radials (second pair). They're fabulous from a dig and quite frankly, due to their 35 series aspect ratio, pretty damn good in the twisties too. DO NOT get caught in the rain with them (or any drag radial for that matter) unless you've got a death wish.

It really could handle another 100-150 HP though, as it's starting to feel a bit S-L-O-W again..

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by undy

It really could handle another 100-150 HP though, as it's starting to feel a bit S-L-O-W again..

I spent much of my Air Force career teaching people to fly high performance aircraft. The basic technique was to put a beginner in a simple aircraft and challenge him until he caught up with its speed. As soon as he got good in that aircraft, he'd be put in a faster aircraft and learn to do the same things in a faster environment. Then to the next aircraft. It reflected the quote above and some of the preceding comments. Practice and repetition tends to slow down the pace at which things appear to happen to us. A car that feels totally uncontrollable the first few times it is taken to the track can feel much more comfortable after a lot of practice.

[Hotfingrs]

It really could handle another 100-150 HP though, as it's starting to feel a bit S-L-O-W again

I know I'm never satisfied with the power. Seems fine at first, then becomes.. if I only had this much more. When I think about it, a lot of my favorite things are like that...cars, boats and computers....never fast enough.

[greg schroeder]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

While I'm willing to invest in some street drag radials, it's not like I have any plans to get serious about drag racing! I do find it rather interesting and much tougher than I ever thought it would be. Go in a straight line, shift through the gears, how hard can that be? Well, darn, it can be pretty hard to get it right!

My previous trap speeds have been in the 121 to 123 mph range. The big block really eats up that last 1/8th mile, pulls as strong at the end as it does at the front.

I think you're just hitting the drag strip on bad track prep days. Often the drag strip will be pretty cummy on casual run what you brung days. If you had a good track prep it all becomes super simple to make a good pass. Just start off idle and roll it on into first and hit the gears. There's no point in beating the car up to shave a tenth of a second off the 60 ft time and particularly if the track is impossible. Each tenth of a second is good for about two tenths at the end.

If you got a set of Mickey Thompson ET street drag radils in a 275/60 15 I bet you wouldn't take them off the car for street use. They really are a most fantastic street mod to make the car more enjoyable. They'd work a bit nicer at the drag stip too. Run 20 psi. Start from idle.

[Excaliber]

Come to think of it, I had just come off the auto cross track where I was running about 29-30 psi, hot, and never lowered the air pressure at the strip. Several guys also mentioned the track was very slippery that night. Friday night drags are "street cars", no points, just for fun. First time I ran there, so it's a good point that likely the track was in fact slippery and my high tire pressure a big factor!

[Z-linkCobra]

Throw all the gear ratio stuff out the window it dont mean nothing. Launching in second gear will do nothing but wear your clutch prematurely and start breaking parts. Now you need to work on your suspension. I dont know what you have for rear suspension but its obviously not working for you...lol. If your running four link or leaf springs or something other than IRS then you have something to wrok with. If you are IRS then I doubt youll ever get it to hook up. Even the guys that spend millions on research for road racing cant get IRS to hook up. If they roll onto the throttle too soon or too hard...they go for a ride. Try a heavier throttle return spriing. We do that sometimes on the circle track when it gets real dry slick...makes the driver work for the throttle.

Just my thoughts.

[Hotfingrs]

If you are IRS then I doubt youll ever get it to hook up.

That's what I have...go figure, that's why I'm only running mid 9's...

[Jamo]

Originally Posted by Hotfingrs

That's what I have...go figure, that's why I'm only running mid 9's...

Hehehehe...

[greg schroeder]

Originally Posted by Hotfingrs

That's what I have...go figure, that's why I'm only running mid 9's...

Same here with IRS, stock Superformance, but I only start form idle.

I'm pretty sure with the IRS if the track was a good prep and nothing broke on a higher RPM start the Mickey Thompson ET street drag radials would pull the front end before they let loose.