I built my car with the goal of running an 11.50 ET. My basic setup is 462ci 455 TA conical dish pistons and TA sportsman rods. 10.85:1 true static compression Stage2 TE heads level 2 porting. TA 298H cam (.530 lift - 241 duration @.050) SP2A intake, 850 annular discharge Demon. 2" primary headers, dual 2-1/2" exhaust with crossover, 35 degrees advance. TH400 9.5" 3500 TSP converter, 3.50 gears. 28X12.5X15" MT ET streets. The car weighs about 3900 lbs with me in it. I have run a best of 12.03 at 114 mph. My initial plans are 1. Disconnect the front sway bar for better weight transfer. 2. Rejet the carb a bit leaner(the AFR looks a little rich and Im adding a TPS to better analize the data). 3. Launch closer to full stall (have had my best time so far leaving from a hi idle) So I have been thinking of going to a deeper gear set. Maybe 3.89 or 4.11s I would appreciate any input or your personal experiences.
That sounds like a nice combination. I can't understand why you aren't at 11.50's. I can see a bigger carb and exhaust helping you. What does it 60'?
Steve, Concentrate on your launch and 60'. I think that is where you are lacking. You certainly have enough MPH for high 11's. I don't remember what your 60' were, but I think I remember that you needed lower times there. Disconnecting the front sway bar will help. Try launching all the way up on the converter. Alan Wander has the same converter as you, and he got his 11.99 getting up a ways on the converter. My best 60' times(1.70) with my switch pitch in high stall come when I launch at 2500+ RPM on the converter.
Our engines sound similar. I do run a Holley 950HP jetted 82/88 with a 4.5 power valve. I run a 26" slick at the track and launch around 1500 rpm's. My rear gear is a 3.73. I run the stock distributor and have all timing in by 22 degrees with 34 total What is your suspension setup? I have stock springs front and rear. Front and rear sway bars. I run Edelbrock IAS shocks. I also have airbags in the rear to pre-load the passenger side with about 15 psi. I see your in Alaska. What were the weather conditions and altitude of your best run?
Im in alaska but I run the car in Oregon, near sea level. My slicks are pretty tall 28", thats why I'm thinking I eiter need a shorter tire or a deeper gear.
A 28" tire makes 3.50 gears like 3.32's At 114 MPH, you should be turning 4788 RPM without slip. Ever take a peak at the tach as you are going through the lights? Probably below where the engine is making peak HP. Maybe you need a 26" tire.
I agree with Larry, work on your 60ft time and you will be right were you want. What are your 60ft times ?
We went to a 26" tire from a 28". We have 3:42 gears. We are a little heavier than you. I think you are probably close with your set up. We run low 12's at 3600' altitude with 1.70 60' times. Post your 60' so we can see what they are. I would suggest, take off front sway bar, 950 carb to get the flow. Launch on as high stall as you can without creeping. Before you spend on the gear change, try the tires. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
I believe my best 60' was a 1.70. I have been thinking of switching to some drag radials...... now might be the time.
My set up is a bit milder than yours and I was able to sixty ft. a best of 1.65 and go through the traps at 12.04 at 111.34 mph. Considering your combination you should be deep in the elevens. Like said earlier a bigger carb would be an immense help. Like a Holley 1000 Hp. I run a 950 Hp. Best dollar for horsepower I have ever spent. Good luck. John Biggs. :TU:
Hold off on the deeper gears!!! whamo, you already have everything you need to go 11.3's or better. You have a fair (better then mine) 60' too. Give us more details on the engine and combination (quench, cam spec.'s and installed position, cranking compression, fuel system, ignition components, fuel curve, wheel alignment, shift points). You are just a little quicker 60' but a little off on the big end but not by too much. What is the 1/8 mile times and speed. You should have about a 22-23 mph increase for the last 1/2 of the track. Hit the chassis dyno and have some tuning done.
Steve I like the drag radials.With your power I'm not sure a smaller tire will hook without good weight transfer.I know gears are more work and $ also i don't know how much street/highway driving you do so steeper gears might annoy you.Does your car pitch rotate at all?I know you have all the power you need you just need to work the suspenion without taking the street car out of it. Jamie
Actually a set of gears for a 9" isn't that much money(cheaper than a new pair of tires) and I can set them up myself. I very seldom drive the car on the freeway anyway, only to the track or the corner Starbucks.
Try a 850 holley or 1000hp (actually flows approx. 870 with the old rating and the 950hp 830cfm) with downleg boosters. Running an annular carb might be the culprit, they run rich. Fine for a sb but the boosters pull too much fuel on the top end on a big block unless its a 9375 Domi.. And what "crazy1801" said. Ray
Sweet just what i wanted to hear throw gears in and some 29 to 30 tall tires to get a good footprint.The more sidewall will help bite the track.If coming up on the convertor works best for you adjust your rear brakes to help hold your car from pushing forward if you haven't already. Thanx for the email your a good guy Steve good luck with your goal. Jamie
Get a Line Lock. Flash that conveter when the second bulb pops yellow, release button when 3 bulb pops and I will bet you will lose .10 on your 60'. Hope to see a 11.50 or better out of you in the near future:grin:
114 MPH = 11.6 ET with your gears. Work on the 60 ft. I wouldn't change carbs, gears, Etc. until you fine tune everything from carb to suspension first. 26" tires WILL help too.
I dont have any shorter tires to try and it sounds like I need to get the engine up where its making the best power. It would be interesting/easy to try some shorter tires but I think a set of 3.89 gears are in my future.
Alan actually has a tighter converter than Steve does. Same 9.5" shell, but we put a different stator angle, as well as the more expensive billet stator in Steve's, he has the STG 2 unit, Alan has the STG 1 with the cast stator. I used one of my 600 HP build dyno sheets to build his converter. Alan has a bit smaller cam and is running about 550 HP. I built Alan's tighter because he drives it a lot on the street, and takes long trips with it. Steve, You should get your best ET from flashing the converter from a high idle speed at the line. Without a T-brake, there will be no way to hold the car back. If you had a brake, you could then work the converter harder, but it will push thru a line lock. I want you to get a tach with a playback feature, and record your runs.. this will really help you dial in the launch techniques, and if you have any wheel spin say 20 or 30 feet out. And I would certainly be I would be interested in your feedback from testing different launch proceedures, with a playback type tach. It's awfully hard to watch the tach and see just how much it really flashes to, and impossible to see if that is from wheel spin or actual true flash of the converter, without a playback type tach. ------------- I guess I am wondering what the missing ingredient here is. With your STG 2 TE heads, that cam and build, it should be nearly 600 HP. I would expect mph in the 118-120 range. I say this because about 20 years ago (geeze, has it been that long..uzzled: ) I had a 4100 lbs GS that ran in the 11.40 range, at 118-120 mph, with only 525 HP. Only real difference from your car is I had a T-brake, a 5000 stall converter, and 4.33 gears. You should have enought extra HP to make up for most of that gearing and converter difference. I was also at 800 ft static altitude, with an average density altitude of around 2500 feet. Your at or near sea level, so that's an advantage in your corner It is true that for best dragstrip performance with that cam, you should have a high 3 or low 4 series gear. But here's the question.. what kind of fuel system do you have, and what is your fuel pressure going down the track? JW
