I picked up over the last time out 3-4 weeks ago.This is at the marginal track with my recently installed ATI converter and th400. Last time out I ran 12.10-12.34 with 60ft times ranging from 1.76-1.89. Today I ran 11.97-12.18 with 60fts ranging from 1.70-1.81. Its hard to do any real testing when you're sharing the track with the street treaded ricers and I forgot to bring the other set of rear jets(80's) that I had installed when I set new bests a year ago,but I picked up .13 on the best and .16 on the worst e.t.s of the day. I guess all in all it was a good day, considering some say it takes a little more power to run a th400 vs. a th350 and I came away with better e.t.'s overall vs. 3-4 weeks ago. Another difference between this year and last year is the exhaust system,last year when I ran new bests(11.78) it was thru open headers with 28x9 Hoosier slicks,this year it was thru 3" exhaust,not mandrel bent with H pipe and 28x10.5 M/T's...this year my timing was also advanced a little more with total coming in quicker also,which may also play a part in my 60ft.times,I can't seem to get it to hook as well. Looks like I need a swaybar and possibly try moving the SSM liftbars up to the original rear mounting position,not sure if that will help,but I'm open to suggestions.

Bob,

How are you leaving the line...as in how do you stall and launch the car? What does your suspension consist of? Where does the new converter brake stall? Flash stall? Tire pressure? How about a refresher on the combo?

It took me the better part of 2 years, but I was able to pull 1.6x - 60' times on even the worst track(which is typical here at my two local tracks). I ran 1.68 on a Sun. street night a while back. I was the only slick car there. No water in the burnout box. On "race" day, it went a best of 1.60 and never varied by more than .01 in 60' once I got everything fairly well lined out. That was with a 4200 stall on a motor that really needed a 5300-5500 stall.

Only point being is that you should have a PILE of ET left in 60'alone. Hopefully we can help you find it.

Jason,,454 .030 over,Lunati solid cam 540/558 300/310 adv. 232/236 @ .050 off the top of my head,049's w/ 2.19/1.88 SS valves,no portwork, 1.75 headers, RPM intake,950 hp 78's square, Mallory unilite 16* initial 20 in the dist. in before 3000, th400 ATI 10" treemaster, with 3.73's gears. I bring it up to 1500 at the line,supposed to be 3500 stall, i don't have a playback tach, but I can footbrake it to almost 2500 before it will spin the back tires,which is 300 rpm more than the 11" B&M that I had in it with the th350. I started the day at 17psi cold/20psi when I got back to the trailer,made a couple passes,dropped the air pressure to 16psi hot,spun worse,so upped them to 20 psi hot, I've played with the air pressure in these slicks from 13-21 and i've gotten my best 60ft.s with 19psi in them. The rear suspension consists of SSM lower lift bars,with Metco adj. uppers and poly bushings, the uppers are set to stock length,havent played with them yet,and I do not have a swaybar,which Ed has said that it would help,running Gabriel red ryder gas shocks on the rear,they've been on the car since I bought it.

Forgot to thank Jakeshoe also,the trans works great. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Bob,

For your ET/MPH you should be able to consistently run 1.60-1.62, 60 ft. times. I would start out with the rear of the car first. Obviously the first place to look is in areas that don't cost any money. SSM bars are supposed to be set up with around 4 deg. pinion angle (-). Try that first if you haven't already.

I'm sure the swaybar (anti-roll bar) that Ed was talking about is like the Wolfe Racecraft piece like Todd runs. I don't see much of a gain with a normal type that bolts between the lowers although that will help a little. If you can swing it, the anti-roll bar is definitely the way to go. If not, air bags should help keep the car leaving fairly level. I think you will find that the rear of the car needs to be stiffened up a bit. Whether it be with shocks, air bags, springs, or whatever. Air bags seem to be a cheap and effective way on my car. Kills two birds with one stone. 15psi on the passenger side and 10 psi on the driver side seem to work the best for me.

12-14 psi in my M/T 28x10.5 ET Drags worked best for me. I ran tubes though. I would figure 14-16 psi would be optimal in your car as it is likely a little heavier than mine (3600 lb w/ driver). Make one change at a time and re-adjust tire pressure for the given change to see what works best.

The front of the car can make or break the 60' also. A buddy of mine was running 11.20's @121 with 1.66 - 60' times. He switch front springs and struts and instantly ran 10.75@123.5 with no other changes. 60' times improved to 1.46. The thing would run 1.46 on ice and did it EVERY time.

How does the car leave? Does it spin immediately or a few feet out? How do you do your burnout? How does the front end react? Is there any way you could get someone to video the car leaving? That is an invaluable tuning tool.

Bob,
I had better 60's when I ditched the ladders and went with SSM's and a rear sway bar. I don't know about your open chamber heads, but my closed chambers seem to like more timing than 36* total and also have it "all in" by 2600. That is a bit earlier than yours.
Good luck!
Dang,..it's December!! You can still race out there??

That was the "grand finale" Jim,,,closed til Feb. now,so I have all winter to ponder what I'm going to do. I called the guy with the video camera and he didnt want to go this weekend,had his car tucked in for the winter already. Jason,I forgot to mention that I am running an air bag in the right rear also,usually have 12-15 psi in it. When my car leaves,sometimes I get good front end lift and then it spins,,,and other times the front end just starts to lift then breaks em loose. I can't seem to find the sweet spot with these slicks, I was hooking better with drag radials. Yesterday it was windy with a chill in the air, so I'd roll thru the waterbox,put trans in second,get em going til I could see smoke,release the brake and power to the line. I'm about ready to find a new set of tires,when I can hook with drag radials better than M/T slicks,something is not right. I wonder what in my suspension would allow the drag radials to hook better???

Gee, was that a CK trans Bob? Lol! He is a real peach of a guy, I just cannot understand it all. If you want to see a copy of his hate mail to me and my response, just let me know and I will email it on to you. I have never seen such a rotten attitude for no good reason...I just cannot understand people like that.