Drag Racers... Need Help

[Crazytrucker74]

I have an 87 stang that I'm planning on running at my local track. I've done some testing and with one run we took the serpentine belt off and gained half a second. What I want to start with is this; is there any way to kill the alternator with an electrical switch? I was think maybe by killing the exciter... Not sure if it will work and don't know which it is.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

I have an 87 stang that I'm planning on running at my local track. I've done some testing and with one run we took the serpentine belt off and gained half a second. What I want to start with is this; is there any way to kill the alternator with an electrical switch? I was think maybe by killing the exciter... Not sure if it will work and don't know which it is.

To what end?. Especially if this is a street car, it's not likely that you'll flip a switch, and get a .5 sec kick in the pants because of it. That said, while removing the entire serpentine belt also takes drag off the engine from not only the alternator, but the water pump, the AC compressor, the PS pump, and any residual from the tensioners,......you thinking that there's gonna be any reason to dick with your charging system in order to gain similar improvements is wishful thinking. What you get instead, is a car that overheats, is a pig to steer, has a dead battery, and probably will run poorly when less than 12v is all you have trying to run the necessary elements of the engine.
Removing the alternator, or taking the drag from it off the engine is truly getting to be a less and less popular source of " free horsepower" as having to repeatedly charge the battery is required when you do. That coupled to the fact the true drag race ignition systems require a full 12+ v just to work properly, makes it a poor choice when searching for extra power.

 

[madspeed]

The gain by removing the belt was likely more from the parasitic drag from the ps pump. If you want, grab a short belt that covers only the crank, water pump and alternator. You'll see a small gain from that, but use it for track only, as running a power steering rack without a functioningpump will cause you to have Popeye forearms