Poor times at strip

[stevesLX]

I ran my car for the first time this weekened and wasn't impressed the least bit. I fastest time was a 14.201 @ 98.31 MPH. My 60 ft time was 2.112. My R/T .209 1/8th 9.161 @ 78.19. My set up is as follows a 89 LX 302 Edelbrock 5.0 performer intake manifold, 24 # injectors, 75MM BBK TB, 73MM C&L MAF, Fcam, BBk 2 1/ 2 full length headers, aluminum driveshaft, WC T5 5speed 4.10 gear. Stock suspension and street tires. I dont have a tune for any of the mods yet. So with that being said any pointers on what I need to do or is this about where I should be. I thought I would be in the low to mid 13's not low to mid 14's.

 

[NKau]

Playing with your timing a bit will gain you something.

 

[stevesLX]

My timing is set at 12 degrees right now. I just dont want to detonate. I am new to all this and really dont know exactly how far I can safely advance my timing.

 

[88mouse]

Your really not going to go much fast on street tires.Stick some slick on it and you will get in down.I have my timing set at 17* with just a cam and intake headers, and the other basic bolt on's, and 3.90 gear. and the fast i can on in the 1/8 is 9.005 at 77 mph with a 1.95 60ft

 

[millhouse]

I'm not sure what more you would expect? Your injectors are to big and do not help your performance. Your throttle body is to big, and although it doesn't hurt at WOT it is not the most desirable for your combo. You mention you have an f-cam, but you do not mention if you are running the stock springs. Regardless, it will require you to shift higher in the rpm range which is not where the heads flow. Because of your mismatched combo I'd say it's really not that far off from where you should be. High 13's would certainly not be out of the question with a decent launch.

 

[stevesLX]

If you r are talking valve springs yes they have been changed over to Cranes bee hives and the heads have been ported. The injectors that are in there along with everything else is how the car was set up when I bought it. I do have a nitrous kit to put on it which I am going to start on that tonight. I will be running either a 125 or 150 shot. The guy that use to own this had a supercharger on it and took it off when he put the car up for sale.

 

[stevesLX]

several people at the strip were telling me that the 4.10 gear wasn't helping me one bit that I would do much better with a 3.73.

 

[millhouse]

If you r are talking valve springs yes they have been changed over to Cranes bee hives and the heads have been ported. The injectors that are in there along with everything else is how the car was set up when I bought it. I do have a nitrous kit to put on it which I am going to start on that tonight. I will be running either a 125 or 150 shot. The guy that use to own this had a supercharger on it and took it off when he put the car up for sale.

Ported by whom and how much? If it's not properly ported, you will not get the flow required to shift near 6k rpm. Remember, the f-cam shifts the power a bit in the rpm range and requires you to shift higher. What rpm are you shifting at…and are you using the stock tach?

As far as the 4.10's go, they are certainly not to much for your combo. You are nowhere near running out of gear with the 4.10's currently. With your combo they'll be good up until ~ 111mph with 26" tall tires.

 

[Fett]

Get suspension and tires, that is your problem.

 

[thumper460]

14.20 and a 2.11 60 ft.. is ok!! if the tires were better and you changed NOTHING ELSE.. and you managed a 1.80 60 ft ( and that is pretty standard..) your ET will be 13.60 - 13.70's!! as you know.. the bottleneck is now the heads.. if you have the time.. I would advance the F cam 4* and work on the tires.. low 13's will be there.. timing at 14-16* if it pings then drop it 1* till it stops.. f/p @ 38 lbs with vac off.. and then work around those parimiters... cool?? The Drag strip will make the truth come out!! dont worry about the 14's.. you still have faster times there.. just work on it!! cool! when you are deep into the 13's.. THEN and only then.. think on a set of head upgrades...

Just me...................................

Thumper

 

[ninety15.0]

I am also going to agree with millhouse and thumper that your current times are right on par with the combo you have. The f-cam is definately more of a blower cam and really needs 6k rpms to get all you can out of it. Even ported stock heads with stock valves just wont flow any decent amount of air above 5k. I agree with thumper you need to advance that cam to shift that powerband back down a little bit. You should also look into putting the stock 19# injectors back in there. They can support around 300hp. Im in the same boat...i'm right on the boarder between 19s and 24s, so i turned the fuel pressure down a little bit with the 24's. The 4.10's are just fine for your application and the change from 3.73's and 4.10's is approx 250rpm....insignifigant change for the costs associated with the swap. Definately kick that timing up to at least 14 or 15 and run 93 octane. Advancing the cam and tuning the timing and FP will easily get you into the 13's. good luck man

 

[v8only]

get a smaller tb (65mm), get stock 19 pound injectors and drop in some gt40 heads, and you'll knock pretty close to a second off those times

 

[UnderdogGN]

i was in the same exact situation as you...i was running 14.60's with lots of bolt ons and f cam but stock heads....put on some afr 165's and dropped to a 13.3!!! just from the head swap!! its all in the combo as i have found out first hand...good luck man

 

[stevesLX]

Yeah I need to get some money set aside first. My first 2 runs I was shifting when I would hit my rev limiter which I had set at 6000 RPM and my first 2 runs were 14.52 and 14.47. So I decided to take my air pressure down from 36LBS to 25LBS and I bumped my rev limiter up and I shifted at 62-6300 and my next 2 runs were both 14.20. As far as the injectors go I dont have the stock ones and I could be wrong but I am going to be spraying this with 125-150 shot I beleive I will be over 300 HP which the 19LB are only good for. As far as advancing my cam I dont know the first thing on how to do that or where I would even begin.As far as the 4.10 goes I was running thru the end in 4th gear. I was passing the time signs at about 110 in 4th gear. Tires are street tires 245/45/17. I have my fuel pressure at 34LBS

 

[millhouse]

Yeah I need to get some money set aside first. My first 2 runs I was shifting when I would hit my rev limiter which I had set at 6000 RPM and my first 2 runs were 14.52 and 14.47. So I decided to take my air pressure down from 36LBS to 25LBS and I bumped my rev limiter up and I shifted at 62-6300 and my next 2 runs were both 14.20. As far as the injectors go I dont have the stock ones and I could be wrong but I am going to be spraying this with 125-150 shot I beleive I will be over 300 HP which the 19LB are only good for. As far as advancing my cam I dont know the first thing on how to do that or where I would even begin.As far as the 4.10 goes I was running thru the end in 4th gear. I was passing the time signs at about 110 in 4th gear. Tires are street tires 245/45/17. I have my fuel pressure at 34LBS

Keep in mind, if you don't have an aftermarket tach…you have no idea what rpm your actually shifting at. Your pretty much limited by feel and/or trial and error. Just something to keep in mind on your next outing.

As far as your injectors go, it will really depend on whether you plan on going with a wet or dry kit. I'll leave it at that…and it will be up to you to research as I don't have a whole hell of a lot of knowledge on the subject.

Now onto your trap speed. Your mph at the end of the 1/4 mile is 98.31 mph. You are a long ways from the ~111mph (4th gear, 6k rpm) that the 4.10's are good for. Passing the time signs doesn’t mean squat as they are typically past the 1/4 mile.

Edit: I see you have a rev limiter (I'm assuming through an aftermarket ignition) , so first comment doesn't completely apply.

 

[stevesLX]

I have a aftermarket tach with a shift light that I use. I pay no attention to the factory tach. The kit that I have is a dry kit. The rev control I have is a MSD soft touuch rev control that takes rpm modules. The heads were ported by A-Hines Racing engines

 

[88mouse]

That is alote of spray to run on a dry kit IMO....

 

[Pod]

I ran my car for the first time this weekened and wasn't impressed the least bit. I fastest time was a 14.201 @ 98.31 MPH. My 60 ft time was 2.112. My R/T .209 1/8th 9.161 @ 78.19. My set up is as follows a 89 LX 302 Edelbrock 5.0 performer intake manifold, 24 # injectors, 75MM BBK TB, 73MM C&L MAF, Fcam, BBk 2 1/ 2 full length headers, aluminum driveshaft, WC T5 5speed 4.10 gear. Stock suspension and street tires.

For what it's worth, I ran a 14.50 @ 97.13 (personal best!) this weekend with the mods in my signature. 1/8th was 9.37 @ 76.99.
I've got a set of Thumper heads which are still waiting to be installed....

 

[Fett]

A good example of what tires and suspension can do, my mods are in my sig, and I ran a best 13.1 @ 103 on 26" slicks and Steeda suspension. I have stock heads that I did basic porting myself, cleaned up the runners and gasket matched the ports, running stock valves and springs. If I was running stock suspension and street tires, I would be in the 14s.

To me, suspension and slicks are the best "track mods" money can buy. I dump the clutch at 5000rpms.

With nitrous on street tires and stock suspension, you will spin half way down the track.

 

[ninety15.0]

either way the gears are fine...there are people on here running a whole lot faster with 4.10's and stock size tires (which you have). The cam degreeing process is not all that involved...just a lot of time/work to get the front cover off. You can research how to do it on here it's an easy day project. I also agree that a 125-150 dry shot is a bit unsafe, although i'm sure people will tell me its fine..but i sure as hell wouldn't run a dry shot that big....100 tops.