I've always had a some interest in you and your car because you remind me of myself. You seem to have a pretty decent head on your shoulders, you reason through problems pretty effectively, and argue to learn - all traits we have in common. I also had a combo that was virtually identical to yours. Ported Cobra intake, FTI cam with similar (though if memory serves slightly more aggressive) specs, and AFR 165s. I swapped to BBK 1 5/8" long tubes from my mac shorties. That combo is long gone now, but hopefully me running the piss out of it will lend me a little credibility. Here's my take on it:
1. Run the RPM as high as you're willing to run the engine - I took it to the edge shifting at 6200 rpm, which is just shy of the stock limiter. I can tell you for a fact, without even computing based on your dyno that shifting a few hundred rpm higher will improve your times, if only a little every little bit counts.
2. bump the timing from 16* to 18*. I did a good amount of dyno-tuning with my old FTI combo and 18* was definitely the sweet spot with those heads.
3. Open up the flanges at the end of the collector in the BBK headers. They have a 2.5" collector, but for some reason beyond me, they tightened back up to about 2 1/4" after the collector, which to me defeats the purpose of having a complete 2.5" exhaust system. This was with my BBKs, which I had more than 3 years ago, so check to make sure my info is still accurate. I actually measured mine, so I know my info was accurate at the time.
4. Weather often accounts for shifts of 3-4 tenths/mph. If you want any type of meaning to your track times, you need to record the DA which can be calculated by the track's elevation, temp, humidity, and also get the wind speed and direction in relation to the direction of the track. Without this information, you're wasting time trying to compare small changes in power on the track. This is one of the biggest reasons you shouldn't listen to a noob who swaps his paper filter for a K&N and runs 3mph better the next weekend. He'll swear his new part be it a clutch, gears etc have picked up power, and it may well have, but his less than scientific methods aren't credible. The atmospheric and track conditions can make noticeable differences.
5. As already stated, you're engine isn't fully broken in. I remember that in circle track racing I always turned my best times at the end of an engine's life, and it was a considerable difference.
6. Your porting on the performer probably didn't help much. The stock intake isn't going to be a restriction for the amount of power you're making.
I think you can get another 1-2 mph out of the car as it sits by shifting higher and resetting your timing. It's been a long time, now, but it would run 88-91 mph on any given day with the old combo. I think I was probably a good 100 lbs lighter than you, though.
1. Run the RPM as high as you're willing to run the engine - I took it to the edge shifting at 6200 rpm, which is just shy of the stock limiter. I can tell you for a fact, without even computing based on your dyno that shifting a few hundred rpm higher will improve your times, if only a little every little bit counts.
2. bump the timing from 16* to 18*. I did a good amount of dyno-tuning with my old FTI combo and 18* was definitely the sweet spot with those heads.
3. Open up the flanges at the end of the collector in the BBK headers. They have a 2.5" collector, but for some reason beyond me, they tightened back up to about 2 1/4" after the collector, which to me defeats the purpose of having a complete 2.5" exhaust system. This was with my BBKs, which I had more than 3 years ago, so check to make sure my info is still accurate. I actually measured mine, so I know my info was accurate at the time.
4. Weather often accounts for shifts of 3-4 tenths/mph. If you want any type of meaning to your track times, you need to record the DA which can be calculated by the track's elevation, temp, humidity, and also get the wind speed and direction in relation to the direction of the track. Without this information, you're wasting time trying to compare small changes in power on the track. This is one of the biggest reasons you shouldn't listen to a noob who swaps his paper filter for a K&N and runs 3mph better the next weekend. He'll swear his new part be it a clutch, gears etc have picked up power, and it may well have, but his less than scientific methods aren't credible. The atmospheric and track conditions can make noticeable differences.
5. As already stated, you're engine isn't fully broken in. I remember that in circle track racing I always turned my best times at the end of an engine's life, and it was a considerable difference.
6. Your porting on the performer probably didn't help much. The stock intake isn't going to be a restriction for the amount of power you're making.
I think you can get another 1-2 mph out of the car as it sits by shifting higher and resetting your timing. It's been a long time, now, but it would run 88-91 mph on any given day with the old combo. I think I was probably a good 100 lbs lighter than you, though.
... sorry I could resist.
