How to get in the 8's??

[blackstanger95]

Went to the track last night. It's an 1/8th mile track. I ran an 9.6 at 76mph.
Here are my mods:
3.73 gears
Mac O/R H
Short Throw shifter Steeda
Mac Cold air kit
Mac Underdrive pulleys
Flowmasters with turndowns

By the way my car is a convertible. So I know its a little heavier than a coupe. Will the Hollysytemax intake and 70mm Throttle body help me with the mods I have? What else can I do to it to get in the 8's?

 

[Stanger007]

For everyone else's reference, a 8.99 sec 1/8mi run is about 14.0

Some decent tires will make a world of difference.

Nitto 275s if you don't want to break anything. Pull a 1.90 60ft and you will practically be in the 8s. (gained 60ft time is usually doubled at the end of the 1/4mi, not sure how it pans out in the 1/8)

I liked pull the Cobra intake gave my car up top.

Loose some weight (spare tire, 25lb weight in fender, dogbone, 1/4 tank gas).

Apart from that, the biggest thing is practice with the stick.

With the things above I see a 8 sec run happening.

On a non-speed note, having some subframe connectors will really make the car feel much better and some Cobra brakes and 13" rotors really stops it well.

My car's an auto (3680lb with me and 1/4 tank) and it took 4.10s, longtubes, exhaust, cai, underdrives and cobra intake, Nittos (1.92 60) to get 14.03.

My "stock" run was a 15.3 with having a K&N filter and underdrives and a 2.3 60ft.

If you really want to make it move for about $3,000 with EVERYTHING, look into a lightly used Vortech S-trim or a Trickflow H/C/I kit and get ready to be running low, low 8s.

Good luck with it man,
Wes

 

[rj95svt]

Wes is dead on as usual with what he said. What I'm seeing from your time info you could get a 9.30 or 9.40 with just some practice and powershifting. I have run a 9.07 at 77.8 with a 2.02 60 ft. in my cobra. My mods are in my sig. My car has better heads and intake from the factory I know but it won't be hard to get your car running these times. I think a intake swap and some drag radials and a little practice will get you close.

I'm not sure that the holley will be the best intake for your current combo. In fact you might be slower with it. It'll make more power up top but you'll lose alot of low end torque. It's a good intake and makes great power in the higher rpm's. The stock heads won't flow good enough to take advantage of the flow potential of that intake. If you swap heads and cam later on it won't be bad at all but it will be a little softer in the lower rpm's than some other intakes unless you build a stroker or put a supercharger on it. With stock heads I would pick a edelbrock performer or a used cobra intake. Those intakes will be best with the stock heads and work pretty well with aftermarket ones also but don't have the top end pull of the holley. There are several people running performers on 300+rwhp combos.

I'm not trying to talk you out of the holley but unless you plan doing heads and cam later it won't be optimum.

 

[blackstanger95]

Thanks for the replies guys. Your info is very helpful. I really do like the Holly intake but if it doesn't help me lower my times than I don't want it. I guess I'll look around for a Cobra or an Edelbrock intake. Should I go with a 70mm TB or what size? What else do you recommend to lower my times?

 

[Stanger007]

I'd keep the stock throttlebody until you have some aftermarket heads - you might gain a little horsepower from swapping, but not much for what you would pay.

Wes

 

[blackstanger95]

Thanks a lot Wes. What do you recommend I should do next to get to my goal faster?

 

[blackstanger95]

Should I gain anything if I put a short belt over underdrive pulleys?

 

[sage2k]

If you wanna take small steps, Id say your next mod should be sticky tires
then an intake manifold

 

[reddy351]

And work on this: "best 60ft:2.15" (from your sig. )

If you can consistantly hit the 1.90 that these other guys are hitting, you'll only need to pull .40 sec out of it, mechanically.

 

[zZsKyZz]

Bump up the timing

 

[JJ95GTID]

:OT:

I used to love to watch the junior dragsters.
Those kids only run the 1/8th mile and most do it in under 9.0s.
Then I realized I couldn't run that quick in my car
That was when my car was stock.
Now is a different story though

Back to topic

 

[kck6894]

My car was running 9.0-8.9's when I first got it. I had a CAI, Equal length shorties, x-pipe, 3.73's, dumped flo's, 26x10.5 slicks, and a pinion snubber. I was actually running on a GT engine with my cobra intake. That also included a speaker box that housed a pair of 10" subs.

I think with a good set of tires and some traction the 8's are within reach. Practice, practice, practice!!

 

[Black95GTS]

I think using any kind of "sticky" tires with a stock differential and stock axles is a recipe for disaster. I say this because I bent an axle with only Nitto Drag Radials.

What RPM are you crossing the line at? What gear are you in? If you're serious about the 1/8th mile then you need more gear. Like 4.10s or 4.30s.

An intake manifold is a big improvement but I wouldn't get the Holley unless you plan on a new hood; they don't fit under the stocker. I think if you got it tuned (mostly to eliminate the shift retard) and put an Eddie Performer / TFS Street Heat in you'd be there. And you have to get some full length subframe connectors, especially on a convertible.

Adam

 

[mustang6tee8]

You don't need to worry about stuff like short belt and intakes and throttle bodies- they won't help as much as DR's, weight reduction, and icing down the intake between runs, or... learning how to get your 60ft down w/o mods.

13" cobra brakes (although great for slowing down after the race) only add weight to the front end. Just get some better pads instead. You'll need less weight on the front end for good weight transfer when you launch. Removing the front sway bar helps in that area too.

Aftermarket lower control arms are probably the best suspension mod you can do, without spending too much. They help to eliminate wheel hop when launchin and also improve handling. They also make tubular upper control arms, but if you're using drag radials, don't get aftermarket UCA's- you will most likely break something. Jegs makes the tubular style lowers for $160pr.


Just so you know- my best run with 3.73s, 14* timing, 1/2 tank gas, MGW shifter, 1.5" lowering springs, tubular LCAs/UCAs, CAI, o/r H, catback was a 9.49 1/8 @ 76mph with a 2.09 60ft. So, you're already doing better than me!

Good luck!!

 

[Stanger007]

Thanks a lot Wes. What do you recommend I should do next to get to my goal faster?

I'd keep it simple and get some drag radials and some practice - that'll give you more than enough to work with for a while. While you are getting the hang of how to launch the car the best, keep reading StangNet to see what other people are doing and what works and does not work.

I was kinda iffy on buying a drag tire at first since I drive my car every day... now that I have them, I doubt I ever run a normal street radial on the back again. The Nittos don't wear down nearly as fast as I thought (I'll get 15,000 from them I bet) and the added traction is really nice on the street.

Wes

EDIT: I got my 275 Nittos for $150 apiece off the Internet and had them mounted locally for $12 apiece. If you are more serious about drag racing and want a tire just for the track, look at the Mickey Thompsons and BFGs - these can be hard on the tranny and rearend but they will stick MUCH better at the track. The Nittos should spin (hopefully) before anything breaks.

To get some more specific responses from everyone:
How serious are you about having a drag car?
Do you want to put a lot of money into it?
Is your car (like mine) mostly a street car that sees occasional dragstrip time?

 

[Black95GTS]

You don't need to worry about stuff like short belt and intakes and throttle bodies- they won't help as much as DR's, weight reduction, and icing down the intake between runs, or... learning how to get your 60ft down w/o mods.

Icing down the intake helps more then a new intake manifold or freeing up about 20 horse with a short belt?

To everyone here... I think drag radials are important too, but does everyone think he's really putting down enough power where he needs them? Just air down the rears to 20-25 PSI, give them a quick roasting, and make sure the fronts are correct. I don't think you need to start dropping 800-1000 on tires when a couple hundred spent wisely will get you where you want to be.

Adam

 

[mustang6tee8]

Icing down the intake helps more then a new intake manifold or freeing up about 20 horse with a short belt?

To everyone here... I think drag radials are important too, but does everyone think he's really putting down enough power where he needs them? Just air down the rears to 20-25 PSI, give them a quick roasting, and make sure the fronts are correct. I don't think you need to start dropping 800-1000 on tires when a couple hundred spent wisely will get you where you want to be.

Adam

you got me...i dont know what i was trying to say.

my advice is sometimes jarbled

 

[Stanger007]

Hehe as you can see, lot of opinions on what works good and what works better. Some of it is like Ford vs Chevy - different ways to skin a cat. :-D

Above all, practice is gonna get you the best gain for the least amount of cash outlay.

Wes

 

[mustang6tee8]

Above all, practice is gonna get you the best gain for the least amount of cash outlay.

Wes

Yes, and ice is very cheap. ahem..adam

 

[blackstanger95]

Well I just want my car to do 8's in the eight. It's my daily driver and occasionally sees the track, but would be nice if I could run a little faster. I don't understand why people say short belt don't do anything for you. I know my best is a 9.6 with the full lenght belt on but with a short belt I usually run low 9.5's. I have Mac Underdrive pulleys but the thing is I forgot the length of the belt I was using. Does anybody knows what lenght that would be? The reason I wanted an intake is because up top it don't have any pull and would like a little more. I really don't want more gear, its already hard to take off with 3.73's. So that's out the question. I guess I am going to get Nitto drag tires. I just wanted more power I know I'll run faster with tires but I actually want more power.