Cheap/free mods for racing?

[2nd Mustang]

Any cheap/free ideas for racing mods?

One is (as posted in another thread) to raise the rear of the hood to act as a poor man's cowl induction.

Another we used was bald tires from the junk yard for free sllicks. Hey, we were poor. Not a really safe idea though.

With torsion bar front suspensions, crank the front end down.

Place card board inserts to block off radiator grill so air won't get trapped under hood.

That's all I can think of now........

 

[HistoricMustang]

Hey, all good stuff and I have tried most. Blocking the air in the front of these barn doors is the best approach as well as raising the rear of the hood and using bias ply tires. Getting weight out is the best method.

HistoricMustang
www.historicmustang.com

 

[68_stanger]

advance your timing a little

 

[bnickel]

relocate the battery to the trunk, air pressure changes are always a good tuning device

 

[stephen4785]

1. Take the seats out.
2. Put bags of ice on top of you intake before you get to the starting line(dont start it untill your at the line.Then remove them and itll cool down the intake charge.(well its suppost to)
3. Be sure you battery is fully charged and disconnect the alternator and water pump belt. Put the belts back on once youv done a run to cool down the motor or let it col down on its own(removing belts doesnt work to well if youve got power steering)
4. Buy a turn buckle at the hardware store and install it from the driver side of you motor to the frame as a torque limiter
5. Be sure you dont have a full tank of gas only about of a 1/4 tank. And no washer fluid in the res.Take out everything that you dont need down the track(spare,jacks,tools,wife,etc..)
Thats about all I can think of right now. Oh there is the classic ricer stuff. Stick on a crap load of stickers and vinyl graphics and a huge wing on the trunk

 

[allcarfan]

remove washer fluid from resovoir? hehe. Im sure that 12oz of fluid will really improve that et

I am assuming we are talking about drag racing...

remove your front sway bar

Lower air pressure in rear tires

Buy a set of cheap 14" front wheels and skinny tires for the front of your car (from the junkyard)

Disconnect tailpipes from mufflers

I have heard of people running no air cleaner

instead of raising the rear of your hood....Remove your hood

PLaying with your timing was a good suggestion. Make sure your carb is in tune also.

 

[stephen4785]

yeah i know the washer fluid thing is pretty minimal but hell when your trying to reduce weight alot of little things add up. Washer fluid is mainly water. 1 gallon of water weighs about 9 lbs. I know there people that use light weight fasteners to save weight.

 

[mfp4073]

I dont know about you, but some of these "cheap" mods look like they could cost you BIG if something goes wrong....

 

[stephen4785]

True. Some people are willing to risk it though. I would never dissconnect my belts, drain all the fluids, remove seats, dissconnect the sway bars, or anything. I want to know what my car runs just likes its on the street. I dont like when some tells me "Yeah Man my car runs a 12sec flat in the quarter with a 300 shot of NOS". Dont get me wrong I like NOS but some people just over kill it so others think there car is really fast. I read on another forum that someone saw this guy at Ennis dragstrip (TX) get a fire extinguisher, hook it up through one of his cowl vents, then get up to the start line and squeeze the trigger in burts to try and make it look like NOS. Now thats hillarious.

 

[2nd Mustang]

True. Some people are willing to risk it though. I would never dissconnect my belts, drain all the fluids, remove seats, dissconnect the sway bars, or anything. I want to know what my car runs just likes its on the street. I dont like when some tells me "Yeah Man my car runs a 12sec flat in the quarter with a 300 shot of NOS".

I think I understand what you are saying, BUT, before there was nitrous systems, doing grudge racing was just a way of challenging someone on the strip or just a way of seeing what your best times could be without doing it on the street. It's a lot tougher on the strip IMO because now you have real gearheads watching you instead of wanna=be people on the street. I tried many little things in the family car, which seemed hilarious at the time, but no one ever laughed at you when you were at the strip.

 

[68_stanger]

I agree with the fact that alot of these things I wouldn't do to my own car, just because of what could happen.

I intend on running my stang down the drags once she's ready for that but Im not gonna change how its set up just for the track. Track times and street times are ususally 2 different thing, bolting a pair of slicks and a big nitrous shot will make a huge difference in how your car runs. To each their own.....end rant

 

[mustangdave]

Back to the subject: if you have a stock air cleaner with the snorkel, you can clamp on some dryer vent hose and run it out to the front of the car, maybe under the bumper, to get a cooler intake charge. Cost should be less than $10.00.