help please.

[ill advised]

No "peg leg" I'm guessing.

 

[Darkwriter77]

I can only answer by asking questions, in this case:

1. What tire pressure do you usually run in those tires? Too high or too low air pressure will reduce the size of your contact patch and, thus, will limit your traction.

2. What is your stock gear ratio - 2.73, 3.08, or 3.27? I can't imagine having traction issues with 2.73's, unless your trac-loc is on the fritz and you're doing a peg-legged burnout every time.

3. Are you running stock springs, or aftermarket lowering springs? If you go too low with springs, it tends to compromise traction in a lot of cases.

4. Is your rear sway bar still in place, or has it been removed?

5. Does having a full tank of gas seem to improve your grip at all, or does it have no effect at all?

6. Are you able to spin them from a roll while in 1st (like cruising along in a parking lot), or is the traction issue only when launching from a dead stop?

 

[stangbang302]

alright well for
1. im runnin at 35psi pressure
2. i do not know what gear ratio i have i pulled the rear end out of one of my uncles mustangs in his yard and just hooked it up, i wish i knew the year of that mustang to.
3. they are stock spings
4. no sway bar in back.
5. havent really noticed a difference with a full tank or close to empty tank.
6. i can go to about 3000 rpm hit on it and will spin the tires till i shift to 2nd.

 

[stangbang302]

i dont know most of the terms used, but what does "peg leg" mean?

 

[Darkwriter77]

alright well for
1. im runnin at 35psi pressure
2. i do not know what gear ratio i have i pulled the rear end out of one of my uncles mustangs in his yard and just hooked it up, i wish i knew the year of that mustang to.
3. they are stock spings
4. no sway bar in back.
5. havent really noticed a difference with a full tank or close to empty tank.
6. i can go to about 3000 rpm hit on it and will spin the tires till i shift to 2nd.

Adding a rear sway bar will help stiffen up your rear suspension. Grab one from a junkyard sometime, bolt it on, lower your tire pressure to 32 psi., and launch at a lower RPM (1500 to 2000 RPM), and then see how that works. I don't know of too many street radials that WON'T smoke up when you dump the clutch from 3,000+ RPM, regardless of your setup - that's just way too high for street tires.

i dont know most of the terms used, but what does "peg leg" mean?

One-wheel peel. Go to a dirt or gravel road or driveway, spin the tires from a takeoff, and then see if you left one or two tracks. Or better yet, just keep your setup the way it is for the moment (high psi, high RPM launch, no rear sway bar), go to a parking lot or someplace you won't get caught, lay some rubber, and then see if you left one stripe or two. If you're only spinning one tire, your trac-loc (limited slip differential, or LSD) unit is toast and you need a rear-end rebuild to get things working correctly again - a perfect time to upgrade to different gears while you've got it all apart, too.

 

[stangbang302]

oh i dont do a launch from 3000rpm i'll go from a rolling start at about 3000 and hit on it, i was thinking about picking up a sway bar from the junkyard but i cant find where to bolt it on in the rear.

 

[25thmustang]

I think most 5.0s have issues with traction in 1st and usually 2nd gear. My car does, my brothers GT40P car is a joke until midway into 3rd (small tires though) etc... Suspension might help some, tires will help more, but dirty, pot hole ridden streets are not the place to expect traction in these cars (especially with the steep 1st gear in the T5 and the ass light weight distribution of the fox).

 

[Mustang5L5]

Really need a lot more info.

Also, if those control arms have poly bushings in all 4 locations they could be contributing by reducing roll in the axle when you launch hitting the tires harder

Does your limited slip work?

What tires?

Can you attempt to find out your axle ratio by jacking up the rear and spinning the tires and counting the driveshaft revs?

 

[stangbang302]

alright my set up in my car, i have gt40p heads, gt40 upper and lower intake, e303 cam, 19lb summit injectors, aluminum drive shaft, full summit exhaust with o/r h pipe, drag star rims with futura super sport tires 265 in back 225 in front, t5 tranny, stock suspension except the upper and lower control arms. dont really know what more to say, oh ya i also converted it to mass air

 

[Turd Tops]

What are you looking for? A 3 grand dump with no slip? To me it sounds like the problem we all have with our mustangs. I've never dumped my at 3 grand thats for sure. I blow the hell out of my tires just doing a 2 grand roll. I spin all thru 1st and 3/4 of the way thru 2nd. Sounds like you have some pretty nice parts on your car so why not ditch the trash tires and pick up some street slicks. There still going to spin but i bet nothing like the trash tires you have on there now. Put some heat in those street slicks i bet you notice alot better grip. Plus i would bet the tires you have now spin even more when there hot. I would'nt worry about useing street slicks on the street at all. After all thats what there made for. They don't last worth a tinkers damn if your always showing off and burning the hell out of them. My B/F's only lasted a summer but i beat the hell out of that car.

 

[Strippt88]

Yeah, your motor is making way more than stock power, and losing the back end has always been a problem for the 5.0- one reason its fun to drive. Southsides are great, and free is the best price, but they're worth money, if you don't want them, or think you can get something better(you won't), sell them, lotta guys still looking for those. Some nice Ford Racing, or aftermarket uppers around, but they won't help you hook up any better. Drag radials are great-long is nothing but sunshine comes from the sky. Figure out your rear gear is bout the most important thing to do now, and if both sides are working. You can also rebuild your trans and drop that 2.95 first gear. This is why we all bought hatches new, or there woulda been nothing but notches. Simply put, its time to learn to drive. Feather out of the hole, soft shoeing first and most of second, FEELING when it wants to break loose. Riding that power/traction tightrope takes a long time to learn, lot longer in this day of "throw more parts at it" thinking. Can't bolt on skill, and thats the most effective part in a fast car. Slower cars can do lots more with a fast driver.

 

[stangbang302]

your right about all that, but i didnt have much of a choice about those parts i have, this is the first car i've built and that was the only motor my uncle had that he wanted to give me, also this is my first v8 going from a cavalier back and forth from school to a mustang, its a pretty damn good change ha, it is really fun tho.

 

[Strippt88]

your right about all that, but i didnt have much of a choice about those parts i have, this is the first car i've built and that was the only motor my uncle had that he wanted to give me, also this is my first v8 going from a cavalier back and forth from school to a mustang, its a pretty damn good change ha, it is really fun tho.

Your uncle is a good man, for having no choice, you have a lot of choice parts, making some nice power! The Southsides will help keep it level like nothing else made since, they'll plant the back end on your launch- I would get a nice torque box beef up kit, though. And get a rear sway bar. Nothing is going to hook it up for you, though, but driving practice. No tire, no part. My faster 5.0's liked to be walked out of the hole, easy through first, leave at 1,800 maybe, and lift at the 1-2 shift. Just a little, you'll feel when it breaks loose, and you can't get it back easily when it does. That means more lifting, feathering the pedal. The back end will want to go to kick out when it breaks, you're going to do a lot of throttle steering. It'll seem like you're wasting time, but smoke or scream is lost traction, lost traction is slower. Unless your on a heated 10 inch slick at the track, this is a condition you'll hafta learn to live with, normal for a proper 5.0. And one reason more to f***ing love it.

 

[stangbang302]

thanks for the advice im gonna have to do some practices. i'll look up on some rear suspension to.