is it me.... or is it the track?

[luckythirteen13]

just got back from another dissapointing trip to the track. my best run was 14.3 at 97mph. for as long as ive been going there, ive always heard people complaining about the track being lousy and no good for launches. i always thought that it was just people complaining cause they just were having a bad day. now im not so sure.
i have 3.73 gears, upper and lower control arms, a pinion snubber, subframes, my batter in the trunk, and slicks @ 14psi. my best 60' ever is 2.2 seconds. even with all these suspension mods and tires, i still spin HORRIBLY
here are my mods:
removed the air silencer
K&N air filter
C&L 76mm MAF sensor
Professional Products 70mm throutle body
Professional Products 70mm EGR spacer
Professional Products intake manifold (upper and lower)
Mac equal length shorty headers
Summit Racing catless H-pipe
Flowmaster-Delta Flow mufflers (with dumps)
aluminum underdrive pulleys (powder coated black)
Autolite platnum spark plugs
Mr. Gasket high flow 180 degree thermostat
electric radiator fan
MSD 8.5mm super conductor spark plug wires
MSD Blaster 2 (45,000volt) ignition coil
MSD 6AL ignion box
advanced timing to 13 degrees
Powerslot slotted rotors
Hawk Racing performance pads
custom shift kit
high stall torque converter
B&M transmission cooler
AFR 165 aluminum heads
Scorpion aluminum roller rockers
hardened push rods
Ford Racing 24# injectors
255lph fuel pump
Trickflow 3/8" heat spacer
UMI rear upper control arms
Mega Bite Jr rear lower control arms
adjustable pinion snubber
weld in sub-frame connectors with seat support
Ford Racing 3.73:1 gears
Ford Racing 31 spline limited slip differencial
Moser 31 spline hardened axels
Torque link
smog pump removed
adjustable fuel pressure regulator and gauge
battery relocated to trunk
Load Boss 3G 150A altenator
even with all this, i cant get out of the 14's

there was another guy whos always there. has a notch with pretty much the same mods as me, except he has an F cam and a 100 shot of n2o and is running low 13's
my last run was 14.45 at 97mph was my worst 60' of the night at 2.4 yet this run i did the longest brunout

so is it me or the track?

 

[Aliate X]

if your putting down 2.2's on slicks and not bogging, its definitally the track. I cut 2.1's on stock tires with stock gears.

 

[luckythirteen13]

nope, no bog. the tires are spinning. the back end gets a little sideways and i can feel it hook but by the time it does, its too late.

there was also a 600hp cobra running mid 12's. that just doesnt seem right

 

[5.0fox]

there is something seriously wrong with your car if your only trappin 97 mph.

 

[rsw007]

track must really suck. are you having to pedal the gas alot? if so that might explain the low mph.

 

[ninety15.0]

Yea i was wondering about the MPH too...even if you spin through all of first you should still be able to trap higher that 97....thats a bone stock trap speed for the most part.

 

[slo65]

what track was this?

 

[maverick0716]

A 14.3 from 97 mph is not great but it's not absolutely terrible either. You should go get a tune on that thing, I bet you'll notice a huge difference. Look at my time, the crappy 60 foot is from me not knowing how to launch with sticky tires (definitly have to practice)....A good launch could get you into the 13's even with the 97 mph trap speed.

 

[mackey]

A 14.3 from 97 mph is not great but it's not absolutely terrible either. You should go get a tune on that thing, I bet you'll notice a huge difference. Look at my time, the crappy 60 foot is from me not knowing how to launch with sticky tires (definitly have to practice)....A good launch could get you into the 13's even with the 97 mph trap speed.

Its absolutely terrible for AFR165 heads.... Something is seriously wrong with the car. I would look at the timing, the injector order, the MSD box, the spark and watch the fuel pressure.

 

[Daniel50]

97?! wow. do a compression test. something is wrong

 

[luckythirteen13]

did a compression test. all were about 145psi give or take 5psi. most were right on 145. seems a little low but there is 100k miles on it. i was going to have it dyno tuned but im thinking of getting a supercharger so i thought id wait. still have the stock cam. timing is at 13* now. afr is about 13:1, a little rich but not that bad.
one thing i cant figure out is, im running 30psi of fuel to get my 13:1 ratio. seems awfully low.
i could defenitely tell the car isnt pulling hard at all
what else can i check?


just recalibrated my wide band o2 and ran it around a bit. 13.4:1 right about where i want it. ill check my sparks tomorrow after work to make sure all 8 are firing although im sure they are. would the dyno tuners be able to diagnose my problem and fix it? i was thinking maybe the maf but at idle its at 14.7:1 ratio so that cant be it. if im running 13.5:1, what could the dyno tuners actually do other then time it? i know i should be asking them but its sunday and they are closed so i cant talk to them till tomorrow. think its just a bad tune? should i take it into a dyno shop before the supercharger?

 

[maverick0716]

Its absolutely terrible for AFR165 heads.... Something is seriously wrong with the car. I would look at the timing, the injector order, the MSD box, the spark and watch the fuel pressure.

That's not what I said. I said the 14.3 wasn't bad for 97 mph.........I didn't say it wasn't bad for AFR heads.

 

[IntenseBlue]

Try a different track or dyno the damn thing.

 

[luckythirteen13]

i was thinking of trying a different track. ive only been to this one so answer me this, should there be chunks of rubber all over the track before the starting line? i dont think so but i dont know. its the california speedway in fontana. when people do burnouts, they kick up the rubber thats all over the starting line and you can clearly see large chunks of rubber flying back. unfortunately its the only .25 mile around. all the others are 1/8 but i guess ill have to check one of them out.
im getting a supercharger in the next couple weeks then its going to straight to a dyno shop cause this is rediculous

 

[slo65]

i was thinking of trying a different track. ive only been to this one so answer me this, should there be chunks of rubber all over the track before the starting line? i dont think so but i dont know. its the california speedway in fontana. when people do burnouts, they kick up the rubber thats all over the starting line and you can clearly see large chunks of rubber flying back. unfortunately its the only .25 mile around. all the others are 1/8 but i guess ill have to check one of them out.
im getting a supercharger in the next couple weeks then its going to straight to a dyno shop cause this is rediculous

yea funny people always tell me i should run 1/4, but there's no good quarter tracks around, thats why i run 1/8th, people dont get the numbers, but the track hooks good

 

[QDRHRSE]

there is something seriously wrong with your car if your only trappin 97 mph.

I live in socal too and I agree to some extent that the heat combined with the track conditions could cause you to run poorly but with your mods on slicks your car runs like ass. Your car should be going 13's on radials...at least. There is something not right. 97 mph is reasonable for those times. I've run recently in the heat at LACR which is @ 3000ft and with regular radials and a blower I'm running 12's with 2.2 and up 60 ft's. Maybe you should try more FP and more timing. Are you sure that your posi is working- 2.2 on slicks is pathetic....track or no track.

I know you're getting ripped on pretty hard by now. Don't worry about it. First off, try bumping the timing up more...16-18 degrees and give it 42 ps of FP with the vacuum line off of the regulator- 24lber's respond well to this for some reason. It is hard to get a car dialed in, but once you do it's awesome. Everybody has their own learning curve. Go back to the track, make changes 1 at a time each run, and log each run/change. Eventually you will figure it out. What you have going on now is unexceptable. We hope to hear back in a week or two. Good luck.

 

[NKau]

I would not do ANYTHING regarding a supercharger until you figure out what the heck is going on. Stock 5.0's with exhaust and gears run those times. Sounds like your compression is tip-top. I'd start by making sure you have good spark to all eight cylinders (sounds stupid, but worth a look). Also, see if you can't borrow a pro-m MAF calibrated for 24 lb. injectors off a friend or something; I've heard things about inconsistency with C&L products. I'm not sure what else would account for such a drastic power loss without making the car run like total poo.

 

[luckythirteen13]

ill check the spark, didnt get a chance today. i cant see it being the maf cause it runs super clean (jsut passed emisions) and the wide band says 14.7 at idle but of couse there is always a chance. i talked to the local dyno tuner who said this isnt that uncommon. he told me that if i plan to go supercharged, do it now and then bring it to him. he told me he will reprogram the ecu and then custom grind a cam for me. told me he will get it to over 400hp while still being emissions legal so i guess ill take that route. i may get a pro-m since i dont know anyone i can borrow one from.
im not upset about everyone giving me a hard time. id rather hear the trueth then a load of crap from a bunch of yes men.
ive had this lack of hp ever since the afr's went in. im wondering if the ecu just cant handle them. right after they went in i let my friend at the dealership drive it and he said it was weak.

 

[willys1]

Your motor sounds fine,its your driving(no punn intended) 2.2 60ft times with slicks?? Thats terrible! Are you heating the tires? Do they spray the starting line with traction bite? If you got your 60ft times down to 1.8 or 1.7 you should be in the low 13's!! I would put some time in practicing your burnouts,and hole shots..JMO

 

[NKau]

Your motor sounds fine,its your driving(no punn intended) 2.2 60ft times with slicks?? Thats terrible! Are you heating the tires? Do they spray the starting line with traction bite? If you got your 60ft times down to 1.8 or 1.7 you should be in the low 13's!! I would put some time in practicing your burnouts,and hole shots..JMO

He's only trapping 97 mph, so it's really not fine. He should trap well over 105 mph regardless of his driving abilities. I don't find it that hard to believe that his 60 times are that bad if the track prep is horrid.