My car + the track = teh lose

[nickthegenius]

I just got my car tuned last week and it put down 290hp/301tq. So I go to the track tonight with a few friends. Last year, the best run I had was a 14.21@97. That was last September when all I had was a catback, shocks/springs, and wheels/tires.

Now the car currently has the following mods:

- CompCams XE270AH cams
- CompCams springs
- Mac LT's
- Trubendz X-pipe (big POS, bent by Ray Charles himself)
- Spintech Sportsmans welded into Magnaflow catback
- Steeda CAI
- C&L Plenum
- Accufab 75mm TB
- Steeda U/D pullies
- 3.73 gears
- Pro 5.0
- H&R Supersports
- ADR M-Sport wheels
- Sumitomo HTR ZII's 285/35R18
- BMR Fabrication tubular LCA's [not installed yet]

Tonight my best pass was [email protected]. On another pass, I ran [email protected]. Traction sucked big time due to the normal lack of prep on 'test and tune' nights. Also, the ricers think they have to drive through the water whether they do a burnout or not. Anyhow, my best 60ft was 2.26 I used to be able to at least cut 2.0X 60fts with the same tires, but with the new power they don't hook for crap. I think my MPH shows that the power is there, but its just not getting to the ground.

I'm open to suggestions on what to do to improve my E.T.s w/o replacing current mods (i.e. no "get 4.10's" or "ditch the lowering springs"). I'm thinking about getting some V6 wheels and DR's. Are Nittos or BFGs more forgiving? I don't really want to replace my axles yet.

 

[FallenPhoenix]

the LCA's should help, plus some practice with the increased power. How are the Sumitomo tires?

 

[nickthegenius]

the LCA's should help, plus some practice with the increased power. How are the Sumitomo tires?

They are great tires when you're not at the track. I have 285/35R18s and 245/40R18s on staggered rims. They are actually very quiet on the road and grip really well. Combine that with the cost, and I think they are a great value. And at near-stock power levels, they did alright at the track for being low-profile 18-inchers.

 

[HoustonGT]

I just got my car tuned last week and it put down 290hp/301tq. So I go to the track tonight with a few friends. Last year, the best run I had was a 14.21@97. That was last September when all I had was a catback, shocks/springs, and wheels/tires.

Now the car currently has the following mods:

- CompCams XE270AH cams
- CompCams springs
- Mac LT's
- Trubendz X-pipe (big POS, bent by Ray Charles himself)
- Spintech Sportsmans welded into Magnaflow catback
- Steeda CAI
- C&L Plenum
- Accufab 75mm TB
- Steeda U/D pullies
- 3.73 gears
- Pro 5.0
- H&R Supersports
- ADR M-Sport wheels
- Sumitomo HTR ZII's 285/35R18
- BMR Fabrication tubular LCA's [not installed yet]

Tonight my best pass was [email protected]. On another pass, I ran [email protected]. Traction sucked big time. The ricers think they have to drive through the water whether they do a burnout or not. Anyhow, my best 60ft was 2.26 I used to be able to at least cut 2.0X 60fts with the same tires, but with the new power they don't hook for crap. I think my MPH shows that the power is there, but its just not getting to the ground.

I'm open to suggestions on what to do to improve my E.T.s w/o replacing current mods (i.e. no "get 4.10's" or "ditch the lowering springs").

I had the same tires as you and best i could cut was a 2.2 60', grnated it was my first time at the track. One of the other stangnetters said the best way to get htose tires to hook is to actually spin them until they start to smoke a bit. Jackie Chan cut like 1.9's with them i think. Give it a shot next time

 

[TARZAN]

Practice on the short times man, practice on the short times

-Will

 

[StangDriver5650]

That trap speed seems really low for 290 rwhp. I would expect 105-106. Friend of mine with a Accufab TB/plenum, magnaflow catback, 4.10s and stock tires went 101.65. But tracks vary a lot, just depends.

However, given your stock speed of 97, I'd say 6 mph is a pretty good gain.

 

[StngStr]

Are those corrected times? What was the DA? Maybe it's a weather thing. If those are corrected times, I'm running 2 mph faster with only exhaust, gears, pulleys, timing adjuster. I'd say your MPH is low for the power you are making.

 

[Jackie Chan]

id say its a case of the driver,
you need to practice, and of course get some gear and tire to make use of your power, or else guys like stangster are going to whip your ass with 40 less rwhp

 

[nickthegenius]

I'm thinking the fact that it was about 45* and "moist" wasn't helping. I'm not sure what the exact humidity was, though. It seemed like no matter how I took off, 1st was useless and the first bit of 2nd spun.

There was a Dodge Demon that had mini-tubs and some WIDE rubber and almost lost it about 500ft out. In fact, it seemed like the only cars that ran decently last night were the AWD cars and guys with DRs that did decent burnouts. I had to back out of it a little in a couple runs toward the top of first because the rear was having a mind of its own.

 

[decoy562]

I would think Upper and Lower control arms would help, definitely get some suspension work to help put the power down.

 

[Jackie Chan]

I would think Upper and Lower control arms would help, definitely get some suspension work to help put the power down.

i think the main problem is 18's and the driver

 

[D.K]

Ditch the 18s, get some stickier tires, and practice. With your mods, you should be running somewhere in the 12s.

 

[GinoGT]

I'm open to suggestions on what to do to improve my E.T.s w/o replacing current mods (i.e. no "get 4.10's" or "ditch the lowering springs"). I'm thinking about getting some V6 wheels and DR's. Are Nittos or BFGs more forgiving? I don't really want to replace my axles yet.

Sorry. I know you hate to hear it, but dumping the H&R SuperSlows, adding some 4.10's (or even 4.30's), and getting some track rubber in place of the bling will make HUGE differences.

I have the H&R SS's, and absolutely love what they do for the car, but it's like the damn things are on a labor strike against cutting 60's.

BFGs have a little bit more grip than the Nittos, but the Nittos last much longer than the BFGs. I have 315/35-17 BFG's (now I want slicks).

Personally, I have been considering swapping mine out for a Fox body 4cyl front/V8 rear springs........who knows.

 

[license2ill]

I sounds to me like all you need is some more practice man, Maybe even a Tri-Ax, Pro 5.0, Ripper, or a Blue Thunder shifter would help out too. I guess you might want to think about putting some 4.10's in if getting low times at the track is your main objective with the Stang. Personally, I'd ditch the cat-back setup and go with a better x-pipe and a Spintech side exhaust system. That way you'll be able to put a Steeda 5-Link in the rear w/o having to worry about any possible clearance issues that you'd more than likely end up facing by having the cat-back. Oh yeah and Nick... Another great avatar as always!

 

[nickthegenius]

Well, I just took the first step. I got a pair of ugly-arse TriSpoke V6 wheels off of Ebay. I'll see what happens with those, a pair of DRs, and get my LCAs installed finally.

 

[GinoGT]

If you're interested in clearance and drag racing, screw the exhaust pipes and just dump it. More clearance, less weight.