Why go some guys combos just run so great??

[N8Miller]

Ok, i have seen guys on this site (and the corral) who have minimal combos, but are putting down amazing times and MPH. Some guys are running P-heads and intake (exhasut, t-body, etc etc), no cam and a 302 and getting like mid-high 12s.
Why is it that some peoples combos are running so amazing? I know that i run on top of a mountain, but that cant make up too much time.... can it?

 

[raphate]

well my guess is everything was researched and made to work together,have excellant traction..and can drive good

 

[25thmustang]

Its easy, drive the car hard, launch the car hard, and you wont have any issues. There is no secrets to it, I am one who will share all I did with the car, and also be the first to tell you last year was my first year driving stick...

Just cant be scared to break it!

 

[Matts89LX5.0]

Its easy, drive the car hard, launch the car hard, and you wont have any issues. There is no secrets to it, I am one who will share all I did with the car, and also be the first to tell you last year was my first year driving stick...

Just cant be scared to break it!

Like he said, you can't be scared to break it. People build combinations that work as well because of research. They find which heads flow best with intake/cam and where they want the most "pull". Then they match their gears and suspension with the other mods. You don't need that many mods to go fast. I had a friend with port and polished heads, e cam, 24# maf, 65 mm throttle body and 3.55 gears, full exhaust, and ran 12.8-12.9. His combo and driving was good enough for 12s.

 

[Sir Hacksalot]

Ok, i have seen guys on this site (and the corral) who have minimal combos, but are putting down amazing times and MPH. Some guys are running P-heads and intake (exhasut, t-body, etc etc), no cam and a 302 and getting like mid-high 12s.
Why is it that some peoples combos are running so amazing? I know that i run on top of a mountain, but that cant make up too much time.... can it?

I think there are some of those guys out there, but I also think this is the internet, where everyone is a **** star with a 15" long dong. There is also some serious BS out there as well.

Hax

 

[Matts89LX5.0]

I think there are some of those guys out there, but I also think this is the internet, where everyone is a **** star with a 15" long dong. There is also some serious BS out there as well.

Hax

That's true as well.

 

[axeman]

once you start modding or building a motor, it's all about getting parts that match each other. people that run better than others with the same mods seem to pay attention to the little things. also may pay more attention to the tune, run the car harder, practice more often, etc.

track elevation will may a significant difference in times. you race at numidea? never been there, i thought about going sometime, but i usually go to cecil. pretty darn close to sea level.

 

[powershift351]

Drive it like you stole it

 

[Schlodes]

There's also more to someones car than just what the sig says. Track conditions, how much does their car weigh, full slicks? Drag radials? Street tires? Was it hot as hell and humidity... or nice cool 65* perfect for air and hook up?

Alot of the little stuff can add up.

 

[TT91]

Ok, i have seen guys on this site (and the corral) who have minimal combos, but are putting down amazing times and MPH. Some guys are running P-heads and intake (exhasut, t-body, etc etc), no cam and a 302 and getting like mid-high 12s.
Why is it that some peoples combos are running so amazing? I know that i run on top of a mountain, but that cant make up too much time.... can it?

With a combo like the one in YOUR SIG...you should be in the low 12s, if not teasing the 11s..Practice, the right suspension, and a good attitude will take you to the winners circle. Good luck.

 

[25thmustang]

There's also more to someones car than just what the sig says. Track conditions, how much does their car weigh, full slicks? Drag radials? Street tires? Was it hot as hell and humidity... or nice cool 65* perfect for air and hook up?

Alot of the little stuff can add up.

I agree, a friend of mine runs down at Atco, and on cool days has hit a 12.8 @ 104 with nothing more than suspension, exhaust, gears and tires. On other dfays at Etown he is in the 13.0-13.1s. Me and him have talked and I feel if he headed up to either LVD or NED he would be more like a 13.2 car. Not saying it still isnt flying, but tracks, weather, and prep make HUGE differences.

The best mod one can have is the driver. It is tough to beat a good driver, merely because he will run the combo to its potential!

 

[johnt785]

Sir Hacksalot is right. Mines 17 inches long.

 

[BlueDevil95]

tuning
knowing how to drive YOUR car

 

[Visceral]

I run at a pretty nasty track in pretty nasty weather. I havent touched my longblock and I cna run 12.9-13.0 all night. And Im nothing special. Here's the deal;

1. Patience;
I actually honestly research a given modification for about a month. I dont make impulsive decisions about what to get. After I buy it a research install and config until I think Im an expert and then I dyno the car as a baseline if I havent already in the last couple months. Then I put on the mod carefully and if it relates to power, dyno again. If it doesnt, I will only make ONE CHANGE between trips to the track. I really dislike making more than one change without testing.

2. Practice;
Theres alot of tuning that has to go on even in a stock combination. Fuel pressure, distributor advance, shock settings, gears, those are easy. Then theres YOU... shifting, powershifting, launching, burnouts, staging, etc. I try always and remove as many variables as possible. I love shiftlights for instance. And after you tune, you can really start working with how you as a driver can get the most out of a combination. what kind of serious abuse works (launching how and how hard) and what kind of abuse just beats on the car without making your times better...

3. Humility;
Alot of really smart guys will teach you alot if you are willing to listen. Theres alot of complete BS out there, especially on the internet... but there will always be folks like Bob Cosby, EdC, etc. who are willing to answer a decent question any time. Once you get a bunch of opinions and close your mind however.... you arent going to hear anything worthwhile. Also theres a David Vizard book called somethign like "5.0 Dyno Tests" which has honestly like 300 dyno puls in it of every imaginable combo. Ive been thinking about an aftermarket intake recently, and if I listened to the internet, I'd really be buying some odd sh|t. Fortunately I just spent alot of time reading that book and Im excited with what Im going to do... mostly because its something that most internet folks would think was worth laughing at.

Some other good resources:
http://members.cox.net/bobcosby/stang/12sec.html

http://members.cox.net/bobcosby/stang/tips.html

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=281681

good luck and feel free to ask alot of questions of anyone...

 

[N8Miller]

track elevation will may a significant difference in times. you race at numidea? never been there, i thought about going sometime, but i usually go to cecil. pretty darn close to sea level.

Yeah, thats where we race. Its a very nice track, nice atmosphere. when your planning on going, ill meet ya there---always cool to meet a fellow stangneter.

Anyway. i really dont have much traction at all... so i know thats part of the problem. That and i baby it somewhat. I will take your advice.

Visceral: great advice. I love it. The links are very nice too. much appreciated.

 

[Sir Hacksalot]

Sir Hacksalot is right. Mines 17 inches long.

I didn't know you were supposed to measure it from your spleen.

Hax

 

[90mustangGT]

I would say a good driver is the most important part, especailly with any car with some real power, and/or a manual tranny. A 12 second car with a 15 second driver is going to run 15's.

There is more to making a fast car than an impressive parts list and peak HP numbers and peak $$ numbers to boot. I was watching the Speed channel about Maxx Bechlowsky (sp) who used to run in road racing like LaMans against Farrari's, Mazaratties, (sp) ect with what... a home made car from junk yard parts using Buick engines with not one sponser. I'm sure when he pulled up the rich snobs laughed at his car, but cried when he passed them.

 

[axeman]

a buddy of mine was telling me about that. that's awesome.

 

[Biggeley]

Things like track conditions (how well the track is prepped, which way the wind is blowing, tempature, humidity, and barometric pressure make a difference). Someobody who runs at a track where the air is a 3000 ft above sea level is gonna be slower than somebody who runs at a track where the air is near sea level.

People often do tricks at the track.. Run high octane fuel, advance timing, ice the intake, pull the sway bar, run a short belt.. Some remove a lot of weight from the car..

Some have their cars very well tuned (both engine and suspension), know how to launch, how to shift fast, and know what the optimum RPM to shift is..

There's a huge number of variables that affect how well your car will perform at the track. The ones that are running the big numbers have all these variables (or a least a lot of them) worked out to provide them with the optimum results.

 

[cleanLX]

knowing your car is key. lots of people get frustrated first time out with a new combo, and call summit for more stuff, rather than play with mechanical and driver tuning... see it all the time at the track.

track and weather are huge factors. My car with nothing but 235dr's, off-road H and 3.73's went 13.2's @ 101 at Miramichi Dragway Park, moved to the desert and went 13.7's @ 97 at Firebird!!! No traction, no air, 5/10ths and 4mph... gone.