Thought it would be neat to get some input from those that know on what they have found to be the best bang for the buck....I am not talking Nitrous or hair dryers....I mean like little things that you have done to gain a bit here or there: Anyone
I too would look into a cool can.......I had one on a mustang I use to have and it made a big difference
I tried the cool can and saw no results at all using regular ice, put on a homemade ram air box and gained 1 mph. Best bet in my book is to get a good front end alignment and scale the car with the driver or his weight in sand bags, in the seat. Also a good synthetic oil and synthetic trans fluid and rear end lube. Picked up almost half a second, switching from iron to aluminum heads on the 302. Lexan window glass and any other weight reducing items. Adjust brakes to give least amount of drag with minimum pedal travel. Correct valve spring pressue is often overlooked too. Last but not least would be "methanol fuel system", some of this you probably already know or are using, but just some suggestions off the top of my balding head. As always, it is a never ending battle to find the right combination of things, to "go mo fasta".
Look for weight savings in the less obvious areas. I was amazed to find that racing quality tubes weigh 5 lb. (and that's for a 26x8 slick). Lower hp cars really don't need them and in fact many guys are running without these days. Remember that a list of small weight savings adds up to something you will notice in the timeslip. Try to remove it from areas you don't want it and put it where you do. Good tip by the way to do your set-up procedure with the driver in the seat.
In the old days when I used to race on a regular basis. Weight, drive straight and air pressure were the easiest and quickest things. Used to screw with the carb jets alot when the barometric pressure would do something freaky. But I dont know, we had junk cars, with killer motors and no suspension. Messed with a zillion distributor weights till I was blue in the face. I dont think I ever charted stuff well enough to actually know what the heck I was doing. Plus the fact that I thought automatics were for sissy's. I guess once a dinosaur, always a dinosaur. Good thread John, I love this kinda stuff. Dan
If you are not driving the car on the street and just using it for a drag car. One thing that I did was when I aligned my car I raised the front of the car 2" and set the tow and camber to 0. I used the stock setting for caster and picked up about a 10th. The front of the car is raised from the time you leave the traps to the time you trip the lights so it keeps the suspension from inducing as much drag when the tow and camber changes on launch.
If the engine has a Fan on it you can gain around 2 tenths by getting rid of it and using and electric fan. At the track a buddy of mine suggested we remove the Aluminum flex fan on my sons `87 Mustang LX "because its good for a couple of tenths" he said. I simply removed the fan ,replaced the bolts (to hold the pulley on) and the car picked up just over TWO tenths! After several passes, we put the fan back on the car for the drive home. My son wanted to make one more pass just to see ...and sure enough the car slowed back down just over two tenths.
larger tires give you more rollout, which gives more of a 'head start'. They also roll easier. Ram air works but it has to be designed right or it won't do a thing. Losing weight will do more for a car than anything else....and it will make it safer as long as removing the weight doesn't affect the safety equipment (roll cages, etc). Unsprung weight (a-arms, brakes, rotors, drums) is a biggie. They make light brakes. Aluminum driveshaft is worth a few hundredths. Aluminum 9" center section is worth about 40 lbs. Gun drilled axles are worth a little ET as well. I don't know about C4s but glides have the option of lighter components. Lightened planetaries, aluminum valve bodies, etc. Stainless headers are lighter than mild steel but they'll also lighten your wallet. 'Glass or carbon fiber panels are a good upgrade too but forget about 'em on a street car. Switching to alky is worth about .2 if you go to a carb, about .3-.4 if you go injection. Titanium valves are lighter and you can run less spring pressure. Low drag rings work to lower frictional losses. Light pistons are GREAT for drag racing; quick response and they tend to ease the pressures put on the rod bolts. Titanium piston pins and rods are worth some ET I'm sure. Plastic windows are worth about a half tenth give or take. Aluminum heads are THE best bang for the buck if you still have stock castings. Behind the heads are goign to alcohol. You can pick up a carb for about $500 on ebay or sometimes you can find an injection system for around $800. New they cost the same (carbs and injection) at about $1400 starting out. theres much more but thats a good start.
I'm getting my front end aligned this week...I'd say that gonna give the biggest bang for the buck. Best time being a 5.69 with temp at 55 degrees and humidity at 70 %.... Anyone want to venture a guess at what the ET will be with a 150-200 hp shot of juice will be? I just noticed Len has posted a new time in the database...he's in the 5's now with a set of BLUE THUNDER heads
Launch RPM is 4200...nitrous will activate off the 7al 3 at converter RPM of 5500.... will stay activated until my foot comes off the pedal...hopefully it won't come off the pedal till the finish line
How about getting the car dyno'd. It's pretty cheap and can help you figure out the optimum shift points, carb tuning, timing, etc.
flip the breather. All good info guys. I just got my front end aligned yesterday. The front suspension was raised 4" while the wheels were adjusted "straight ahead" and maximum camber set (which isn't much on a stock suspension Maverick). 'Not sure what they did on caster. I would add to play with the fuel pressure a little - just to see if it makes a difference. I won't get into the "reading the plugs" thing here, but the e.t. should show where it runs best - "Fat" or not. Advancing the timing a degree or two (without aproaching detonation) could be worth a few hundredths or more. I realize this thread is about how to tweak for a quicker E.T. We could/should start a hold new thread on 'hints on how to be consistant'.
