Any go fast secerts?

[mikep]

Sounds like a good recipe for a bomb more than a go fast secret. I'll let the professional racers do hi tech trick stuff like that.
That old guy didnt race a 75 Gremlin with extended spring shackles did he ?

[Longhorn Man]

Let me rephrase my fuel statement...
If the engine does not need the extra octain, then you are throwing your $$ away.
If it has been optimized to go on 93....it will probably do better on it.

[deadmeat521]

i also talked to an old hot rodder and what he did with the washer bottle was ran a hose from the bottle to the ash tray then filled the bottle with whiskey. LOL

[540 Stroker]

You've got nothing to worry about other than going up in smoke off the line. Keep your tires hooked and you will take him. If you're really worried about losing to this guy, toss a 100-125 shot nitrous kit on your truck....that'll remove all doubts of you losing.

[PanelDeland]

Speed costs $$$$.How fast can you afford to go?
Hope you can keep your traction optimized.I wouldn't try anything new,just do what you have been.Try new stuff on the test and tune nights and keep the best combo for race time.Document each change so you know which race set-up works best.

[Paul Clark]

Hope I'm not beating a dead horse here, but -
I race a turbo buick. At 20+ lbs. of boost, the compression is ungodly. If it knocks, it goes "poof". I use race gas - not because it "makes" the car go faster, but because it "allows" it go faster without blowing up. Make sense?
You have to use a high enough octane fuel to avoid detonation. If you don't need it, don't use it. The high octane stuff needs a high temp to fully burn (like 67shortie said).
It's kinda like giving an 18 year old kid Viagra.
Why?
This is from another list. -
Q: Will my car benefit from octane boosting?
A: Consumer organizations have effectively emphasized the larger markups that oil companies charge for high octane gasoline, implying
that for most vehicles higher octane fuel is a complete waste of money.
It does smell kinda cool, though.

[67shortie]

Originally posted by Paul Clark
Hope I'm not beating a dead horse here, but -
I race a turbo buick. At 20+ lbs. of boost, the compression is ungodly. If it knocks, it goes "poof". I use race gas - not because it "makes" the car go faster, but because it "allows" it go faster without blowing up. Make sense?
You have to use a high enough octane fuel to avoid detonation. If you don't need it, don't use it. The high octane stuff needs a high temp to fully burn (like 67shortie said).
It's kinda like giving an 18 year old kid Viagra.
Why?
This is from another list. -
Q: Will my car benefit from octane boosting?
A: Consumer organizations have effectively emphasized the larger markups that oil companies charge for high octane gasoline, implying
that for most vehicles higher octane fuel is a complete waste of money.
It does smell kinda cool, though.

Man, I love those TB/Grand Nationals. Under 20lbs of boost, the cylinder pressure is very high, figuring with a static ratio of 8.5, then add 20lbs of hot air=quite possibly real world 12-13 compression ratio! The Buick guys even have to run 110 octane with alcohol injection just to keep the intake charge cool enough to run those boost levels. Cool stuff, so to speak.
I too think the race fuel smells great, but not needed in engines that have ratios under 10, and sometimes 11 with the right cam timing. And even more is allowed with aluminum heads, the aluminum head has a better heat transfer to allow higher compression. Baisicaly they will not get as hot in there under the same conditions.
That being said, if you were to take off a set of iorn heads, bolt on a set of aluminum heads ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL, the aluminum head will make less overall power due to the fact that the cylinder tempature ends up being lower. Remember, heat=energy, resulting in power. Why do you think racing engines run such high compression ratios? Or turbo's and superchargers? The more energy you can pack in there, the more power you will make. I know what I am saying is over simplified, but I hope you get the idea.

[lukecp]

Well, the race was delayed a week, my tranny went out on last saturday. I got a new one installed, and i raced him tonight. Get this...i actually beat him off the line. Once we reached 70 or so, he pulled ahead by about 1-2 car lenghts. At the end of the quarter, he was only 1-2 car lentghts ahead of me. I figure either he lied about having 4.10 gears, or the truck is a POS. I also left it in drive (i didn't think to manually shift it until i was halfway through 2nd gear), and didn't bother putting 91 octane in it. I figure if i manually shift it, run some 91 (i have put 91 in it before, and it does run better), and play with the timing i can beat him. It is supposed to be one of the fastest trucks in the school parking lot too. Also, i think i will go up to the dragstrip this weekend or next, and take a couple friends and their trucks. I found that they have a test and tune almost every Friday, and it only costs $10 to race. Thanks for the help!

[truckster]

The other posts about using the right octane for your car are correct, but there's one omission. Engines that have knock sensors retard the timing if they sense knocking. If you put lower octane fuel in a high-performance engine with a knock sensor (think factory Corvette, for example), the car will run fine, but it will produce less power. Put higher octane in and the tendency for detonation (knocking) is reduced, allowing more timing advance, which in turn produces more power. For most cars, though, higher octane = more $ for the oil company and not much of anything for you.

I'm also going to have to agree with some of the earlier posts about street racing. I understand your desire to have fun, but people who want to have fun have no right to endanger my family. Find somewhere where it's safe and legal, or at least safe for others (abandoned airstrip, off-road, etc.)