Back From The Track!!

[TIMSPEED]

Hmmph..didn't run QUITE to what I was expecting, but then again, I basically had to be like a top fuel dragster, and not hit the throttle till half track. I made four passes of the day...
First Pass:
Feathered it till half track, where I proceeded to hammer it and get the truck's back end loose, so I backed out of it.
Second Pass:
Tried manually shifting, but it never got traction, so I went down the entire quarter mile almost, in 1st gear, with the tach floating around 4500, just trying to feather the rear tire to get it to hook
Third Pass:
Left it in drive, feathered it a bit better, caught a 16.0 @ 86mph. This is basically STILL not even hitting the gas till half track. The 60' on this run was a 2.55
Fourth Pass:
Did the same as the previous pass, but got on the gas a little too soon, so the rear end got loose and I backed out of it.

I think I DEFINATELY need some stickies. Obviously, when I got the best traction on the third pass, I was able to at least GET a mph that wasn't ENTIRELY bad. I'm going to go again when I get some stickies, and shoot for a mid 14 @ 90mph+.
If someone wants to host the video of the third pass, I'll get it edited.

[gldevall]

The track must not have been prepped too good. My 14.51@ 91.01 came on 255/60/15 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's. Those tires hooked like you would not believe. The 275/60/15 I have now do not hook anywhere near how those did. My next purchase will be some 26 X 10.5 X 15 ET Streets.

[LOHRTBT]

So your saying that you can hit the throttle from 40-60 mph on the street and just spin the tires at will? Tracks are much stickier than that. And I have never heard of anyone not giving it full throttle at the track.....especially not doing it until 600-700 feet out..I mean whats the point? Unless your making like 1000 rwhp that WILL NOT be an issue. Hell my buddy with the 841rwhp supra ran 11.3's @131 spinning literally all the way down the track.

but see the thing is, your 86 mph trap shows your time is about right. Lemme guess....your 60' was about a 2.4 right? The reason I guess that is because my GAGT used to run 16.0@86 all day long spinning mad out of the hole running 2.4 60's. Im telling you, it takes a lot to get these trucks into the 13's or near it, they are heavy and shaped like bricks mang.

[ocbaud]

my best time was with my 2.73 gears
15.09@94mph
2.4 60' time

my best time out of the 2 runs with my new gears and posi and tires is:
15.97@91mph
2.58 60' time

that last run was with the engine problems and when the rocker arm was about to pop off. it spun and then bogged down bad. the run i had after that was decent??

16.9@84mph
2.58 60' time
spinning halfway down the track full throttle. it quit spinning when i let off the gas...
thats the run that the rocker arm DID pop off..

i need tires too. but i wont get them until i get a new built tranny

[TIMSPEED]

Funny thing is, on the last run when I couldn't get traction, I ran a 16.6@83mph, so obviously the traction does make the truck run faster. Strangely enough, on the street, it won't spin them at will, but yesterday at the track, it DID spin like a mofo

[1FaastC10]

Originally Posted by TIMSPEED

Second Pass:
Tried manually shifting, but it never got traction, so I went down the entire quarter mile almost, in 1st gear, with the tach floating around 4500, just trying to feather the rear tire to get it to hook

should've shifted, you're trying to put more torque down than the tires can handle. shifting gears not only reduces the amount of torque you're trying to transmit, but also increases wheel speed. shifting out of 1st would have helped immensely.

Originally Posted by TIMSPEED

so obviously the traction does make the truck run faster.

wow, you should be a rocket scientist or something. thanks for pointing out the obvious for us, we would've NEVER figured that out without you.

[TIMSPEED]

Originally Posted by 1FaastC10

shifting gears not only reduces the amount of torque you're trying to transmit, but also increases wheel speed.

Half right..if I shifted into Second, tire speed would have INCREASED, therefore making the tire spin FASTER, which would make it go up in SMOKE. Trust me, I tried shifting manually, leaving it in second the entire time, then finally just left it in drive.
What I meant on getting traction..for my cars at least, when I get a better 60', my mph increases at the top end...

[bigblock73]

Originally Posted by TIMSPEED

Half right..if I shifted into Second, tire speed would have INCREASED, therefore making the tire spin FASTER, which would make it go up in SMOKE.

Not true. When you shift into second your drive ratio decreases, and unless you have a high horsepower engine (which you don't), more than likely you would have gotten more traction because your engine would have essentially bogged down a little. Your wheel speed would have only increased if you had to power to mke that happen. Make sense?

I think there are three things going on here...

1. Your tires suck.
2. The track sucked.
3. Is your TG on the truck yet? If not, what were you thinking!? The extra weight will only help, and the lack of weight (if it is still off), will only hurt you.

[lolife99]

Tim,... what happened to getting your truck painted? Did I miss something,... or did you do that already?

[MylilBowTie]

Those are the numbers Ive ran. I doubt to see much lower times out of it with out some more engine parts or slicks. We have pretty much the same engine specs. Just very mild small block, even though it may feel a lot different on the street. The track will make you humble again from what you may think you will run and what you are running. Those aren't bad times at all but I really don't see 14.5 out of it as it is engine wise.

I would get some 15in rims and some slicks mounted if you are going to get them. With your wheel and tire combo the lower profile tires aren't doing to much for your traction. With the 15's they are cheaper and you can get more sidewall on the tires that will help with the traction.

[gldevall]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

3. Is your TG on the truck yet? If not, what were you thinking!? The extra weight will only help, and the lack of weight (if it is still off), will only hurt you.

Last time I went, I took my TG off and the best I could get was a 15.0. Tires spun like crazy. I really need to go back, but I have a knocking coming from somewhere. I think my flexplate is cracked or broke.

[plumbcut]

how much air pressure are you running in the tires? if its above 30, that aint helping with the tire spin... for S&G's Id run about 16-18 or less if you're brave for a better hook up.. put a couple bags of concrete in the bed, over the axles too.. a couple hundred pounds aint gonna hurt your rolling resistance much, and its gonna help out with traction a LOT...

pc

[gldevall]

Get some traction bars. Makes for bit of a rougher ride, but they do help. At least mine do. G hooked me up on those.

[1FaastC10]

Originally Posted by gldevall

Get some traction bars. Makes for bit of a rougher ride, but they do help. At least mine do. G hooked me up on those.

get some traction bars custom made that are the PROPER length. if yours are just like Gerardo's they need to be a bit longer. his hit the spring in the middle of the main leaf. the snubber should be directly under the spring eye, so that when the leaf flexes, the snubber hits the spring eye and lifts the rear of the truck.

[TIMSPEED]

My TG is still off, because I don't have one. I'm looking into getting another one though. I thought the fuel cell being directly above the axle would help with traction, but I guess not really.
Definately would like to get a set of Cal Trac's made for my truck. But I definately think with better tires, and maybe a little tweaking of the carb (Might need bigger jets, gotta check air/fuel ratio) might yield me a mid 14.
Funny thing is, my friend has a 73 Nova and he ran a 15.0@94 at the track, and from a 40mph roll on the street, I can hang right with him...

[LOHRTBT]

Also....Typically when you lower your 60ft your mph at the end will drop....MOST of the time, but not always.

[SanitysBane]

they make correct link traction bars for our truck, lakewood does atleast
link

[TIMSPEED]

I wonder if those would work with a flip kit
Not too bad though, at $100...

[SanitysBane]

from the looks of it, i think its only for trucks without a flip kit, but im shure you could make it fit with the flip kit some how

[1FaastC10]

Originally Posted by TIMSPEED

I wonder if those would work with a flip kit
Not too bad though, at $100...

no, they'd hang down too low.

[gldevall]

Time for a 4-link!