Any go fast secerts?

[lukecp]

I have a race lined up this weekend. The guy has a '92 Chevy swb stepside, with a 350, 5 speed, and 4.10 gears. The motor is stock, but i think the 4.10 gears will give him an edge. Is there anything i can do to my truck to give it a little bit of a edge? I have heard of icing down the radiator, retarding the timing, but is there anything else? My engine specs are in my signature....

[HotRod929]

Are you gonna be racing on a drag strip? If you are you might want to take some air out of the rear tires if you have traction problems off the line.

HotRod

[Southpa]

What kinda rear end are you running? If you have the stock 3.07 gears I wish you luck. You might catch up to him later on but not on the get go.

[OLDCHEV4X4]

You want to advance your timing , not retard. I always shoot for 38 deg total advance (around 14 deg on my truck at idle). And when i turn up my timing i put in some sunoco 94 fuel. Also make sure your distributer advance weights are working and not rusty. Suck on your vacume advance hoze and see if it is leaking somewhere. Also a good thorough tune up helps.
Randy

[lukecp]

Yes i have 3.07 gears . We're not doing this at the dragstrip, just a flat piece of 2-lane blacktop, lol. I think that i will get beat off the line....but my truck really kicks in at about 50mph.

[lukecp]

I gave the truck a complete tune-up a month ago. I run my timing at 11 usually, but i will pour some 91 octane in it, and i guess i will try it at 12-14 and see how it runs tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

[OLDCHEV4X4]

I race my 72 blazer at 100 yard dirt drag races, and i have 3;07 gears. They always beat me getting off the line. But i usualy get'em at the finish line. I took a 1st place at the races last weekend. (i beat a ford in the final round). So give her hell!!
Randy

[Andy4639]

1. Why are you racing on a road?
2. Why don't you use a drag strip?
3. What kind of message do you think this sends to the younger
people on this board.
4. If you go through with this I hope and pray that no one gets
hurt are worse.
5. Please think about what you are doing and please think of the
other's that this could hurt if for some reason a old lady in a
Ford was to happen to be lost and found her way onto that
2 lane road.

I don't want to sound as though I'm against having fun, but there is a place and time for everything.

[mikep]

If you have a clear piece of 2 lane blacktop let 'er rip. Nothing like a good street race. I sure do miss the street races in Portland Oregon since i moved to Seattle. That was the best organized clandestine activity I have ever seen.

[lukecp]

Andy4639:
I would go to the dragstrip, but the nearest one is 70 miles from my house. I understand what you are trying to say though. I am a younger memeber of the board, im 18. It is a very long straight stretch, and it is 10 miles out of town, so there is very little traffic. People race there regularly. As far as getting hurt, sure the chance is there, but it is there anytime you go out on a drive. I wont go above 80....i'm not THAT crazy.

[Fred T]

If you plan on winning, you will have to go above 80.

[Longhorn Man]

If you let out the air from your tires, you will not gain traction...the oposite in reality.
99% of the time, max pressure will net best traction...it the tire width and rim width are close to matching.

[Low68]

You must not live in a big city. Or do you? I can't do that in phoenix. You will definately have to go above 80. good luck!

[TheMattMan]

no kidding......80 is normal hwy speed around here......hell cops will pass you....

[slam33]

There is something wrong with racing on a 2 lane blacktop. It's called unexpected other cars. When they show up, real bad things tend to happen. If you have to race, go to a track. Don't put other people in danger unless you first ask them if it's ok.

[gizmo]

Find a place that sells Turbo Blue racing fuel. From what I understand it is about 105 octane and some people say up to 115 octane and it is about $3.50 a gallon. I used to run it in my race car. I now have that same motor in my truck now. I have ran the highest octane from the pump since the motor has been in the truck. It runs fine but now that the truck has been completely overhauled I plan on running the Turbo Blue when I get it on the street again. I don't plan on driving it much but I think that the horse power gain is well worth the money. It probably would be the best bang for your buck in such a short notice. Good luck with the race and like the others have suggested be SAFE. I can't tell you not to do because I used to do it myself. But we blocked the street at the beginning and at the end so that other cars could'nt interfere.

[mikep]

That stuff stinks to hi heaven.

[Paul Clark]

Race gas is cool. I have to use it in the GN to eliminate knock. More octane than what you really need, however, will actually hurt horsepower. Something about the temp needed for detonation or something.
Lowering air pressure in radial tires will actually hurt traction, rather than helping it. Don't know why.
Make sure your detent (sp?) cable is adjusted correctly.
Go to the track. 70 miles is a nice cruise. When you get there the tech people will make sure both vehicles are up to snuff. You'll have a prepared track, a Christmas tree to insure an even launch, and a time slip to eliminate any arguments over who really won.
Pick a "test and tune" day/night and you can run as many times as you want.
You'll also avoid a head on collision with myself or my wife. Or someone or someone's.
No cops.
Kick butt - but do it where you should. That's why they call them race tracks.
End of sermonette.
Good luck!

[67shortie]

Originally posted by Paul Clark
Race gas is cool. I have to use it in the GN to eliminate knock. More octane than what you really need, however, will actually hurt horsepower. Something about the temp needed for detonation or something.

Yes, exactly. The higher octane rating the higher cylinder tempature you will need to support the expected flame travel the engine wants to make a fast complete burn. If you lower the compression on an engine your temp inside the combustion chamber will be lower equalling less power using the same fuel. The proven theory is to run the hottest temp in the combustion chamber as possible for a complete burn=more HP and cleaner burn without detonation. That means if you were to run a 110 octane rated fuel in a stock 8.5/1 compression, you WILL lose power even if the oil companies sell you on the idea that thier highest octane fuel will make more power. Not so, because the high octane fuel is actually cooling your piston and chamber slowing the burn equalling less power.
The rule of thumb, use the lowest rated octane to keep the engine from detonating under full load. This will keep the combustion chamber hot and give you the full potental for power. The lower the octane rated fuel will burn hotter and faster than a higher rated octane fuel.
I hope I got the point across, I am pretty tired today...

[Paul Clark]

Wow!
That makes twice in the same year that I've been right about something. Can't remember what the other thing was. Think it had something to do with putting the tailgate on upside down.

[Longhorn Man]

I hate hearing ppl say that high octain = high horse power, and they will dump in tin there 8 to 1 stock engine and just give her hell. Not only does it run slower, but it will carbon up the exhaust valve to tail pipe, and also polute more.

[gizmo]

I guess that I am going to have to convince the crew to drain the racing fuel out of the car for the race this weekend. I don't think that they will believe me that the car is going to run better with pump gas. We have ran ran Turbo Blue and Alcohol in our race cars for quiet some time. We have had motors from 9.5:1 up to 14:1 and up to this day have we never had any problems with the fuel that we run. When I put pump gas in my motor it did slow it down.

[NSANE68!!!]

UUUUUUMMMMMM, this is a nice go fast goodie! Hey Low68, I think I've seen your truck around I'm from Gilbert too. Shoot me an e-mail maybe we could hook up. Later

[chevyhouse]

Originally posted by Paul Clark
Lowering air pressure in radial tires will actually hurt traction, rather than helping it. Don't know why.

low pressure in radials cause them to cup so that only the outside edges bite solid. if you wear out a tire on the edges but still have good tread in the middle it is from to low of pressure.

[J]

Heard this trick from an old drag racer. He said to fill a windshield washer bottle with pure ether or a combo of ether and airplane gas. Then run a hose from the top of the bottle to a vacum line on your carb. Make sure that you are not sucking in any liquid, just the fumes. Then run a scrap piece of hose down into the liquid and out a little hole in the top to vent the bottle. He claimed that it would give you at least a "car length or two more". I have not tried this but thought it was interesting. He was adament that you only get fumes and not liquid. Anybody tried this one?