Jenny, what you are trying to achieve is fairly easy. Denny posted simple numbersthat actually work on the track. Real world? I have a friend/client up in Denver with my "baby" combo in his 3400 pound truck running 13.90's with a POS combo I don't like but his son runs the truck at Bandemiere every chance he gets and his time sheets don't lie. Simply put, a small cam at 292 adv duration with stock mid range heads (882) at 355 CID, 4.56 gears in the 9 inch rear end and a Q-jet to boot hits the number on the mark with no break downs. The son has played with exhaust and intake combos for two years and the thing runs very consistant on the mark every pass with no difference. Don't give up, it's easy to do it with the right combos and traction to launch.