think these might drop some e.t.?

i'm looking at a couple of things to drop my e.t. down by two to three tenths. the car should be running about 13.5 as it's set up now. the e.t. break for sportsman bracket is 13.0 and i would like to drop her down a little closer to that. i had a couple realatively cheap ideas maybe you guys could give me a few more.

right now i'm planning on doing exhaust dumps/cutouts. has anyone tested these to see how much e.t. they are worth? or will losing all that backpressure and up hurting my times.

another thing i'm looking at is somthin i've seen on most stockers, those guys have a switch mounted in car that disconnects the distributor wire(s), stopping distributor from charging and thus reducing drag. has anyone done this or is familiar with the process?

streets i know you've got a couple more good ideas

forget the exhaust dumps idea.
hows the engine gonna run with the didtributer disconnected ????
Do you mean Alternator ? If so, yeah that helps a little bit, unless its a computer controled car.

Tell us more about the car, so we have an idea what's been done already. Open exhaust should improve your times. Putting a switch in your alternator field wire might give you a couple hundreths. If your battery is well charged to begin with, it won't help much.

Pat

A friend of mine put a fuel cool can, underdrive march pulleys and a scoop with a sealed air pan under neath and gained 3 tenths. all are kind of expensive, 100-180 i'd say for each thing.

WannaBee; The reason your only getting a few reply's is your not giving alot of info. Like Carb, Intake, Cam, Gears, Headers, Automatic or stick, If Auto,do you have a shift kit installed in it or stall converter. Are your wheels spinning off the line or are they hooking???All these things are Important to know, A lot of the guys don't want to ask two hundred questions. I like the cool can Idea, Depending on how cold it is now, where you are. Hope this will help you some, can't have to much info.


Vegas

i'll give you all the info i can, but i don't know all the specs on my engine since it was in the car when i bought it.

i'm runnin a ugly ol' '72 nova. 350 with edelbrock RPM intake and performer 600 carb. i tried a holley, but it wasn't the same and it through me off trying to dial the car and cut a light, so i'm just leaving the edelbrock junk. 3 angle valve job, 1.5 roller rockers and a real low end cam, the car really loses it's power around 5100or so, but man when i launch i can keep up with a low 13 second car with all the torque it has. going to bolt on a set of 28x9 inch slicks (a bit big, but i got a deal i couldn't refuse).
eaton posi with 3.73 gears and some slapper bars. that's it. it's not a race car, it's a street car, but it's what i'm stuck with for the time being. if those 28 inch tires don't slowit up, like i said it will go 13.50 in some cool air. i'm hoping i can get it down to 13.30 or .20, i'm a crappy finish line driven when i'm bein run down so i'd like to be the fast guy this year.

oh.... btw Tranny is a turbo-350 with a shift kit and stock converter. my plan is to set up a high idle solanoid(sp?) off of an old holley... if i can rig that all up with current setup, to a switch inside the car. i believe they came with some cars with air conditioning, and switched on when you turned the fan on so the car wouldn't die at an idle. i'd like to do this so i don't have to worry about lookin at the tach to get up on the converter some. it's hard trying to leave off idle between the second and third yellows.

i was also thinking of adding a tranny temp gauge, to keep an eye on that. think that'll help get her dialed in?


anything else i should of put

sportsman bracket, the equivelant of street bracket where you are.

Wannabee; Are you spinning your tires off the line or are you hooking? Are your traction bars adjusted right, Rubber bushing under the eye bolt in the spring and snuged right up against it. Are you running a screen in the oil pan?What kind of air filter are you running / Size and type? Electric fan would help if you don't already have one! Electric fuel pump would probably help a little too, any thing with less friction. Here is an old responce about frition. Full roller rockers are just less friction, Plain and simpal.You'll get more horse power,better pick up,and better fuel millage!Alot of people don't under stand that friction can slow down a engine's pick up or take off's! Less friction in any engine is always better in my book.This especialy counts in lower horse power engines,because they don't have the extra hp to give up to friction!!! Alot of people don't run screens in there oil pans, I do in all of the engines I build. And here's why, If you stand in a pool where the water is up to your chest, now put your arms over your head, then keeping your arms strait bring your arms down to your sides as fast as you can. Now when your arms hit the water they sting don't they,not only that but they where slowed way down in speed,RIGHT. Well that is what your crank is doing, ever time you take off from a stop light. The oil goes back and comes up, the crank swings around and smacks the oil the slow's the engines speed or pick up way down. Now this is why I use screens in my engines. The screen keeps the oil from comming up and hitting the crank,so it would be like you didn't have any water in your pool. Under stand. OH and guess what this is friction, a differant kind, but still friction. So less friction is allways better. More classes later.He!He!He!



Vegas

Also always get your engine as cool as you can, use an oil cooler, fuel cooler and run racing oil. to get your engine cooler run 40 below in your radiator with distilled water only, this will drop your temps 40 degrees. Not to forget headder wraps.

How tall are your tires now and what RPM are you turning through the lights? Is it pulling strong all the way through, or does it start to lay down before the finish line? I agree with Vara on the windage tray, that can help you quite a bit especially in the upper RPM range. Once you get the slicks a looser converter will help too. If you search around Buick had a switch pitch convert for a while that could be rigged up with a manual switch for street or strip. Try a google search to see if anyone still sells them. That can give you best of both worlds for a street strip machine.

Once you have things running right, then concentrate on your driving and consistancy like Streets said. If you get where you can cut good lights every time, and run within .05 of your dial, every time, then you will be tough to beat no matter whether you are chasin' or they are. This all comes with getting to know your car, and that means not changing it every time you go out. Get it running right then leave it alone for a couple months and just work on consistancy. Learn what it does when the air cools off or warms up, when the clouds roll in or the sun shines bright. That seat time is worth a lot more than picking up a couple 10ths.

Pat

Did any one read that hot rod artical a few years back, how a 65 year old woman took her class at the drag stip every week! I belive she was in califoria. She allways had the same reaction time and never would spin the tires off the line.She was driving a nova or a nash rambler with a built 350 engine and automatic trany and she was turning mid 13's. She said when the light would change, all she did was floor it. Well I think every one else would like to be as consistent as her or as she was. Like Streets and Stu Cool said It's better to be Consistent every time and that's how you Win.


Vegas:D :D :D :D :D

Sounds like a little old lady I new in pasadena, oh wait, no could'nt be, she was running a four speed stick and a 426 in a super stock dodge **)

Viking; Can you say HEMI, HE!HE!HE!
Vegas:LOL: :LOL: :D :LOL: :LOL:

I always hoped it was a hemi and not a wedge

To vara.....


Q: Wannabee; Are you spinning your tires off the line or are you hooking?

A: i'm hooking up 99% of the time if i leave off idle.....

Q: Are your traction bars adjusted right, Rubber bushing under the eye bolt in the spring and snuged right up against it.

A: yup, CE bars setup exactly as you described

Q: What kind of air filter are you running / Size and type?

A: 14x3" K&N but not with that fancy filter top

Q: Full roller rockers are just less friction, Plain and simpal.You'll get more horse power,better pick up,and better fuel millage!

A: that's what i have now.

Q: Alot of people don't run screens in there oil pans, I do in all of the engines I build.

A: that's something i should have done already, but pulling the motor in the next month to do it isn't any option, and a month is all the time i have until points start.


To Stu cool.....

Q: How tall are your tires now and what RPM are you turning through the lights?

A: I am currently using 255/60 BF goodrich radial t/a's that hook decent because they are so bald, but i still can't stall the car. that's why i am switching to the 28s. through the lights the car is right where it's losing the power, about 5100. it won't pull as hard with those big tires but oh well, at least i can leave harder.

Q: If you search around Buick had a switch pitch convert for a while that could be rigged up with a manual switch for street or strip.

A: that's just about the coolest thing i've ever heard of puting on a car like mine... can you give me some more info on them?

sorry this is a little confusing, i don't know how to use the quote deal could someone explain it to me

and on the subject of consistency.....

my average reaction time last year was about .540, the reason it was so high was mostly due to the fact that i leave in such a weird spot, since i couldn't get on the converter at all. most of the time i run within .05 of my dial, if not closer. i'm very competitive in the class i'm in, just not good enough to keep me happy. but i won't be happy until i win them all! haha. once i get the car to leave where i want it, my lights will fall into place a lot more and once i buy another weatherstation i'll be a lot better of for the dial(stolen at the track last year, and ran over another one!).

one thing i don't know a lot about is other than traction, how do i make the car repeatable round to round? i watch my water temp religously, it's ALWAYS the same. i'm guessing that i need to watch tranny temp a lot more. and also, i never really change anything on the car. i change the air pressure a few psi here and there, but i mean i've had the car for 2 years and the most i've done is change the timing a couple times. i've even gone as far as to have someone check my tires with an infrared gun after my burnout to see if the temp is pretty even.

ok i think i'm finaly done now!

thanks a bunch for your patience, i'm a horrible mechanic

and also before i'm off, i also stage VERY VERY VERY carefuly, i flicker the stage light almost every single time before i give my last little tiny bump in.

Still the easiest and cheapest way to improve your ET is to cut weight. Get all the "junk" out of the car, spare tire, back seat, etc. Lighten up the inside of the door panels, replace the quarter windows and back window with lexan. Do you have your battery mounted in the trunk? Fabricate a tray and some hold downs and buy a long cable. If the car has power steering running on a separate belt, remove the power steering belt at the track.

The old school thought on cutting weight is that if you can't find a place on the car to cut 100 pounds, then find 100 places to cut a pound. Watch the swap meets for a fiberglass hood and trunk lid. If you don't drive on the street much in nasty weather, you could consider leaving the front inner fender wells in the garage.

Now that this is an old thread ..... just let me say ........... don't drop E.T. ............... let him phone home..................

Quote:

---

Originally posted by pro70z28
Now that this is an old thread ..... just let me say ........... don't drop E.T. ............... let him phone home..................

---

EL....EEEE.....OT ....................Hooooome

If I am not mistaken Car Craft had a good tech article on this subject. I will try to find it and post a link.

wannabee, the cool can idea is good in hot humid climate, the dump idea is only good if u fatten the carb to compensate fro the loss of back pressure which means it will b too fat when same r closed...a quick et drop is a cheap dist advanced curve kit with which u can tailor ur timin curve to better match the rest of the mtr/drivetrai.....
another cheap trick is to run a shorter tire thus effectively raisin ur numeric gear ratio in ur differential.....also free flow filter elements can sometimes make more power than no element at all....have raced on a shoe string budget for many many years i have many more such inexpensive trick u can use to improve ur perf....tricks that work on any brand of ride too