'14 GT Automatic - drag racing results from a few simple mods

[fullthrtle]

nice runs...

 

[808muscle]

Brian its really cool that you race you car as much as you do. I respect that bro. When I added the DSS driveshaft my car did not get any faster but the feel it gave was worth it. The gas pedal actually feels attached to the rear wheels nows. I really like it.

I was considering a Circle D TC as well but from everything I have read without a transbrake it will hurt my RT against the Pro Tree. Yes it will improve my ET but thats not what I am looking for.

 

[tigerhonaker]

Hi Brian,

Just was looking at new threads and came across your's.

A very interesting thread for sure and also your Red Mustang is beautiful.


Terry

 

[warmmilk]

So, a little update on the effects of switching back to the factory 2-pc driveshaft. With the 1-pc, car went a best of 11.78 with a bunch of 11.8's. With the 2-pc back in - and no other changes - I've only been able to make one race day so far. The weather was horrible - 95 degrees, crazy high humidity, and DA well over 2000'. Timeslips were in the 12.10's @ 115+ all day in bad weather. Corrected for DA, those times would have been 11.80's all day, just like it ran with the 1-pc driveshaft.

I'll be racing again this Friday and the weather should be more reasonable (75 degrees with DA under 1000' most likely).

have you run again with the 2-pc in better conditions?

also curious, have you run with street tires at all?

 

[Unreal]

What size tire do you run?

26" for now. 16" ET street

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Brian its really cool that you race you car as much as you do. I respect that bro. When I added the DSS driveshaft my car did not get any faster but the feel it gave was worth it. The gas pedal actually feels attached to the rear wheels nows. I really like it.

I was considering a Circle D TC as well but from everything I have read without a transbrake it will hurt my RT against the Pro Tree. Yes it will improve my ET but thats not what I am looking for.

Hi, Patrick. You are certainly right that your car would be quicker with a big converter, but you are so dialed in and winning lots of races so your car is perfect the way it is. You are so wise to know this; many of the rest of us just keep modding and have to relearn how to launch to keep RT's in check with each new mod.

I'll be racing tonight and weather is looking to be decent, so this should be a good test for the 2-pc vs 1-pc driveshaft question in my car.

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Hi Brian,

Just was looking at new threads and came across your's.

A very interesting thread for sure and also your Red Mustang is beautiful.


Terry

Thank you kindly, Terry!

 

[Five Oh Brian]

have you run again with the 2-pc in better conditions?

also curious, have you run with street tires at all?

I'm racing tonight and the weather is looking to be decent, so this will be the first time I've run the 2-pc in good weather. DA should hopefully be under 1000' at Bremerton Raceway, maybe even close to sea level conditions with a little luck. My 1-pc d/s is at Shaftmasters right now being repaired, so it'll eventually go back in my car.

I've never run this car at the track with street tires. My street set up includes 275 / 19 Eagle F1 SuperCar tires out back, but they are the all season versions for daily driving year 'round so they wouldn't be sticky enough on a glass smooth track. It would just spin way too much, so it's not worth it.

 

[warmmilk]

I'm racing tonight and the weather is looking to be decent, so this will be the first time I've run the 2-pc in good weather. DA should hopefully be under 1000' at Bremerton Raceway, maybe even close to sea level conditions with a little luck. My 1-pc d/s is at Shaftmasters right now being repaired, so it'll eventually go back in my car.

I've never run this car at the track with street tires. My street set up includes 275 / 19 Eagle F1 SuperCar tires out back, but they are the all season versions for daily driving year 'round so they wouldn't be sticky enough on a glass smooth track. It would just spin way too much, so it's not worth it.

Any plans to go to Pacific Raceways anytime in the near future? It'd be interesting to see you run and check out your car...

My goal is also to hit 11's, but with a manual and street tires (and NA without opening up the engine)... not sure if it'll happen, but that's the goal... That's also why I was wondering if you ever ran on street tires

 

[FIVE-OH]

also curious, have you run with street tires at all?

Once you are into even the 13's IMO you need GREAT track prep to run street tires and get good results. If you have any bigger mods like a converter or cams, etc, you will need a tire. As an example, I use street tires, and I have two tracks I run at. As of now I am running solid mid 12's before my next round of mods goes on. At one of the tracks I just don't hook, even coming off idle I will spin. But, at the other track I can leave at about 1500 rpm, and I dead hook. All I do is air down the tires a little and do a little burnout. But it gives you an idea that track prep if you are using street tires is VERY important. Look at my sig pic, that is at the good track, on street tires. Hooks amazingly well...

 

[warmmilk]

Once you are into even the 13's IMO you need GREAT track prep to run street tires and get good results. If you have any bigger mods like a converter or cams, etc, you will need a tire. As an example, I use street tires, and I have two tracks I run at. As of now I am running solid mid 12's before my next round of mods goes on. At one of the tracks I just don't hook, even coming off idle I will spin. But, at the other track I can leave at about 1500 rpm, and I dead hook. All I do is air down the tires a little and do a little burnout. But it gives you an idea that track prep if you are using street tires is VERY important. Look at my sig pic, that is at the good track, on street tires. Hooks amazingly well...

Well I managed a couple 12.5's on stock tires... the only power mod is a Kooks catback so far...

I know the biggest limiting factor is grip, but I like a challenge

btw, I have a manual, so no converter mods for me... not planning to do cams either, only stuff I can do without cracking open the engine

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Any plans to go to Pacific Raceways anytime in the near future? It'd be interesting to see you run and check out your car...

My goal is also to hit 11's, but with a manual and street tires (and NA without opening up the engine)... not sure if it'll happen, but that's the goal... That's also why I was wondering if you ever ran on street tires

I really don't enjoy racing at Pacific Raceways - way too many people go there so it's often an hour or two between passes. Bremerton Raceway is a much longer drive for me, but once I get there, I can make as many passes as I like - often hotlapping every 5-10 minutes between passes.

11's on street tires with a NA 5.0L is quite a challenge! I hope you'll keep us posted on your path to your goal. I raced a late model Dodge Charger R/T tonight that was on street tires. He had the longblock replaced with a 392 Hemi and had a Magnuson Supercharger and had a dyno sheet showing 530+ RWHP. I ran an 11.90 to his 12.90. I'm positive he'd be capable of high 11's with sticky tires, but he struggled to drop below 13 seconds all night due to traction limitations. I advised him to invest in some sticky tires to better get all that power to the ground.

Sounds like you're local to the Puget Sound area?

 

[Five Oh Brian]

So, I finally made it out racing with decent weather to see how the factory 2-pc d/s affected my car's performance vs my 1-pc aluminum d/s that is out for repairs currently. Keep in mind that the only change reflected in this post is the d/s. Density Altitude tonight was a few hundred feet higher than normal, but decent none-the-less.

Here's a reminder of my average (not best) #'s with the 1-pc d/s...

1.677 = 60'
4.855 = 330'
7.547 @ 91.09 = 1/8 mile
9.874 = 1000'
11.853 @ 113.84 = 1/4 mile

And here is the average of my runs tonight with the heavier/clunkier 2-pc d/s with slightly worse weather...

1.686 = 60'
4.902 = 330'
7.601 @ 90.70 = 1/8 mile
9.932 = 1000'
11.904 @ 115.17 = 1/4 mile

Many experts suggest that a 1-pc d/s is worth about a 1 or 2 tenth improvement in 1/4 mile ET's. I was fully expecting to run 12.0's tonight based on that assumption - especially with the DA being a few hundred feet worse tonight. However, my average 1/4 ET only suffered 0.05 seconds, while my average trap speed actually improved by 1.3 mph. And, all of tonight's runs were in the 11.8's and 11.9's - not a single pass in the 12's.

My previous best ever ET of 11.78 was nearly matched tonight with an 11.80 (my second best pass ever). Also, my best trap speeds tonight were new personal bests for this car! I had a best of 117.70 mph with a second pass over 117 mph, with several more in the 116's.

So, ET's were very similar and my trap speeds got better! How is this even possible? Same car, same raceweight, same track, DA was slightly worse, and the only change was the d/s.

 

[5.0 Probie]

My guess is your success is all in that Circle-D Brian.

 

[2011/5.0]

Really hard to just use da. Wind speed and direction ,track prep ,water in air, i have ran faster in 1200da than 800da with no changes i only give the shaft credit up to a tenth but with my little 4c stall it works well.

 

[foxxxtman]

So, I finally made it out racing with decent weather to see how the factory 2-pc d/s affected my car's performance vs my 1-pc aluminum d/s that is out for repairs currently. Keep in mind that the only change reflected in this post is the d/s. Density Altitude tonight was a few hundred feet higher than normal, but decent none-the-less.

Here's a reminder of my average (not best) #'s with the 1-pc d/s...

1.677 = 60'
4.855 = 330'
7.547 @ 91.09 = 1/8 mile
9.874 = 1000'
11.853 @ 113.84 = 1/4 mile

And here is the average of my runs tonight with the heavier/clunkier 2-pc d/s with slightly worse weather...

1.686 = 60'
4.902 = 330'
7.601 @ 90.70 = 1/8 mile
9.932 = 1000'
11.904 @ 115.17 = 1/4 mile

Many experts suggest that a 1-pc d/s is worth about a 1 or 2 tenth improvement in 1/4 mile ET's. I was fully expecting to run 12.0's tonight based on that assumption - especially with the DA being a few hundred feet worse tonight. However, my average 1/4 ET only suffered 0.05 seconds, while my average trap speed actually improved by 1.3 mph. And, all of tonight's runs were in the 11.8's and 11.9's - not a single pass in the 12's.

My previous best ever ET of 11.78 was nearly matched tonight with an 11.80 (my second best pass ever). Also, my best trap speeds tonight were new personal bests for this car! I had a best of 117.70 mph with a second pass over 117 mph, with several more in the 116's.

So, ET's were very similar and my trap speeds got better! How is this even possible? Same car, same raceweight, same track, DA was slightly worse, and the only change was the d/s.

Making me second guess purchasing a driveshaft, that was one of the future mods I had planned but if it's only worth .05 that' not a very good cost to performance ratio lol. Torque converter is definitely next but maybe after that I will go intake/throttle body/cai vice the driveshaft....

 

[Five Oh Brian]

My guess is your success is all in that Circle-D Brian.

I agree 100% that most of the magic in my car is the converter. How long until you call up Chris at Circle-D and get one for Pepper?

 

[Five Oh Brian]

Really hard to just use da. Wind speed and direction ,track prep ,water in air, i have ran faster in 1200da than 800da with no changes i only give the shaft credit up to a tenth but with my little 4c stall it works well.

You are certainly correct that DA alone doesn't tell the whole story. DA is most helpful to me in guessing where to dial in for bracket racing based on the current air conditions, in my experience.

DA last night was in the 850-1000' range while this track is normally closer to sea level. When I raced there a month ago the DA was well over 2000' and that slowed my car down by 3 full tenths, and that's exactly what it should have slowed down by according to the DA calculators.

Track prep is not so good at Bremerton Raceway, and last night was no exception. I had to really heat the DR's before each pass and I still struggled with my 60' times.

Making me second guess purchasing a driveshaft, that was one of the future mods I had planned but if it's only worth .05 that' not a very good cost to performance ratio lol. Torque converter is definitely next but maybe after that I will go intake/throttle body/cai vice the driveshaft....

At the end of the day I'm now really wondering if that aluminum 1-pc driveshaft was worth the hefty price tag. I want to believe that it was money well spent, but my #'s don't really reflect that. I'll still reinstall it once it's repaired and see what happens with the cooler fall air that's coming soon.

You'll definitely see big gains from the torque converter - don't be afraid to go really big (4,000 rpm's or bigger). I don't think the intake/TB/CAI make any real power gains on our cars at near stock power levels as the factory pieces aren't airflow restrictions. Perhaps they help once you're well beyond factory power levels, though. Exhaust (off road mid-pipes, especially) would be a cost effective mod with noticeable performance gains.

 

[warmmilk]

I really don't enjoy racing at Pacific Raceways - way too many people go there so it's often an hour or two between passes. Bremerton Raceway is a much longer drive for me, but once I get there, I can make as many passes as I like - often hotlapping every 5-10 minutes between passes.

11's on street tires with a NA 5.0L is quite a challenge! I hope you'll keep us posted on your path to your goal. I raced a late model Dodge Charger R/T tonight that was on street tires. He had the longblock replaced with a 392 Hemi and had a Magnuson Supercharger and had a dyno sheet showing 530+ RWHP. I ran an 11.90 to his 12.90. I'm positive he'd be capable of high 11's with sticky tires, but he struggled to drop below 13 seconds all night due to traction limitations. I advised him to invest in some sticky tires to better get all that power to the ground.

Sounds like you're local to the Puget Sound area?

The trick is to go on Wednesday's test n tunes... I was there this past Wednesday and got 6 runs from 5-9 purposely sitting out a few rounds to let the car cool down... And there were quite a few breaks that they had to stop and clean up. If I went for maximum runs I prolly could have gotten 10 or so.

The thing I didn't like about Bremerton is that they just line you up completely randomly against anybody, so I always got lined up against 3000db earth shattering dragsters... It's impossible to concentrate on my launch with something like that next to me, I have a manual to it take a bit more finesse to get it off the line quick than an auto, especially with street tires
But it's been a few years since I've been drag racing at Bremerton, so maybe that's changed... Also, is Bremerton NHRA certified? I know it starts going a little downhill near the end...

Yeah, 11's on street tires is a challenge... Not even sure if it's possible honestly, especially with a manual. Also, my suspension is more handling oriented, so I have that working against me too. I'll make a thread once I start making a bit more progress, prolly next year since drag racing season is almost over here in the NW.

And yes, I'm local, about 15 mins away from Pacific Raceways

 

[2011/5.0]

Ya brian i would agree the shaft is overpriced for the gain but once u get around 11.5 and under range N/A its nrssasary