Slow 3v still cant hook

[TheFourSixThatCould]

I have a 08 gt, 5 speed, 320whp, and can’t hook for the life of me. I’m sure it’s 60% driver mod as I’m new to this but it’s got a built motor and I told myself I won’t boost it untill I can hook. The setup is
Viking double adjustable shock
Bmr springs
Gt500 FRP lower control arms
18’ 275/45/18 Firestone indy 500.
I can get a decent burnout but launching at 2500rpm is all spin. Any advice or videos to watch would be greatly appreacted as I cant get a sub 2’ 60 foot which is sad. I would think I don’t need a drag pack for a 300hp car also.

 

[86GT351]

Get a better compound tire. Also don't get frustrated. Launching with a stick can be challenging

 

[Midlife Crises]

I would suggest BMR lower control arm relocation brackets and a softer tire like a Mickey or Hoosier drag radial.

 

[Pentalab]

How much air pressure do u have in the rear tires ? Perhaps launching at a slightly lower rpm might help.

 

[TheFourSixThatCould]

How much air pressure do u have in the rear tires ? Perhaps launching at a slightly lower rpm might help.

Was at 21st the last 2 runs but 27 the first 4 runs.

 

[AHaze]

I'm on the same tires. I spent hours hot lapping an 1/8th mile track last summer in pursuit of a decent 60'. All manner of clutch engagement technique / launch rpm combinations traction control on and off, pressures down to 15 psi. Nothing worked.
All three rear control arms are aftermarket and I have relocation brackets on the lowers. Wanted to go back with the front sway bar removed but it never happened. Doubtful it would have been enough to get me a 1.9x anyway.

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

I have a 08 gt, 5 speed, 320whp, and can’t hook for the life of me. I’m sure it’s 60% driver mod as I’m new to this but it’s got a built motor and I told myself I won’t boost it until I can hook. The setup is
Viking double adjustable shock
Bmr springs
Gt500 FRP lower control arms
18’ 275/45/18 Firestone indy 500.
I can get a decent burnout but launching at 2500rpm is all spin. Any advice or videos to watch would be greatly appreciated as I cant get a sub 2’ 60 foot which is sad. I would think I don’t need a drag pack for a 300hp car also.

Try launching at 2000 rpm and, as others have suggested, get a softer compound tire.
Your rear lower control arms need to be parallel to the ground and since your car is lowered, you'll probably need relocation brackets to adjust their position. Lowering the car will also require an adjustable Panhard bar to recenter the rear axle, and an adjustable UCA to reset the pinion angle.
You didn't mention axle gears so I assume you still have the stock 3.31. What were you planning for boost in the future?

 

[Midlife Crises]

With stickier tires and the relocation brackets in place you can begin adjusting the dampers. Start with the front shocks soft so the front can rise and the rear shocks stiff so the rear does not move much. Get someone to Video the car launch so you can review how the car reacts. Only make one change at a time and see what it does. When the suspension starts to work you still have to deal with the fact that every piece of blacktop is different.

 

[MrBhp]

Start with full stiff on rear dampers. Full soft on front. Lower tire pressure only works on tires that are designed for it. If you run low pressure on a street tire you are taking away contact area. The idea of lower tire pressure is to get more contact area by getting the sidewall to flex to the point of creating a large flat spot at the contact area. That will not work on a radial street tire. I believe your tire is a cornering tire. Which means stiff sidewall. Don't expect a lot out of it from a dig. Before you drop money on anything else, get some sticky tires.

 

[BottleRocket]

BMR makes a drag package that should get you started but stickier tires are probably going to be your next step. You realize that there is a connection between tire compound and tread life, you can't have both. What lot of guys do is pick up an extra pair of wheels and mount them when they are headed to the track. Until then just try starting out like you are pulling out from a stop light. Then start counting, one thousand one, one thousand two, etc., find a place where you can floor it. If read articles when pro drag racers will do this when testing street cars for magazine articles.

 

[JC SSP]

As mentioned, start with some better-quality tires... start from there and then move onto LCA, relocation brackets, etc.

 

[Red-Candy-Metallic]

I have a 08 gt, 5 speed, 320whp, and can’t hook for the life of me. I’m sure it’s 60% driver mod as I’m new to this but it’s got a built motor and I told myself I won’t boost it untill I can hook. The setup is
Viking double adjustable shock
Bmr springs
Gt500 FRP lower control arms
18’ 275/45/18 Firestone indy 500.
I can get a decent burnout but launching at 2500rpm is all spin. Any advice or videos to watch would be greatly appreacted as I cant get a sub 2’ 60 foot which is sad. I would think I don’t need a drag pack for a 300hp car also.

As mentioned already, sticky tires are the shortest path to a good launch. I have a 2012 GT (probably 350 RWHP?) with an MT-82 manual transmission and a 3.73 rear axle. With 275/60R15 Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S tires and on a marginally prepped surface, I can launch at 4300 RPM. I have managed a couple of 1.75 60 fts and most are 1.8x. I haven't tried using these tires on the street, although they are DOT approved. In addition to the tires, I have FP rear LCAs and a Steeda tune, but that's all. On the stock 235/50R18s, I could never hook on street, and only launch at around 3000 RPM at the track. I did manage a few 1.9x 60 fts, but most were 2.0x. The tires made all the difference.

 

[TheFourSixThatCould]

Try launching at 2000 rpm and, as others have suggested, get a softer compound tire.
Your rear lower control arms need to be parallel to the ground and since your car is lowered, you'll probably need relocation brackets to adjust their position. Lowering the car will also require an adjustable Panhard bar to recenter the rear axle, and an adjustable UCA to reset the pinion angle.
You didn't mention axle gears so I assume you still have the stock 3.31. What were you planning for boost in the future?

I have a BMR UPC waiting to install but figure now nothing is gonna help me more then a tire. And a DOB manifold kit with a m122 then move up to a trinity blower way down the line.

 

[TheFourSixThatCould]

BMR makes a drag package that should get you started but stickier tires are probably going to be your next step. You realize that there is a connection between tire compound and tread life, you can't have both. What lot of guys do is pick up an extra pair of wheels and mount them when they are headed to the track. Until then just try starting out like you are pulling out from a stop light. Then start counting, one thousand one, one thousand two, etc., find a place where you can floor it. If read articles when pro drag racers will do this when testing street cars for magazine articles.

Yea definitely a better tire for track only and daily the Indy’s.

 

[Midlife Crises]

Your car is lowered with the BMR springs. This changes the geometry and will not help you get ahold of the ground. Even good tires are going to spin. Using relocation brackets to increase anti squat while controlling the weight transfer with the damper adjustments are basic steps to getting an S197 out of the hole. If you already have an adjustable upper arm you should install it and correct the pinion angle.
This is what a 1.5 sec. 60 looks like. It is not perfect .

 

[TheFourSixThatCould]

Your car is lowered with the BMR springs. This changes the geometry and will not help you get ahold of the ground. Even good tires are going to spin. Using relocation brackets to increase anti squat while controlling the weight transfer with the damper adjustments are basic steps to getting an S197 out of the hole. If you already have an adjustable upper arm you should install it and correct the pinion angle.
This is what a 1.5 sec. 60 looks like. It is not perfect .

View attachment 93692

What tire you on man? Any PA? Stick or auto? Appraise the advice your car looks mean

 

[Midlife Crises]

The tire in the picture is a 28X10.5-15 Mickey Thompson ET Drag slick on a 10” wheel with tube and 10 psi air pressure, warm. The high points of the car are listed under the pic but basically is a T56 magnum 6 speed stick with a 266 first gear and 4.30 gears in the rear. It took experimenting to get it to do that and I think it can do a little better

 

[lindertw]

it's been a while, details on my setup with my 2005 GT can be found here. You'd be surprised what these low powered 3v's can do when you optimize your setup. I think mine is as simple as can be, and I drove to/from the track.

302wrhp, suspension/tire/gears, and excellent track prep

 

[Red-Candy-Metallic]

it's been a while, details on my setup with my 2005 GT can be found here. You'd be surprised what these low powered 3v's can do when you optimize your setup. I think mine is as simple as can be, and I drove to/from the track.

302wrhp, suspension/tire/gears, and excellent track prep

View attachment 99965
View attachment 99966

This speaks to the fact that great performance is the result of a well thought out and well-balanced package. Too often, the investment in power gets wasted because other parts of the system are overlooked or ignored. I'm no expert, but I have seen others who have successfully applied this logic/discipline.

 

[TexasBlownV8]

A good tire is very important; I also now use 28" 325's MT drag radials on 15" rims, and before I even got to the power I'm at, it took years to get it right, along the way.
But there was one simple fundamental problem that I didn't realize was causing issues: the shocks/struts were set incorrectly for my setup! Per advice and recommendations, I was running front struts pretty soft and back shocks fairly soft as well. Different tires would help, but not completely. i would spin at/off the line, no matter what I tried. Lowering tire pressures really low would help, but not always prevent spinning. OK some of the issue was poor track prep, but even with decent prep, I was having traction/spinning issues.

The big change was when side-video was taken of the car, and I could see what was happening: the car would squat, then over-rebound and "porpoise", raising the rear enough to cause tires to spin. Once I firmed up the shocks/struts, I was able to tune them to the point of preventing such motion, getting a more proper squat and grip, and maintaining the grip off the line, in a much better manner than before.

Seeing what is happening under those conditions is priceless and will help you dial in your setup!