hey all. i have come to the conclusion that i don't know what the hell i am doing at the track! so here's the deal. this is my 4th time out with this car or any somewhat quick car to an asphalt dragstrip in a very long time. i feel like every time out, i learn something new about the car & how to tune it & drive it. tonight i feel like i am 10 steps back from where i started. my 1st time out netted me a 11.15 @ 120.3 with a 1.59 60' on 275/50/15 m/t drag radials. my second time out netted me a 11.05 @ 122.7 with a 1.57 60' with 26x10x15 slicks. my 3rd time out was on a weds night with crappy track prep & i won't count that. tonight the track was not great. my best was 11.11 @ 122.4 with a 1.62 60' on 28x11.50x15 et streets. i had big hopes for these tires even though it raises my gear ratio. i could not get decent traction, the car was squirly like the track was lubed up. most of my runs were so scary i had to shut off after shifting to 2nd (and they told me to slow down as i don't have a rollbar, long wheel studs, etc...). i tried stiffening/loosening the front & rear shocks & tire pressure from 14-11.5 psi. a few questions, could my factory clutch posi be wearing out or not tight enough & distributing traction unevenly? are et streets that sloppy? i tried footbraking from an idle all the way to 4000 rpm transbrake launches. seems like footbraking from a low rpm netted the best result. also, i've heard not to run radials & bias ply's on the same car. could that be my problem with the car being hard to control? i had the car chassis dynoed on monday & they picked up 20+ hp & the wheels. otherwise, i had not changed anything about the car except the 26" drag radials to 28" et streets. so what boggles me is i have a taller tire which made my gear ratio higher & my 60' times were slower. i don't get that. the combo should have hooked better i think. the car was soooooo much easier to control on radials. also, approx., at what et should you screw your tires to the wheels? please share your thoughts!!! sorry for the long post & thanks for your patience!!! bill.
went to the track tonight
bills68camaro
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Hey Bill, I could care about the grammer. What I do care about is seeing you get the 60' times you are after. I say just keep posting anyway you are comfortable. If you want to here a some prize grammer, Yo just come to Da Bronx with me one day!! Say Red Camaro what is the name of the color paint on your car? In the pic on my computer it looks a little like Madera Maroon. Hooking a small tire car is always a challenge but I have seen them in the eights, it can be done. I think if you post some video it would help to diagnose what is happening. I have one question, have you ever scaled the car? I worked with a friend who had a 632 CUbic inch eng in a 10.5 tire 68 camro. It took a while but eventually he was able to get 1.29 60' times only on good tracks. The one thing that made a difference, after we did all the right things like loosening the suspension,alignment and so on was scale the car and get 60% of the weight in the rear of the car. It was the thing that made the biggest difference. Good luck and keep posting.
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Great thread! More, more! Is that good grammar?
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what about your rear suspension? i see your running cal tracs but what is your pinion angle? Are the cal tracs set up right? I don`t know much about leaf cars so i`m just asking how yours is set up.
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258 Posts
Bolt, I know that cars with small tires run the super fast times like you stated. Some with leaf spring. So I know it can be done & that's what I'm after. I do have a video but I don't know how to post it here. I don't know what the front/rear weight bias is. I will find out soon. Sschevellefan, I set up the Cal-tracs per their instructions for my cars tire, power etc... I am running the top hole, no preload on the bars (preload pin just resting on top of the leaf spring). If I am not mistaken, I thought the guys at Calvert said to run an 1/8" gap between the leaf & preload pin if the car hooks initially & then spins the tires which it seems like it is doing with my new ET Streets. This is something I need to try. No idea what the pinion angle is. Sschevellefan, I look forward to meeting you at the track as we live so close. Thanks all, Bill.
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264 Posts
Well it`s going to be a while before I get to the track since I don`t currently have a car but I`m working on it. I would be happy to help out where I can though if you needed a hand sometime.
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260 Posts
Bill,
I have posted of my experiences of confounding loss of E/T making the jump from in my case from 26 x 8.5 x 15 to larger 28x 10.5 x 15 - following the philosophy that larger tires mean more consistency
Generally also I made sweeping changes to the combo - but it appears to be the same principle nevertheless - as I went from a favourable gear ratio for my 355ci - with a 700R4 and 4.10 and lighter 10 bolt rear to the heavier 9 inch Ford & higher gear TH-350 & 4.33
(I have since notched it up to 4.56 and I still think I want more gear like a 4.6*** Ford gear I have heard about)
I suggest you complete your crusade for 10 sec pass with the smaller tire - its giving you what appears now to be cleaner - (which means quicker) passes and well within the torque/hp band of your engine combo
Just my 2 cents
I have posted of my experiences of confounding loss of E/T making the jump from in my case from 26 x 8.5 x 15 to larger 28x 10.5 x 15 - following the philosophy that larger tires mean more consistency
Generally also I made sweeping changes to the combo - but it appears to be the same principle nevertheless - as I went from a favourable gear ratio for my 355ci - with a 700R4 and 4.10 and lighter 10 bolt rear to the heavier 9 inch Ford & higher gear TH-350 & 4.33
(I have since notched it up to 4.56 and I still think I want more gear like a 4.6*** Ford gear I have heard about)
I suggest you complete your crusade for 10 sec pass with the smaller tire - its giving you what appears now to be cleaner - (which means quicker) passes and well within the torque/hp band of your engine combo
Just my 2 cents
I run mine with just a bit of preload on the drivers side with me in the car. 1/2 turn on the pass side.
Interesting, I never heard that initial hook then spin might be fixable with an air gap on each side....I will have to try that.
Remember to set them up on level ground with you in the car, or someone who weighs the same.
Ron
It's just easier to read that way and a lot of us like reading your threads.
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258 Posts
Please guys, give it a rest with the f***ing grammar stuff. Is this a camaro forum or a book club? I've made the effort to use proper spacing, capitalization, etc.. for you folks who can't bear the horror of the way i write. So if you can't get over the rest then please tune out. I'm here to get car advise from people who are willing to give it. I'm not here to be schooled on my writing style. With that being said, Ron, Calvert racing told me to adjust the bars evenly. You have good luck preloading the drivers side? Bill.
Bill,
I never really spoke to Calvert about adjusting the bars. Pretty dumb huh?
I got advice from others who run them.
The right side isn't adjusted a lot diff from the left. But it was working.
I added preload to the right side cause that's the way the car want's to torque....maybe flawed thinking? The goal was to get the car to leave level, which it does.
Ron
I never really spoke to Calvert about adjusting the bars. Pretty dumb huh?
I got advice from others who run them.
The right side isn't adjusted a lot diff from the left. But it was working.
I added preload to the right side cause that's the way the car want's to torque....maybe flawed thinking? The goal was to get the car to leave level, which it does.
Ron
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258 Posts
Ron, I always thought one should preload the torque side of the rear suspension & I always have. The guys at Calvert said run them even (at least for my application) so thats how I run them. It came to me as a surprise but I figure they should know what works best being they invented/manufacture them. Your thinking is not flawed. I think the same way. Maybe we are both flawed? Bill.
At least we think eh?
Personally, I hate tuning. Never get the chance under controlled conditions. So when the car is working, I don't mess with it. When something is wrong, or changed, I check things, get em back to where they were, but don't tune.
It's tough to do this stuff, unless you rent the track, and the weather stays somewhat the same all day, and the track prep stays the same all day. I don't have that opportunity....
Keep at it, your car will respond. I'm sure of that.
Still one of those situations where I wish we all lived close and could share real time at the track. Of course, Team Camaro and Team Chevelle would push all the regulars off the track...now wouldn't that be fun! (well except for the Camaro and Chevelle owners)
Ron
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258 Posts
Yeah Ron, I am not very excited about the whole tuning thing either. I wish I could go every weekend, but I would be getting divorce papers instead of time slips! LOL! I got some Cal-trac springs from my buddy & just noticed that when he took my car for a test drive (spun it sideways) one of the leafs hit the inside of my 1/4 panel & left me with a big outie on the outside. Cracked paint & the whole works. SH!T!!!! So theres another $500 to have the 1/4 panel fixed & painted. So my next step is to install the springs out back & head to the track. Then roll bar, new rear end, cam & converter. Of course I plan on testing all items individually at the track. Bill.
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No need to be such an *** Bill. He was being NICE to you. He said he liked reading your threads and wished you well to "keep at it".
Not only that, you freakin asked for feedback, remember?
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258 Posts
BA, you sent me a kind pm & then this? W.T.F.? I'm confused? Just for the record, anyone wanting to be nice to me, please comment on my CAR, not my WRITING. That was a sarcastic comment for those petty folks who have nothing better to do than give me crap on my writing. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure that out. Like I said, if you don't like what I write or the way I write it, tune out!! Simple enough? Please guys, no more on my writing. If you can't come up with any more ideas on my CAR situation, then let this post fade out. Thanks, Bill.
Gads....Bill! Fugetaboud the paint Extra weight It dont make no diff who cares it's the et dude keep having fun race the car go fast be happy divorce is a good thing after about 5 or so years et counts the most having fun counts more making noise and tire smoke is a religion we dont need no stinking rules or grammar or punctuation or english teachers or tutors.
Ok...spell check would be good, but only if you get close to start with!
Divorce actually sucks...been there done that...kept the car, the house, the bills. Better now though......
Neil Young says..."it's better to burn out than to fade away".
Been doing this for years, haven't faded away yet!
Peace.
PM me any time!
Ron
Ok...spell check would be good, but only if you get close to start with!
Divorce actually sucks...been there done that...kept the car, the house, the bills. Better now though......
Neil Young says..."it's better to burn out than to fade away".
Been doing this for years, haven't faded away yet!
Peace.
PM me any time!
Ron
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282 Posts
It may be because im so large, but mine tracks straight and has hooked the best in TOP hole with 0 Preload on the Drivers side and 3/4 turn on the passenger side. If i go to a 1/2 turn it pulls a little right under hard acceleration and doesnt hook quite as well.
Shawn
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258 Posts
Thanks Ron & Shawn. No plans on divorce. Yet. Just kidding. My wife is too cool & doesn't give me crap about spending money on this bottomless $ pit of a hobby. I'm bummed about the dent in the 1/4. Not that my car is so clean, it's just consistent looking. This new dent sticks out like a goiter on a national geographic 3rd world person. It's getting fixed soon though. Shawn, preload the passenger side? I've never heard of that. Someone also pointed out that the axle may not be square in the car. Thanks for the kind words & encouragement fellers! Bill.
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