Has anyone used CalTrac traction bars on there 69 firebirds? I have a 69 firebird with a chevy 454 bored to a 461, and she is pushing 550 hp. So I have been told, this is the first car I have owned, I have been in trucks all my life. I also have disc brakes and a ford 9 inch rear end in her.
Looks like a similar set up as one of the ones in my group here...Blakes car... I can ask him what he has...he`s got a Merlin Engine 500 plus CI...pushing 700hp....
Killz, what times and mph are you running? Do I see 15.0 on the windshield or is that what you paid to run ($15)! And where is that track, I don't recognize it!
Well the story goes that was the first weekend I owned my car, so I went to Fairveiw, Alberta to drag. I have never owned a car before I am 30 years old I have always owned a truck. That is my first time ever drag racing, I also should mention that it is a 4 speed. Now as I am still a Muscle car,drag racing virgin so I really dont know much about anything but what I have learned in the last 6 months. I learned most of it that day at the races. I learned that I have highway gears couldnt tell you the ratio cause I havent had it off yet but I was doing 110 mph on the highway not the track. It also has a limmited slip every once and awhile both sides will hook up but mostly only the passenger side. Yes that is 15 sec on the window but the quickest I did was 14.890 and I kid you not that it would be near the end of second gear it would hook up I would spin for the first 50 -60 feet well not to sure on distance but to get anywhere I limped it off the line to get the 14.890. When I would spin them off I was getting 17.291. So I need traction to be getting a better time, and more practise. I also need a 2 stage rev limmiter any sugestions? I also need better gear ratio with true posie I really have no exp. so all the advice you guys can give me the better. Not sure what shocks I have on her I know it has been lowered an inch but other then that I not sure but I kinda also want to look into that cause isnt there shocks that go with the force of the engine it kinda lanches you when you stomp on it? As I said I am a learning everyday about all this the more I know the better.
Do you know what mph and rpm through the beams? Once you know the trap speed, then you can use calculator charts that show you what happens with different gears, tire size, wieght, rpm, mph, etc.
Looks like you can use more tire. I've had 275-50's on 15X7's without prob's. 295's may rub the shocks.
2 stage for burnouts? Only thing i've messed with is MSD digital-6A-plus and gutted hei distributor.
Ya I dont the mph and rpm through the beams, is that the timming lazer beam? As I said I dont really know to much to new.
The first stage is for the first two gears to protect from over revs if you blow a shift, all so off the line I can set it for what ever rpm and keep my foot to the floor and your rpm will stay at what you set it to. Second stage is just to protect 3 and 4 from over revs. I beleive from what I have been told, I also think there is something to do with more spark also but not to sure about that.
What does the MSD digital 6a plus do for you also the hei distibutor that must just provide more spark I am thinking how did that work for you?
ANd yes I need tires but I have a spacer ring to match the crager hole patteren. I want to lose that so I need different rims to match the right bolt patteren with street slicks then I will have more traction.
After each "timed" run, you get a print out slip that has your;
Reaction time(on last bulb) 60' time 330' time 1/8 mile time/mph 1/4 mile time/mph
The DA6plus is the best thing since sliced bread. Replaces distributor module. Or use a billit distributor made for it(most dont have a vacuum can). Has 2 rev controls. One for burn outs. It's triggered when the roll control button or seperate switch is activated. Other is for your run(contiunous). Both can be set at whatever rpm you want. Start retard(under 800 rpm). Ignition kill(anti-theft) setting. And adjustable retard for power adders. For instance, retards at whatever setting you set when n2o solenoid is on.
If you want the ulimate, the DA7 is it. My buddy has one in his race car with a on board data logger. Can down load each run info to a lap top. Ramp in timing during the run, and adjust timing to each cylinder seperately.
That was my best run, I know the light was green before I left it was green every time I couldnt take off on the last yellow light need to practise that. I need to read a bit more on this DA6plus and the DA7 before I make up my mind it sounds like what I want and more. SO you know the math to do the caculation? I run heavey equipment so I dont realy do math or spell.
Do you know what the engine specs are? What heads it has, cam specs, things like that. I hate to even think it but it seems every Chevy guy is sure their engine is making 500+ hp. It sounds like the previous owner fell into that group.
Oval port heads on a well built 454 can make as much as 550 hp but not every 454 with oval port heads makes that! I just finished a low compression 454 that made 402 hp at 4700 rpm; plugging those numbers into the calculator says that this engine in your Firebird should run almost 10 mph faster (the final speed tells you fairly accurately how much hp you have), while 550 hp would be another 8-10 mph faster again.
The time it takes to get from the 330 foot mark to the 660 foot mark and then to the end of the quarter mile can be used to calculate with good accuracy what the engine is making as long as you know the vehicle weight and gear ratios in the transmission and rear end. I made some guesses based on what you said to get the 300 hp figure.
Ya I not to sure what is the specs are for the engine? It has been bored to a 461 but that is about all I know. I have pics but they where painfully large will have to shrink them.
So it's .030" over standard bore. If you want to look under a valve cover you'll find a casting number on the head like 209 or 781. That will indicate the valve size and chamber size so we can at least get an idea of its potential. What do you have for the intake manifold and carb? Do you have headers (likely) and if so what's the diameter of the tube? Exhaust pipe size? Anything else that comes to mind?
Here are the pics, I would look under the valve cover when I get a chance but right now I kinda have to much work on the go but as soon as I get a chance I be in there. Not sure of the manifold the carb is a holly not sure which make. The headers not to sure I will get that info when I can.
I know this sounds dumb but when I went drag racing I didnt realy know how to drive her it was my first weekend owning her. And a month later it was like I found more gas peddle, or I was scarred to open her right up not to sure. But I dont think I was at my full potential at those races.
Takes alot of practice to learn what a car needs. Epecially a 4 spd. Alot of newby's have a tendency to wait to long to shift, and go past the engines power band. Try different shift points and take notes(very important). Want to shift before engines rev's past peak power. Even if it rev's to 6000, it may go faster shftf at 5500. Timing will make a diff also. Retarding will move power band up. Advancing will lower it.
Raise rear off of ground and mark tire and driveshaft with chalk. While turning the tire one full turn, count how many revolutions the drive shaft makes. Divide the 2. That will get you a close rear end ratio.
Poncho, you have listed the effect of cam timing, not spark timing.
As the engine goes from low rpm to high rpm it needs to have more spark advance and the mechanical timing curve needs to be tailored to what the engine wants. Retarding the timing from the optimum anywhere in the curve just makes less power and advancing more than needed for best power will also decrease the power but can cause engine damage too.
