took the cobra to the track.

[94svt5.0]

Well, i finaly went to the track. This was my first time, and it was a blast. Did not run as fast as i had hoped, but hey i was just learning the ropes. Here are the stats from one of my runs:
Reaction: .678
60' : 2.39
E.T. : 14.28
MPH :98.48
The weird thing is on my next run I ran a faster mph but a slower E.T.
Reaction: .676
60': 2.58
E.T. : 14.46
MPH: 99.11
My guess is i was losing a little time with reaction and my 50% worn nittos where spinning like crazy in 1st and when i shifted into 2nd gear. I still have the stock gears in it, what do you guys think a set of 3:73 would do for my times? any other suggestions? thanks

 

[Blue03Cobra]

Reaction time doesn't factor into the final time because the timer doesn't start until your car breaks the first beam (that's why some guys stage near the back to get a "head start" and are rolling by the time the clock starts.

Gears will make it even more difficult to hook-up. New tires and some suspension bits might help...

 

[SVT X 2]

You ran a faster mph cuz you were spinning more, like you thought.

I would think you'd be a tish better also since you have an off-road pipe and a chip...
You could use a traction aid and some 3.73's.

 

[94svt5.0]

what about a sticker? I was thinking about maybe a powered by honda? That should be good for a couple HP shouldnt it? or maybe a V-Tec sticker. Those make you go real fast.

 

[SVT X 2]

Originally posted by 94svt5.0
what about a sticker? I was thinking about maybe a powered by honda? That should be good for a couple HP shouldnt it? or maybe a V-Tec sticker. Those make you go real fast.

lol... yeah those are okay, but it's the NOS stickers that are the REAL hp adders!!

 

[94svt5.0]

Any other suggestions on how to get better times? Shouldnt I have been running a faster time since I was running 99.11 mph?

 

[SVT X 2]

Well outside of practice prectice practice... need more info.

What Nitto's do you have? Street or DR? What tire psi did you run them at? Did you check them before each run? What was your front tire psi at? How long of a burnout did you do if they are DR's? At what rpm do you launch at? At what rpm do you shift at? Do you power shift? Did you run a short belt? What's your timing set at? Did you take out your spare tire for racing? Did you ice down your upper plenum after each run? What stat do you have in?

A few Q's for ya' to answer... :ud:

 

[94svt5.0]

I have Nitto 555 zr street tires inflated to 35 psi, last time I checked them was a couple weeks ago and have not checked them since. The front tires were set to the same psi as the back. Well, I tried launching at about 3000 rpm but, ended up with mostly wheel spin. So I ended up launching at 1500 rpm and punching it once it hooked up. I shifted into 2nd at redline and into 3rd at redline as well. I tried power shifting but, came up with my best time of 14.2 by regular shifting, though I did get the highest mph with power shifting. I ran with the stock belt and pullies. I have a superchips power chip, so i was running whatever timming that the chip sets. I did take out the spare tire and jack but, did not ice down the intake. I was running the stock thermostat, i think its a 180 deg. I ran back to back runs, about 20 in all, so the temperature gauge usualy stayed between the "m" and the "a" in normal. This was the first time I have ever been to a dragstrip, so part of the time was spent learning the lights and stuff. Thanks for any help you guys can give.

 

[Booyah]

Originally posted by 94svt5.0
I have Nitto 555 zr street tires inflated to 35 psi, last time I checked them was a couple weeks ago and have not checked them since. The front tires were set to the same psi as the back. Well, I tried launching at about 3000 rpm but, ended up with mostly wheel spin. So I ended up launching at 1500 rpm and punching it once it hooked up. I shifted into 2nd at redline and into 3rd at redline as well. I tried power shifting but, came up with my best time of 14.2 by regular shifting, though I did get the highest mph with power shifting. I ran with the stock belt and pullies. I have a superchips power chip, so i was running whatever timming that the chip sets. I did take out the spare tire and jack but, did not ice down the intake. I was running the stock thermostat, i think its a 180 deg. I ran back to back runs, about 20 in all, so the temperature gauge usualy stayed between the "m" and the "a" in normal. This was the first time I have ever been to a dragstrip, so part of the time was spent learning the lights and stuff. Thanks for any help you guys can give.

Not that I get the the strip much but......you need to lower the pressure in your rears to somewhere in the mid teens. Up your tire pressure in the front to the max allowed for the tire(less rolling resistance). And what do you consider powershifting? I've gotten my best times with powershifting but my trannie has paid the price of course.

 

[94svt5.0]

I power shift by holding gas to floor, push in clutch, shift gears and let clutch out, all without taking my foot off the gas. Is that correct?

 

[Booyah]

Originally posted by 94svt5.0
I power shift by holding gas to floor, push in clutch, shift gears and let clutch out, all without taking my foot off the gas. Is that correct?

Yes, I lift a little to keep the RPMs from jumping and hitting the limiter but they stay at my shift RPM.

 

[SVT X 2]

Originally posted by Booyah


Not that I get the the strip much but......you need to lower the pressure in your rears to somewhere in the mid teens. Up your tire pressure in the front to the max allowed for the tire(less rolling resistance). And what do you consider powershifting? I've gotten my best times with powershifting but my trannie has paid the price of course.

This is partially true...
Yes, you want to pump up the front tires to to max psi. or so for less rolling resistance... just make sure you bring it back down to street psi. before you leave the track. On the rears however, you do NOT wanna drop the psi. into the teens on a steet tire, as you will actually HURT your traction even more. The street Nitto's are not a drag radial. The drag radials were designed for dual purpose... to run at a street tire psi. on the street and give you a stickier contact patch, and to be lowered at the track for maximum contact patch and a bit of sidewall give (but not to be confused with a wrinkle wall tire). The Street Nitto's are a normal stiff sidewall radial tire... run it at normal psi.

Being that you have a street radial, you don't want to drive through the water box and do a burnout. Some tracks will actually make you drive around the box if they see you have a street tire becasuse the water will stay in the radial grooves and track it to the starting line and screw the guys trying to run slicks, and at the same time you screw yourself cuz the water will make your street tires lose traction on launch. So completely drive around the water box if you can. Some people like to give the steet radials a "dry hop" (one quick rotation of the tires) and I've heard both 'yay' and 'nay' on this technique. The idea behind this is to clean the tires of small pebbles and debris that could hamper traction. I've done both and it's hard to say if it actually helps or hurts anything... I wouldn't bother now.

1500 rpm's is gonna be about the max launch rpm on a street radial (give or take depending on weather and/or track conditions & prep). That's where I used to lauch at on stock tires. "Feathering" out of the hole through 1st gear seems to be the key, but can be tricky to do and still cut a good light. Practice, and I still need more myself. Powershifting is the more aggressive technique, and your tires will protest you for it (as I'm sure you know). The only thing here is... sure you are making the shift quicker and keeping the rpm's up there, but if your tires are barking "too" much, you're losing time there also. It can be a horse a piece there. Plus your tranny HATES it when you do that! lol... I just stared doing that last year at the strip and I'm a junkie now (my poor tranny :bash: ). Also, when shifting, try going past 5,500. Here the idea is that when you shift and the R's drop, your're right back in the "sweet spot" for power band.

By all means bring some ice and a cooler. Ice down your upper and even TB & MAF (carefull of wires) after each run. The idea is to give your motor the coolest air intake charge you can. It's said to be worth a tenth over a heat soaked intake charge, and I believe it. On hot days, I'll roll right up to the staging lanes with a bag of ice on the upper and wait 'till a few cars before I go and quick hop out and pull off the ice and close the hood and thow the ice in the cooler on the pass side floorboard. :thumbsup: Your stock stat is not a 180... more like a 197. Get a *high flow* 180º stat. Stay away from a 160. If you're running "round robin" like that, then I would seriously hook up a manual high speed fan switch (look on Mustangworld). I did this and it seriously made a temp difference at the track.

Try and figure out a length for a short belt and your stock pullies and run that at the track. Again, this is said to be worth a tenth gain, but is hard to tell since you can gain or lose that in weather or track conditions alone.

There's more in your car... try some (if not all) of this out on your next outting and you will have a new best e.t.

Sorry if there's spelling error's... this is too long to check! :read: Hope this helps and gooduck!

-Tim-

 

[94svt5.0]

Great info. Thanks. When i get back to the track i will try it out.

 

[Booyah]

Sorry misread, thought he was running DR's.

 

[Racer X]

My 94 Cobra ran 14.29 at 95 in stock trim on stock GSCs
13.79 at 99 with 3.73, pulleys and K&N on stock GSCs
13.52 at 102 with above mods plus headers and h-pipe on GSCs
12.51 at 112 with above mods plus Vortech Charger on GSCs
12.18 at 115 with above mods plus power tube and more tuning. on GSCs

Currently it has run no quicker on drag radials, but has pulled 116.8 mph.
Your car should be in the high 13 range with more practice at the track!

 

[SVT X 2]

Originally posted by Booyah
Sorry misread, thought he was running DR's.

No problem... I figured you might of misread it and wanted to clarify it. :coolman:

Racer, That's some pretty nice times... :thumbsup:

 

[94svt5.0]

How big of a difference do you guys think 3:73 would make? Would that not cause it to redline before the end of the 1/4 in third gear? What about pullys? do they make a big difference? I thought that the cobras already had modefied pully ratios. thanks for the help.

 

[SVT X 2]

Originally posted by 94svt5.0
How big of a difference do you guys think 3:73 would make? Would that not cause it to redline before the end of the 1/4 in third gear? What about pullys? do they make a big difference? I thought that the cobras already had modefied pully ratios. thanks for the help.

I have 3.73's and believe me... you need these gears! Stock gears and drag racing don't mix too well unless you have a blower, and even then alot of people will bump to a 3.55.
For me, I end up at the end of the 1/4 in 4th and about 5,400 or so which is just about right.

Yes the stock Cobra pullies are somewhat underdriven from the factory, not as much as aftermarket units. You'll probably get a gain, but not as much as a GT would from the same mod. I've got BBK aluminum's on (with stock alt.).

 

[94svt5.0]

more questions

Since factory pullies are already slightly underdriven, do you guys think its worth the extra $ to go with aftermarket? Its probably only a couple hp.

 

[Racer X]

Re: more questions

Originally posted by 94svt5.0
Since factory pullies are already slightly underdriven, do you guys think its worth the extra $ to go with aftermarket? Its probably only a couple hp.

My Cobra made 14rwhp more with aftermarket pulleys!