soft 60' times

-
like_A_pike

like_A_pike

that's not factory
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
1,644
Reaction score
2,359
Location
Western WA
OldmanRick said:
Congrats! 60' looked pretty soft if i read that slip right?
Click to expand...

yes sir; I will blame the pit crew and driver for consistently soft 60 footers.

In the past my local track would allow everything and anything out there for test and tune. I've seen cars dripping water from the A/C at the tree and on several occasions pickups would shake half a ton of dirt loose when they launched. I know that I have issues with tuning, chassis, tire pressure, launch rpm, and burn out duration, but when the track condition changes between every run, it's impossible to learn what the heck i'm doing wrong.

Track management has changed a few times in as many years. Last Friday they announced something notably different; they opened up test and tune for vehicles with drag radials or slicks only. There were only a few of us street cars out there and it was a lot more fun.

ATT00014.gif
 
Glad to see the track is maybe moving to a more professional deal. Hope it holds, trying to deal with that is to mind nerving.
 
I will purposefully line up out of the groove when it gets BAD! There is some traction out there sometimes. The more I watch slo-mo of my car. The more I see it starts to spin as tire goes over an irregularity on the line. A difference in color, any imperfection in the surface. So even though the compound is not fresh out there, if its consistent? I’ll give it a shot. It does feel “brittle” out there. Thats the best word I could come up with.
 
I am just out there having fun really, and off the gas the moment that I realize Im not sticking it. When the real drivers are having close calls, i often called it a night. Last Friday went well for everyone I saw run.

I will have to have someone record my launches if this continues.
 
There is a YouTuber advocating disconnecting the sway bar, the top of the shocks up front and removing the bumpers from the A arms. The ideas are low cost improvement to suspension travel and weight transfer. I’m curious about the absence of the sway bar mostly. How’s the car going to handle when I’m twisting the front end at launch?
 
My car suffers from soft 60' as well but it isn't the track prep causing it. I've been fighting it since the first time I got the car out in January and finally have come to accept the fact that there might not be anything left with my combo. :steering:
 
-Boosted- said:
My car suffers from soft 60' as well but it isn't the track prep causing it. I've been fighting it since the first time I got the car out in January and finally have come to accept the fact that there might not be anything left with my combo. :steering:
Click to expand...

Usually, if 60 foot is soft, it’s combo related, and often it can jump right out at ya as to what the culprit might be.
There is a reason even low powered NHRA stockers have great 60 foot’s for the ET’s they run. You will see cars that run mid to high 10’s often that still manage to click off 1.3xx 60 foots.
Several culprits often are too big or too wide of a camshaft, convertor mismatched, or carb tune.
There might be others too, but just ones I have seen.
 
I can get to 87 mph after a dismal 1.95 60 foot in the eighth when I make ok traction. I think that I’m very stiff and 5500rpm is the wrong place to shift.
 
like_A_pike said:
There is a YouTuber advocating disconnecting the sway bar, the top of the shocks up front and removing the bumpers from the A arms. The ideas are low cost improvement to suspension travel and weight transfer. I’m curious about the absence of the sway bar mostly. How’s the car going to handle when I’m twisting the front end at launch?
Click to expand...
Most a bodies don't have sway bars, you do want that additional transfer, I don't know anything about your combo but it doesn't sound like there's enough power to overcome a sway bar.
I used to run my big *** charger down the quarter with pretty loose power steering. It had no sway bars... I don't really believe it is going to be anywhere near as bad as what you're expecting.
Try it out, even 90/10 shocks will help.
 
like_A_pike said:
I can get to 87 mph after a dismal 1.95 60 foot in the eighth when I make ok traction. I think that I’m very stiff and 5500rpm is the wrong place to shift.
Click to expand...
Is your chassis tied, With subframe connectors atleast ?
The stiffer your chassis is the better it will react
(With the right shocks)
I'm hoping to atleast get a few runs on my car this season, I'm expecting a learning curve since it is a very stiff car.
I can jack up the front of the car from behind the driver front wheel and the rear driver side lifts off the ground too.
 
Yes and the entire side comes off the floor too when lifted similarly. BUT when I lower it, the front takes a long time to return to the normal ride height. ??? There is an old sway bar up front only. RMS adjustable uppers and strut rods. It handles curves awesome. I believe that my rear shocks are too short (& cheap) with SS +1 springs, as the shackles point forward all the time. Further limit weight transfer. I was going to change that and loosen up the front end as mentioned. Unless of course you all were shocked at the idea. Sounds like I could try it.
 
like_A_pike said:
Yes and the entire side comes off the floor too when lifted similarly. BUT when I lower it, the front takes a long time to return to the normal ride height. ??? There is an old sway bar up front only. RMS adjustable uppers and strut rods. It handles curves awesome. I believe that my rear shocks are too short (& cheap) with SS +1 springs, as the shackles point forward all the time. Further limit weight transfer. I was going to change that and loosen up the front end as mentioned. Unless of course you all were shocked at the idea. Sounds like I could try it.
Click to expand...
Do you have heavy t-bars too ?
 
like_A_pike said:
Yes and the entire side comes off the floor too when lifted similarly. BUT when I lower it, the front takes a long time to return to the normal ride height. ??? There is an old sway bar up front only. RMS adjustable uppers and strut rods. It handles curves awesome. I believe that my rear shocks are too short (& cheap) with SS +1 springs, as the shackles point forward all the time. Further limit weight transfer. I was going to change that and loosen up the front end as mentioned. Unless of course you all were shocked at the idea. Sounds like I could try it.
Click to expand...
Yep, loosen it up
 
… anyway, looking forward to trying Bremerton out! It’s my nearest track now! It doesn’t appear to suffer from the bad practices I’ve become accustomed to.
 
B3422w5 said:
You will see cars that run mid to high 10’s often that still manage to click off 1.3xx 60 foots.
Click to expand...
What happened, seems like they must run out of steam.
1.3 in the 60 is what I would expect from a mid 9 pass.
 
like_A_pike said:
… anyway, looking forward to trying Bremerton out! It’s my nearest track now! It doesn’t appear to suffer from the bad practices I’ve become accustomed to.
Click to expand...
Bremerton is one of my 2 home tracks. We were just out there on the 29th of June.
 
fishmens67 said:
What happened, seems like they must run out of steam.
1.3 in the 60 is what I would expect from a mid 9 pass.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Such a car( a stocker) is cam and head limited, it’s a stocker..but they have the suspension, convertor, gearing, etc, etc so scienced out that what they can legally get the car to do exceeds what the horsepower limited motor can do.
In other words, they get WAY more out of the combination than 99% of bracket racers would get out of the same kinda deal.
That is why such guys often get great ET and 60 foot for what they have, but the mph( power) is down from what most would expect for that ET to see.
 
-Boosted- said:
Bremerton is one of my 2 home tracks. We were just out there on the 29th of June.
Click to expand...
I’ve seen some videos by “Tim” (I think). Our cars seem similarly set up except I pull a bunch of stuff off of mine to get similar ETs. Lol
 
MOPARMAGA said:
Is your chassis tied, With subframe connectors atleast ?
The stiffer your chassis is the better it will react
(With the right shocks)
I'm hoping to atleast get a few runs on my car this season, I'm expecting a learning curve since it is a very stiff car.
I can jack up the front of the car from behind the driver front wheel and the rear driver side lifts off the ground too.
Click to expand...
The catch is.... can you open and close the door, when you lift it like that?
(I can with two out of three, the ones with the full cages. The eight point bar, and subframe connectors, not so much.)
 
like_A_pike said:
it's a 373 (340 with the forged SCAT rotating assembly kit; 3.58 stroke 4.070" bore)
comp XE275HL cam .525 231/237@ .50 advertised
Holley 650 with a .50cc pum on the secondary jetted 70in the front and 76 in the back
904 with a Dynamic 9.5 converter
hand ported 587 J heads
Hoosier 275/50 slicks
the last time I weighed in the car and I were 3600#. We've
Click to expand...
B3422w5 said:
Usually, if 60 foot is soft, it’s combo related
Click to expand...
My current combo. That converter advertised a large range of stall speeds. I sincerely hope that is not why it falls flat!??
 
33IMP said:
I would unhook the sway bar, and modify the bump stops. I would NOT unhook the front shocks.
Click to expand...
Agreed, not unhooking the front shocks... how I missed that only the benadryl can say.
Yeah my doors open and close perfect
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top