I have raced twice now on our local 1 on 1 drags around a 1/3 mile track. I'm not the fastest, but have been beating the likes of late 80's Trans Ams, Late 70's Z28's but am getting beat on the corners by 280 Z's and Camaro SS's. I can out accelerate most all of them but need help on the corners. Any tips on what would give me the most bang for the buck?

My Car:

1979 Berlinetta
Stock suspension no rear sway bar (w/new front sway bar bushings)
383 yadayada (13.0's)

Thanks!

 

Best bang for the buck...
aluminum subframe bushings $35
boltin subframe connectors $100
1-1/4 " front, and 7/8" rear swaybars, $200 for pair from Addco, or go junkyard hunting for a late 70's - 81 TA
Good set of gas shocks, price depends on what you buy
bushings and connectors help take the flex out, to let the bars and shocks do their job
You will be amazed at the transformation!

 

I already have subframe connectors and polygraphite body bushings, so maybe I'm a little better than stock. I think the sway bays will be the next addition to the car as it feels like a train going around the corners. The front dives, then the rear lifts and then the tires are howling! Th BF Goodrich radial TA's give surprizingly good grip, but the side walls are huge. They will stay for awhile because they are quite new.

 

Hey- a fellow roundy-rounder! My brother and I have been running the Langley Speeday (Langley, VA) in these kind of races for over a year now in many different kinds of cars. Fieros, 3rd gens, 4th gens, etc.

Get the car solid FIRST- Subframe connectors (weld-in), poly bushings, make sure there's nothing worn out in the front end- ball joints, tie rods, etc.

Get some TIGHT springs- like you would use for autocross racing. Surprisingly, shocks don't make much difference in this type of racing, but some good quality ones would be a good idea- adjustable, if possible. Cheap Konis are jsut fine, but you can get away with good qulality stock replacements if money is tight.

Tires are always a matter of more = better in this type of racing. A set of relatively low profile (50 series) as wide as you can fit in the wheelwells is the way to go. It's a LOT more convenient to have a second set of wheels that you can put sticky Kumho Victoracers or other "barely street legal" autocross tires on for racing. If they let you run full slicks DO IT! The stickier and wider the tire, the better in almost every case. This is where you want to spend your money.

Now here's the killer-diller setup mod. I should charge you money for even letting you in on it but.....

Everything you have ever learned and everyting everyone you ever knew learned about setting up a racing suspension is WRONG for the oval drag race. In what way? A suspension set up to go around a race track, road course or autocross course will have WAY WAY too much understeer. You want to set up for what would be "massive oversteer" in any other kind of racing. How far can you go? Well, completely disconnecting the front sway bar would be a good starting point! I'm not kidding or exaggerating at all when I say this. Take the front bar OFF the car completely.

Don't beleive me? OK, before you do ANY mods, yank the front bar off your car exactly like it is now and go racing again next week with it. I GUARANTEE you'll finish better than you ever did before.

Have fun. This is a FAR FAR different type of racing than anything else out there. I've seen 90HP cars that can launch and turn well eat 400+ HP AWD GT3000s alive. I've seen 9-second Syclones that can't turn worth a damn win purely on their launch out of corners #2 & 4.

BTW- at Langley the "guy to beat" is Dale Blankenship who runs a 1980 Z-28- a second gen like yours. And not a tube-frame race car either- a modified stocker that accelerates so-so (my 13-second Formula can hang with him) but turns like it's glued to the ground!

 

Damon ... I didn't mention it but it's Langley where I raced! If you've been out recently you might have seen my maroon 79 with pro-star wheels.

It's funny that you mention the front sway bar as I just put it back on for the Langley race! I think it might have been Dale who came up and talked to me about how to do well. Does he own/work at a Maaco body shop in Hampton? He gave me a liitle advice as it was my 1st time racing. I was surprized to beat a supposed 12 second WS6 Trans-Am as well as a nitrous'd 4WD Dakota.

I'm going to have to reread & do the things you've mentioned this winter as well as talk to Dale. This racing is a blast!

Bob