O.K. - HERE'S MY SET-UP, PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE WHAT ELSE I CAN DO TO GET SOME DECENT TRACTION.

383 STROKER(FULLY FORGED) FULLY PORTED AND POLISHED HEADS, 1.60/2.02 64CC'S SOLID ROLLER CAM (W/ABOUT .664 LIFT) TRIPLE SPRING VALVE SPRINGS, VORTECH S-TRIM SUPERCHARGER GOING TO BE ABOUT 10LBS OF BOOST, HOOKER L/T'S SIX SPEED, 4.10 POSI AND ALL THE EXTRA'S THAT GO ALONG WITH IT.

FOR THE CHASIS - I HAVE ALREADY BOUGHT LCA'S / RELOCATION BRACKETS, PANHARD BAR, MAC TORQUE ARM&SAFTY LOOP SET-UP, KONI'S, STB AND SUB-FRAME CONNECTORS.

I KNOW WITH MY SET-UP IT'S GONNA BE PRETTY HARD TO KEEP TRACTION, SO I NEED SOME HELP - WHAT KIND OF SLICKS/RIMS EXC... I AM CURRENTLY RUNNING 275/40/17'S AND HAVE A SPARE SET OF WS6 RIMS WITH 255 BFG DR'S BUT I AM AFRAID THEY WON'T BE ENOUGH.

PLEASE HELP!

PAUL

 

You need slicks, a McLeod Street Twin clutch, and a 12-bolt or 9" rear end. You may also need a new driveshaft, depending on what you are running. If you get decent tires, you will break stock driveline parts in very short order with the kind of hp you should be making. There are various chassis mods as well, but they will make much less difference than the tires.

So, you need about $5,000 in parts to get decent traction at the drag strip. Once you do all this, you may also be well on the road to breaking your transmission! In that case you will need a built TH400 along with a Gear Vendors overdrive (if you plan on any highway driving). This will run another $4,000-5,000.

Once you do hook up, you will need a six-point roll bar at the least and maybe even a full cage, depending how fast you are going and how safety concious you are.

How do I know all this? Because I have been there/done that. Figure $10,000 if you go whole hog. Are you completely sure you want to do this?

Rich Krause

BTW: PLEASE TURN OFF THE CAPS LOCK!!!

 

I guess that would sum up my feelings after reading this.

Couldn't I just go with like some 3.73 gears instead of the 4.10's and go to maybe some 27 or 28 " slicks - I don't race it all the time..... I only take it to the track about 3 days out of the year!

Thanks for the info.......

Paul

 

In all honesty, a blown stroker makes serious horsepower. I broke the stock 10 bolt with 3.73's on the stock motor and drag radials.

NHRA requires at least a roll bar at 11.99 and IHRA at 11.49, so do that because if you are not quicker than that your first pass you should be on your second. That is with the stock flooring in place. Get a good one that you can add on to in case you need to turn it into a full cage when you get a handle on things.

You also need a 5-point harness, jacket and helmet. Check with your local track concerning the safety details of running in the 10's because that is where you will likely be...

Most likely a set of slicks will be required to hook up with any sort of reliability. I am running 28" ET Streets on 15" x 10" rims and that combo might work for you if you are not super serious, but you would likely be better off with full slicks.

Your stock rear will break. It doesn't matter what you do to it. I know a few guys will post about running for years with your power on a stock rear, but I have personally seen waaaay too many broken rears at the track and broke mine three times before I did the right thing and bought a Moser 12 bolt. With your level of power you should be putting in the proper components or you will likely not gain much enjoyment from your investment.

The stock clutch will not hold that power. Heck, the stock clutch wouldn't even hold a decent cam/heads car ( I know this from firsthand experience). You need a Street Twin to take the power you have. I wouldn't even think of going to the track with anything less.

You may as well replace the driveshaft now, because with a Street twin and slicks you will twist it up like a pretzel the first time you hook up.

I don't want to be a pill, but it sounds like you have a great ride and it would be nic if it passed tech, hooked up, and you live long enough to enjoy it.

 

I agree - I want to go with the best - for the fact that I don't want stuff coming apart on me.

on the rearnd - I just bought an eaton series 3 - should i even install it? or just find a 12 bolt?

the drive line - I have the updated alumanim one that is "supposed" to fix the vibration - i think it's the 1le shaft - any opinions on what I should run?

the clutch - the stroker I bought cam with a star stage 3 - it is supposed to hook up very well... Do you think I should replace it with the street twin while it's already out????


Thanks for all the input!!!!

later,

Paul

 

I am not an expert on the Star product line. Perhaps someone here has more experience with that company. I do know that I personally went through seven Centerforce installations before switching to an automatic. The Street Twin is generally regarded as the best and most reliable clutch for high horsepower applications. I recommend speaking directly with the manufacturer prior to purchase.

I have the aluminum LPE driveshaft. Perhaps someone here could share their experience.

I would certainly call Moser/Strange/Currie and get a 12 bolt. Let these guys know what you are running and they will match up[ the correct stuff for you. I have a Moser and Rob Moser helped me out quite a bit. If you speak with him say hello for me.

 

Sweet - Thanks for all the great info......

Later

Paul

 

I used the LPE 3.5" aluminum driveshaft for a couple of years without a problem. I was at the 600rwhp level in a 4,000lb car. So it must be fairly strong. OTOH, the car was not hooking up well. Once I started to get good traction and added nitrous I swapped it for Denny's "nitrous ready" shaft (http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/). Not sure if this is overkill for my application though.

If I wanted aluminum for a hi-po application I would use Lingenfelter's or Denny's HD aluminum shaft. Note the following from Denny's site: "What this means is, not all applications can utilize a 6061-T6 Aluminum driveshaft successfully. We do not recommend that you use an aluminum shaft in heavy high performance vehicles or race cars with clutches or trans brakes. Heavyweight vehicles, 3400 lbs or greater, with clutches or trans brakes should stick with the track proven abilities of our NITROUS READY steel driveshafts. High performance street cars and the lightweight race cars can reap the benefits of DENNY'S HD ALUMINUM at a very reasonable cost."

YMMV

Rich Krause

 

Thanks man, How much did you spend on the nitrus ready shaft? I am going to look into it now.......


later

 

Man, That's not that bad of a price, 335.00 - can that be right? Also rich - did you have a vibration before the driveshaft, and if so, did this shaft help any???

Thanks

Paul

 

Yeah its right around $335....definatly a great deal and a great company (free replacement if you break the "nitrous ready" shaft). I am going to order my NR driveshaft from Denny's this week.

Jason

 

I had vibration with the original steel shaft. The Lingenfelter shaft cured the vibration. The Denny's NR shaft is fine - no vibes!

And the price is very reasonable at $335!

Rich Krause

 

This is reguarding your clutch.

I had a SPEC stage 2 in my car and it held up fine.

My car made 471 RWHP and 618 RWTQ when I had the 355 with the spray on it.

I think your clutch will hold up fine.

On another note I did break my main shft in my T-56 tranny and I have a TH400 now.

Also I have a moser 9" rear.

With my numbers the stock rear end didn't last long at all.

* Launch snap *

I also run a Denny's nitrous shaft.