Hit the track with my most recent purchase, a '94 Trans-Am 6 speed. Jet hot LT's, SLP CAI, GMMG catback, and a Madwolf PCM tune. My previous LT1 was a '95 Z28 that had an A4/2.73's and hit a best of 13.61 @ 102 with Jet Hot LT's and CAI. My Trans Am feels really strong and sound unreal (GMMG + LT's rule)
However tonight at Maple grove it was kinda chilly, froze my butt off as a matter of fact. My best run?? 14.12 @ 100mph. I was VERY underwhelmed. One thing kept flashing thru my head, the car has 118k on it and from what the previous owner told me (he had the car two years) its the original clutch. From driving the car I can't tell if the clutch is slipping, however the slow MPH tells me something is amiss. The track was very slick tonight, I could barely touch the gas in 1st and it wheel hopped badly in second. I cringed since I really don't wanna lay out $2200 for a 12 bolt. I assume I need traction mods too. So did I answer my question and is 118k alot for a factory clutch on a slighly modified LT1????

 

depends on your reactions times,60ft times...6spd requires more skill launching it, but car could also need a tune up...find out if the opti has been changed,coil,plugs and wires, they could lead to a much stronger motor. the groundbeing so cold could have been an issue with spinning, it sure was cold around here in MAY!

118k on stock clutch isnt going to help either
with my car @116k stock clutch,opti,borla,slp cai ran a best of 14.8, another reason to bad time is cause the car bogged real bad tiwce during launch..could have been me
now with 132k, slp clutch,new opti im trying to get to atco to see what i can pull

as for wheel hop, look into BMR rear lower control arms.

 

New plugs, plug wires, opti, fuel pump within the last 5000 miles.

Thought I could smell clutch, after the first run tonight. Another bizzare thing, I recently replaced the POS Goodyear GSC's with BF Goodrich KDWS's. Traction improved GREATLY, but car doesn't "feel" faster. Just digs and goes. However it just feels like the noise is there, it just doesn't go like it should. Maybe the stickier tires finally put the klickers to the clutch.

60 foots were horrible. 2.35 on my first run (14.42)
2.15 on my second run.

I expected poor et's with street tires and no traction mods (not even SFC's which I need badly with T-Tops) but i still should have pulled a decent MPH. 100 MPH is about what my stock A4/2.73 LT1 ran

 

Yep something is def. wrong. With mods like yours you should be in the ~290rwrhp range and pulling ~104 traps.

Start with basics. Hook up a fuel pressure guage and verify that your fp is working fine and the car is getting fuel. Then if you have a laptop and software, datalog a run or 2. If not, try to get on a dyno and you'll get a good idea whether you have ignition problems or not. Other than that, if you don't feel anything wrong, you'll just be throwing parts all over the place.

If you smelled clutch then that could be a potential culprit and I'd get on that asap. Some stock clutches die @ 50k, some go to over 100k.

 

Well I took time today and did a fuel pressure check. When I started it up it went to about 33psi, pulled the vacuum line and it went to 43 psi. Driving the car it hits a peak of 42-43 psi. Well within factory specs.
When I drove it today I really tried to "feel" if the clutch was slipping. I honestly can't. When I had clutches go in other cars the revs would spike when the clutch slips. Could the clutch in this car be slipping ever so slightly, just so its really not noticable? I mean with my mods I should be able to smoke the tires, at a crawl in 1st gear when I hammer it the tires don't even chrip, it just goes.
Under the car I also saw where my minor oil leak is coming from, look like maybe the rear main seal. Car has 118 on it that wouldn't be a shock, maybe some oil on the flywheel?? I don't really plan on major mods with this car this year, I'll probably get an SLP clutch off Ebay (so I don't have to deal with SLP themselves) then can kill two birds with one stone and do the rear main seal. I know you said not to throw parts at the car- but with the mileage it has, and the fact that it may be the stock clutch, plus that leak. I might as well start there then I KNOW its not the clutch.
BTW I have a laptop but no software. I'll look into that too.

 

An old test people used to tell me to check for a slipping clutch was to put the car in 4th at about 25mph or so and hammer the gas, see if it slips then, because it will be obvious, and that's putting a lot of strain on the clutch.

 

Yes that's an old test we used to do in the old days. The car passes that test fine, I watch the Tach and I didn't detect a slip.

Lets see recently this car has had:

New wires
New plugs
New 255lph fuel pump (car has good fuel pressure)
new opti

So if it ISN'T the clutch WTF else could it be?? Yeas I need to get on a Dyno, but that is $$$$$$$$$$. I know I can get a cable from AKM but what diagnostic software is the easiest to use??

 

I know you probably checked this, but make sure none of your spark plug wires are burnt. I had a burnt wire and the car just felt like a dog, running on 7 cylinders will do that I guess. I could detect a very slight shake at idle, like the motor was running just a little rough.

 

do a compression check?

When my car had headers and a cam i was trapping mid 90s, found out i had no compression on 2 cylinders.

Valve seals were shot.