alright, this is beyond frustrating. all total, on 3 seperate outings ive made a total of about 20 passes. in all fairness i was pretty inexperienced launching this car on the first trip since i had only owned the car for a little more than a month, but ive been drag racing for going on 15 years and have even had cars in the high 10s. this car is yet to 60 foot better than a 2.3

ive tried bogging it and just walking it out of the hole. ive tried launching it hard and sidestepping it. ive tried dropping tire pressures all the way down to 20 lbs. ive tried launching it soft and feathering it, launching hard and feathering it. ive tried just about everything i can possibly think of and no matter what i do, and how good the launch "feels" the timeslips all say 2.3 seconds.

ive talked to about 15 other mustang drivers at these various events and all of them with similar cars are saying they are running in the 2.1-2.4 range.

first trip out, car went 16.1 at 94mph spinning tires into 4th gear. keep in mind it was the first time ever taking this car to the track. after 7 runs on that day, best pass was a disappointing 15.7 @ 95.32 mph with a 2.313 60 foot. tires were overinflated on that trip cuz i had forgotten to bring my tire gauge, car was also stock, no mods.

second trip to the track i had gotten my catback system installed. 1st pass out was a 15.5 @ 93mph and best pass of the day was a 15.02 @ 96.56 mph with a 2.366 60foot. brought the tire gauge this time, tires were at 25lbs, launched car at 2200 rpm and slipped the clutch.

well last night i went to the track after getting my lower CIA installed (thanks GTNinja! ) and best time of the night was a 14.646 @ 96.99 with a 2.364 60 foot time. was running the tires at 20 lbs, tried launching at 2200, 2500, 3000 and on all of those passes still ran 2.3 60 foots. W.....T.....F.....!!! one pass was even a 14.88 at 98.73mph with a 2.499 60 foot time.

now, i see all thes guys bragging about how they are gettin 1.7 and 1.6 even 60 foot times. and the only thing i can ask is HOW?!?! on street tires, even aired down, i dont know anybody who can beat a 2.1 60 foot so.....what are we all doing wrong here? any help is greatly appreciated but please keep in mind the car is relatively stock and on street tires, NOT drag radials. also not interested in hearing about 1.6 60 foot times from cars that are on street slicks and have intensive mods either. were talking basically stock only. thanks!!

 

I've heard people saying on street tires 1.8's are possible but the best i could do on street tires is a 2.0.

What kind of mustang do you have? Maybe you should just cheat, get a set of drags and bring those times down.

 

dude right now i'd kill for some 2.0 60 foots. lol

car is an '02 Mustang GT, 4.6 with catback and lower Cold Air Intake. Havent ran the differential tag number, but pretty sure its 3.23 gears under it. 17" bullitt wheels with 275 x 45s on them.

if the theory crafting is correct, and every .1 off the 60 foot time is equal to .2 off of ET, that should mean if i could get a 2.0 or 1.9 the car should break into the 13s.

i hate to say it, but i think im probably going to have to break down and get some drag radials and another set of wheels. 15" x 10" welds anybody?

 

I'd have that car going 13.8's at most as is. Get a set of gears (4.10's) and drag radials and see yourself in the low to mid 13's.

 

dude you are running a 28" tire! 275 45 is HUGE and slowing you down big time. that is too tall of a tire with your stock power and stock gears, 3.27 BTW. i dont know what to say about your short times but keep working on it. i wouldnt run 15X10 i would start out with 15X8 since they are smaller = lighter weight.

i think you should look into some suspension that will make up big time on your launches.

how bad are you bogging off the line if at all? to me that could be a reason why your car isnt launching

my stang is a auto so i just mash and go....but my WRX is a manual and it took me a few passes to really get the right idea when it came to launching that car off the line. at first i was bogging down real bad until i figured out that slipping it out worked best for that car could be different in the mustang because they lack the AWD aspect...oh yeah power shift down the track because that will make you some time as well.

 

Out of the friends of mine that I have talked to..they said there is no way in hell you will get a 1. anything 60 on street tires at famoso..

For some reason, it just doesn't happen..

Which is probably the same reason why I'm running 15 flat at 97 miles per hour, LOL...

 

Its just a matter of getting the hang of it. I can tell you that it just takes finding the right amount of rpm and feathering the throttle to get a good launch. when I was bone stock I was able to do many 2.0X 60' foots. I revved to 3k and slipped it out of the hole. It worked well for my car. It ran consistent 14.1@99 stock. So just keep on it and you will bring those times down. Also helps if the track is prepped well.

 

ok, went out and double checked, they arent 275 x 45, they are 245 x 45r /17

gonna be getting lower control arms, and a set of subframe connectors

im not bogging at all, im keeping just enough rpm and tire spin to keep the car moving forward. people have even said the car "looks" like its hooking and it "feels" pretty decent seat of the pants, but the timeslips dont lie and every freaking one of them shows a 2.3xx

i am. always have, always will.

 

If your on stock sized rubber air your tires back up, 20psi is way to low. All your doing by lowering them that much is making the middle of the tire not contact the ground as well. This is called cupping. Street tires should be run at there regular street tire psi that gives you the best contact patch and even wear. Also lowers, and subframes wont do much to help that launch on street tires.

 

Are you saying that street tires shouldn't be underinflated?

I have 275/40/17 Eagle F1 A/S street tires. What PSI should i be running at the track?

 

From everything I have read in the past, you should most likely be runnind the normal pressure (30-32lbs I believe.) Street tires tend to move in different ways due to the tread being different thickness in different places and usually leads to "cupping" as spike referred to it.

You can run low pressure in slicks because instead of bulging inward like treaded tires, they usually lay flat or actually act the opposite of a street tire (as long as you don't run them TOO low.)

 

your car is currently set up to make 2.3 second 60' passes. If you want better times, try a smaller tire, more rear gear (you have 3.27's BTW, I'd go to at least a 3.73 since you race it), loosen up or remove the front sway bar at race time, and don't expect the impossible. Drag radials would be my first spend if you just want to get into the 13's.

 

yeah, couldnt agree with you more here. well, only really have about 2 races left at the local track before season closes it, then ill have till next june to get as much done as possible. this is my daily driver and if i could get it into the high 12s as a daily driven mostly stock ride id be pretty happy. im actually thinking 4.10s, possibly even 4.30s for gears and if im gonna have to be changing tires for the track i might just go ahead and get slicks instead of radials.

ive been doing a ton of reading and lately and the magic number seems to be a 26" tall tire. now, this brings about another question. all the people running around here claiming 1.6-2.0 60 foot times, (i thought) were all runing stock suspension and street tires, not drag radials. id have to go digging to find them all, but im sure ive even seen several posts of people with "stock mustangs running low 14s, high 13s". that being said, if they can do it, why cant anybody in the greater bakersfield area? lol id hate to think driver skill was a regional thing

 

i hit 1.8-1.9's all the time with only pro-kit springs on my mustang. i have a auto and only power mods were CAI, 70mm TB, exhaust andn under drives. i used street tires at 20 psi most of the time and ran consistant 13.5's flashing the converter with 3.27 gears. when i switched to 3.73's my launches were way off and i had to start launching off of idle because i would blow the tires off. i have a lot of seat time with my car when it was N/A and i figured it out pretty quick. too bad i went to korea because i really want to stretch the blower out some more and at least hit a 11 before the motor gets built.

i think the track you race on is not prepped and you will need at least a drag radial to get any kind of decent traction. i run my car on a street track now. my suspension has changed big time since i ran at a drag strip. i have removed the sway bar, put in sub frames, UCA's, LCA's, and strange shocks and struts. i am also running on a 315/35/17 drag radial and i aired them down to 14 psi and have hit a best of 1.7 60ft on a unprepped track launching off of a weak *** 2k rpms. i want to use my stall but i cant at the moment i really need some slicks on my car.

 

a lot of those same guys fail to mention that the front of their car often has a bit of work done to the front to help the weight transfer. Making a 1.6 on street tires and bone stock suspension ... I'd call BS on anyone claiming that.

 

im not trying to sound like i am full of myself. LOL in no way do i think that i "**** excellence" when i wake up in the morning. well, ok maybe sometimes i do **** thunder doesnt happen all of the time but there are times, im kidding.

that was just more of a message that it is possible to hit those times with a realatively stock mustang. when i first started i had the same problems you are having now and i just kept working at it and eventually got stuck at 13.5. now i have new problems cant go faster than 12.5 with 400 hp

 

stanger you'd be a perfect candidate for a torque arm. It'd really help with the rear grip overall. Probably help keep the tires from spinning through 2nd.

 

well, having talked to dozens of guys on street tires all saying they arent hooking for crap i can kinda see that as being the case. but we watch them prep the track. ive seen them spraying the VHT, dragging the rubber, burning it in, repeat, etc. ive also watched sub 6 second cars in the 1.0-1.2 60 foot times, and seen doorslammers on slicks pulling wheelies.

i know im on street tires and drag radials will help, but at less than 300lb/ft to the ground on a prepped track should i really be overpowering the tires this bad? Or am i not really overpowering the tires, this is just the best its gonna get at this track?

i definately hope its not the latter. that would be a bit discouraging being as the next closest track for me is 3 hours drive away. im much more comfortable with there being something within my control that i can fix or get better at. i guess ultimately if i have to get some drag radials i will but i dont think i should have to run cheaters to be running what others do stock.

 

Well, now I don't feel so bad about my horrible times. I'm running all stock(except Flowmaster A/T's) and the best 60' i've EVER been able to clock is 2.35. That was a 15.1 run, which was terrible considering the 60'. The last time I ran I managed to pull a 14.94 with a 2.4x 60' somehow. I had the weather(mid 80's) on my side though. Our track is a little over 4,000ft elevation in hot hot hot weather(usually run in the 90's until mid-September when the temp drops) with a new track(under a year). Its a bit of a low budget track, nothing sanctioned or special, so the "prep" is minimal if they even bother that day. Its off-brand VHT sprayed, but never burned. They're looking for slicks to drag some day, but we'll see if that ever happens. I can't launch hard AT ALL, because I will end up sideways, or in a wall. I have to launch under 3,000 so I won't do a standing burnout in my street tires(its happened), and hold the throttle around 3/4 until I get traction, THEN I can floor it. If I could launch harder, and not have to worry so much about losing complete traction my times would be 14's all the time. I just got some M/T Et Streets, so we'll see how that goes eventually.

 

stop wasting your time.....your next purchase should be tires. i don't know waht your budget is, but you will go nowhere without tires.....

the best bet is to find a set of stock wheels, even some cheap steel wheels....and change them at the track. you can spend the money on Drag radials, but slicks are better and are way more forgiving on a car with stock suspension