Need some advice on what to do next budget-wise to get the 60ft lower. Car in sig(vbgarage) runs 11.8-11.9 et's at 112-113 mph with 60ft's in the 1.65-1.69 range, 1.65 being best on motor. On a 150 shot to the wheels, it's run 11.1-11.2 with best 60ft being a 1.63, 60's and et's on the bottle depend on track prep, cause it either spins or hooks on test-n-tune nights. Converter is yank 3500, 3.73 gears, modded 700r4. I leave at idle around 1000rpm and flashing the convertor works best. On the bottle, it either spins or hook/spins and I've retarded timing to 12 degrees on the launch to help. Current front suspension is no sway bar, stock worn-out springs and shocks, stock 16x8 wheels, rear suspension is spohn subframes, right rear airbag at 10psi, stock torque arm, non-adj lca's, adj panhard, lca relocation brackets with lca's in middle hole, 16x8 stock wheels with 26x11.5x16 et streets at 12psi. Car weighs 3690 with me in it. Options: A local guy has some weld draglights for sale, 15x3.5 with 165 tires front, and 15x10 7.5 bs rear with 27inch qtp's from his 4th gen z28 for $375. I know the wheels tires are a steal at that price, but I don't think the rears will fit with the 7.5 inch backspacing, so I would only use the fronts and will sell the rears. I should get a tenth or so from the front skinnies vs the stock wheels I'm betting. Need opinions on this: Buy draglights for $375, use fronts only, sell rears then buy correct offset later. Use the $375 to buy an adj torque arm. Use the $375 to buy some QA1 single adj front shocks. Other? Which one is my best 60ft reducing bang for the buck?

i was getting 1.53-1.55 60's with my LS1 car. m6 trans, same tires as yours, suspension:
jegster torque arm (non-adjustable)
stock rear shocks, kyb 8 ways up front
eibach prokit springs
stock swaybars front/rear

~3500-3600lbs, 376rwhp.


not sure why your spinning. what kinda rear shocks?
i would start with checking the pinion angle, and getting a shorter torque arm.

Rear shocks are kyb stock replacement cheapies.

I would be happy with consistent 1.5x's on motor, and 1.4x's on bottle. I see others there with less than I have, so is it the weight of the car, 3.06 1st gear in the trans or a combination of both?

That jegster arm looks good for the price.

I wouldnt even mess with the front end right now. I have 0 travel in my front suspension and it hooks hard. I like the Competition engineering 3 way adjustable rear shocks. Mine are set on 60/40. Get some 15" wheels if you do get some new ones. You can fit a 28x10.5 slick under there. I've heard you can get a 10" wheel with 5.5" backspacing in there too. Mine are 9" with 5" back spacing. wider the wheel the more it will flatten out the tire and get more to the ground.

not to highjack a thread or anything, but i gotta get in on this too.. i'm still trying to break past 1.8's.. best is a 1.810.. i just burn past the tree every run.. heres my combo..

385 around 350rwhp
t-5
9" w/ 3.89
BMR adj. LCA's
spohn LCA rb's on bottom hole
spohn adj. TA trans mounted
hotchkis panhard
suspension techniques 1-3/8" front swaybar & 1" rear swaybar w/ poly bushings
90/10 lakewood struts
moroso 220lb/in springs(sitting about 1/2in lower than stock)
stock rear shocks
stock rear springs
weld prostar 15x8
275/50-15 mt et street radials

so far this is what i will be doing.. switching to 28x11.50 QTP's after these radials are done.. front swaybar is coming off.. moving TA off trans to homemade crossmember.. any other suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated..

sell off the drag radials and buy slicks, sell off the torque arm and get a crossmember mounted one or a jegs brand torque arm like i run. get rid of the front sway bar and that'll help as well, play with the LCA location holes to find the best 60' for your car, some like the bottom hole some like the middle.

what kinda tire pressure? in your car, i think i would be running ~11-12psi and dumping it around 5k or so with the pedal to the floor. should plant the tires no problem.

drag radials should be run 18-20 psi not 11-12psi like slicks

diggler, i do run 11psi and i do dump at about 5k then floor.. i just got a 3step so it will be easier..

xpndbl3, the radials are almost done so my dad is gonna race on them till they are done.. would it be better if i converted to a crossmember mount or just buy another one??

5678ta, no front swaybar and the lca brackets on the middle hole took me from 1.72 to 1.65. I would take off the swaybar now and see what the weight transfer does for you. I didn't like the way the car swayed back and forth when turning off the track onto the return lane with the lca's on the bottom hole, just didn't feel stable. I only made 2 passes with them on the bottom hole and got a 1.65 and 1.69. Have you tried leaving at a lower rpm?

See if someone local will let you borrow some slicks or et streets/qtp's at the track for a couple of passes, that's how I figured out my old nitto's weren't doing the job. Years ago, I bought some take-off slicks from the at the track tire guy for $20 and they still had about 10 passes in them, don't know if they would be sticky enough for you though. A stick is harder to hook than an auto. Looks like you need some skinnies on the front also.

my best 60 to date was 1.475. thats all stock everything. slightly modified. but all stock springs and shocks. LCA's and torque arm. you need power.

BMR, Spohn, and the jegs brand ones are nice. The nice thing about the BMR and jegs ones is that they're shorter which will plant the tires harder. Unless you have ridiculous power they won't hit the tires too hard and that's what I'd go with. Plus makes pulling the trans that much easier since the jegs one doesn't bolt to the trans crossmember but rather the floorpan.

ok i am not with my car right now, so my dad is getting the driving in.. i'm away at college..

i will be getting some 28x11.50 qtp's later.. actually quite soon.. within a couple months..

the sway bar will come off and the LCA moved to the middle hole.. my dad will see what that does for now..

what if i made a crossmember for the TA to mount to?? with a 3/4" rod end up top, lower poly bushing, etc.. i am very capable of fabricating and would like to stick with the TA i have right now.. money is a factor.. i am still in school, i have to buy new street tires and the QTP's, i need new head gaskets, and i might be getting a new carb later on..

dude, you would blow the tires away running that kind of pressure with a manual car. bad.
11-12 is where they need to be. 1.60 60's can be had on those tires.
something else is screwy. you should have plenty of power. try leaving at the lower rpms to see what it does. you do have a fairly steep 1st gear with the t5.
i was getting 1.8x 60's with a cam'd LT1, stock suspension, m6, 3.42's, 255/50/16 bfg's leaving around 3500 rpms. ~3200lbs.

5678TA, put the LCA’s in the stock or one down hole in the LCA relo bracket, I’m betting a tire pressure of around 15-17psi (yea, lower pressure on a stick car helps, but I’ve never had drag radials that wouldn’t spin excessively below about 16psi, when I marked the tires I found that I was spinning the tires on the rim about 8-12” per pass at 15psi), and DRIVING your car out of the hole rather then letting go and hoping it sticks (which is MUCH easier on everything in the drivetrain except the clutch), should put you down into the low 1.6’s assuming you have the power to do it, possibly as low as the mid 1.5’s, assuming that nothing else is messed up. I’m betting that you’ll end up slipping your clutch in around 4500rpm +/- a little depending on drivetrain mass…

The ST bars aren’t helping you any, they’re just extra weight, I’d pull the font one for best times, or possibly try disconnecting an endlink (though I’ve never been able to show that the faster suspension reaction that you get that way results in faster 60’s)

89gta383, something is not adding up… if I were you I’d be looking for something worn out or something in the way you’re leaving the line, maybe get someone to shoot some video of you taking off to figure it out. The only thing that I see even close to marginal in your combination is the short, 16” tall streets will not work as well as a taller tire on a shorter rim.

FWIW, if you’re throwing all sorts of parts at these things and still not running good 60’s you may want to try find someone that has gone faster and getting them to check things out. I’ve said this before and will say it again, with something as sticky as nittos or better and nothing but a stiffer then stock PHR (everything else in good stock condition or better) these cars are capable of running mid 1.5’s. I’ve gotten a stick on street radials down to 1.7 flat. Lots of these parts we’re talking about help do it more consistently, but they are not necessary to actually hook the car.

Have you tried stalling the converter up off the line? Less of a shock on everything. I bet it equals a better 60ft time too.

Also, I wouldnt even mess with a Drag Radial on a manual car. Just get a slick. For auto cars using a MT ET street radial, set them at 21 psi.