I recently built a 1982 Firebird for my father to have some fun with.While the motor puts out 500+ hp the traction in this car sucks.I replaced the old springs with heavy duty ones, put an adjustable pan hard rod, traction action(lakewood) adjustable traction bars, new shocks all the way round, new stuts in the front, and a random technology adjustable torque arm. i still can't get the car to hook up whether i walk it out or not.I have 275/60/15 bfg radial ta tires and 373 gears in the rear( need to swap to 411 to compensate for the tire size) but figured i would wait because no traction with the set up i have now would only be worse with the 411 gears. would like some suggestions on how to get this bird to hook and fly.

 

for draging, the old springs are better so the car can shift its weight on the rear tires. Stiff springs are for handling.

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-Tas
'89 Formula WS-6

305, TBI, auto, 14x3 chrome flat based open element with K&N, Milodon 160* thermo, functional Formula hood, cross-flow Flowmaster, '99z28 rear pipes and tips....

Soon to be installed:
Hooker 1-5/8" 50 state legal headers, Dynomax 3" I pipe (PN 44063 and 43248), Catco 3" cat, and injector spacer.

Super GRK_Taz World
F-Body Dual Exaust
EFI & Intake Options
AOL IM: superGRtaz

 

The car will "squat" somewhat and i can feel the traction bars lift to plant the tires. the second you feel the tires trying to plant, well i guess we all know what happens.

 

you didnt mention lca relocation brackets and boxed LCA's...did u do those as well? if not id try those.. posi? how much tread is left on those tires?

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1989 Firebird
2.8 v6, t5 swapped in

Ram Hi-po clutch, Cold Air, 1.6 rockers,Lakewood LCA's, Lakewood Lift bars, Wonder Bar, 3" y-pipe, Random Tech Cat, 3" I-pipe, Flowmasters, MSd 6a, MSD Coil, Accel 8.8 wires, Auto Meter Gauges (Water, Clock, Fuel Pressure, and 5" Sport Comp Tach)TB Bypass, 4th Gen Seats

Coming for my v6:
Panhard Bar, 4thgen front seats, Nitrous, Line Lock, Posi, Spohn Torque Arm & Subframe connnectors

"I'd rather run last in a full out race, than to NOT have run at all"
#3 Forever

 

Take the hood of and make a pass if they will let you. If it works a little better than you need to lose some weight.

 

I don't need lca relocation brackets or boxed lca. the traction action lift bars take the place of the stock lca and are adjustable( something like a ladder bar). the bfg tires are brand new, the car only has 500 miles since all the modifications. i rebuilt the rear myself with a auburn gear pro-series differential, 373 richmond gears, seals etc. i even tried adjusting the pinion angle from 1.5 degrees down to 2.5 degrees with still the same problem. my 68 pro-street firbird has a totally different set up and that i got to run 10 flat all day. i'm kinda lost with this because nothing seems to make a difference.

 

yea sorry..i didnt see that, im using them too..

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1989 Firebird
2.8 v6, t5 swapped in

Ram Hi-po clutch, Cold Air, 1.6 rockers,Lakewood LCA's, Lakewood Lift bars, Wonder Bar, 3" y-pipe, Random Tech Cat, 3" I-pipe, Flowmasters, MSd 6a, MSD Coil, Accel 8.8 wires, Auto Meter Gauges (Water, Clock, Fuel Pressure, and 5" Sport Comp Tach)TB Bypass, 4th Gen Seats

Coming for my v6:
Panhard Bar, 4thgen front seats, Nitrous, Line Lock, Posi, Spohn Torque Arm & Subframe connnectors

"I'd rather run last in a full out race, than to NOT have run at all"
#3 Forever

 

Maybe sub frame connectors would make a difference? i've been thinking about South Side Machine whole set up for the third gen's. anybody have them and if so what needed to be done to install the lift bars etc?

 

IMO radial TA's suck for traction. Your running 8 inch wide wheels and around 27PSI in the tires, right. Not that it means anything, but I haven't seen the traction action lift bars work very well. I have seen LCA relocation brackets, aftermarket LCA's, aftermarket torque arm, weak springs, no front bar hook really well.

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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro

 

The Random tech torque-arm is not optimal for drag racing. It's WAY too long.

The range for optimal anti-squat on these cars is ~32 to 36 inches. Closer to 32 if serious braking is not a big concern.

Both, the BMR and Jeg's torque arms are shorter than stock and come with their own front mount. Neither is a simple bolt-on, but either should help.

CPCamaro

 

I agree with 82camaro - you may want to consider different tires. Regardless of all the suspension mods, my experience has been that tires make the biggest difference of all. A +500 hp car needs drag radials at a minimum. A DOT bias-ply drag tire, such as an M/T ET Street would be much better if your primary concern is straight line acceleration.
Like most drag specific hardware, either of these tires will compromise the streetability of the vehicle to some extent. The drag radials are the most streetable, exhibiting modest wear, fair wet weather traction until well worn, good dry handling at normal street pressures). The ET Street is more for the hardcore weekend warrior who doesn't care about cornering and never plans to drive on wet surfaces.

 

at the track i will run a slick. but i guess the best compromise might be a drag radial. as for the traction action lift bars not working very well, let's just say shifting out of 2nd gear at 80 mph before the traction bars was like trying to drive on ice,hazing the tires and getting the *** end squirrely at 80 mph might sound cool but it's not my bag. can't really say i noticed a difference with the torque arm, i guess with 500+ hp it's hard to get a grip.

 

You have all of the right suspension parts. DO NOT use the stock rear springs. Soft suspensions do not hook. The car will only squat as much as the suspension angles will allow. The springs will limit the amount the back of the car descends, but it is also applying more force to the ground with hard springs, causing it to hook faster. The torque arm is a must for drag racing. Contrary to popular belief it does not lift the front of the car. Its job is to properly locate the pinion angle. Adjust it with no more than 15 degrees of negative pinion angle. This should counter any rear-end wrap-up. I'm assuming that you put in good poly bushings in the rear. Because of the way the engine torques the left side will always bite harder than the right side. To counter this the right side must react faster. Put more preload in the right side traction bar, or use an airbag in the right side spring to stiffen up that side. I'll admit that I don't know enough about the panhard rod to help out there. Remember that traction is a result of stiffness and weight. The only thing that might be holding you back is the tires. They HAVE to bite some before the suspension can start to help them. 500 ponies is enough to destroy any radials. Also the 60 series sidewall might be flexing too much and distorting the tread pattern causing loss of traction. Radials are not drag slicks. They are not supposed to flex that much. If you are really interested try to find a book on suspensions. College book stores are usually a good place. Anything that involves vehicle dynamics will have what you need.

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'87 Bird 350 .060 over 700R4 + Lots more