Hi, I believe me any my buddy are going to have a little run this friday. I *THINK* I finally got him to agree (which was hard) after I was sick of him talking smack, so I want to shut him down...hard. Is there ANYTHING I can do driving wise and tuning wise to make this car faster? I know he can't drive, but he talks like his will blow the doors off my 83 L69. I am also short a few ponies which is gonna bite due to the mechanical fan, and am running slightly rich. But I am filling with premium unleaded before the run, maybe deflate tires??? I hear that helps with traction (and my tires are the original, small tread left tires so I NEED traction.) Also, while I consider myself a DECENT stick driver, I am inexperienced at driving one hard. Any tips, GREATLY APPRECIATED. Also, I got a camcorder w/ firewire, so if my fellow El Camino guy will ride w/ me, I will put this on tape. Thanks guys!

 

A v6 bird against your L69. He should be smoked. Unless hes got some serious work done. Dont sweat it.

 

I know I could BEAT or SMOKE him, but I want it to be as bad as possible. He thinks he can take me, and told a couple people he could smoke it, but lol, I wanna take that bird. And the bird is stock, not even a air filter lol. Oh well I need to learn to drive better anyway, I'm inexperienced, even though some would say I don't need to be.

When I mean v6 bird, I mean 99 bird too. sorry.

 

99 Bird? Good luck..That's a mid to low 15 second car. If your car isn't running right and you can't drive well he's going to beat you.

 

Ok, I'll race him in my moms 5.0 then . And it's running perfectly.

And I'm not a CRAPPY driver, I'm just not experienced at racing. In normal driving, I can drive a stick pretty well; take steep hills w/o the e-brake, pretty smooth shifting, etc. What I meant by driving was shift points, better techniques to shift, etc. The car runs well, but I know running rich is takin away some power.

 

Well My gurl ran a 99-00??? Camaro w/ a 3.4 in it in her Ford F**kus, and beat it up until about 70 from a dead stop, but that bird has probably got a 3800 in it, so I'm guessing if you're runnin rich and losin some horses, then you'll probably get smoked, becuz he has i think at least 200 to the rear wheels, so let us know what goes down

 

I knows it's 200 bhp, but runnin rich, true. I told him really serious I wanted to run him, but he goes "maybe." LOL. I have'nt told him about the rich and the fan, and I rubbed in how v8s make more torque so

 

Well...no one can tell you how to shift better for racing (expecially on the net)...that is something you will have to get the feel for your self. As for performance...if you have that smog **** on your exhaust....you can take off the belt for and unplug the connectors...if you are running rich...on a carb, you can adjust your jetting, or if you are EFI you can adjust your throttle...that right there is the only advice I can think of at the moment....that wont cost you $$$

 

hold your foot to the floor, shift a little past the red on the tach and pray the acceleration gods on your side (not that youll need it much for a v-6 )

 

Well its gonna be fairly close, but since its a 99, he should take you. Everyone hears V6 and instantly thinks SLOW, but the 3.8s are pretty decent in the f-bodys, for what they are.

 

Just do the best u can and be confident for victory. Be sure to update us.

 

I will make a video maybe Wednesday of me driving so . As far as racing him, I told him it was a little rich, and he said back out if you want, so idk; we will see. If I do lose though, I won't hear the end of it for a long time.

 

My friend from school has a 99 Bird. It has exhaust and air filter and runs 15.3. Your car would be lucky to run that stock. Just practice driving, that's all you really can do I guess. Is he auto or stick?

~Matt

 

I agree....I think you prolly will lose...if he does brag, ignore his *ss....peeps like that are not worth others time....but just use it as experience...and win or lose...just have fun...and BE CAREFUL!!!

Dont want to come back on here and hear that you got hurt...same with your car

 

Losing is just as much a part of street racing as winning. Do the race either way. If you lose, just get it running right and do a few mods and try him again!

 

running radials you would want to over inflate them not under does not help with traction under inflation causes them to dome inward where you wont have that much of a contact patch where if you over inflate them youll have a wider contact patch

 

it's auto; kinda figured I might lose, but his is stock down not even a K&N? But anyways, like I said he's not the best driver, but I'm not running right, so. I will be sure I let him know it's not running right beforehand, I done told him, but don't know if he comprehended. He's like most people; v8 oh lord I could lose...hmm. Overinflate, will do. I thought about getting a Gtech sometime anyway, are these good, and do they give accurate 1/3 mile readings? Oh well, I'll get it on tape, and if he talks *hit, I'll tell him since hes mister hot *ss, and if he's so fast, why don't he race my moms 5.0, or my cousins 99 cobra?

 

huh? You're right about under inflating, it'll cup the tires. But wrong about over inflating. You'll do the opposite as under inflated tires. You'll ride just on the middle tread. You want to keep them at the right pressure. All the street tires I've used were between 32-35psi. Normal pressures. That will give you the widest possible patch.

All you need to do is do a burnout and look at the marks. If there are two outer marks and little in the middle, its under inflated. If its on the skinny side, its over inflated. You want it even all the way across.

 

i run about 40 psi in the rear and really dont break them after my burnout so its all good :lala:

 

right

wrong..very wrong..

 

g-techs run 1/4 mile times not 1/3. Is that what you meant?

~Matt

 

No; the 1/3! Nah, I just got careless and I meant the 1/4 mile, so my mistake. I will let ya'll know what happens, he is a little scared about running the BIG BAD 305 H.O! LOL, my buddy w/o my knowledge psyched him out with the H.O. and its "options" lol. We will see though, probably be a embarresmant, but it would be a good learning experience.

 

well u also drive a mustang so you wouldnt know

 

I heard that running to much octane hurts you. You're supposed to run the minimum that your car will allow without pinging under full load. I run 89 in my slightly modded LG4 and it runs perfect on that. I tried 93 and noticed no difference at all. Your L69 however has a higher compression ratio than my LG4 so premium might be your best bet.

As far as traction, takeoff will be your biggest obstacle. You've got to accelerate as hard as you can w/o wheelspin. I'd practice for sure before you race. Don't just floor it, you'll probably smoke the tires and waste valuable time. You've gotta mess with it and time the clutch and gas perfectly.

Good luck!!!!!

 

I'll probably try some 93, and as for practice, yes, I am . I kinda figured you wouldn't just slam the gas to the floor, but with 190 hp you don't just EASILY roll it in like you would an 11 second car on radials either.

 

Wait a minute, this is an automatic 3.8 you're racing, and you have the 5spd HO with 3.73s? You'll dust that thing if you car is running anywhere near right and you don't blow the launch totally. If he had a 5spd it might get close, but you have a clear advantage on him as it is... I used to kick around my buddies 3.8l auto 4thgen with my old bone stock 305 TPI auto with 2.73s, a decent 5spd HO should have zero trouble... Put that Performer RPM on that your sig says you have if you want some insurance, but frankly it won't even be close without it, again assuming your tuning is anywhere near acceptable...

 

Ummmmm................


I have an L03 stock below the manifold and 3.42's (same as the new v6's?). I remember one 99+ v6 I raced.....by the time I got to 60 I couldn't tell him from the rest of the cars behind me. Are you sure you're not a second off there?

 

I'll put that intake on, which reminds me, will a RPM intake clear a stock 83 hood? I am going to be very, very, very pissed if I do all that just to not fit. I read it can't fit, can it? Even if it does, shes being painted black, like the motor, 305 sleeper effect.

 

are you sure he was racing? They're mid 15 second cars with a monkey behind the wheel. So either your car is running better than you think or he wasn't trying.

 

I believe it's a go for friday. I told him it was running rich, and had a mechanical fan. So I am handicapped but I will try to see what I can do. Would it be best to go from a stop or roll, or maybe both?

 

you got this homie....good luck

 

go from a stop.. and tell him just get it over with and do it tomorrow.

 

DO NOT GO FROM A ROLL! He has all the advantage there. Use your V8 torque and practice practice practice.

~Matt

 

I'm running one under the stock 85+ Z hood, but you have to run a drop base open element aircleaner setup. I don't think the factory HO aircleaner setup will clear on top of the RPM...

 

OK .... I used to drive an '84 T/A same configuration except auto.

here's some tips for what it's worth:

first look inside your air cleaner, does it have some strange meshed screen metal ring in there? if it does, then guess what? It's time to evict that non hp rent paying little sucker, why? because when the top of the air cleaner is placed on there, all of the air must go through that screen!! I coouldn't even see through that with a flashlight, so imagine what it's doing to your air flow? Be carefull removing it, it's glued in pretty well. I stabbed myself in the hand a couple of times while undoing it with a flathead screwdriver. Next ad a K&N air filter if you have $35 to spare.

fix that running rich thing, check you ignition, check out Ed Mahers Q-jet tuning articles right here at TGO, just don't mess up your carb, attempt only what you know you are capable of doing.

advance the timing just a hair, 3-5 degrees or so.

Those are some free mods, as for the tires...yea they won't help, borrow some 16x8s or just pick up a set if you can afford them now, you will experience traction and handling like you never imagined possible.

next are some mods that costed me some $$$ but were well worth it. I never got crazy with a cam or anything, but i did get some more movement out of my car, not sure on the HP gains, but I'm sure I was above 200.

Hedman smog leagal headers, you can cap of the smog tubes or hook them up, I used rubber tubing from and fittings from home depot...you would understand if you had them. I kept mine smog legal and never felt it was hurting performance significantly. non-smog heders are about $100 cheaper.

Hedman shorty tube headers for thirdgens!! Absolutl wonderful, they are designed for the TPI, but the 305 HO welcomes them just the same....the only problem is that these won't bolt up to your funky square cat....so lose that stuff, save it in your shed since they are valuable parts for restorations, but get some mendral tubing or custom flowmaster system. most shops will hang a flowmaster system foir around $200, the cat can be left out if the shop will do that...if not, then buy a cheap HF cat from JC whitney or just get something same diameter from the junkyard.....put it in a vise and drive a pipe straigt through it, then weld it in and noone will ever know it's a strait pipe..hook up the air tube and make it look right...make sure there is no clay left in the case. I had a borla myself, too much money, but it was nice having the plates, I just left it open.

as for shifting, use a technique that's not so good for the trany, but saves little bits of time and keeps continuous power to the wheels. It's tough to explain but it almost like to hardly use the clutch, I catch myself doing this just driving around town in my corolla without even intending on it. Ofcourse you 'launch' with the clutch just like ordinary driving, don't attempt the high RPM launch with a stock clutch, you will heat it up and dimise it's performance. just get the best you can from it....and let it wind up! the 305 HO is tolerant to just slightly over redline shifts, just feel for it, the most i can say about the power shifting deal is that I don't try to get it to shift without the clutch at all, but my foot is there and I only press down like a 1/4" just enough to relive the tension and let the syncros come imeadiatly together. You will know you are doing it right when your car shifts like an auto with a shift kit, or just a really tight auto. I've tooled on some fart canned, aluminum winged civics and hyndais just from doing this with my 85 hp corolla 15 years old with 185k on it...no mods that i know of , it's certainly not necessary, but sometime these youngsters need to get schooled....traction is a lesson most of them havn't learned, I know because al I hear from them while I'm winding out 1st,2nd and 3rd is SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..............WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, PSSSSSSSIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET (turbo or whannabe with blow of valve)

all that tire spin and fart can afterburner with the mighty air wing and they are still lost in a plume of smoke in my rearview. I've had this experience one one or two occasions.


You have a good race with a new v6, like these guys have mentioned, it's been blessed with 200hp out of the show room, but you have the torque advantage. If you can change those 3.73s to posi-traction....you will have nothing to worry about.

I have a pic of my car with 16x8 rims on it, if you care to see.

I also had the hotchkis rear end stabilizer kit, sphon has more affordable and just as good I hear, stuff. You want some wieght transfer, but since your on the streets, keep you car in control, no crazy loose springs or disconnecting the sway bars, that stuff is track only, get some LCA relocation brackets welded in if you can't afford the LCAs, those will improve your grip considerably even with 15x7s and stock suspension. That's about $100 with labor if you shop around. good luck

don't worry about the '99 firechicken, I've left a few of those behind when i still had my '84 T/A. most of them around here are owned by cocky military pepople who owe $20,000 on them and think they are all that.

don't bring your friend for a ride, that's just a couple hundred more pounds...you don't need it and you don't need the liability if something happens.

 

Well, he's got you on power. 200 for him and you are probably 175ish with the fan and rich running. Plus torque is probably close as well. 225 for him and stock was 240 for you but you're not running right.

Here's what I did to my 84 HO 5spd when I got it a long time ago. FWIW, stock mine ran 15.2-15.4 depending on traction.

K&N filter, remove charcoal filter in air cleaner, 160 thermostat, bump timing to 14 degrees, gut cat, remove air pump belt. Those are the free/cheap mods. This got me down to low 14's.

I got rid of the Eagle GT's for 235/60 Euro TA's. Went with a Hypertech Stage II chip. Accell Supercoil and MSD wires. This got me down to a best of 13.89.

I think that's everything I had done with it. Its been a long time....

All said, I think he will beat you if he doesn't loose traction.

 

I've got the whole electric fan setup from my '84

it's real easy to setup if you are wiring literate on the basic level and can understand a relay.

basically, it's ground,12v constant, grounding temp sensor....it's cool because you can also run a switch to bypass the relay or activate the relay. I had two relays for reliability, the fan motor is a new part from NAPA too, it's going to last for a while!

email me and we'll talk about price.

I also blocked the EGR completly with a plate, I made the plate with a piece of an aluminum street sign and put the edg back over it to fake it out. I never had any problems with it and it seemed to 'smooth out' the acceleration curve' anyone is welcome to argue that, though, I can't say exactly what it did. I've never felt that the lower thermostat helped this car though, maybee in a race, but it's no good for daily driving, I found it better to just leave it 180, even in the summer.

 

Well, ran him today, and I have bad news and VERY BAD NEWS. The bad news is I lost. I was afraid a car would come, so I didn't launch and got on the gas too quick (no time to practice either.) I spun, my bumper just behind his rear, missed 2nd I was so nervous (first race, and possibility car was coming) he let off thinking I quit, I grabbed 2nd, went pulled on him a little bit, he got on it, and it was a standstill to 75.

But for the really bad news, after the race we rode for a little bit. Dog ran out from infront of me out of nowhere, I instictively reacted with hard on brakes, spun sideways, drifted off a 3ft ledge sideways, landed on 4 wheels because of luck I guess, and eased into a tree, which caused some damage, but it is not totaled or major. It had 3 major places though, and one of them just behind the passenger door is bad. I also knocked a chunk out of my rear ground effects, so. This sucks. My worst day at life. Pics tommorow in tech/gen I reckon.

 

sorry to hear all that man..... just keep your chin up, it's days like this that we look back on in a few years and laugh at. Hey at least replacement panels are a dime a dozen for our cars....... just think if we all had some old rare cars we'd be screwed in cases like this. These things happen to the best of us dude.....

 

I'd have to agree...keep your spirits ...I'm sure we all have our problems with our cars...infact I ran into one today myself (be askin questions in other thread)...but just keep up with your car and get it fix...and...well just like the saying "When you fall off the horse, get back up and try try again" donno if that was exactly how it went, but you get the point

 

Well, you are definitly a nice guy. I probably would've just hit the dog, but then you might've had a fury critter bounce off your windshield.

I wiped out more times than I could count when I was a teenage driver. The most noteworthy was a time when I passed a car on the outside in a turn, ate gardrail for a second, tried to regain control but ended up backwards over a high curb with a broken axle, bent LCA and pan-rod, shattered rim. I was back on the road in 3 weeks with a new 3.73 posi rear, 16x8 rims, hotchkis rear end stabilizers. a few weeks later, I added KYB-GR2 gas struts and shock, KHUMO ecsta tires, eibach pro-kit, PST front end kit. After that, I could not get the car to wipe out if I tried.

in your case, it's the weather disadvantage. My friends and i always sported winter cars when i lived in MA. I bought a $600 VW jetta one year and made sure it only lasted one winter....foolish, but fun. You would be amazed at how well a FWD car with Michelin rain force tires can deal with slush covered streets! Nothing like hitting a snow drift at 70mph, and being the only one on the road during the winters worst storms!

Don't sweat the repairs. These cars are easier to fix than you think. I was almost giving away parts when I was parting out my car. Lots of 10mm and 7/16" screws, and little plastic clips. you need a grinder and rivet gun to seaprate the rear GFX from the bumper.

Check the classifieds here, ebay and your local yards. Make a trip up to Rochester,NH and visit Camaro heaven if you are still in need, they will more than likley have what you need.

Strip away all of the bent parts, straiten the body as best as you can ad replace them with the closest you can find. Don't listen to people who tell you that all thirdgens are the same, there are several minor differences from different years and models. That's why you need to save the old parts for comparison. Even if you get it 90% fixed and still need the help of a professional, it's still better than bringing them a car that's totally messed up. Take your time and do the work right, don't take short cuts, you will be glad you did.

 

welp late for this now, but i was gonna say, it doesnt matter if hes a bad driver, a 40 year old or a 10 year old. With a auto all u do it mash the gas and hold the wheel. And whoever said it was right, the 3.8's are mid 15 second cars. I didnt know that till a few weeks back.

 

sorry dude. my rule of thumb is that if an animal jumps out on me then its his fault. Especially if someone is in the car with me. Why chance swerving when hitting the animal could cause less bodily and bystander injury.

~Matt

 

agreed don't ever swerve for an animal. Braking is fine but don't swerve..you'll end up killing yourself and possibly someon else alot of times.

 

Even if it's a large deer or horse?....that might be a good time to swerve if you need to!

 

if it's clear road of course. But i'd rather damage my car hitting an animal than hitting a guardrail or going into a ditch and flipping my car.

 

Well, I didn't really SWERVE, I got on brakes too hard, and I kinda underestimated the corner in the first place, so when he popped out, I kind aturned a little bit, got on brakes too hard unfortunately, and it was just basically physics of why I spun out. If I had to time to think and react, I woulda nailed him, but I mean he just jumped as I came around, I was half concentrating on keeping on the road, and well, I seen him, and when I realized what was going on, I was sideways skidding with smoke all around me, then I flew off the 3ft dropoff and hit a tree.

Anyway, on topic, had I not been so nervous since this was my first race, I would have launched and not spun. What happened was, I was honking horn, so he got first jump. I seen him jump out, I got excited, and well, slammed gas, and dumped that clutch. I spun, and I seen him get out about a carlength, missed 2nd (got excited, and just basically popped in and released the clutch in one motion) missed it, he slowed up, I slammed back in 2nd, started pulling hard, he got back on it because he let off, and noone pulled nobody, he was just ahead about 3 carlengths dead even till 75, then I let out.