One of the guys i go to school with has a civic ex, stock. I want to take him to the local track and smoke his cocky butt. any way what are some basic (cheap) mods to get it ready. Its an 84 Trans Am 305 H.O., auto, factory cowl hood, 3.73 gears, I'd like to know what to do to get it ready for the weekend.

 

Take out all the weight you can, as long as your car is running good you should beat him if he is stock. I have driven them they arent fast at all. If he has a manual he will probly dump the clutch to high and spin alot, or dump it to low and bog.

 

I'd also suggest making sure the car is tuned properly, good plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and the timing set right. Good ignition can make a profound difference alone, you can probably tolerate 2-6* more than base timing, especially if you don't mind burning 93 octane. You've got great gears for that motor, just practice your launch to make sure you come off the line well. (Remember, wheel spin isn't good, it just looks cool) I wouldn't be too worried about the Civic, shouldn't be much a race, especially on a dragstrip, which plays havoc on FWD, high revving, low torque cars like he's running.

 

He is probably running 17s and you are probably running 16s. What are you trying to prove...?

 

those cars are not quick at all ive slaughtered many with my stock v6 4thgen

 

+1

 

I used to have an 84 15th ann. T/A. Here are some things you can do.

Drop the pressure in your rear tires to about 25 psi and pump up your fronts to about 50. Unhook your front sway bar. Unless you have an aftermarket air cleaner or a K & N filter remove the air cleaner. Leave it in D, don't try to manually shift it.

 

yea you shouldnt have any issues at all. If you wanna spend some money you can try and find some drag radials used on the net. Then get you a new stall converter (3000). You can get those from fuddleracing.com for 450 shipped to your front door.

 

I would say if you have money
Buy a good exhaust system and throw it on there...
I don't know what yearor state you live in you have but I would say a cheap Mod is take off the cat.and throw on a test pipe.
That usually will get you 5 solid HP and you'll lose 2 pounds probably.

Just my .02

 

Lose 2 pounds? If you don't eat breakfast the day of the race you'll be 2 pounds lighter...

 

now thats funny!!!

 

Wow you must eat alot....
I am just saying the cat is a bigger peice and you will get a few pounds off the car by taking it off, and putting on a test pipe.

It will help a little..every little bit counts...

 

Shouldn't the HO 305 with the 3.73 gears run pretty decent?

My 86 Trans Am with the 305 LG4 (165hp)and 3.27 gears was running 14.94@92mph with 130K miles on it.

My 88 Formula 305TPI (195hp)with 3.73 gears was running 15.2 @ 89mph when it was an Auto and 15.2@94 with 5 Speed and 4.10 gears.

 

weird time diff you have there

 

Those times surprise me as well, you'd think the TPI305 would outrun the LG4 car. I'm hoping to get to the track soon with my LG4 and see what'll happen, I'd like to think a mid-high 14 is possible w/ my bolt-ons, I should have the drivetrain for a great 60 ft' if I can hook the KDW's, which isn't too hard.

 

ET Street radials, or slicks, or dirt track tires, nitrous kit. Watch the Civic owner suffer the most unreal crushing defeat imaginable. With a 100 shot and sticky tires you'll literally half track that car. Free stuff to do is, take out the rear seats, excess weight (speaker box, floor mats, crap in the hatch, spare tire), take the rear tires to 25psi as mentioned, run your oil 1 quart low, set the timing, make sure your plugs and wires are up to snuff, take off the air cleaner. This is really just a collection of what others have said with a few things thrown in for you. Good luck.

 

should be a fun event.. like everyone is saying, drop weight, practice your launch and whoop some ***..

 

To lose weight you could also take out the pasenger seat and the rear spoiler if it's the arow spoiler if not don't bother. You could get bags of ice and put them on your intake manifold and push the car to the starting line just mack shure the engin is as cold as posible!! Get some octane booster put dubble the recomended amount only put in enough gas for like 20 miles one gallen weighs 8lbs. Good luck and kick some jap crap ***!!!!

 

Thanks, but one quick thing my car has the fuctionable cowl hood and snorkles, so shouldn't I leave on the air cleaner to get the colder and denser air?

 

Yes you should, if you want to spend a buck or two get a K&N filter and stick it in there.