I'll bet it would. TPI shines the best in the 1/8th mile, thats not really that surprising. My 305 will do about a 9.5 in the 1/8th.

Of course there is skill, but there is a HUGE difference between driving a 10 second auto vs a 10 second stick. I assume you have driven similar cars with autos and manuals, and know the difference. It is NIGHT and DAY. A footbraked 10 second automatic car is more or less point and shoot. It takes skill to face it down the track, and if it has a manual VB, it takes skill to make sure you hit the shift light (assuming there is one), but it is NOWHERE near compared to stabbing the clutch and wringing gears down the track in a stick car going the same speed.

Maybe I should reword it and say there is far less skill involved with an auto car vs a stick car! Some skill is required yes, but I know guys who race autos who can't even drive a stick shift on the street!

Thats what I was trying to find out. If it was 1/8th or 1/4 mile. I was just stating that a stock 305 or 350 tpi with very minor mods can not be in the 9 second class in 1/4 mile. I have a heavy modded engine and can't get in the 9 seconds class with a SBC in 1/4 mile.

Depends on the auto.... but of course it takes less skill, point and shoot is exactly right. I would rather have the car be consistent then be in a point race or a grudge match and F a shift up.... but its all comes down to personal preference.

hey 25th... what were the base gears in the 98' GT manual cars? was there an optional ratio?

you think with the stock gears, an aftermarket clutch, short throw shifter, and some kind of sticky tire, would be enough to get one of those cars to crack 13s?

that sounds about right for a 99-04 GT, but the 98s were slower. seems they were high 14 sec cars

either the year was off or the owner was lying about mods... or maybe the car WAS stock, with the exception of the mods i listed in the above post to crack 13s?

Not really, it depends on the automatic. I honestly find it harder to obtain the better reaction time with the high stalled, manual valve bodied, automatic. Both take time getting used to, and once learned, skill becomes irrelevant, as it turns into second nature w/practice....

I think that's wrong, the 98 stang makes 225hp and weighs 3300lbs. There's no way its pulling a 14.06 stock.... it had mods. No driver can make a 15 sec cars runs a 14, its impossible.

a little bit of a disappointing update...

went to check out the Trans Am yesterday. its advertised as a 95' Trans Am and even the one pic i saw online had the LT1 T/A front end. wouldnt you know it was a plain old Firebird parked on their lot when i arrived. and it wasnt even the 3.8L 6, it was the 3.4... yuck

so, i decided to check out the GT next... only to find out it had sold the day before. DAMN! they did have a 94' GT on the lot... but it was an auto vert. oh well

so the search continues

Skill becomes irrelivent with the auto, with the stick shift it's what gets the car down the track to a win or not. I have won races by .00x seconds before, and when your hitting the gears, thats where the skill comes in. IMO of course . Practice helps, but some people just shift faster than others. I know 60 year old guys, who have been racing for 30+ years with stick shift cars. One handed me the keys and asked if I wanted to run the car, and sure enough I knocked a tenth off his best time. In my opinion, thats skill, a skill you can't so much attach to an auto as once you have the shift points down, its a click of the shifter and your off!

Feel free to agree or disgree, good rebuttals can be fun!

A bolt on 98 GT could go 13s, my friend did so years ago. Very similar mods, gears, tires, bolt ons and went 13.6. Sprayed the car into the deep 12s at the same time as well. A 14.0 however is not possible bone stock. Maybe a 14.60, or the car had a few bolt ons, but a bone stock one going 14.0, just wont happen.

.... it's not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing, what matters is if you experienced both sides of the spectrum. Have you ever driven a high stalled, manual valve bodied automatic? Although clutchless, it takes just as much timing precision from the driver, and RPM isn't as easily controlled as the stick. I agree, with a regular automatic, it's just a matter of power braking, and/or transbrake, while aiming and firing. But running an automatic w/manual valve body, it becomes a whole other game, much more involved.

You guys ought to try consistently launching a bike if you think either a stick or high stalled auto is complicated...

Yes I have. Driven a high 9 second stick car (as well as many in the mid 10s to mid 12s) and a mid 10 second manul VB auto. Then drove that same MVB car with a 5-speed in it. Night and day difference, the auto to me was a point and shoot, and click the shifter when the light came on. The stick wasn't much tougher, but you still had to slam the gears quick, work the clutch etc... Driven both vertigate shifters and H patterns in 9-10 second cars as well! I actually prefer the H pattern set up!

I still say you can teach a monkey to drive in a straight line!! LOL

Hes talking eighth

Handled that... days ago.

manual- much more fun, and can be faster once its perfectly setup. but constantly breaks stuff and 60's can be inconsistant depending on the clutch type.

auto- much easier to get the whole car dialed in, easier to drive, less variables, less parts breakage. less fun to drive.

Yes! TGO is proof!

More or less breaks it down here. If your a bracket racer looking to win a championship, the auto is most likely your best bet. If your a weekend warrior looking to go out and have the most fun possible, I would say look into a stick shift.

Also Mcleod makes some really nice clutch set ups . Getting the clutch right in our 9.90 stick car was easier than getting a converter that works right, and will continue to work right once we throw a bottle at the car.