hey guys i got my dream car about fifteen days ago :

5.7L+ ( --> prob. ~ 6.2L, not sure yet =D ) 1989 GTA

i need help launching this beast - the guy i bought it from modded the hell out of the engine (cams, rocker arms, headers, boring etc. - everything )when he rebuilt it 20K mi ago and he rebuilt the stock tranny 10K mi ago. this car is a torque monster, and even with 255/50/16 in the rear i can not get the tires to hook up and get traction until the high end of 2nd gear from the launch - i spun my tires a full 70 feet launching against my friend's 5.0 Rustang and still won at the 1/4 mi.

PLEASE DON'T TELL ME TO JUST DROP IT INTO 1ST FROM NEUTRAL

i don't want to hurt my car when i launch b/c i totally <3 it =)

any help is extremely appreciated

everything

 

SPOHN torque arm, Chromo Semi-Shpyrical LCA's, and relocation brackets


And those tires are far from big, get some real meat in back.

 

any tips on revs to launch or techniques ?

 

I'm assuming its auto....


And anybody who would recommend a neutral drop is a damn fool, and that would only create more tire spin.


The only thing it takes is practice, you gotta baby foot it untill your car is out of the range where it will spin then nail it.


But without the suspension setup for launching there is only so much you can do.

 

You definately need to beef up the suspension. But remember, that added traction is gonna add strain on the drive-line, which I'm betting the guy you purchased the car from did not do.
I used to launch my basically stock L98 in 1st. I just learned how fast I could step on the "go" pedal without spinning the tires.
Then when the RPM hit just before where I felt was the best shift point I hit the next gear. That gave the sloppy stock 700R4 time to shift! I cut a 1.98 60ft and a 13.81@98.96mph. Not bad for Firestone SZ50s at 25psi, Herb Adams LCA/Panhard Rod and Alston SFCs.

 

Practice, practice, practice. You just have to slowly roll into the throttle, giving it more and more throttle, trying to keep it right at the edge of tire spin. I have the BFG DR's and still cannot hook,
the suspension mods are a very good idea.

You really are not going to be able to hurt your car, on the launch until you start running slicks or DR's. It is the very hard launches that break stuff. Stay away from nuetral drops.

Good Luck
nick

 

I was getting 2.08 60' times with mine at the track. I'd just foot brake it and bring the RPM's to 1000, and get on it when the frontend sat down. I couldn't just floor it but ya know. Just practice it some and you'll get the hang of it. Just remember to let the frontend sit back down before you hammer it!

 

drag radials and good suspension from spohn will do it everytime

 

thanks guys !

i know i need to beef up the 13 yr old ws6 susp. - i spent the 2 months before getting this car making a parts/mods list with hyperlinks and everything - i did almost nothing else =D
until i have the money to do the suspension upgrades it's going to be a little rough ... i guess that's just the price i pay for such an awesome machine.

 

btw - without buying the super-expensive drag slicks or mickey thompsons, what size rears would you guys suggest i get ?

current setup -
original gold spoke 16" rims w/ws6 caps
245/50/16 fronts
255/50/16 rears

thx again

 

You're not going to gain anything by buying a pair of larger regular compound tires. Really, unless you buy different wheels there isn't many options larger than 255/50 to fit the stock 16's. Trust me, a set of 245/50/16 set of Nitto DR's should be your next mod. The price difference between a pair of quality Z rated tires and the Nitto's is only ~$100. I immediately gained 2.5 tenths with these and will never run regular tires on the rear again.