I just came back from the track...most of you guys have been here since I got this car back in 2000....and has helped me with what I have now....I do say thanks to all of you!


I only have my 1/8 mile times to go on.....but 2 years ago with my little 305 when I had basically all the free mods and 2.73's, stock exhaust and just a ported plenum, dynoed at 184hp and 264tq I went a 9.72 with a 2.10 60' .....


now this year I have added Sealed Ram Air Boxes, MAC SFC's, lowering springs, LT1 cam, 1.6rr's, SLP Tri-Y headers coated, 160 fan switch and stat, Holley AFPR, MSD ignition mods, Underdrive Pullies 3-set, BMR 3 point STB and 3.42 gears to boot and all I can get is a 9.30 with still a 2.09 60' and that is with 224hp and 293tq...................

maybe Im just wanting more but I figured with all these new mods I would have cut more than 4 tenths!

I did have a full tank of gas when I went to the rack but I dont think that would make that big a difference.....also if I leave the car in drive I never get out of 2nd.....even if I manually shift it will not go into third until Im right at the line and thats reving to about 5500....you think my 1/4 times would be better than comparing my 1/8 times? I went 15.4 2.18 60' without all the crap Ive done.

 

I respect you and your efforts, you've got a REALLY nice car there... The only thing that keeps ringing in my mind is the fact that any mod done on a 305 won't compare to the same mod done on a 350. I don't think its the mods so much as it is the 305 thats holding you back.

If it was my car I'd expect better than 224hp as well for the $$ that was spent.

All in all though, you have to have gotten SOME SOTP excitement out of it all, right? Isn't that what REALLY matters?

 

how about getting some datalogs to see what all is going on in the ecm?

maybe get a high tstat...160* may be too cold...i'm running a 185*...no times yet, cuz my 305 is still in pieces...haha
i've got lt1 intake, comp nx262 cam, 113 heads, coated hooker comps, th350 and a few other things
i'm hoping to be a lil quicker than that.
if i can get mid 13's i'll spray and pray into the 12's.

 

well Ive been cutting the same 60's with both 2.73's and 3.42's so that shows that better gearing isnt really whats its cracked up to be...maybe it is once I get past the 1/8 mark cause thats when I would be hitting 3rd and would have a full 1/8 to wind out that gear.

 

Are you running on the stock prom?

 

A 40 horsepower bump sounds pretty good to me. Is that confirmed with a dyno or estimates? Do you have mph's before and after? Your mods look fairly well thought out, and, lets face it, your 60's aren't the best. I think 160* is way cold, especially seeing as how there really isn't a reason for it. Check this out:

http://www.chevytalk.org/threads/sho...rue#Post632718

Be sure to read what Grumpyvette has to say in the link posted.

Other than that, I think everything looks good. Have fun with it and work on your 60'. Congrats with everything so far. I bet some gears and some tuning would truly put a huge grin on your face!

 

The HP increase is from running it on a dyno.....from what the temp gauge says Im running hotter than the 160 stat....and as far as gears? Im already using the 3.42's I went up from 2.73's

Im not running the stock prom and I do have a cable and software but I have no clue how to read the data that it puts out. I know I can see it with excel but I dont know what Im trying to look for. Im just really diapointed with the outcome.

DO you think running with a full tank of gas cost me THAT much?

 

No, actually that proves once again that 305's aren't what they're cracked up to be. And they're not cracked up to be very much.

Good work in the car, all the work you did has been beneficial even tho it may not seem like it. The car didn't gain much, but you did in terms of experience and skill. Later when you swap in a 350 or whatever it will go more smoothly.

In the meantime, read up on how to get ALDL data captured and post it in the DIY_PROM forum so others can help you interpret what's going on...there might be some extra HP lurking in there.

 

a full tank could.
how much does 15 gallons of gas weigh? doesn't 1 gallon weight around 5 lbs?
i'd run it with 1/4 tank and see how it does.

 

I think you have a nice setup going there. I also know what it is like to be discouraged with your new setup, but usually there are things that you are missing. Like was the case with me. Can you give us more info? Do you have a before and after 1/4 mile time to compare?? What is your current 1/4 mile time??

You said you upgraded to 3:42 gears. Well as we all know, gears help your engine come up in the rpm range faster. Does your motor seem to come up in rpm's faster? Are you spinning your wheels off the launch when racing?? You could be losing time because you have no traction now. Is that the case??

What prom are you using? Did you try to make changes to it?? That could be affecting your expected output. Also keep in mind that the LT1 cam is not a huge difference over your old stock cam, I'm not sure what the specs are but I have read that there is not much of a difference. Maybe that is it. Anyway, keep plugging away at it. And if you could answer some of those questions I, or someone else here, may be able to give you some more advice.

 

I don't see where you have any suspension mods like subframe connectors.boxed lower control arms,better panhard rod.All of these will help with the 60' times.Also BFG drag radials are what put me into the 13's.Also made a BIG diff. was the Spohn torque arm.
BD3
BTW just reread a saw the Mac subframe connectors.

 

I havent made it to a 1/4 mile track yet. I wish they had one around here.
Yeah my RPM's come up way faster and Im not spinning off the line, atleast it doesnt feel like I am. My 60 are the same most of the time and I run my street tires at 22lbs.
My prom im using is one that a guy made for me, Im not using the stock prom. I do have a data cable but I cant get it to read when hooked up the Moates software it will hook and read with WINALDL...but I havent a clue what Im reading when I open the data up with excel.
I was cutting the 2.1 60's with 2.73's and I thought when I went to 3.42's I would cut those down and make up some time on my ET's but didnt, I did make up a tenth over all from when I had the 2.73's I used to run 9.39

 

I would be interested to know what is programmed on your prom. That could be your only problem. Albeit it is a big one. See if you can find that out. As for your gears, I would have expected a bigger drop in your 60' than that too. Going from 2:73' to 3:42's is a significant jump in gearing, which should give you traction problems and better 60's, with traction though! You say you can't tell whether you are spinning or not? I would think that you would be able to tell if you where spinning when you launched the car, so I guess you are not. Which makes me think it is a hp problem. Meaning you have lost some. Have you checked all your vacuum lines and hoses? Everything is tight? The vacuum lines are hooked up correctly?? Is your timing set right?? What kind of fp do you have?? Check over everything that you did when you tore your motor down and then rebuilt it. It could be a simple mechanics error, we all do them from time to time.

 

It sounds like it could be something with the PROM and you definitely need better tires. I don't think those 60' times are too bad for street tires. That's about what I was I on street tires. I changed to BFG's and dropped my time by about .4.

 

Everything seems to be tight, I checked, I have no vaccum leaks anywhere.My timing is set at 10* and my fuel pressure is at 44, when I had it dynod I got the best pull when we set it to 42 but I guess that would be because it was running lean? lean is more power but bad for the motor so I turned it up to 44. As far as the programming, I have no clue what he put on it. It was the guy from tpichips.com that did it. he only charged me $50 and I can take it back to him anytime, he lives just 30miles from me. I feel like I bog just a bit off the line but it may just be me. Ive tried to just sit at a stop on the road and floor it and only spin about 2 feet or less maybe....Im running brand new tires too. I dont know, Im at a loss and have no idea where to go from here. I dont know how to program the chip, dont have the hardware and dont know what to look for when I get data. I need serious lep here!...LOL

 

Something has to be wrong if it only spins about 2 feet from a dead stop. If I do that with mine it will just sit there and spin until I let off of the gas and my tire are fairly new. When you went to the dyno you said you were running lean. What were your A/F readings from the dyno?

 

The dyno didnt have an A/F reading with it. No I wasnt running lean when I drove to the dyno, they guy played with my AFPR and when I drove it up there I was at 46 and when we set it to 48 I lost power so when we set it to 42 I got the best pull which means he hada it running lean? or not enough fuel?

You spin like crazy cause you have that stall, right? or did you even before the stall?

See something has got to be wrong with the tuning....I guess? I dont know..

Somebody come pick my car up anf get it running right and bring it back!....LOL

 

I was doing it before and after the stall. It didn't do it as much before the stall but it would go more than 2 feet for sure. Unless you get an A/F reading you can't really tell if you are rich or lean. When I setup my AFPR at the dyno I found out that it was better at 40. My A/F was better and my power was better. I may go back to stock settings. I didn't go any lower than 40 but I started at 46 and the lower I went the better everything got.

 

I guess something is really wrong with me then. I can barely get the tires to churp stomping on it from a dead stop, and I have old tires, and to top it all I ran a 15.9 at the track... Pretty much all stock. I'm hoping with the 3.23 rear i'm gonna put in, and the headers, that I will get a little bit more SOTP pleasure.

 

In my friends basically stock 2001 Trans Am, He went from a 13.3 as his best run with stock 2.73s, When he changed to a 3.42 posi unti he only ran a best of 13.1 So the change wasnt too drastic for him either!

 

That is probably an accurate time for your car. You don't have quite the mods that we have and you don't have quite the gear that we have either. The higher gear should spin them a little better.

 

I could lite up the tires from a dead stop for all of 1st gear with 3.23s and it ran high 14s when it was stock.

I definately think you need to tune that puppy with a dyno that has a A/F meter and timing outputs.

 

I think you should check your tuning. At least find out what this guy did. Other than that I don't know. Like I said before, keep in mind that the LT1 cam is not a huge difference. And you are talking about 1/8 mile racing here and you did drop 4 tenths in the 1/8. So translate that over to a 1/4 mile time and you would see an even bigger drop. Your car is probably just fine, your just paranoid! LOL

 

LOL...!