Completely Stock 2.8 + T5 in good tune -

R/T - .851
60' - 2.621
330' - 7.337
1/8 - 11.265
MPH - 62.59

1/4 - 17.468
MPH - 79.44

That was my best run today, with my new 255/50/16's in the back. Spun hard off the line, and couldn't get 2nd to stick, as evident in the 60' times... Next will be some upgrades to make the thing stick to the ground!

 

Motortrend ran our cars when they were new , and they got about the same time , 17.45 .

 

Forgot to mention, that's 103k miles on her, too.

Also, anyone here ever run the Gainesville Raceway? Are ALL tracks that dang slippery?? My first run was a 21.36 - burned 1st, 2nd, and halfway through third when I let off for it to catch. : / Kinda smokey, tho!

 

I was wondering how many miles it had on it. That's pretty damn good to say it has 103,000 miles on it .

 

I ran at Gainesville about ten years ago at an eighth mile IVWA event, the grip was good, but then again my Bug did have the rear engine traction advantage.

My best 1/8 in Savannah with a '91 3.1 bone stock was 10.84

eric

 

I think all race tracks are like fresh snot on a door ****.

Even a family car can do better with a set of slicks at the track.

stay out of the water trap and play with your air pressure.

What rpm's are you dropin it at???

 

what's wrong w/the water trap? who doesn't want pieces of radial tire along the bottom rear pass qtr panel ?

yeah, what rpm are you launching at?

 

I played with the launch a bit, and seemed to leave best with about 2750rpms on the tach, NOT dropping full throttle (about 1/2) until it moved, then floor it. 2nd would still break out though... arg - I need a posi! What else (short of slicks) can I do to help her hook up?

 

move battery to spare tire area. get one of those optima batteries. They are sealed so you wont have to worry about fumes. also get a master cut of switch to keep track legal.

 

I don't think NHRA cares that the battery is sealed,(as in the Optima idea) it needs to be in an approved sealed box since our cars are hatchbacks and there is no trunk wall. I don't think it's worth the hassle in a street car. You can take out everyting but the driver's seat, remove the front sway bar, and run with a gatorade bottle for a fuel tank and you may get another tenth or so. I have done this with other cars and it made little difference.

What you need to do it get the traction to lower the 60' time.

Are your rear control arm bushings original? Worn bushings don't help. Boxing the control arms or going to aftermaket arms would be good too.

Ultimately, you need stickier tires and a posi. I have been through this with my S10, I have tried putting 100lbs of wieght in the rear, etc, and until I put in a posi and sticky tires it just won't hook up.
Eric

 

Yes, LCAs are all completely stock. I'm looking at a set of Spohn adjustable LCA's.... would they help?

 

eric17422001 has a point here!

You definitely need a suspension, tire, posi combo upgrade
in order to get very good traction!

My advice, get ALL of your suspension bushings polyurethene
or polygraphite. Replace your rear lower control arms and
panhard rod with aftermarket reinforced ones, like Hotchkis
or even better, Spohn! I have a full Spohn suspension upgrade
in my Camaro, and made a huge difference on the bite of
the rear end! For even better bite, get ADJUSTABLE ones!
Even more better bite, get a Spohn adjustable torque arm!
Of course, this stuff will hit your wallet pretty good,
but that's how it goes.

For Tires, go with the slicks. Of course you already knew that.
If you dont' want to keep swapping wheels/tires all day at the
track, just get the BF Goodrich DOT approved slicks! Or any
DOT approved streetable slick for your car.

For posi, I would upgrade to deeper gears since you have to
tear apart the rear end anyways. But since you have a manual
T-5 trans, just skip that part! Go with a very good quality posi
set, like Powertrax, Auburn, some good name brand.
DO NOT get an Eaton posi! As with some Camaros/Firebirds
from 82-92 came with these stock, just like mine, they only
last about 30,000 ( if you beat on it constantly) to 50,000 miles.

Not only have I experianced Eaton crap, one of my co workers
who has worked on cars/trucks for over 20 years, and is a master
and L-1 tech, said NOT to get them, they are junk!

I would suggest a Lock Right Powertrax locker kit. It does not
have that "ratcheting" sound when turning. It also provides
more positive locking only when you need it! It's also more
quieter than the regular lock right locker kits.

Many of my friends use Lock Right locker kits in there cars and
trucks!

I hope all of this helps!

 

If you are on a budget, SLP sells the Zexel-Torsen limited slip differentials as a "Take out" for $99.00, or at least they did.
It's a locker-type differential. Relatively easy to install, there are instructions somewhere in the tech articles on this. However, you will need 28 spline axles which you can get out of a junkyard "89-up F body.

SLP takes these out of new Camaros and FIrebirds and puts in Auburn units I think, but with your V6 you'd be fine.

You don't have to worry about re-shimming pinion depth, etc as all you are doing is taking out your ring gear and old open carrier, bolting the SLP unit in it's place, and reininstalling everything.

I jsut looked at one of my timeslips, my 60' with the Camaro was lke 2.23, I have gotten a used set of 255/50/16 drag radials in a trade mounted on some GTA honeycomb rims and I have yet to try them.

Eric

 

Check my new post...

 

eric17422001,

I never knew that SLP had a limited slip diff. set up!
I'm glad that you told us! Cause the Powertrax one
that I was going to get was like $400. But it's like the
best one that Lock Right makes right now.

But I'm on a budget too, so I think I'll check out the
SLP one!

I have a 1991 Camaro RS with an all stock rear end
( at the moment) , so I have 28 spline axles right?

 

You have your posi unit backwards. Stock are the Auburn units, Eaton are the aftermarket units.

The Eaton units are GOOD. They are a clutch pack design that is rebuildable. The Auburn are a cone design that once is worn is a throw away.

{replying to further posts: the SLP takeout Zexel units are worth getting. Your '91 has 28 spines axles to match. The PowerTrax units are also good. For traction they are killer. For street use I'd go w/the Zexel. Check out the trans/drivetrain board for carrier install info. Several recent threads.).

RBob.

 

He might be talking about the Eaton gov-lock, which was junk- but he also might not be talking about it, since it was only used from GM for '83-84.

For some reason, Auburn was running low on posi's, so GM used an Eaton gov-lock locker instead. I got one in the 3.73/posi (really a locker)/disc axle I pulled from an '84 Trans Am. Of course, the damn thing blew up on me... so I'm back on a junkyard axle. Gotta get a new posi this summer.

 

thats not to bad of a time for a stock 2.8 start moding it and u will be faster in no time. it does sound like u need some help on your suspension side. i just bought a set of lakewood lca's for my bird because i have a traction problem.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm now getting confused over all of this,
so I may be wrong, I don't know. But I guess I'll ask the
guy again which posi units are junk. But it really doesn't
matter 'cause I'm probably gonna go with the SLP unit.
My posi wore out at around 40,000 miles.

I appreciate your help!