Yep, I finally made it to the track Friday, after BS (nothing to do with the car) prevented me from running on Wednesday. I also met 13secV6, if you guys know him, from http://www.v6fbody.com and http://www.camaroz28.com - so that was a nice surprise. James is a cool guy, and his car (4th gen) looks sweet!

As to my 1/4 mile times... as usual, I'm a bit confused. I'll let the times show for themselves.. the best #'s are in bold.

<table BORDER=3 CELLSPACING=3 CELLPADDING=3 >
<tr><td>Run #</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td></tr>
<tr><td>temp F</td><td>70</td><td>66</td><td>65</td></tr>
<tr><td>R/T</td><td>1.090</td><td>1.037</td><td>0.698</td></tr>
<tr><td>60'</td><td>2.348</td><td>2.354</td><td>2.345</td></tr>
<tr><td>330'</td><td>6.972</td><td>6.953</td><td>6.949</td></tr>
<tr><td>1/8</td><td>10.868</td><td>10.830</td><td>10.829</td></tr>
<tr><td>MPH</td><td>63.20</td><td>64.27</td><td>64.24</td></tr>
<tr><td>1000'</td><td>14.246</td><td>14.267</td><td>14.252</td></tr>
<tr><td>1/4</td><td>17.154</td><td>17.240</td><td>17.225</td></tr>
<tr><td>MPH</td><td>77.16</td><td>75.89</td><td>75.77</td></tr>
</table>

Compare the first & third runs closely- I think there's something wrong with the car. No way could I have been faster in the first half of the third run, and then have gone slower after the 1/8 mile, to have my first run beat me!

Any ideas? I'm thinking "maybe" ignition. I have a splice on one of the coil's harness wires, and I rebuilt the distributor with non-GM parts. Maybe those parts have something to do with it! There's that Holley module for GM distributors, and I think Accel makes one... anybody used one?

Also I threw a code on my last run.. the MAF sensor. It's that stupid harness connector... with a bit of wiggling, the harness won't throw a code for months. Maybe the bad connection is affecting the MAF sensor's reading..?

Any ideas? I'm hesitant to put anything else on the car until I fix the "real" problem. What really bugs me is that the car has never felt stronger or faster on the roads.. but these track times show otherwise.

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards


[This message has been edited by TomP (edited September 18, 2000).]

 

well Tom thats a few tenths better than last time isnt it? Have you had a compression test for the rings....and have you checked out your valves since you have alot of miles? WHy not put your old tires back on to give you a true 3.73 ratio and knock yourslef in the 16's.

 

Tom something has to be up here is one of my old times:

R/T .754
60' 2.202
1/8 10.548
1/4 16.345
MPH 79.49
http://www.geocities.com/overlift

Even when I once threw a MAF code and the car shut down and cam back to life I was only at 16.7. My camaro has never ran any higher. Then again my buddy John who has 3.73's is running times like you and we have similar mods. Could it be the gearing and the cam? Or heads? Something is a miss as now I see 2 V6 2.8's with 3.73's not running faster as they should...

 

It could very well be that my motor is wearing out... I know over time, cam lobes can wear down, and I'm sure my rings aren't sealing like they used to. However, my last compression test showed strong numbers: 5 cylinders were between 140-160, with one "dog" cylinder at 135.

I'm wondering if I should replace my Borg-Warner HEI spark module with an aftermarket one, such as an Accel module or one of the new Holley's.

I can't find any of my old timeslips to compare, either. I think I'll have to rip my room apart this weekend- I KNOW I didn't throw them out.

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

180,000 on my car.... I would forget the module and get a cam for 169.99 and re-new the life of the engine... From what I guess is coming off the production line some cars have tighter tolerances than others, that could only explain what I have seen.

 

I was trying to avoid a camshaft until I rebuilt a 2.8, but maybe I shouldn't wait that long. Hm...

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

Hey Tom, the cam isnt that hard to do, although i did take it to the shop after i inestalled it because I stripped the fuel lines where they screw into the injector body, but I still successfully installed the cam.......and I didnt even know what lifters were, or where they were in the block at that time! Then I wound up getting a Crane cam, because my Federal Mogul cam was screwing my computer up, so the second time was realy easy to do. All you really have to worry about is lining the dots up, setting valve lash, making sure distributer is in the correct position, and sealing the front and back part of the intake manifold with sealant. Oh yea the timing cover/waterpump thing is a bitch to get back on to. After all that you just bolt everything together. The second time it took me like 10 hours to do the swap, with me taking several breaks.

1 remove intake hoses/MAF...depressuriseAC
2 drain radiator then remove it.
3 remove alt,tensioner,smog pump.
4 remove EGR/dist coil with bracket.
5 remove ac( deppressurised already) Power sterring, you can leavit hanging with a wire tied around it.
6 remove coolant lines, if youhavent done so, and remove balancer then WAterpump/timing cover.
7 remove distirbutor, valve covers and intake manifold.
8 remove timing chain and cam.
9 lossen rocker arms and remove pushrods and old lifter.........be sure and label where the pushrods go back into place...........install cam and timing chain , and line the dots up.
10 put intake manifold gaskets on the heads.
11 install pushrods and set valve lash.
12. put distributor in and make sure everyting is in TDC 1 poistion.
13 bolt the whole mess back up!

I always like to take a part off then put its bolts back in it and set it off to the side, so its easy to put back together later.

 

I don't think there is anything "wrong" with your car or times. I have raced for 9 years
with several cars and hardly any 2 runs are the same.

My best current time and speed are from 2 different runs-

a 17.29 @ 80.65
17.03 @ 79.65
See waht I mean? BTW before you starting laughing, those times corrected for weather and altitude ARE 16.2@ 82.55
305 tbI/AUTO/2.73/OPEN

------------------
88 IROC the best RS ever made!
well except for the BC4s

[This message has been edited by 871LEIroc (edited October 03, 2000).]

 

Hey who said I was going to laugh? I'm not like that.. fact I'd say all of the guys here aren't like that.

What bothers me about my times is that it seems I'm losing power halfway down the track.. you don't think so? Argh.. well the car feels stronger with the MSD box on, I just have to get myself back to the track before they close for the season!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards