first runs in the 86 gt what gear?

[Teal9550]

So i went to the track yesterday in my 86 gt, it's basically stock, CAI, underdrives, cat back. My best run was 15.35@90 mph my 60' time was 2.4(crappy I know) and I went through the traps in 3rd gear at about 5500 rpm, the tires are 255/60/15 the guy I bought it from said it had 3.73 gears but I'd think I'd go through in 4th not 3rd if I remember correctly. She cruises at 80 mph in 5th @ 2500 rpm. Any thoughts on the gear I'm thinking its still 3.08 or 2.73....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf6kWuXe-pk

[rob342]

You have a 3.73

Here:
http://www.corral.net/index.php/tech...tio-calculator

[Teal9550]

You have a 3.73

Here:
http://www.corral.net/index.php/tech...tio-calculator

thank you that was helpful!

[Haystack]

What happened to the tbird?

[/URL]

If ya got a .68od t-5, its most definitely a 3.73. My tbird with the 5.0 slow would do 112mph in third and 2.73 gears.

[Teal9550]

I sold the tbird a while back and bought a mark VIII then decided the Lincoln was to boring so I bought this 86. My old bird(87) is for sale again and I think 1200 would buy it, she only has about 100k miles on her

[mmb617]

When I ran 1/8 mile I would finish in 3rd gear @ 5500 rpm and 90 mph. I ran the exact same size tires you have listed and have 3.73's.

Based on that I would say you most certainly have the same rear gears as I do.

[Teal9550]

I was kinda hoping it wasn't 373 so i could upgrade but I guess I'll put the money in the motor , thats were it belongs anyway

[Teal9550]

I was kinda hoping it wasn't 373 so i could upgrade but I guess I'll put the money in the motor , thats were it belongs anyway

[Haystack]

Teal, pm me info on the old car if ya got any, thanks!

[never]

I was kinda hoping it wasn't 373 so i could upgrade but I guess I'll put the money in the motor , thats were it belongs anyway

Spend the money on wheels and slicks to get some real passes out of the car!

[Teal9550]

Spend the money on wheels and slicks to get some real passes out of the car!

I agrea

[mmb617]

Indulge me while I ramble on with some thoughts on your reentry into the wonderful world of drag racing.

While I'll agree that cutting that 2.4 sixty time is crucial to lowering your et, be advised that running sticky tires with stock axles is a crapshoot. I've seen the stock axles hold up to way more than stock power sometimes, but I've also seen them broken on bone stock cars that hook good. At your present power level you could probably get away with it, but then again you might not. There are threads on this site with tips on inexpensive upgrades to 31 spline axles, and as the price of car parts go after market axles aren't really that expensive either.

While we're talking about tires and axles I'd like to mention that with a stick car bias ply tires soften the initial hit and can be easier on drivetrain parts than drag radials. Pretty early on I switched from the drag radials to bias ply et streets, and liked them better.

While getting the car to stick will lower the et, based on your 90 mph trap speed I doubt if you have the power to run much better than 15 flat right now, so don't expect miracles. Trap speed is a much better indicator of just how much power you have on hand than et. Spinning the tires off the line actually tends to raise the mph so 90 mph trap is what I'm basing my estimation of your power on.

Likewise a good sixty foot time is a combination of having enough power to get the car out of the hole and enough grip to launch effectively, so remember that once you have tires that grip well you will probably run into the opposite problem of bogging out of the hole as you will reach the limit of available power. All I'm saying is that sticky tires alone won't give you stellar short times.

My advice, for what it's worth, is to not worry about your gears right now as 3.73's are a good all round gear. Sticky tires would be a decent starting point, or upgrading the axles first, depending on how lucky you feel. I would think the tires alone would be enough to get traction at this point. Then as you take steps to increase your power at some point you will need to do some suspension work to keep the hook.

If you are going to run sticky tires you might want to weld up or otherwise reinforce your torque boxes before they get ripped, and a set of sub frame connectors should also be on the early to do list.

Racing is fun but the list of things you want to improve on the car never ends!

I hope I'm not sounding like a Mr know it all here, but I do have quite a few passes under my belt and I'm just passing alone some things I've learned along the way.

[martin0660]

I'm with Mike, just adding that a drive shaft loop should be on that list with sticky tires (install it while welding torque boxes).

The beauty of a good biased ply tire is that it can grow with you to some extent. At your level, you can probably run it at 16-18 psi, get comfortable on them (slick walk) and be better than you are. As you get comfortable, raise launch RPM, and lower tire pressure to hook. Good tires make you feel like superman and substantially reduce frustration.