I have a 455 that I run on the drag strip only! When I go through the traps at the end @ 5500 rpm my oil pressure is at 80psi. Is this too much oil pressure or am I worried over nothing? I have an adjustable regulator on it, so if I have to adjust it I can. If anyone can help me with my question please email me at trossini73@yahoo.com Thanks, Tony
You can definately turn it down, you don't need 80 psi at 5500 rpm. If you are geting this with the stock pump, I really would'nt worry about it. The 455 rule of thumb is 12 psi per 1000 rpm. That would be 66 psi at 5500. I relly don't think you have anything to worry about. What weight oil are you running? What kind of cold pressure do you have? Jim Burek
Oil pressure Jim, I have ALOT of oil pressure when the motor is cold, 90psi. I am using a TA performance, high pressure, high volume pump in a brand new timing chain cover with a KN oil filter. I am using Mobil 1 15w -50 synthetic oil. Am I using too thick of oil or am I just fine with the oil that I am using? Also would it hurt to run Racing gas in my motor. It has 10.5 to 1 compression and it has forged pistons. Any information would be appreciated! Thank you , Tony
Re: Oil pressure Tony you could probably easily drop down to a thinner oil. Also , I'd back off the adjustable regualtor also. I hope you are running a bronze dist gear with those kinds of presure. You could have easily gone with the stock( non high volume ) pump on that set-up with the new TA cover. You can run racing gas, but you may not run any faster. If the octane you now have is fine, a higher octane will usually slow you down, unless you put more timing into the engine. Jim Burek
Jim, I am running a bronze distributor gear. I am afraid to drop down on the oil thickness due to the fact that I destroyed a motor last yer on 10w-30 oil. It spun five rods on only eight passes on an 1/8 mile drag strip. I backed off on the oil pressure like you said. If I go any further out on the adgusting screw, it will fall out. I have been using 94 octane gas in it. I'm gonna try race fuel in it and see what happens. Should I put more jet in the carb. or should I leave the jets alone. I already added some timing to it. I'm at 30 degrees right now. Can I go further with the timing and if so how far can I go? I'm going to a test and tune night on thursday to try it out. Thanks for your help! Trying to get 455 Buick info. in my town is impossible. If it isn't a chevy nobody does not know anything!!! Once again, thanks. Tony
You can try to bump the timing up to 34 degrees, I don't know what intake you have. I have found the TA intake likes about 34 to 36 , the edelbrock sems to like 38 to 40 . If you change jets , always start by going up(richer) the worst that will happen there is that the mph will slow down. Going leaner could burn a piston if it already lean to start with. You go bigger on the jets till the mph starts to fall off, then step back from there. Jim Burek
Oil Pressure Jim, I am using a TA single plane intake with a Holley 950 HP series carb. I have 86 jets in the front and rear. Fuel pressure is at 7 psi. and the float bowls are adjusted right. How can I tell if I go too far with the timing? Will the motor get hot? Will the valves ping? Will I have a hard time starting it? Or will the car just slow down? I am just worried that I will somehow hurt the motor if I go too far with the timing. Once again thanks. The little bit of info. is greatly appreciated!!!! Tony Masontown, Pa
Re: Oil Pressure Just do small changes one at a time. Go in 2 degree steps on the timing and see if the car likes it. Same yhing on the jetting, just go up in small steps and see how it responds. Jim Burek
Jim, you have been most helpful! I'll let you know how things go at the track. Hopefully I will have good news and even better results. Thank you for all of your help. Tony
Hey Jim, thanks for the help. I managed to go 12.2 @ 104mph. Thats the fastest my car has gone so far and it only has six passes on the new motor. I feel I can go faster if I tune on it some more. I left the timing at 30 and just messed with the jets. I am up to 90's on the jets and I just started to get some color on the plugs. I have two more questions for you. How many rpm's do you turn your 455? I have just a stock bottom end that has been balanced and I have good ARP rod bolts. It feels like the car wants more rpm, but I am afraid to turn the motor too hard. I am only taking it to 5500. Also it feels like the car is not making any time after the 1/8th mile marker. There are cars running slower times with faster mph. It currently runs 7.63 in the 1/8th @ 89 mph. Let me know what you think? Thanks, Tony
Tony, without knowing all the particulars on the engine, it's hard to say how high you need to rev it. You should be safe to 5700 to 5800 rpm. I take alot of my 455's to 5800 to 6000 rpm. Just depends on the cam and combination. Your mph is very low for a 12.2 et. Sounds like you may be right about it laying down after the 1/8 mark. What are you running for a fuel pump set-up? There is a simple test to run to check if your fuel pump is up to the task of keeping up with the car published by Barry Grant fuel systems. Normally I find that the 455 engines really turn on in high gear. What converter and rear gear are you running? I need more info to help you go faster. Jim Burek
Jim, I am using 4.10 gears with a 3800 stall speed converter. I am using a Holley fuel pump and the line pressure in set at 7psi. I checked the fuel bowls and they are set correctly also. I am using 8AN steel braid line for fuel supply. I have a TA cam in it 576/576 lift with TA roller rockers. A TA single plane intake with a 950 cfm Holley HP series carb. It is 10.5 to 1 compression with stock cast iron heads that have been ported. I launch the car at 2000rpm and it hooks up great. It picks the left front up and my 60 foot time is 1.63. It makes great time up untill the 1/8th mile marker. I think I have the correct gears in it, but I just do not like the fact that it slows down afterwards. Let me know if you come up with any ideas. Thanks, Tony
Disconnect the fuel lines and time how long it takes to fill up a 1 gallon gas can, use a gas can, it will take 2 people to do this. Let me know how long it takes to fill the can. You are looking for about 20 to 30 seconds max. I have found the holley blue pump by itself is usually not enough to do this. Jim Burek
fuel pressure Jim, I tried the fuel pump test that you told me to try. It took alomost 40 seconds to fill up a 1 gallon gas can! Do I need a better fuel pump? If so can you recomend one? Thanks once again, Tony
Re: fuel pressure Tony, 40 seconds will supply a 13 second car, 35 will supply a 12 second car, 30 an 11 second car and 25 for a 10 second car. I have found it takes 2 holley blue pumps to supply enough fuel. I believe the mallory 140 is better than the holley pumps. Jim Burek
:beer Tony, Your car sounds alot like mine, I am running 2 blue pumps on mine. What size rear tire are you using? Mine with 4.10s on a good day would hit the rev limiter with 28" tires in high gear, 6100 at 114mph. So I went to 29.5/10.5 mickey thompsons and still hit about 5700 at 116mph. Just some info if you get it to run the way it should. 12.2 at 104 tells me that it will be 11s if you can get it to pull the last half of the track. What ignition do you have? I have had HEIs that would lay down 1/8 mile on. I am at 34 timing on mine with a TA intake. I have a old stinger distributer into a Holley ignition box and on pump gas. I can't get any plug color, They look like they came out of the box. I have jetted it so rich one time it slowed way down and the plugs were still white. I don't mean to jump in between you and Jim but your car sounds alot like mine, eccept for the cam, I have a 105A poston. Your 60ft and 1/8 mile numbers are real close to mine. I also have a stage2 scoop on mine which I think helps the top end. :Comp: :beer
I'm glad that I have found some peolpe to consult with about my car. You do not have to apoligize for jumping into our conversation. I'm glad that you guys are trying to help me. I have 28.0 in tires on the back, an HEI distributor hooked up to an MSD ignition box. The car ran the fastest with 88 jets in it and the timing at 30. What jets are you using?And what kind of oil pressure do you have? You are the thrid person tto tell me to put a scoop on it so I am this week. I also bought a Mallory 140 pump like Jim said. After I do alittle bit of work on the car I will probably run on next Saturday. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks for the info. It means more to me than what you think. Tony Rossini 81 Olds Cutlass/455 Buick powered!!! :TU:
Tony.....please put some race gas in there. 10.5 to 1 needs it esp in this heat! Detonation will take your rod bearings out even if you can't hear it. I put 2000+ runs on a factory 70 motor with the small 1/2 in pickup and only 55 lbs of OP at 6000 but I NEVER detonated it. Always ran CAM2 at the track and only 30-32 total timing. I believe that the fast burn characteristics of the Buick cylinder head cause it to need less timing than other motors. Unless you can run it real cool (engine and intake), 38-40 degress with 94 octane WILL hammer the rod bearings to death. Bruce BQUICK
