After my first run on the quarter mile at Norwalk about a month and a half ago, I was finally able to get to another track (Thompson) and try again. I was able to get 7 runs in, as they weren't crowded and no gamblers race today, there were only like 35 cars, so it was nice, just go round and round as many times as yah wanted. Best ET was 14.88 @ 91.42 mph Best mph was 92.93 ET was 14.94 Things I learned from this trip: Don't bother bringing the engine up against the brake at the tree, spin city:af: I let the trans shift itself on the 1 to 2 shift, 'bout 5100/5200 rpm Manually shift to 3rd at 6000 rpm. Im wondering if my TCI convertor is slipping more than it should. It seemed to rpm ok but just didn't seem like it was transferring the power the more I went down the 1/4. Well at least me and the car are heading in the right direction!
Exciting! as for the tci, most likely I dont care for tci Rather use freakshow , broader, coan, or our boy JW,
My 60 foots were all in the 2.1 to 2.4 range Correct me if Im wrong in my theory here, being Im leaving from an idle, and still getting some wheel spin, and not loading the engine against the convertor, because Im on street tires, that's going to kill my 60' times, yes? Now if I had drag radials, and was able to load the engine against the convertor, say about 2500 rpm, then let it rip, my 60' would improve, yes?
Oh yes, with Drag Radials, you could get sub 2 second 60' times. A tenth improvement in the 60' time can translate to 1 1/2 -2 tenths improvement at the other end of the track. So if you could get, say, a 1.9 60', you might see lower 14's.
I've found flashing the convertor works better for me than loading it with drag radials. Of course, this all depends on your suspension setup and powerband. With a 2800 stall convertor, I can stomp the gas from idle and get the rpm to flash up past 3200 and still have the drag radials bite. Loading it up I would only be able to stall it around 1800-2100 before I would blow the tires off. Try experimenting, but to get the most out of going to the track drag radials are almost a must.
Thanks Larry:TU: Im going to concentrate then on getting DR's and a better, custom convertor, instead of an off the shelf unit. My TCI convertor is from 1995/96, do these things wear out or get sloppy with age/use? Something I've noticed the past few years, on the highway at 70 mph, my tach will read 3000 rpm one time, then if I slow for whatever reason, then speed back up to 70 mph, the tach will read 3300 rpm. Does that sound like a tach issue, or convertor issue?
They shouldn't, but TCI converters are off the shelf units for all intents and purposes. There is nothing like a converter that is purpose built for your combination. That costs, but it can really make a night and day difference if your current converter is way off. I intend to eventually go to a fixed pitch transmission as I know the big heavy switch pitch converter is probably costing me some E.T. When I do, I will spend as much as I have to to get the right converter.
I agree that a quality coan or jw convertor would be better. I would say the tci could slip some but if your running anything over 2200 you really should have an auxillary cooler on the trans ,the extra heat could be causing extra wear in your trans. get sticky tires,and shift out of first later. im sure you could see 14 flat or 13s pretty soon with more practice.
Mark, Check out Perfect Converter in Walton Hills. They build custom converters. Several local Buick guys use them and love them. Plus they are local. :TU:
I've had an aux. trans cooler plumbed inline with the in-tank cooler for years so im good there. Its interesting when you have plenty of chances to run the 1/4 you begin to notice a pattern in how the car is running, then develop a routine in the way you drive it. After my 5th or 6th run I noticed my speedo wasn't climbing as fast but the tach was, which is why Im suspecting the convertor. The engine was running great, consistent, no funny noises, and revving like it was lovin' it. Temp was 180 or less most of the time, tho it was only about 45 deg. out.` Im going to research convertors.
Too much concern about "bad" converters here. I seriously doubt that with the HP your engine is making it has ruined a converter. My 350 powered Regal went mid-13's with an off the shelf generic converter. Somehow a million SBC's are running fast times with off the shelf converters yet our SBB's need custom units. Get the DR's on there ASAP and find out what the car can really do. You can be 100% sure the car will lower its' ET with the DR's. How much is a different story and at that point you can determine if a flash stall or power braking works best. If anything once you start hooking up you may find you need a higher stall with that 413. At the very least I'd make sure the 413 is in at +4 or even +6 to keep the bottom end strong. As you're finding out tire spin and smoke shows are just that, smoke and mirrors that equal slow ET's. When anybody tells me how far they can smoke a tire I always yawn and ask them how fast the car is with sticky tires. X2 on shifting 1-2 higher. At least 5700. If it pulls higher go even higher. Once you eliminate the traction problem you can go after the important stuff. You made it to the track one more time that I would have without good tires. Check Craigslist for some good used DR's. If you only go a few times a year they last a long time.
Mike is right on this, you need those slick tires to see just where the car is at. I think you need more compression with that cam. Your mph should be higher. I had the same mph with 373 gears a 268 Comp cam, stock convertor, and stock engine except for headers. I ran 275-6015 TA radials on it , they were just stock tires and I would spin the tires sometimes. With that cam I ran 14.92 spinning the tires and I was using a Carter Thermoquad on it. You guys like that Q-Jet try on of those Thermoquads, it rocked. You need to have 373 gears and a 3200 stall so you can foot brake it to 2800 then it will smoke the DR's some. I would do it with the 3500 stall that I call a little more looser since I could foot brake it to 3000 rpm but the old Hughes convertor I had in there was supposed to stall to 3500 but I could only foot brake it to 2500 rpm. You should be able to spin that engine to 5800 easily with that cam. I had the next step up cam with the 510 and I made power from 5900 to 6200 dyno sheet here. I wonder what will happen with the new intake and this cam
I would replae the tci converter with a good quality one from hughes or another good company... I agree with Mike that a custom converter may offer nothing over a generic converter that is good quality.. Get those drag radials and get the shift points up to 6200 and you should be having some fun! By the time the single plane intake comes out you will be ready to raise the shift points higher and see what the car can really do!
Thanks Mike After running this thing a total of 9 times on TA's, In convinced I need to eliminate the traction variable by getting DR's, and then I should be able to see how this combo will run by eliminating the spin issue. After the DR's, then will be able to see if I really do have a convertor issue, but at this point, Im not even able to really utilize the TCI's stall at the starting line, sooooooo, DR's are first on my list! Im ordering stock style Buick rallys in 15x8 with 275-50-15 Nitto DR's I going with 50 series DR's only because of their 25.8/26" dia. and I don't want to kill my 3.42 ratio, Im already at the lower end of the recommended gear for a 413 cam. Am I correct in my theory?
Yep I agree:TU: DR's first! The engine screamed to 6 grand and it pulled strong on every run, so Im convinced the engine is consistant in its performance, it just needs some tweaking to get all I can out of it. Also, I didn't think of it at the time, but my 14.88 run leaving at an idle, I had my stepdaughter in the car, so I had extra weight with me. I was having so much fun just going round and round, I wasn't thinking of it:laugh:
Im VERY seriously considering the SP intake when its available! Going to order my wheels (15x8 Buick rallys) Then my DR's 275-50-15's Then wait till spring, see how she does on DR's, then maybe the SP intake, and maybe good convertor, ( the TCI may be fine for me, I don't know) more tweaking, more stuff, OMG I knew I shouldn't have started doing this, its ADDICTING:laugh: Sean, what size DR's are you using with your Turbo set up? What brand?
