Took it down the 1/4…

[OVA1]

Well, it's a mess. After 5 years of wheel hop free performance, it's back in spades… among a couple of other heretofore un-experienced issues.

Drove two hours up to Bradenton… Great facility. Brand new surface which is so beyond superior to what my experience has been that its almost not even comparable. Track is ridiculously sticky…

Still runnin' the same 25.5" Nitto Tire, and the same gears of course…

So I let her cool off and open the dumps….

I was somewhat anxious on a new track… (never raced down any track but the home 1/8th), So I take her down the aux road to help the PC get sync'd up with the open dumps.

Slide over the water, do a quick burn out… which went great. Staged up and when I launched, it was like the car left in third… it labored out of the hole and at the top, it wouldn't upshift. It's NEVER done that… PERIOD.

Went back for a second hit and picked up a nasty wheel hop on the burnout. Got right out of it, staged up and it repeated that out of the whole… got out, it did it again down track, but that time I tried to stay in it for a bit to see if it would push through, until it just became stupid… got out and ambled on down the lane, cussin' up a blue-streak.

Took it back to the pit to look underneath, everything looked normal… but the rest of the day/night; over a half dozen passes, things remained pretty much within that general theme.

Beyond bummed…

Think I'll table the track until I can get her into the air and get the new BMR (SFC & Trak-Pak ATA) gear welded up. I'm at a loss to know WTF is going on. But my guess is that maybe new torque levels are not reacting well with the old ATA and there may be some issue on the new tranny.

Hell… maybe it's as simple as the rear calipers aren't opening up all the way… Who knows?

I have noticed that the tranny seems a bit odd on the first few passes with the dumps opened. Sometimes on the first few passes with dumps opened, when I pull into the Ticket Shack, slotted in 4th, when I pull off, it hasn't shifted down to first and seems to be in 3rd. Labors like its in a higher gear. So I just pull it down into third and downshifts and is fine. But its never launched in a higher gear before.

Maybe there's some PCM thing due to the open dumps. But I dunno…

I HATE this snake-bit shit… but there's no way to get through it, but to burn it out by stayin' in it, until it passes.

[shownomercy]

You need to get rid of those fucking useless gears if you want to run the 1/4 and have it not pinging the limiter the whole time.

That, and stop shifting it, its an automatic...let the computer do it.

[OVA1]

With regard to the gears, I hereby concede that they are not right, such is Granted and it is otherwise stipulated that they will be changed for a nice set of 4.30s.

However… with that said.

THIS is:

ef7bd0e3-8fd5-4e8f-930f-850d036965d1.jpg

Nature is presently determined that I should pay penitence for a decade of relatively good times and solid cash flow… So until I burn through this poverty morass, I'm stuck with the gears.

And I did not manually shift it.

On the first pass I had it set in third, just out of habit. And it just ambled out IN THIRD. It's NEVER done that before… Trying to figure out what is going on. I should also note that, except for when it did this, it did not hit the limiter at all. Which is why it is SO DAM' FRUSTRATING! It is otherwise shifting GREAT… up until I got to the track, the car shifted perfectly, running up to an indicated 6700-ish, pops SMOOTH and QUICK into the next gear and rips up to the next and repeats. Then I get to the track, the third gear thing happens… then wheel hop out the ass… It's like a bad freakin' dream man. It was surreal. I was so pissed I could have chewed nails for three hours.

Then on the way home, pissed out of my mind, I tried a couple of lights and it ran like a bat out of hell… shifted PERFECT.

I stomped the CRAP out of a new 5.0 that I happened to pull up with at a light coming off the interstate and it could not have shifted better.

(On a side note, we pulled into the gas station and shot the shit, exchanging mutal compliments for one another's rides and the kid said that when his car gets old he hopes it's as bad ass as my car… I laughed my ass off and thanked him. Great sport.)

[dawdaw]

what does the car shift at, and if I read it right your running a 25.5 " tire? and you want to run a 4.30 gear and your going to spray it with that small of a tire? I personally think that is still to much gear... granted these calculators aren't and end all for figuring things out but they can definitely get you in the ball park... personally if your switching gears i would consider going to a 28" tall tire out back (mickey Thompson radial pro) with a 4.11 gear. if you want to keep your 26" tire because of abs or something a 3.90 would be great. remember your going to have converter slip to factor in and with going to a numerically lower gearset it should stall that converter out a tad higher cause your working it harder. with both of those gear/tire height combos i listed at around 6500rpm with a slightly tight nitrous conveter would put you down the backhalf around 125 to 130. as everyone else has said those 5.13's belong in a semi truck you will wake that car up.

[OVA1]

Thanks DD. I am definitely replacing the gears, just trying to scratch up the scratch for 'em.

FTR: To drive 125 up the Interstate and back it cost me $95. So, the gear'sve gotta go! THat one trip would have EASILY got me half way to a new set.