V6canvas

iTrader: (1)

Hey Michigan guys! I was wondering if anyone knows if Milan is known for being a slow track or not. I went there on Friday night for the very first time as a racer, second ever, and I was highly disappointed with my times. I'm thinking it's my car since my 60's were ok. I was able to pull a 2.1, two 2.2s a 2.4 and a 2.5 on street tires @ street pressure. Only thing is, my ETs were very slow a 15.9, three 16.2s and a 16.4. This is a 350 TPI with a high flow cat, 3" flowmaster catback and a K&N cone filter. The only things I can think of for my poor showing are
a) lack of experience, though my 60' times were good,

b) My engine was hot, I didn't have enough time to cool the engine much at all, especially before the last 3 runs (16.2, 15.9, 16.2)

c) there is somthing seriously wrong with my car

I would have thought this thing would be able to pull at least mid 15s. If anyone wants to see them, i have a scanned image of all 5 slips, though its kinda big, so I don't want to bog the dial up guys (56.6k sux). Any help, suggestions would be appreciated.

BTW, I now know the timing was set 5* advanced, I now have it at ~6*- 6.5* advance.

89BlueTA

What was your MPH on those runs? Milan is the only track I have run my car at, so I can not tell you any comparisons on times. But the most frequent complaint about milan is slow 60 ft times. Due to lack of track preparation, it is only really sticky on sundays or big events. Let us michigan guys know when you are going to the track, so we can have a thirdgen get togethor.

good luck
nick

IROC57TPI

Steve,

Actually those 60fts. suck! You need to get the car tuned and go to a better track. Milan is known for being slippery and most guys with faster cars say it sucks!

I personally like going to Ubly Dragway in Bad Axe up in the thumb. They prepare the starting line with traction compound and I pulled a 1.969 60ft. last summer on bald XP2000Z's.

Your car should be int he high to mid 14's easily. Maybe one day we can get together and I can check out a few things for you. Otherwise heres a few things that you should check/replace-

1) Fuel filter (located under car by left rear wheel)
2) Spark Plugs
3) O2 sensor
4) Clean the K&N
5) Base timing should be 6* factory.... set it at 12* advanced and use 93-94 octane fuel at the track. 10* advanced is good if you prefer lower octane fuel.
6) Check TV cable adjustment and leave the car in (D) while at the track.
7) Learn to launch it. Do a search on this site and you will find many topics on launch techniques. With some practice you should be able to pull sub 2.0 60fts.


Email me at IROC5.7TPI@worldnet.att.net and i'll give you some tips or we can meet up on Woodward over the weekend.

89BlueTA

They do prep the track at milan with glue, it just depends on what day you go. You get a lot more track prep sunday v. a wednesday.

And if he pulled a 2.1 60 ft on a 15.9 run, I would say that is pretty good. depending on his mph. The car does need power to pull a good 60 ft.

nick

V6canvas

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the replies!! My trip was kinda spur of the moment, only knew that we were definatly going the day before. Plus, with the 'Wings on, I doubted many people would want to go (I was right, I was in line for less than 5 mins every time).

As for mph, in order of my runs they were: 83.33, 85.85 (worst run), 84.88 (best run), 84.75 and 84.09mph.

I was considering my 60's good considering that I was on street tires, at street pressure and running at the track for the first time. I know I can improve because I spun my tires to some degree or another on each run.

1) Fuel filter (located under car by left rear wheel) - ok, sounds like something I need to do
2) Spark Plugs - should do it
3) O2 sensor - definatly need to
4) Clean the K&N - Done
5) Base timing should be 6* factory.... set it at 12* advanced and use 93-94 octane fuel at the track. 10* advanced is good if you prefer lower octane fuel. - how do you advance it that far accuratly? The timing tab only goes up to maybe 8* (6* marked off)
6) Check TV cable adjustment and leave the car in (D) while at the track. - I'd rather not mess with that, it shifts fine, just too late (5k, hashed red line), i was leaving it in D on all but my worst run, guess that taught me.
7) Learn to launch it. Do a search on this site and you will find many topics on launch techniques. With some practice you should be able to pull sub 2.0 60fts. - thanks, I didn't think sub 2.0s were easily obtainable with street tires

A get together does sound good, maybe next weekend (friday the 14th). This weekend I have plans I can't/ won't break. Before going this weekend, I thought the car may be capable of high 14s, with me being capable of 15s that time out, now I have one source that says my car is right on the money as far as times go, and you guys saying that I was not too far off in my expectations, don't you just love the internet .

BTW, something that i forgot to mention last night. At the top of each gear, maybe the last 500 rpm, there is a vibration that appears and gets worse until it shifts. Is this normal, a common problem, or something serious. It isn't enough to feel like something is about to fly apart, but anyone in the car notices it immedeatly.

wingnut

I've raced the same car at Milan, Ubly and Lapeer Dragways and found that while my best times were at Ubly, my best Milan times were comparable (within 2 tenths of a sec). Of the three, Lapeer was the slowest - the spectator lane to be exact; there used to be a dip at about the 60ft mark - not good for traction (It's been a couple years since I've raced there. I heard that they re-paved the track - hopefully they made it flatter). My best times in the tower lane, however, were pretty comparable to my best Milan times.

Your MPH is way down from where it should be with a 350 TPI car (stock even). Even if you spin the hell out of the tires, your MPH going through the traps should be much higher. Something's wrong - you're losing power somewhere.

By "vibration", do you mean spark-knock? Does the engine make popping sounds in those last 500 rpm's? If so, that could explain a lot. I would make darn sure that your timing is correct. If the timing's correct, I would guess that either your valve springs are worn and need to be replaced, or the springs inside of your distributer (under the cap) that control timing advance might be worn out.

To give you an idea of how much power you're missing, I have a '91 Firebird with 305 TBI/manual that runs 16.20's @ 84 MPH and I had a stock '88 Formula 350 (TPI)/auto that ran 14.80's @ 95 MPH.

Your best bet may be to take your car into a reputable shop and have it hooked up to a scope.