[Shanes13]

First off... HUGE THANKS to cdahl383!! He mentioned about some updates for the tuners we run (Diablo Trinity T-1000). I contacted Sean and he sent me two new tunes... I uploaded a "drag" tune... Goodness gracious, I was merging on a highway (granted it was wet) but in 3rd gear doing about 60-65... I floored it and the damn tires broke loose... nailed 4th and could feel the brand new tires I bought "chirp"... the upper RPM's have a surge like never before... I hope to hit the track this weekend to see if these new Firehawk Indy 500's (255/45/20) will hookup or not... I am hoping they do because the tune has the top end coming on like gang busters.. I will post how the track time goes... fingers crossed!

 

[TorredCanuckRT]

From the Canadian rock band Crowbar..."Oh, What a feeling (What a rush)"

 

[cdahl383]

Haha I knew you'd like that "race tune" he has. I was skeptical at first, but once I loaded it I was like HOLY SH&$! It feels like he removed all the torque management out of the car and put a bunch of timing in down low so it launches hard off the line now.

I also noticed when I punch it in 3rd gear merging on the highway how hard it hits and takes off. Then shifting into 4th gear it just keeps on pulling. No hesitating or anything.

I even datalogged the tune to monitor for knock retard and there was very little, just after shifting gears. I sent the log to Sean and he said the little bit that was showing up was fine, nothing to worry about. The knock sensors are pretty sensitive on our cars anyway. I remember datalogging with the stock tune and even that showed some short term knock retard on 93 octane, so I wasn't too concerned about that.

My guess is your ET may not be all that great because you're going to roast the tires off the line. It's not due to the car not performing well, but traction limited. Hopefully you'll get some good traction and pull off some good times though. I'd be interested to see what your MPH is now compared to before (if you have any before runs to compare against). That's the real indicator of power.

The race tune makes the car so much more fun to drive. It's how the car should have come from the factory.

 

[Shanes13]

My best run on the F1's was [email protected].. that was with wheel hop at each shift... It is purely speculation, but with similar traction this thing feels like a beast up in the gears I would like to think 110 mph could be possible... with a little traction... lol

 

[cdahl383]

That's pretty good. If you can get good traction I'm sure you could get some low 13's out of it. I think my highest MPH was 104mph or so a couple years ago when I last ran my car.

 

[Shanes13]

I am hopeful because those numbers above were run with the Blastin Bobs and a K/N only... Now I have the Hop Not, short throw shifter, and the Drag tune installed... Should be fun... lol

 

[cdahl383]

I should look into that HopNot kit. Even the stage 1 kit would be a major improvement I'm sure. The full kit looks good but not too keen on those yellow shocks they use.

If you can swing it getting a set of 17" rims like Cobra R's and some M&H drag radials 275/50/R17's would really help the car hook up. Even if you get the rims for $100 the drag radials are $550 brand new, so $650 just for a set of spare rims/tires for the track only. Haven't been able to justify spending that much for something I'd use so little yet, but that's really what I need to do next before I attempt anymore runs.

 

[Shanes13]

I was looking at just tires... expensive... OMG... then rims... like you said, a lot of money for something so limited in use. I think the Hop not kit has helped a lot on the street.. and with these tires no hop in the wet either. I am going to hit Gulfport Raceway tomorrow... They are doing a T-n-T from 0900-1200... grudge racing 12-2, then eliminations... I am going to hook up my Trinity and have it record my times until noon (that's when they will start issuing time slips)... Supposed to be a cold morning (30's) with a sunny day topping out in lower 60's... So weather should be optimum.. I will report my results tomorrow afternoon..

 

[cdahl383]

Lucky! Haha! Our dragstrip is closed until April here in Michigan. Sounds like a fun day man! I'm sure you'll do well. Regardless it'll be fun and sure beats being at work! Let us know how you do man!

 

[GreenGoblin]

I was looking at just tires... expensive... OMG... then rims... like you said, a lot of money for something so limited in use. I think the Hop not kit has helped a lot on the street.. and with these tires no hop in the wet either. I am going to hit Gulfport Raceway tomorrow... They are doing a T-n-T from 0900-1200... grudge racing 12-2, then eliminations... I am going to hook up my Trinity and have it record my times until noon (that's when they will start issuing time slips)... Supposed to be a cold morning (30's) with a sunny day topping out in lower 60's... So weather should be optimum.. I will report my results tomorrow afternoon..

Ocean springs huh? I live in lucedale its good to see somebody else that actually lives in Mississippi I was starting to think I was the only one lol

 

[Itbefast2]

Dodge put the power in these cars but forgot one thing. It needs to be able to put it on the tires and so far these tires are just not to be. I drove the hellcat and it is awesome but tires just not there. I just got a 2015 SRT 392 and it just don't have the traction that it needs. 9.5" wheels is just not enough. I hope dodge listens and put some 10.5 on these cars.

 

[oldsterguy46]

Hey Shanes13, drag racing is expensive. I think Carl knows that and you are getting it too it looks like. Hard to justify all the expense unless you're set up for it. That's why I ended up with an R/T instead of a 392 SRT. I really wanted that 392 but wife knew me and wouldn't go with me. I'd already spent a lot on my '70 Challenger 383 car (now sold and gone) and she wasn't going down that road again. Good luck.

 

[cdahl383]

Realistically you need a set of drag radials on the back of these cars on the street once you get the power level up much higher than a stock SRT, even those don't hook all that well. I know Nitto tires work well for the street and last around 20,000 miles or so. For the track M&H's are good on these cars. I have some M/T ET street radials on the back of my Nova but they only last 5,000 miles or so, if that. Good for a weekend/summer car but not for a car you drive often.

Drag racing is very expensive. Cars in general are expensive haha! I've been doing things in phases now since we had kids. Got tires and driveshaft loop on my Nova a couple years ago, then got a new ignition system the next year, then got new axles and torque converter, etc. If you spread the cost out over several years it's not too bad. I miss the days when I could spend a few grand on stuff and not even think twice about it. One day those days will return, but not for a while haha!

I'm sure the wider/bigger tires will be better than the stock size tires, but they're still a harder compound street tire designed to last 30,000-40,000 miles. If you really get serious, drag radials on a dedicated set of rims is the best way to go. You have to reach that point where you feel it's worth it to spend the $600-1,000 though for that. If you only go once or twice a year, might not really be worth it. Depends a lot on your budget and all that not so fun stuff haha!

 

[Shanes13]

Alrighty.... back from the track.... Was a good day out, slight tail wind, sunny and about 65 degrees out. Good news, I was able to put down some traction... these ne Indy 500's did well. Only a trace of wheel hop in second gear.. Bit well down the track - no worries with third gear. Now for the disappointing side... while it was way better than my last time out (low 14s and zero traction), I still could only manage a 13.8 as measured by my Trinity Tuner... a far cry from my initial 13.5 when the car was less modified albeit newer. I really felt like I was putting down some solid driving... and granted the car was warmed up... So... my next question.. its about time to do spark plugs.. could a nice set of plugs take advantage of the "super tune"? I think a 180 T-stat is in my near future also.... Thoughts????

 

[cdahl383]

13.8 is all I could do last time I went as well. My 60ft time was around 2.25-2.30 which is horrible. I could not launch good to save my life. Either spun, bogged, or wheelhop.

What was your 60ft time? How about your 1/4 mile MPH? Didn't you get any timeslips from the track? You mentioned your time according to your Trinity tuner.

I would highly recommend a 180 tstat. It's about $30 if you get the Jet one, takes about 20-30 minutes to swap in tops (very easy DIY job), and it'll lower your engine temps by 20-25 degrees. Doesn't gain any hp, but prevents you from losing hp as your car heats up. I noticed my car felt much better with the 180 tstat than the stock one on hot summer days, didn't get that sluggish feeling anymore.

Spark plugs should be replaced every 30,000 miles on 5.7L in R/T's. Just use the stock replacements from the dealership (they're Mopar but really they're NGK's). That's another easy DIY job, takes a couple hours tops if you work slow. You'll noticed better throttle response and pick up an MPG or so if they're older and worn. I highly doubt new plugs and a 180 tstat are going to drop you .3 tenths though.

My guess is your launch just wasn't as good as when you did the 13.5 run. The Hemifever tune is solid. The only way that would have hurt you is if you got a bad tank of gas and were getting some massive knock retard. Have you datalogged since installing that race tune? I datalogged and only got a couple degrees of short term knock retard, not enough to worry about or change anything. I sent it back to Sean and he agreed that it was fine as is. If you don't have that great of quality fuel in your area or got a bad tank, you might have had 4-5 degrees or more of knock retard which would have killed your power some.

I'd recommend doing some datalogs in some wide open spaces where you can get on it WOT through 4th gear a little and see what it shows for knock retard. Ship it off to Sean and see what he says too. Ideally you want 0 knock retard, but a couple degrees around shifts isn't a bad thing according to him or Johan.

I think you did pretty well considering you are running just street tires. I'd be happy with the 13.8. Do some datalogging to check for knock retard, install the 180 tstat, get some new plugs in there if they're past 30,000 miles, and go from there.

Glad to hear you had a good time. I wish I could go to the track right now. Ours is closed and there's snow all over on the ground, major bummer!

 

[Shanes13]

Best 60' time today was 2.10.. I had to use my trinity, because they were not issuing slips. When they started the time trials they were only running 1/8th mile... I was not happy about that... I have not data logged.. and I hear you on the gas... I legging it out at each shift (6000 rpms) but I was still pulling ... perhaps short shifting will help? Just glad the tires handled the way they did.. @32 psi

 

[cdahl383]

60ft of 2.1 isn't bad on street tires for a 6 speed, that's better than I could ever do. My best 60ft ever was a 2.15. But my average over all of my runs was 2.25 which really sucks haha!

If you don't have solid timeslips then I wouldn't get too bent out of shape over your ET. Lots of variables there. The Trinity could be off a little. It's too bad they didn't give you at least 1/8 mile timeslips. You can usually project out the 1/4 ET and 1/4 MPH by using 1.56 for ET and 1.27 for MPH and get you pretty close if the car is running right.

I think you did really well. I'd be happy with that 2.1 60ft time and 13.8 on street tires. If you tossed on a set of drag radials I bet your 60ft time would drop to at least 1.9 and possibly into the 1.8's somewhere and would give you a solid low 13 second ET. But sometimes it's hard to justify the cost of doing that for getting a few timeslips once or twice a year.

 

[Shanes13]

I appreciate it... am going to tweak a few things and see what happens.. I need to do it before the weather turns warmer...

 

[cdahl383]

Yeah best time to hit the dragstrip here in Michigan is April-May and then September-October. Nice cool air and the weather is still decent. July-August are the worst months, super hot and humid, etc.

 

[Garfield411]

Ocean springs huh? I live in lucedale its good to see somebody else that actually lives in Mississippi I was starting to think I was the only one lol

Live in Kiln, Jourdan River Shores Subdivision.