A very disappointing defeat-imported 4 banger.

[my$100project]

Well that depends on who you ask. My reaction time of .158 won me the race, but you'll never guess what against.
That's right. I finally got the car to the track and am a little disappointed. I humbley was hoping for under 15, but really wanted 14.5 or better. I got the lesser of the two. Keep in mind I am throwing several codes right now. They will be fixed by the end of next month. So, I need to know not what Ford says 1/4 mile is. But what is expected by the enthusiest. I have a complete stock 89 GT, with spare tire, etc still intact with a set of 3:73's. It has a fresh stock rebuild. It was about 85-90 degrees out. My best run of 14.78 kind of left me hoping for better, but when it started to cool off, my times kept slipping further and further from the 14.5 mark. I'm sure it was operater error as I kept trying different things. Just wondering what others have run on complere stock and how much the 3:73 should of given me on top of that. Thanks for the input. I also should note that after I released tire pressure my time seemed to slip a bit more. Can 15 P.S.I. difference change the tire diameter? Also I should note that one of my mufflers has rusted through on the inside. You can here particles rattling inside.---Mufflers in trunk, o/r x-pipe is in the mail. I'm running very rich along with other codes, I'm sure I'll cut at least 2-3 tenths after fixing problems. Next time I'm taking a timing gun to check for optimum performance. I'm set at 10-11 BTDC right now. Going to try 13-14 see if it causes any preignition.
Ok, so what's this disappointing defeat I speak of? Well, It's an early 90's Eagle Talon. He hasn't even touched the engine itself!!! I know the guy, now I have to one up him. He has a turbo running at 9 P.S.I. (I think) , intercooler, and o/r 2 or 3" fart can on I think it is a 2.2 or 2.3 L engine. His reaction time was slower but his 1/4 time beat mine-Ultimately I crossed the first. He went on to beat 14.5 by the nights end. I was so pissed off. All he could say is "That's what I'm here for, to beat guys like you with my 4 banger haha." But I digress, I'm done ego stroking. I need to leave this guy and his little 4 banger in the dust, and am hoping the new exhaust, bumping timing, and fixing codes will be just enough :damnit: .

 

[sweet88gt]

Its been awhile but I went 14.1 with the one wheel peel and exhaust with 2.73s. I changed to 3.73s and fixed the traction lock and was running the same because of street tires. Bump up the timing fix the codes and with a good 60ft you should be able to get closer to your goal.

 

[DMAN302]

60ft times will tell you how the car is launching..poor 60's definately have an effect on ET, also sounds like the car needs a general tune up, get those codes fixed and I would expect Et's to drop a significant amount.

 

[jaymac]

Alot of people will say dropping pressure in street tires will do nothing to aid perfomance, as it is not a "wrinkle wall" tire, and will not gain the beneft of "wrapping up".
Also, you didn't mention AOD or 5 speed. (i think). Personally, I wouldn't race my car w/ bad codes, as you run the risk of more things breaking if not wrorking together properly, IMHO.
Lastly, you should be able to run AT LEAST 14-15* timing w/o detonation, using 93 octane, which they're not exactly "giving away" these days

 

[Realmongo]

What kind of tires were you running? With steel belted tires you want to lower pressure slightly, with fiber-glass belted tires you will want to raise it slightly. (Note the word slightly, these are not slicks we are talking about)

When Car and Drver tested the 1989 with a 2.73:1 rear end new, they got a best of 14.80 out of it.

 

[Paul Perreca]

i heard of "rolling friction" when letting too much air out of the tires....

Paul Perreca

 

[90mustangGT]

I agree, your not going to run proper times with a car that isn't running properly. What codes do you have? IMO, even on street tires, you should at least cut a 2.0, if not then you need to work on it until you do. You have to craw before you run.

 

[Curse]

Early year Talons and Eclipses are nothing to sneeze at. I got a friend that has a 90 or 91 TSI Talon that runs low 13s with a hand full of bolt-ons. Only problem is he is always fixing his tranny or the AWD case or whatever it is called. There was also a newer purple Talon around here that would kill almost everything it raced. I would not feel bad losing to one of them. You go some good suggestions from these guys about what to do to your car to get a little more performance out of your car. If you are not on DRs or slicks, I would not mess with the tire pressure. You do not know how your tires will react to it, some tires “cup” at the center causing only the outer edges of the tires to grab. Focus more on timing and reducing weight. Good luck.

 

[Niks93GT]

Stock in my 5 speed I went 14.8. Put Catback, Pullies, Shifter and Tune Up went 14.3. Add Mam, Gears, Headers, and X-Pipe and it went 14.3 again. Added Nittos and went 13.9.

Stock in my old AOD, I went 15.5. Add gears and pullies and went 14.7.

Nik

 

[my$100project]

Guess I should have added. t5. with very cheap Kumho tires that actually scratch when down shifting into third at 55-60 MPH. Very cheap, lol)
Here are my two best times
R/T .243--irrevelant
60' 2.164
330 6.137
1/8 9.441
MPH 74.62
1000 12.303
1/4 14.719
MPH 93.24
This one was at 6:40 when it was warm out.
This run was not burning the tires, etc. There street tires lol. This was also not "dropping the cluth" as some say. It was a nice accelerated take off. From around 1200 RPM with no spin.
Tried a few runs dropping the clutch after slightly heating tires only to lose time (tire's spinning)
Another mustang enthusiest recommened I drop the pressure to 20 P.S.I. The next run I dropped the clutch at 1600. To my amazement no spin, but the motor did bog down a little. So I figured I would try 2000. Finally, I found a spot where I can take off "dumping the clutch" without much spin. My times did seem to get worse. Here it is
R/T .199--irrevelant
60' 2.196
330 6.171
1/8 9.492
MPH 74.32
1000 12.362
1/4 14.793
MPH 92.76..

niks-yea maybe I should have done more research on exhaust before ordering x and got x w/ headers. O well.

90 mustang gt. You said I should cut at least cut 2.0. Do you mean 2/10 or .2??
Codes are to many to list, and not readily available. I had a post several months back with many of the same codes, Haven't had time to fix them yet. Pesonal issues and I've had the little one almost 100% of the time the last 1 1/2 months. But they will be fixed soon. I know one code is fuel problem. You can smell it running rich. This will be my first code to fix.


I have put a multimeter on the new 155 LPH fuel pump (it was cheaper on ebay than a stock 95 lph) and it is running a little high on the amp side, (about 9200 rpm and 6 to 7.3 amps) so I'm going to check the pressure regulator, and fuel system pressure tomorrow.

 

[stangbear427]

Yeah, don't pound it while it's popping codes- what do you want? Just fix the poor car first. Turbo Talons aren't all that special, but if it was an AWD Turbo there definately isn't any shame in losing to it, or even just winning by the skin of your teeth. One of the most eye opening experiences for me was driving a '95 Eclipse AWD Turbo at a dealer one day. I launched that thing at 5 grand and put the salesman in the back seat. If the driver knows what he's doing, a stock Fox would be lucky to keep up, nevermind beat it. Get some DR's and tune the car up right, then get your holeshot down- most Fox's lose a lot of time on the launch. I've been driving on my Nitto DR's all summer, since May and they still look good- an excellent investment. First, fix the codes! Good luck

 

[darthcual]

Alot of people will say dropping pressure in street tires will do nothing to aid perfomance, as it is not a "wrinkle wall" tire, and will not gain the beneft of "wrapping up".
Also, you didn't mention AOD or 5 speed. (i think). Personally, I wouldn't race my car w/ bad codes, as you run the risk of more things breaking if not wrorking together properly, IMHO.
Lastly, you should be able to run AT LEAST 14-15* timing w/o detonation, using 93 octane, which they're not exactly "giving away" these days

jaymac look whos calling the kettle black! I seem to recall a certain someone running with a bad fanclutch and popping a head gasket. Now lets see, who was that......

 

[darthcual]

Early year Talons and Eclipses are nothing to sneeze at. I got a friend that has a 90 or 91 TSI Talon that runs low 13s with a hand full of bolt-ons. Only problem is he is always fixing his tranny or the AWD case or whatever it is called. There was also a newer purple Talon around here that would kill almost everything it raced. I would not feel bad losing to one of them. You go some good suggestions from these guys about what to do to your car to get a little more performance out of your car. If you are not on DRs or slicks, I would not mess with the tire pressure. You do not know how your tires will react to it, some tires “cup” at the center causing only the outer edges of the tires to grab. Focus more on timing and reducing weight. Good luck.

I am in complete agreement here with the tire pressure. You know how your car launches with the tires at their normal pressure, this is what u should do at the track. Unless of course you have slicks or d/r's

 

[my$100project]

Update: He wasn't at the track, but with the new exhaust setup it did cut 5/10's off my time. My runs where between 13.319 and 13.9. I will probably be deleteing the smog pump in the next 2 weeks. Right now where the rubber host is suppossed to connect into the exhaust pipe it just flows into the air so I'm a little worried about the enging sucking in particles. I'm starting to begin to wish I would have done headers/back. Think I'll do a search and see if I can save my new X and get some headers so I don't have to buy another new X. I did not expect a little more than 5/10's from a new exhaust. Track conditions where almost perfect. It was about 60 degrees and not real humid.
What is a good 60 foot time with street tires? I tried many different launches. I found dropping the tire pressure and heating the hell out of the tires, I could get it down to 2.03. Can I expect a 1.7 with d/r's and upgraded suspension?

 

[stangbear427]

It's possible, if your driving is there.

 

[Aliate X]

14.4@95mph with 2.1 60 ft stock with exhaust.