Drag strip problems

OK, I went to the track tonight for my first time in this car. I've had it about 2 months. Mods are in sig. Tonight was really humid and between 75-80 degrees. I ran the car 3 times and got 15.3x all 3 runs. Traps were at 97, 92, and 94. My 60's were around 2.35 average, and when I compared it to another '02 stang with no known mods (he just bought his) mine was keeping up until the 330'. He was running 14.6's, supposedly bone stock with just flowmasters. I was pretty upset, because I had read that the car was supposed to be deep into the 14's. A few other stock 99+ GT's were there, I saw them run 15.0 and 15.1's mostly. I'm kind of bummed out. I still love the car to death, but I want to figure out what's going on. I changed all the spark plugs (still had the originals in at 54k) and used AGSF32PM's, the new Motorcraft recommended platinum plug. I'm looking for suggestions on what to check... things I can do... what I should be expecting out of the car... I'm looking for a set of OEM wheels, so I'm going to see if that's contributing to the problem. Please help me.
Thanks in advance.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Driver mod.

Guy who had my car before me could drive the hell out of it. Im still not totally comfortable slamming gears around, and im sure thatll show if I go to the strip.

What RPM's are you shifting at? Humidity also doesnt help things, and you can also work on bringing those 60' times down... thatll reflect in the ET.
 
BurningRubber said:
Driver mod.

Guy who had my car before me could drive the hell out of it. Im still not totally comfortable slamming gears around, and im sure thatll show if I go to the strip.

What RPM's are you shifting at? Humidity also doesnt help things, and you can also work on bringing those 60' times down... thatll reflect in the ET.
5,800-6,000. I guess with practice they'll come down... but is there anything wrong with my car?
 
but is there anything wrong with my car?

Doubt it. Just practice man. It seems that first times at the track are usually dissapointing. Get your 60ft down in the 1.9-2.0 range and you'll be doing great. Just takes lots of practice.

Edit. I also see you have 18 inch bullits Those arent exactly helping you.
 
Sublimize23 said:
5,800-6,000. I guess with practice they'll come down... but is there anything wrong with my car?


Probaly nothing wrong with it, specially if the the other GT was running around the same times. I usually shift around 5500 or so when im racing, 6k you really arent making any more power at, just running the engine harder IMO. I can feel the power level out around 5500 on my car, so thats where I shift at.

Was the track prepped nice?
 
Yea you just need to drive the thing like you stole it....SLAM the gears. If you can see the front end drop, or notice a loss in forward motion, your shifting tooooo slow :).

Drop your RPM shift points to 5500RPM also. But 97 is better than I did with a K&N filter and a custom made ram air....I ran a 14.4 @ 96.5 (2.2 60') on my first run ever in the car (2nd time to the to the track EVER).

Big things in your case is 60' (BIG impact on ET)

And shifting, this also makes a BIG difference on ETs. Missing 2nd (which some people shift that slow in every gear) I went from 14.6 on adverage to a 14.9. People dont realize how much this effects their ETs.
 
BurningRubber said:
Probaly nothing wrong with it, specially if the the other GT was running around the same times. I usually shift around 5500 or so when im racing, 6k you really arent making any more power at, just running the engine harder IMO. I can feel the power level out around 5500 on my car, so thats where I shift at.

Was the track prepped nice?
Not really... it's a small place. It could have been worse though. Yeah, I'm sure the wheels aren't helping me much. I'm working on getting a set of stockers, hopefully soon. I'm going to just wait until it gets cooler to go again... by then I'll have the other wheels and BFG tires. I might get DR's, but I'm not sure. I'll be doing a lot of highway driving on them. Reason I'm getting new wheels is so the Bullitt's don't get stolen while the car sits for a few days at a time at school in the fall. :notnice:
 
hotmustang331 said:
Yea you just need to drive the thing like you stole it....SLAM the gears. If you can see the front end drop, or notice a loss in forward motion, your shifting tooooo slow :).

Drop your RPM shift points to 5500RPM also. But 97 is better than I did with a K&N filter and a custom made ram air....I ran a 14.4 @ 96.5 (2.2 60') on my first run ever in the car (2nd time to the to the track EVER).

Big things in your case is 60' (BIG impact on ET)

And shifting, this also makes a BIG difference on ETs. Missing 2nd (which some people shift that slow in every gear) I went from 14.6 on adverage to a 14.9. People dont realize how much this effects their ETs.
All of my friends tell me I baby the car.. :shrug: I love it too much for something to happen to it. I take really good care of it maitenance wise, but I'm always worried about breaking something. I guess I shouldn't be too upset with the times... :bang:
 
You have a T3650 tranny...its pretty darn strong. And it has internal stops, so you wont damage anything.

I suggest getting an after market shifter. (I have the pro 5.0 shifter W/ a steeda triax aluminum handle...LOVE IT)
 
Its kinda hard to give advice on how to launch your car. Its more a "feel" kinda thing. What *I* use to do was avoid the water box, spin the tires over to clean them off. NOT heat them up. Stage the car. I would rev to about 3000 RPMs while riding the clutch out really hard. Not so much as to where I would spin, but enough where I wouldnt bog. This netted consistant 1.9 60s.

Practice practice practice. My first time ever at teh track, I thought I was a pretty decent driver. Until I took off with a 2.6 60ft and ran a 15.8.
 
the 18s aren't helping, if you're going to be doing this regularly I'd suggest some 17s (or less) and some sticky rubber for the track. That and learn your car.