Thanks
Basically all I did was go with my gut feeling and swapped out the stock cam with the 204/214 that was sitting in my other block.
With the ported intake and my playing around with the heads I felt that the engine had to be able to pump some air. As I turned boost up I would basically always hit a wall. Only thing I could think of was that the stock cam in this original block [from my brother's old hotair car; first TR we ever had] was not letting the valves open enough to let all that air flow. To sum it up: a mismatched combo.
First time out with the cam was Sept 21 and there was a noticeable difference. Highest mph was 103.99 which bettered my previous best of I think 102.8. 60fts stunk and best et was 13.6. Had big popping problem and wheel spin as I was getting the car to go faster throughout the night.
Changes after that night, before Oct 5th when I ran times in sig, were (1) gap the plugs down to about .031 (from .034), (2) fix pass header leak developed after last time at track (leaks make car sluggish, throws off fueling, more prone to kr), (3) raise the turn on point of alky (I felt popping was from too rich on bottom end), (4) run in "D" and not "OD". I felt car shifting into 4th during runs! (5) try using my [bought used] almost completely bald BFG DRs that never seemed to help one bit in the past [figured it couldnt hurt].
First run right off the street with no changes was a 13.0 @ 103.94 (previous best et was 13.30). I new it would be a good night. After the Cardinals pounded the Dodgers earlier, the whole day would be great
The cam helped to free up the combo, but if there is a lesson here it should be what I know everyone has heard before: tuning is more important than anything. I have not spent any money on this drivetrain in a couple years as far as performance enhancing parts. My labor playing around with adjustments here and there and trying different things is what has made the biggest difference. I dont want people to get in that state of mind to just throw parts at their cars (like cams) and voila' it will go twice as fast. My combo was really out of whack with the cam that was in it, almost as if it had a wiped cam that wasnt opening valves like they should for the air that was there. Get your individual combo right, make sure headers/crossover/uppipe are sealed, and TUNE. Oh yeah if there is anything Ive learned from drag racing over the last few years its that if you dont improve your short time you are wasting your time worrying about et. Example: last two runs of night - 13.23@105.27 (2.076 60ft), then the time in sig. Same mph but left with more boost. I had spin and wheel hop on that 12.8 run but it still was an improvement (hmm, what if there was no spin).
Last years feat was tackle 13s, this year I wanted 12s. Our track closes this month so I might go back this week for more if can afford to. Not satisfied yet...need..more..speed...
