The truth about caltracs

It's not my car, the guys that own it are very sharp and worked hard to get it where it is now. Not bad for a pump gas street car that gets driven a lot! I made an error, it's got 4.30 gears and a 10" ATI converter. I thought they had 4.56's and an 8" ATI in it.

My experience, 123mph at 3300# is not 600hp unless you have something chewing up a lot of HP in your driveline/chassis. I'd expect the car to run in the 126-127+ range if the wt/hp is true. Converters are the #1 spot that chew up hp.

The front end is where a TON of 60' time is hiding in these cars. Shocks, torsion bars, ride height, alignment, how you bolt stuff on/together, ease of movement, etc. It's the little details that add up. If the front of your car looks like an elephant sat on the hood at full extension, you have problems. That alone will help unload the rear tires. I've heard it all, you don't want to do big wheelies, it's wasted motion, etc. To a point that's correct, it's yin yang deal, there's a healthy balance depending on hp driving the vehicle. When someone tells me that the Cuda looks goofy or shouldn't be doing a wheelie because someone else said so, the proof is in the number compared to their bigger tire stuff running 1.5+ 60's, is it not? Two words.... Pitch Rotation! If you don't have it, you're behind the 8 ball.

The rear rancho/calvert shocks are decent, BUT, they wear out kind of fast especially on cars that 60' well. Shock control on these rear suspensions is paramount. Porpoising is usually a shock control issue. We all get to fight some design issues with these A body cars. Ranchos/calverts cost 200/pr, afco about 400/pr. If you want to run the leafs/bars, not cut it up for ladders/link, are serious, then spend 2 extra bills on Afco's. Otherwise you'll be buying Ranchos every couple years depending on number of hits you put down.

Sometimes more weight is a good thing, sounds crazy, but it often works. Strap 75-100# in the trunk and see what happens, preferably as far back in the the trunk as possible. I've welded LOTS of thick flat steel plate in behind the rear bumper on cars.

I didn't see what size tire you had. Most guys I see using 275/60 DR's run the pressures way too low. The cuda and some others I've dealt with all run at least 20psi. Run the most tire pressure you can that provides best 60's. There's a tipping point. More air will also usually help your MPH too.

Find a copy of Doorslammers by Morgan. IMO, It's boring as all get out to read. You could read the summary or last 3 pages of each chapter to likely get the gist of what's going on/suggested.

Yes, it sucks being the minority folks at every track... :)

I hope you guys get your cars sorted out.