Test and Tune Nite help

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2Big

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what sort of things can I do to tune my car on test and tune Nites
 
what's car ,do you have? Car style/engine build/transmission/rear end,and gear ratio. Then, what have you done to it? Have you raced before? Then we get into driving basics.(?). What do you know? Let's start there.What do you actually have,and what do you wang it to do ??????????
 
stroked 400 72 dart 2500 stall 285/297 adv dur cam, dur at 050 241/247, lobe sep 110.0, valve lift .545/.545 upgraded valve springs 323 8 3/4 sure grip rear end with 235s on the back tk2 kit in a 727 full interior, I don't know the cfm on the carb and lets pretend I don't know any thing and start from the top, and no I have never raced this car.
 
That ,we could start with.Going to be a learning curve. For now,run the car to learn. 3 things to watch/learn. 1 get used to the car. Don't worry about E.T's now,learn the car. 2nd: ,Learn to read/study time slips,pass for pass.Take a notebook, log everything down pass for pass.Saves tuning mistakes,in the long run. Have fun,ask lots of questions.You have a quick car ,with some tuning.Go get it,best of luck!
 
ok when I get passed all that, what are some good tips for tuning the car?
 
ok so whats a good way to tune the carb, timing from the distributor, how to read spark plugs, good tire pressure, how to stop wheel hop, and any thing else I should know
 
Like was already stated, don't worry about trying to get the car to go faster until you KNOW the car. That comes with seat time, and seat time ONLY. Make a bunch of passes. Learn how the car feels at launch, shift, decel, etc. Learn how the engine sounds at the launch, shift, and finish line. Those are EXTREMELY important tuning tools. When you know your car, you can hear it when it likes something you've changed (i.e. timing). You're not going to set the world on fire your first time out, and also aren't going to make the car's best possible pass, so don't worry about changing anything this time around. About the only thing you would really need to mess with is your launch RPM if you're spinning like crazy at the launch.

Just have fun, put as many runs on the car as you possibly can, and enjoy the day at the track!
 
ok so whats a good way to tune the carb, timing from the distributor, how to read spark plugs, good tire pressure, how to stop wheel hop, and any thing else I should know


dam you guys make everything so hard I know to get a feel for the car first in asking how to do these things
 
If you do a burnout, start in 2nd gear to keep from over revving the trans sprag and blowing the trans.(probably won't need to with street tires).Watch what others are doing. listen to the track workers at the starting line. They will tell you when to pull up for a burnout, when to stage, etc. Look for where cars are pulling up to the staging beams. seen lots of newbies pull past the beams, and have to back up and try it again.It ruins your concentration. After you get the feel for the car, you can try different things, like cooling the car down more, change timing(need to know what it is at before you change it so you know which way to go). Carb and timing should be set before you go. Set timing to what's recommended for your combo, and then adjust carb to highest vacuum or rpm with the mixture screws, then reset idle speed.
 
I am not a "guru" and speak only from my limited experience at the track.

Experimenting with your tire pressure vs traction can often produce fairly significant gains.

Not sure if you have adjustable shocks, but if so, that's another fairly simple thing to tweak.

A timing gun never hurts. Sometimes a little advance or retarding can really change the car's performance.

Something I wish I knew more about but never messed with is carb jetting. A good carb guy can really wake up the beast.

Hope this helps a bit.

Have fun & be safe!
Pat
 
im gonna run the bfg g force drag radial and also how do I so the spark plug check that is something I wanna know for just everyday driving
 
For plugs, dark and wet = too rich. White = too lean. Light tan to first thread or so = happy.
 
.............Don't start ur burnout in 2nd gear unless u have a full manual shift tranny....a TF-2 kit is not full manual...............my advice is start in manual low, which has the low band applied and keep it in manual low, drive out of the box while still spinning..3000 rpm will suffice...no need to do a long smokie burnout...................kim........
 
dam you guys make everything so hard I know to get a feel for the car first in asking how to do these things


Once you get used the car, experiment with tire pressure, I think you sadi you were using Drag radials, start @ 18psi, if you spin alot bump it down 2 psi.try again, once you get the launch dialed in then try a timing loop. record you timing, make a pass, bump it up 2* make another pass, tune for MPH, not et. If the MPH increases bump it up another 2* and repeat untill the MPH stops increacing or falls off, back it up 2*.

once the timing is good do the same for your jetting, bump 2 jetsizes make a pass, tune for Highest MPH.
:burnout::burnout::burnout::burnout:
 
No need for a huge burnout with the bfg drag radial. You will want to keep the air pressure in them around 16-18psi. These tires have a stiff sidewall so no need to lower them to much. Try flash stalling the car by leaving at idle and stabbing it. If it spins any you may want to try and leave on the converter a bit around 1500 rpms.. As you get the car dialed in you can try more and more.
 
.............Don't start ur burnout in 2nd gear unless u have a full manual shift tranny....a TF-2 kit is not full manual...............my advice is start in manual low, which has the low band applied and keep it in manual low, drive out of the box while still spinning..3000 rpm will suffice...no need to do a long smokie burnout...................kim........

NO, NO, NO, do NOT drive out of the water box spinning in first gear!!! ALWAYS shift into 2nd or 3rd before exiting the water, BEFORE you let off the gas peddle.

Best practice is to do your burnout in 2nd gear, then you don't have to worry about the other stuff.
 
No need for a huge burnout with the bfg drag radial.
A BFG engineer told me to drive around the water, do one dry hop and go straight to the line. It works. Of course everybody wants to play big time drag racer and roast the hides. They can probably tell you the difference between different types of burnouts but can they tell you how it worked with no burnout?
 
Many street cars underperform by ignition timing alone. Too many people have their timing set and let it run. A guy at our local dragway had a challenger with a 383 auto. He ran a high 15. We advanced the timing (bump the dist up) and the car went 14.9's the very next run. So many people leave E.T.'s all over by not tuning, testing, tweaking. I advise when messing with timing, go one way or the other by 3-5 degrees and see how the car responds. Goes faster, bump it another couple of degrees. etc
 
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