Making some progress in the 1/8th, need advice on next mod

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

My first pass with my car ran 8.667 at 86 mph in the 1/8th mile.

I've made 3 trips total to my local strip (Shadyside) and have improved every time. 8 passes total.

Today's run.

Reaction-.230 (this still needs work)
60 ft- 1.931 (I'm currently doing about a 4-5 second burnout on the 20" Nitto 555R's)
330' - 5.404
660' - 8.250
MPH - 88.629

Mods are Roto-fab intake, SW 1 7/8" headers w/ hi flo cats, UDP, SCT tune, Flowmaster exhaust, Nitto 555R 275/40/20. Car is daily driven.

What would be the next mod that would improve my passes?

I've considered a bottle, but so many people tell me I can ruin a piston.

A torque converter also is another option, but I drive 8/10 of a mile to work 1 way, and most all my other driving is city @ 35-45mph stop/go, so since I never get to a steady cruising speed, a stalled converter won't lock up and will be spinning basically all the time.

Won't that create excessive heat in the tranny?

A suggestion for another mod other than these two options?

[saluki]

Gears and betters DR's

[WoodBoss]

100 Shot of Nitrous !!

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by WoodBoss

100 Shot of Nitrous !!

I just spoke to Steve @ RDP and he said the same. Nitrous kit, purge kit, bottle warmer.

[frankwjr]

Real DR's...and a slightly loser 'verter with the right tune...then throw all the laughin gas you want at it...oh and some T/A's to stop the hop and save your axles....

[WoodBoss]

Originally Posted by Joe M 2012 2SS

I just spoke to Steve @ RDP and he said the same. Nitrous kit, purge kit, bottle warmer.

(My opinion for a nice increase)The main thing is the Nitrous kit if that is all you can afford (Proper Nitrous Tune). You can purge by hand at the controller for now. Before I had a bottle heater I just put a hair dryer in the trunk, but then I found nice bottle heaters on ebay for $50. The main thing is, you need to keep the bottle at 90*F when you run. An Insulation Blanket or bubble wrap helps a lot. An IR Gun Thermometer is a must. If you are not spinning your Drag radials are probably fine for now. A 1.9 sec 60' is the best I could do with your mod list. You should also make sure you add an extra quart of trans fluid so when you start hard you don't pull any air with the automatic transmission. I would hold off on gears or a different converter for now, Nitrous hits hard from the dig, the added torque is going to feel amazing. If you hook good with a 100 Shot you should be able to pull 1.6x sec 60' times with your current configuration with nitrous and probably about a 7.5-7.7 sec ET for the 1/8th mile. DAs are dropping, I see a record run in your future @ Shadyside !!

[jrhagen]

18" wheels and a good set of DRs.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by frankwjr

Real DR's...and a slightly loser 'verter with the right tune...then throw all the laughin gas you want at it...oh and some T/A's to stop the hop and save your axles....

This is what I'm kind of leaning towards, the TC first though.

Originally Posted by WoodBoss

(My opinion for a nice increase)The main thing is the Nitrous kit if that is all you can afford (Proper Nitrous Tune). You can purge by hand at the controller for now. Before I had a bottle heater I just put a hair dryer in the trunk, but then I found nice bottle heaters on ebay for $50. The main thing is, you need to keep the bottle at 90*F when you run. An Insulation Blanket or bubble wrap helps a lot. An IR Gun Thermometer is a must. If you are not spinning your Drag radials are probably fine for now. A 1.9 sec 60' is the best I could do with your mod list. You should also make sure you add an extra quart of trans fluid so when you start hard you don't pull any air with the automatic transmission. I would hold off on gears or a different converter for now, Nitrous hits hard from the dig, the added torque is going to feel amazing. If you hook good with a 100 Shot you should be able to pull 1.6x sec 60' times with your current configuration with nitrous and probably about a 7.5-7.7 sec ET for the 1/8th mile. DAs are dropping, I see a record run in your future @ Shadyside !!

Steve made me a good offer on everything. My concern is damaging the engine with nitrous. I have a friend who has built drag cars for over 30 years, and he has seen it happen many times (piston failure).

The car hooks decent, I get only a small chirp at the line and going into 2nd. It's easy to keep it in the groove, the guys who prep the surface do a really good job.

I don't know about a record run, there are some crazy fast cars that come to Shadyside.

Originally Posted by jrhagen

18" wheels and a good set of DRs.

That's the plan after I've put the Nitto 555R's through their paces. 18" and MH DR's.

[Pro Stock John]

I been daily driving with converter and a trans cooler for 4 years.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

I been daily driving with converter and a trans cooler for 4 years.

This is good to hear John. I have a B&M cooler I haven't installed yet. The Circle D 245mm Pro Series TC is what I'm planning to get, 3200 stall.

My ET and 60' have improved each of my 3 visits to the strip. I realize most of it is better air, however I have dropped my PSI from 21, to 20, and 19 on my last visit.

When adding a 3200 stall what is the lowest PSI I should run with the stock 20" and Nitto 555R's?

[WoodBoss]

Originally Posted by Joe M 2012 2SS

This is what I'm kind of leaning towards, the TC first though.



Steve made me a good offer on everything. My concern is damaging the engine with nitrous. I have a friend who has built drag cars for over 30 years, and he has seen it happen many times (piston failure).

Yes, I understand your concerns. Once you cross the "Line" you have to accept the chance of breaking something and having to build a new motor, transmission, etc.

The record I was talking about was a personal record, there will always be faster race cars....

[WoodBoss]

Joe, you can read here from tuner university about Nitrous.

http://www.tuneruniversity.com/blog/...-with-nitrous/

[Pro Stock John]

Originally Posted by Joe M 2012 2SS

This is good to hear John. I have a B&M cooler I haven't installed yet. The Circle D 245mm Pro Series TC is what I'm planning to get, 3200 stall.

My ET and 60' have improved each of my 3 visits to the strip. I realize most of it is better air, however I have dropped my PSI from 21, to 20, and 19 on my last visit.

When adding a 3200 stall what is the lowest PSI I should run with the stock 20" and Nitto 555R's?

I might stay 18 psi and higher... I went 12.3 on 20" 555Rs.

[Joe M 2012 2SS]

Originally Posted by WoodBoss

Yes, I understand your concerns. Once you cross the "Line" you have to accept the chance of breaking something and having to build a new motor, transmission, etc.

The record I was talking about was a personal record, there will always be faster race cars....

My misunderstanding. I thought of this Gen5 that runs at Shadyside when thinking of a record. This is a FAST CAR! 3.98 at 192 mph. First car in video.

Originally Posted by WoodBoss

Joe, you can read here from tuner university about Nitrous.

http://www.tuneruniversity.com/blog/...-with-nitrous/

Good article. It is a good bang for the buck mod, but this part (copied and pasted from it) is why I decided against it.

""Nitrous oxide is no more damaging to your engine than any other modification by itself, but like a turbo kit or add-on supercharger, the potential for blowing your engine goes up significantly due to the enormous amount of additional stress being put on your engine and the chances of running lean or experiencing pre-ignition due to heat.""

With a TC, trans cooler, and rear suspension upgrades, I should get .3 - .4 ET improvement in the 1/8th, this would get me in the 7's. No risk of damaging the engine.