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Basic Drag setup

Started by _74LHV8_ , Nov 07 2017 10:46 AM

drag shocks ls3

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16 replies to this topic

#1 _74LHV8_

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 10:46 AM

Hi all,

I have been scanning through the forums trying to find drag setup info for Our LH/LX 4 door Torana that are tried and true.

Are there any guys or gals out there that are running quick times without running ridiculous converters and rear gear NA? I understand quick/fast is a matter of perspective but more interested in the setup side of things.

My setup is below just interested in hearing some opinions as I won't have the massive stall.

Modded Ls3 with around 450rwhp

Built t700 trans, more stall converter, 3.5" tailshaft

9" with true track and 3.7 ratio

90/10 front shocks, standard rear springs and shocks

MT ET street radials 26x8.5

Still haven't weighed it since doing the conversion though.

My full weight WB stato is a boosted Ls running bottom 10s so the turbo does the work and I still have tall gears and modest converter. I haven't done much driving in the matchbox car Torana yet.

Thanks in advance.

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#2 Redslur

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 12:00 PM

Have run several combos down the strip. Here they are:

LX torana (1355kgs) 355 with 340RWHP, T700, 3500 converter and 3:9 gears and ran 11.9 @ 115MPH. Stock suspension

LH Torana (1360kgs) 355 with 385RWHP, T350, 5500 converter and 4:11 gears and ran 10.99 @ 123MPH. Chassis kit and standard Torana set up suspension

LH Torana (1360kgs) 355 with 330RWHP, T350, 4000 converter and 3.5 gears and ran 11.5 @116MPH. Chassis kit and standard Torana set up suspension

I find that getting the gearing all sorted with the right cam and stall combo is very important.

You should be running easy 10's with the HP you have but it all depends on gearing and converter suiting your cam choice.

My two bobs worth.

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#3 dattoman

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 12:15 PM

Work with what you have and make it launch hard and get up on those rear tyres.

Talk to Mumbo about a big rear sway bar...30mm.. to keep the launch square to maximise the tyres

60 ft times and the first 1/3rd of the track is the important bit.

Might need some suspension sorting

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#4 _74LHV8_

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 12:52 PM

Thanks! They are exactly the type of responses I was hoping for. I am still early days on driving this thing so haven't really put it through its paces yet.

I do understand matching the converter to the cam etc so I will see how I go with that. Your combo Gerry shows the effects of the gearing and converters really well. Was the chassis Kit added to try launch the car straighter?

How does The LH torana leave the line without any chassis/suspension mods?

Seems my setup is a good enough starting point then so I will see how the car behaves in the 60ft and work on the short times before going full on. That should help me decide on converter and gearing at least.

The car has a 24mm rear sway bar that bolts between the 2 lower trailing arms and curls around the diff centre. Not sure if they are any good?

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#5 Redslur

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 02:43 PM

The chassis kit in the LH is the best thing for getting out of the hole I reckon. It kept the car straight and stopped the front wheels from lifting in the air. My 60ft times ranged from 1.5s to 1.7s and all runs were with 26" ET radials. Those 3 set up were most consistent with what you are looking at. I have run manuals too but not good compared to the autos.

By the way, I ran 18psi in the ET tyres.

It is a blast and only practice will get you good times. The best you can do for now is get a stall made up to suit your cam specs and diff gears and things will progress from there.

Have fun mate. I will be taking my new beasty up for a blast soon too. 500hp manual so will be fun...

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#6 _74LHV8_

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 05:13 PM

Yeah practice makes perfect. This is supposed to be a street car cruiser though so not sure how far my mods will take me. Hoping not to go flaring converter and high cruising revs if I can help it.

500hp manual should be a handful and a lot of fun.

I will run it as it is now, see how it behaves and go from there. I ran 18psi in the ET tyres also with my WB.

Thanks again.

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#7 IMORAL

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 08:18 PM

The chassis kit in the LH is the best thing for getting out of the hole I reckon. It kept the car straight and stopped the front wheels from lifting in the air. My 60ft times ranged from 1.5s to 1.7s and all runs were with 26" ET radials. Those 3 set up were most consistent with what you are looking at. I have run manuals too but not good compared to the autos.

By the way, I ran 18psi in the ET tyres.

It is a blast and only practice will get you good times. The best you can do for now is get a stall made up to suit your cam specs and diff gears and things will progress from there.

Have fun mate. I will be taking my new beasty up for a blast soon too. 500hp manual so will be fun...

You left out. Run a 10.99. Poo'd my pants so detuned it

Hey Jason good luck with it mate. I'm sure you will have a blast.
PM ICE on here. He used so have a quick car..

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#8 Redslur

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Posted 07 November 2017 - 08:25 PM

You left out. Run a 10.99. Poo'd my pants so detuned it

Hey Jason good luck with it mate. I'm sure you will have a blast.
PM ICE on here. He used so have a quick car..

Nah just got bored of the car :-)

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#9 LXCHEV

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Posted 14 November 2017 - 10:21 PM

Hi Jason,

I will also throw in a vote for having a chassis kit.

Whilst my LX doesn't make the same power or run as quick as Gerry above (and is nowhere near your power levels) - I've had nothing but super consistent, reliable times at the drag strip (used to race a lot, but bugger all these days)... my setup is ultra conservative and very basic (cheap and dirty!) - the only exception to that rule being the chassis kit.

So just for interests sake, here is another combo to compare - adding this because it always hooked up and 60 footed so well:

LX (1480kg - heavy bugger!), 383 with 310rwHP, T350, 3200 stall, 3.7 gears. Ran 11.7 @ 115MPH with 1.6 sec 60 foot.

Rear suspension notes:

Second hand VP Commodore springs ($30 from the local wreckers!), with Pedders Sports Ryder shocks. Standard old (UC style?) sway bar with link mounts. Boxed trailing arms, rubber bushes everywhere. And as mentioned earlier, chassis kit (mine's a CRS one).

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#10 _74LHV8_

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Posted 12 December 2017 - 10:23 PM

Bit of an update,

I have been tuning my car on the street the last couple of weeks (efi live)and have just thrown it on the dyno to finish off my WOT tuning. Managed 410rwhp/ 424ftlb torque through the 700r4 trans and 9" diff.

Pretty happy with it, the power is down on what I initially predicted but running the peashooter tail pipes and restrictive intake for the street is really killing the power. Its not a max effort set up. Nice Flat torque curve though and pretty wild on the street as it is.

I will be running down the track at some stage see what I can get out of it, so I might weigh it and drop the tail pipes to see what this combo really has but ultimately its a cruiser. Having the Lean cruise dialed in and efi cold starts are great.

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#11 myss427

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Posted 13 December 2017 - 10:01 AM

Enough power to get an easy 10 if you set it up right.

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#12 madtoranajzedded

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Posted 05 January 2018 - 01:06 PM

Hi Jase.id try some competition 3 way front
and rear shocks for the beast.be able to dial them in better depending on the track
conditions..

Good luck with it .. go hard

Cheers maz

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#13 _74LHV8_

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Posted 22 February 2018 - 09:59 AM

Have a bit of an update. Took the car to the track to give the new combo a shakedown.

Weight 1340kg with a drop tank of fuel. plus me 90kg.

Street trim, 245/50/14 tyres.

No burn out, no stall, shifter in drive, just go on green.

12.68 @ 114mph, bogged and spluttered off the line, 2.2 60ft.

Second run same conditions but manually shifted through the gears.

12.19 @ 114mph, bogged and spluttered off the line, then spun through first and into second, 2.0 60ft

Had a tranny line mist on the exhaust back half of track.

So I have got a good base line, have a few things to look at in the tune, and replace the trans cooler lines I re used in the conversion. Then work on my technique to drop the times.

A converter will be on the cards at some stage though. The car definitely needs it.

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#14 myss427

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Posted 22 February 2018 - 10:45 AM

Something wrong there with your horse power, should be running around 125 mph with 410 @ the tyres. Time is technique and traction, top end speed is horse power. See your tuna about the drop off.

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#15 gtrboyy

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Posted 22 February 2018 - 07:19 PM

More like high 11's with that mph...suitable stall convertor & traction will get it mid-low 11's but as stated something holding it back hard if you want a 10 out of it.

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#16 Redslur

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Posted 22 February 2018 - 08:20 PM

If the car is set up right, 410 RWHP will get into the 10's easy. I did it with 380+RWHP @ 123.5MPH. The right diff gear and stall combo is of the utmost importance too.

Plenty for you to work on. You should see a 10MPH gain when all sorted.

I can't wait to get back to the track.....so much fun :-)

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#17 _74LHV8_

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Posted 23 February 2018 - 06:48 PM

Thanks for the feedback. Went to the track to give the combo a shakedown and get a baseline. I know its nowhere near where it should be and I haven't had a clean run yet.

Not an optimised set up yet as I built it to cruise. I did run on the dyno with no intake piping as it was pulling a vacuum at WOT. So not sure if that is what killed the power having that on for the run.

I will have a play with the tune, give couple of things a tweak and report back next time I run. This is a cruiser but I have the drag racing bug again I think. Love it.