I always wanted drag tires for the front of the T-bird but they are expensive at $300 plus a pair and I could not pull the trigger. On eBay last week I saw a pair that was near new (still has some of the tips on them) for $200 so I bid and won them. After I put in the bid I saw that they were 29 inches and I said "sh** this will not fit my car they are too tall". But being the good eBayer I am I purchased them anyway.
Today I mounted them up and to my surprised they do clear just fine. Not with a lot of room but they do clear. My old tires were VW tires 165/80/15 and about 25.3 inches tall and I kind of worried about them because I do not think they were designed for going 120mph. The wheels are Mustang Spare wheels with a spacer in the rear to clear the TC disc brakes.
Now I think I will take it in for a front end alignment, there's a guy on the westside that specialized in racing suspension alignment and I guess he is not too bad for price. I handles very good before but last night I centered the steering so it would move the same right and left and I think I screwed up the toe in a bit. Best to get it checked anyway.
I also ordered an anti roll bar kit from Team Z to install. This should take the twist out of the take off.
Anyway still spending money and having fun.
TED
I think those look pretty bad ass. Gives the car a nice stance.
Think about it.......shouldn't that make the weight transfer faster with the front higher?? ;)
Maybe? It's also 8 pounds lighter.
TED
Ted,
It'll be interesting to see how the extra roll out effects your reaction time. You may have to play with positioning in the staging beams.
Saved 8 lbs? I didn't realize they were that light!
Great find for $200.
i like how you were worried about the tires handling those speeds, but then you're running them on spare wheels. :D thats where i would be concerned, i'm actually surprised you are allowed to run those.
The spare wheels look very heavy and take regular lug nuts. They are built heavy and I think that Ford built them right. But at the same time they are light in weight.
I was worried if they are legal also before I put them on. There is a lot of rumors that they are not but I cannot find any tech in my area that have heard these rumors. Now the spare tires are not legal and maybe this is where these rumors started. Some people do not know the difference between a wheel and a tire.
I cannot find any reports of failures and I'm at ease with them.
My racing buddy hate them and say they are ugly; I don't think they look bad at all. I think he just does not like them because they do not match the rear.
TED
From what I read tall tires will slow down the reaction time but will fool the lights to a faster ET. Apparently the light does not register until the tire passes and with the taller tire you roll more before the clock starts to tick.
I have a terrible reaction time anyway and I don't think anything would help or hurt me. I just do this for my own enjoyment and do not complete in bracket racing. Right now I'm trying to get my 60' times down with tuning and hopefully also lower my ET at the same time. I would love to get below 11.5 NA so I can say that all this work during the winter was worth it. I only have the NOS on there to play once in a while.
Mounting the race tires were like mounting cut inter-tubes without tires. I was glad my machine has the blast of air to set the bead.
TED
I think the steel spares are the weak ones. I have the 14" spare out of the capri in my festiva and its basically a two piece steel wheel with some spot welds, I would not want to go far on it. Those aluminum spares look much better.
I think they look pretty good , the front looks a little higher so you will get better weight transfer . I dont think its gonna help your reaction time , just go on the last yellow and you should cut a good light . The weight transfer should give you a better 60ft time and maybee a little more of a wheely !
Raising the front for better weight transfer? That's a flash back to the old gasser set ups.
A properly set up stock style drag suspension on a fox body will usually have the overall car pretty low. The rise in the front on the launch (weight transfer) is a function of the spring & strut/shock valving and a properly adjusted rear suspsension height to get the instant center right.
I had Dave at Team Z set up the Mustang. The nose is in the weeds!
leavin on the last yellow was always the best way to get reation i guess around where u go the havent changed to led bulbs yet cuz withe those new bulbs leavin on yellow gives u a big redlight hahah :burnout:
"leavin on the last yellow was always the best way to get reation i guess around where u go the havent changed to led bulbs yet cuz withe those new bulbs leavin on yellow gives u a big redlight hahah"
Thanks for that comment! They switched to LED's at our track recently. I didn't make the connection and I've pretty consisently red lighting -.02 on almost every launch! Looks like I have to make some adjustments...
Yeah I dont think they changed to leds yet , I will have to check it out .
I also didnt mean you should set your suspension high . It just looks like it is and it might help a little in the weight transfer . As for the fox bodies sitting in the weeds , My Tbird is real low in the front and it pulls the front end off the ground with a 1.5 60ft .
LOL that thing looks so mean man.... just the hood and tires make it look so good....
Thanks,
I have coil overs so I can adjust the height if I need to. I got the Team Z Anti Roll Bar today and I also ordered a manual rack. Once I get these two items on I can take it in for a front end alignment and see what they have to say about the front end height.
Next time I can go to the track is May 28th so all have to be done by then.
TED
Ted,
Don't know how much you picked Dave's brain on setting up the rest of your suspension. But you may ask him what might be the best height to set up the front & rear.
He often recommends 12" springs for coil overs, but that Caddy motor and the heavier weight of the bird may require a 14".
A dropped nose may require a bump steer kit. You'll know by wacked angle of the tie rods to the steering rack (I know, more money...).
To give an idea of how low my car sits: the front tires are about 1/4 inside the upper edge of the fender.
Are the folks at the alignment shop familiar with setting up drag alignment specs? They're a bit different from factory settings.
I had a friend do mine (who works as a line tech at a dealership) and I had to work with him on how to fool a new computerized rack to get the settings I wanted. It took him a while to sort out dealing with caster/camber plates too. Standard vehicles don't have much adjustability.
Though you may be familiar, be sure the car is at race weight (either with you in the seat or a comparible weight) and tire pressures you run at the track when the alignment is completed.
Sorry if I'm being redundant or preaching to the choir.
Glad you've been getting you're stuff from Dave. He's a wealth of information and willing to share.
With his set up and a mild 306, I've dropped from 1.66's to consistant 1.55's and I haven't planted the tires hard yet. If the track is biting Wednesday, I'll crank up the RPM and see how hard it can launch.
Mark
u have time. lol. Our races got rained out last weekend but we have test and tune every friday for twenty bucks. that includes any grudge matches or anything....
I have the bump steer kit and it was necessary, I used every spacer in the kit plus a couple to get it right. The front end guy I'm taking it to is suppose to be the best in the area for race car suspension and was recommended by many other racers. They say he really enjoys it to get away from the day to day jobs. He also does big trucks and buses so he must have some experience with all kinds of alignments.
Dave recommended the 12 inch springs at 200 pounds when I ordered the kit. I think the 14 inch were only lighter ones? I don't know if I ever will see 1.55 but I was at 1.66 last time so I'm getting closer. I'm sure I will be lower with the NOS and more power. My 3.55 gears may be holding me back a little in the 60' area but I need them to cross the line under 6k.
My next goal is to just see air under both front tires.
Portland has Test n Tune most every Friday and Saturday night from 6-11pm, the cost is $25. The track fees are the cheapest cost I have, I spend 4 times that is gas.
TED
Hey, you'll have to let me know when/if you are coming down next, I might even have the 5-Speed in the Bird, and be able to meet you there! I usually go to Woodburn, so it'll be interesting to see the PIR track.
Will not be able to make it down there again till the 28th or 29th.
Would love to see you there I think you would like PIR. I have never been to Woodburn and I have been told it is a very nice track also.
TED
Ted,
It's great to hear you have someone with drag car alignment experience, it'll make life so much easier!
I'm not sure of the spring rate on the 12" one's I have, but they do offer a greater range of adjustability on the ride height.
A 3.55 gear may hurt, but the extra 200 cubic inches makes for instant torque!
I don't think there should be much problem getting air under the tires. It may take work to get the right combination dialed in N/A, but the NOS should bring out the daylight.
Hope you're able to get a lot of runs in at the end of the month and get it dialed in!
Hey CadTbird, any plans this weekend? Not sure I'll be up to making a run as I haven't installed the transmission, but I can at least show up, and maybe Seek could show up too!
I sure want to and the weather is looking up. The only problem is that I have some relatives coming tomorrow to stay with us for the week. I'm really leaning on just telling them I'm going and if they want to come to it would be great. If they don't than that's great also. I would go Saturday night.
TED
Well they played a guilt trip on me and I will not be able to go tonight. So I will be down at Portland for sure in two weeks.
Sorry you guys for the no-show.
I'm all ready to go. I put on the anti-roll bar kit and also a manual rack to lighten it up a little more in the front. I really want to go and try it again.
TED