Finally got out to a test-n-tune

Posted By: ProSport

Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:16 AM

My wife and I went to Magnolia tonite, an old school 1/8 mile track 40 minutes from our house, had a great time and made 9 passes!

Started out with a 6.84 in and out of the throttle, no traction, here's the vid, I don't know why the announcer didn't have my info, I turned in a tech card...................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siMYVqbVCSk

I jetted up 2 numbers and went 6.70.
Jetted up one more number and went 6.57 at 105, making progress but it's driving through the converter, shift light stays on down the whole track.

I've either got to live with it til winter or tear the darn tranny out again.

Here's a 6.58 at 106 MPH vid, lousy 60 foot of 1.53 iirc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcKV5j1pG-0

I learned alot today, every time I jetted up it went quicker or the MPH went up, I still need to do more tuning with the jets. Shifting higher made no difference in ET but made the shift light turn off more. It seems to like a 6400 shift RPM but it feels flat down track like the converter is slipping.

I dropped the exhaust system(PYPES 3.5" stainless Race Pro mufflers with no X or H pipe) and you can hear the converter flashing high and slipping down track, open headers was only quicker by about one hundredth if that. The converter was built for a 432 short block, now it has the 500" short block. I think if I have the converter tightened it will drop the ET and bring the MPH up. Here's the vid.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGFXlWOrTgM

It was a great day, first time I've really enjoyed the car in 2 years, but I have some work to do. Car ran fairly cool and I didn't charge the battery all day, finally went dead on me though when it was time to load up. Everyone at the track was really nice and liked the dart, even the brand X guys.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:17 AM

Photo

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:17 AM

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:17 AM

Posted By: S/ST 3040

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:24 AM

Now you can get a launch picture in you signature.

Posted By: RobX4406

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:26 AM

Nice job on getting it down the track.

Keep tuning and get that converter worked out.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:27 AM

Not til the wheels are in the air like yours.

Posted By: abodiesonly1

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 06:06 AM

Looks Good!

I swear that announcer has been there forever. He cracks me up. "een da pit lane"

Posted By: 383man

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 06:17 AM

Looks great Bob.

Ron

Posted By: 340RICK

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 10:34 AM

Thats great Bob

Glad you finally made it out its been a struggle forsure.

Posted By: RonP

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 12:12 PM

Congrats Bob

I know you have been working hard to get out and enjoy it.

Posted By: racerx

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 12:29 PM

Prosport that Dart is

I'v allways like the 69's kind of look like a( small) rr.

Posted By: Bigcube

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 12:35 PM

Glad you got it out Bob!

Sounds nice with the mufflers

Posted By: 440Jim

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 12:41 PM

Quote:

The converter was built for a 432 short block, now it has the 500" short block.

Yea, that will drive the stall speed up. A very tight 8" or a medium 9" should do the trick. I wouldn't worry about a converter dropping to 5900 on the shift, if the launch stall speed was right (5400 ish) and everything else was right (slip, etc).

Good to see you driving!

Posted By: blownzoom440

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 12:50 PM

awsome you got out Bob!the performance is realy hauling!

Posted By: dbran451

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 01:00 PM

Bob glad you finaly made it out and heading in the wright direction,and Mag is a neat old track well be there tomorrow.

Posted By: VernMotor

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 01:01 PM

Thats real cool Bob..gald to hear you got to have some fun with it..after all you been though with it..

Posted By: WILD BILL

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 01:06 PM

Taking the tranny back out is what,

a 15 min job

No problem

Glad to hear your finally enjoying the car.

Posted By: 69CHARGERMD

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 01:08 PM

9 passes ? that is alot of racing......

sweet,,,car looks great, congrats...

Posted By: 72chrgrally

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 02:08 PM

Sounds great Bob! I'm so happy to hear the 'ol bullet is working well for you.

Steve

Posted By: KatFysh

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 02:28 PM

Great news Bob. Now ya have a nice "baseline" to work off.The car looks and sounds sweet. I'm sure the brand "x" guys were envious..How is that track? Would you be going faster/quicker on a diferent track in comparison??

Posted By: MoparPitBull

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 02:34 PM

good to see you got the car out after all the issues youve had bob.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 04:01 PM

Quote:

Thats great Bob

Glad you finally made it out its been a struggle forsure.

Yes it has Rick, and the struggle still isn't over, but we're driving it to the local ice cream stand sometime today.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 04:03 PM

Quote:

Congrats Bob I know you have been working hard to get out and enjoy it.

Thanks Ron, I tested my new hard drive camcorder in the car yesterday and it did the same thing yours did. It shut off as soon as I did the burnout, turned it back on and it shut off at the launch.

I'd give anything to have my old SONY camcorder back that took the little cassette tapes, never an issue with it.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 04:06 PM

Quote:

Sounds great Bob! I'm so happy to hear the 'ol bullet is working well for you.
Steve

Thanks Steve, now get that 432 nitrous motor running!

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 04:11 PM

Quote:

Great news Bob. Now ya have a nice "baseline" to work off.The car looks and sounds sweet. I'm sure the brand "x" guys were envious..How is that track? Would you be going faster/quicker on a diferent track in comparison??

Kevin, traction was terrible for my car, my best 60 foot was a 1.51.

I think 6.30's are achievable at Norwalk and quicker if I have the converter tightened up. That will put me in the 9.90's which is right where I want this car to be.

The motor sounds very mild to me and drives nice on the street. It's not the perfect cam for the combination so over the winter we'll see how the funds are, might drop in a custom roller.

I run 94 octane on the street, at the track I put 4 gallons in each jug, only 1.5 gallons of it was 110 octane. It will run fine on pump gas with 150 cranking compression but I don't want to chance it yet at the track.

Posted By: Anonymous

Post deleted by Defbob - 07/04/09 04:14 PM

Posted By: Cab_Burge

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:02 PM

What is the combination you have in the car now? BTW, the car looked and sounded fine to me on all of the runs

Do you know how much RPM drop you have on each gear change and what the converter flashes to? Ain't racing sweet

Posted By: Al_Alguire

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:06 PM

Glad to hear you got it out there and had a good time. That is what it is all about after all, having fun.

Posted By: 340B5

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:11 PM

Looks good. I've always had a soft spot for Darts. Had a couple of 69's in the past( a GT and 340 swinger). Thanks for the videos.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 05:24 PM

Quote:

What is the combination you have in the car now? BTW, the car looked and sounded fine to me on all of the runs Do you know how much RPM drop you have on each gear change and what the converter flashes to? Ain't racing sweet

It's a 500" low deck with a stock 400 block, half filled. Flat tops down in the whole, .016 iirc, compression is about 12 to 1, Cam is a CamMotion 281/283 at .050, 706/661 lift but is is a 104 cam, I was told by a couple knowledgable guys that it would be all torque and no MPH which is exactly what it seemed like yesterday. I was also told it will bleed off too much compression.
Heads are Indy 440-1's, I'd probably be happier with some super Victor's but oh well, the 440-1's seem to work better on motors that are set on kill.
2" ProParts headers which sound restrictive to me, it's not that loud even with open headers, maybe some custom headers over the winter.

Converter is flashing high but my tach is behind the steering wheel and the camcorder malfunctioned, but on a slow roll in 3rd gear it hit about 5600. Shifting at 6200 the shift light stayed on the whole run, 6400 and higher it didn't do it as bad. The converter needs tightened up, that will also get my MPH up.

Posted By: KatFysh

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 06:11 PM

What're ya doin on the 12th?? Hopin' to be at Thompson with the Dak again..

Posted By: mopars rule

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 07:15 PM

Looks like the 500" monster is working well, no need for those 318 decals after all.

Posted By: cudabunch

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/04/09 07:48 PM

Congrats on getting the car out.Real sharp Dart.What rear suspension do you have and 9 runs is great. Cool track.

Posted By: Cab_Burge

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 12:43 AM

Bob, I dynoed my 512 motor before putting it in the car, it made peak power at 5600 RPMs and peak torque at 4500 RPMs. I had Contintental Converters make me a street/strip(10 inch) that flashes 4200 RPM, foot stalls less than 2300 rpm before it pushes the little front tires thru the beams

My messgae is that I tried shifting it at or close to 5600 rpm (4;10 gears, 315x60x15 MT ET Street Radials) and it spent a lot of time in high gear. Looking at the playback tach after several runs I realiized that the motor was not slowing down at or before the shift RPMs. I moved the shifts points up tp 6000 RPM and then 6500 RPM and finally 7300 RPM, each time I raised the shift RPM the car went faster and quicker

It still has me thinking about theory and actaul results

The time slips don't lie

Maybe your combination, cam, heads and intake,exhaust sytem will like a higher shift point also

BTW, I'm thinking of replacing the Eddy CNC RPM heads and six pak intake and carbs on my 518 low deck pump gas motor with a set of 440-1 heads and a single Dominator intake and carb.

I probally shouldn't mess with a good combination but how else do we learn

I hope it works better

Posted By: BobsProFab

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 01:05 AM

glad to see ya made it to the track

would be nice if you could come to Norwalk on friday T&T to play with it.

car sounds good and looks BAD AZZ !

Bondo

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 03:22 AM

Kev, shoot me a PM close to the 12th to see what I have going on. I'd love to help you tune, just gotta see how my boy's baseball tornaments are gonna pan out.

Mopars rule, thank goodness, I really didn't want to have to buy new decals.

Cudabunch, It's a ladder bar car with old coilovers that are rebuilt but need replaced with new ones, they just don't seem to have any adjustment. The M/T 10.5's are shot too, need replaced soon.

Cab, I tried shifting at 6200, 6400, 6600 and 6800, it liked 6400 best. I was really surprised as these ported 440-1 heads should like more RPM I would think.

Thanks Bondo, I still need to seal off my hood scoop somehow and I think I really need to get this converter tightened before Norwalk, my bad elbow may prevent that from happening, along with my bad wallet.

I may have to have you scale this thing someday but I also need new slicks.

Posted By: wheelsup68dart

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 03:25 AM

Glad you are out to the track with it Bob. Car looks killer, and definetly one of my favorites on Moparts.

Posted By: sunroofgtx

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 03:48 AM

Bob, congrats.. Looks like it was shot out of a cannon !! I see a 10.0 in your future !! Trophy that is !! Looks great !

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 05:04 AM

Thanks guys, the compliments make all the blood sweat and tears worth it!

And special thanks to my wife for the awesome videography and to Butch for loaning the awesome trailer!

Posted By: sunroofgtx

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 01:03 PM

Quote:

Thanks guys, the compliments make all the blood sweat and tears worth it!

And special thanks to my wife for the awesome videography and to Butch for loaning the awesome trailer!

What, thats a street car .

Get some M/T Drag Radials.

. You'll be driving that thing to the Nat's .

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 03:33 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Thanks guys, the compliments make all the blood sweat and tears worth it!

And special thanks to my wife for the awesome videography and to Butch for loaning the awesome trailer!

What, thats a street car . Get some M/T Drag Radials. . You'll be driving that thing to the Nat's . .

Rick it's what I call a 'limited' street car, local car shows and ice cream stands.

I'd drive it to the track if I could afford the wear and tear on the tires and converter, let alone the massive fuel consumption.

Posted By: an8sec70cuda

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 05:44 PM

Congrats on getting the car to the track Bob!

I know you've been working hard at it for a while now. It's good to see it put up some good numbers.

CHIP

Posted By: Quicktree

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 06:49 PM

way top go Bob, that things mean

Posted By: 1swingin

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 08:04 PM

That is one nasty dart! The video was fantastic! Very fun 2 watch u knock off all them guys! Sounds exelent! Goodluck and have fun! Thats what its all about!

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 09:24 PM

Quote:

Congrats on getting the car to the track Bob! I know you've been working hard at it for a while now. It's good to see it put up some good numbers. CHIP

Thanks Chip, I wouldn't call them good numbers yet but it's a start.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/05/09 09:25 PM

Quote:

That is one nasty dart! The video was fantastic! Very fun 2 watch u knock off all them guys! Sounds exelent! Goodluck and have fun! Thats what its all about!

Thanks! I made 9 passes and never got beat.

I ran against an altered on one pass but he broke right at the launch, would have been a fun race.

Posted By: Bubba

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/06/09 01:58 PM

Nice first outting Bob. Nothing Broke = Good Day.

Posted By: B1Fish540

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/06/09 08:35 PM

that announcer sounds like they woke him up from his nap...lol.."no identification on that chrysler product" lol..yet your kicking everybodys behind! WTG, nice outing for ya.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/07/09 01:56 AM

Quote:

that announcer sounds like they woke him up from his nap...lol.."no identification on that chrysler product" lol..yet your kicking everybodys behind! WTG, nice outing for ya.

I kept begging my wife to go correct that guy before I break his mic in half but she just laughed at me.

In the videos it looks like the rear of the car is bouncing up and down some, I removed the 170# springs from the coilovers earlier this year and tried 130# springs friday for the 1st time. I'll take the 170's with me next time out to track test.

Posted By: TonyS451

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/07/09 01:39 PM

Nice job on your first time out. I know its been a long time coming for you, so way to go. And the et's will be dropping for sure.

Posted By: dbran451

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/07/09 08:48 PM

Bob don't be to quick to change springs that left lane gave me fits on Sunday car looked like a silver haired bunny rabbit but the track temp was over 115 deg.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/10/09 01:32 AM

Dave I'll just take the springs with me next time out so I can do a back to back test.

Posted By: STEFF

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/10/09 02:16 AM

Quote:

In the videos it looks like the rear of the car is bouncing up and down some, I removed the 170# springs from the coilovers earlier this year and tried 130# springs friday for the 1st time. I'll take the 170's with me next time out to track test.

Hopefully I'm not leading you down the wrong path Bob, BUT, You should only ever have enuff spring at the rear, to hold the rear of the car up. If the rear is bouncing around on a pass, the shocks dampening need to be adjusted to control that, not stiffer springs. And, the shock should be in the middle of it's travel at ride height.

Do you have adjustable shocks??

Posted By: DEMONROB

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/10/09 10:31 PM

I love your DART. Glad to see you made it out.

Posted By: ProSport

Re: Finally got out to a test-n-tune - 07/11/09 02:08 AM

Quote:

Quote:

In the videos it looks like the rear of the car is bouncing up and down some, I removed the 170# springs from the coilovers earlier this year and tried 130# springs friday for the 1st time. I'll take the 170's with me next time out to track test.

Hopefully I'm not leading you down the wrong path Bob, BUT, You should only ever have enuff spring at the rear, to hold the rear of the car up. If the rear is bouncing around on a pass, the shocks dampening need to be adjusted to control that, not stiffer springs. And, the shock should be in the middle of it's travel at ride height.

Do you have adjustable shocks??

Steff, I didn't realize that. I know it made a difference on my DartSport when we went from 130# springs to 110's so when I saw this car had 170's from the nitrous days I put 130's on it. I'll see how it does next weekend, if it still has problems I'll throw the 170's on to test.

The rear coilovers are Chassis Engineering single adjustables, they were rebuilt a couple months ago but the adjusters don't work, full soft and full hard feel the same by bouncing the car and don't make a difference on the track.

I need new slicks and new rear coilovers, just don't have the coin right now.

Thanks Rob, hope to race with you this year.