The Death Knight

im thinking of building my car for top end and was wondering if anyone knows a good idea, or knows of a good set up?

WindWalker

I can't help ya much but here goes. Question: how fast is "top end" for you? 160? 180? 200? (if you have the power.)At 160, I think the stock set up is sufficient. I had mine to 150 once and all seemed good. I know a soft suspension is a no-no at any "fast" speed. Of course tire speed rating must be up to snuff. Lowering would help, esp. at 180. At that speed you would have a good bit of air under a stock set up, promoting lift. The rear spoiler really doesn't help that much on our cars. The aftermarket aero kits available actually hurt the aerodynamics of the F bodies (and all cars), so I've heard. Also, at that speed (180) you really need some undercarriage mods to smooth out the airflow. I've heard of some installing sheet metal on the underbody to smooth airflow. Some exotic production cars have this or are designed to improve underside airflow. Also, underhood air pressure is unbelievable at high speeds on a stock set up, possibily blowing off the hood (never heard it happen though.) Something would have to be fabbed to eliminate that too. I know 2 guys that have done 180 MPH (with a witness rider) in their F bodies, one in a '94 TA and another in a '98 Camaro, both stock. Both said the car was pretty loose at that speed. At 200, the above mentioned are a MUST along with eliminating ANY spacing in the front body parts. The most common practice is to tape ALL seams; headlights, hood, a way to vent the high pressure from under hood, etc. Also a full functioning aero kit providing downward force would be required. I'm sure I missed a lot. I ran across a high speed website a while back and can't remember what it's address was. I too am into "top ending."

02WS6Bird

iTrader: (2)

i believe Horspower willdo more for your topend ten torque...youll want a nice smoothe flow...camshafts may be able to help with that...STIFF SUSPENSION MAXZIMUM AERODYNAMIX so basically get it as low as you can!...get the right type of tune and you should be good to go...and oh yeah dont forget Tires...get 17-19" wheels for top end i would think better handling...and not to big so your pickup will suck....try and make thosetires like RUBBERBANDS

that should do it

DONAIMIAN

iTrader: (18)

Im sorry but I have to dissagree with that. At thoes speeds you do not want a low profile tire. With the friction thats going on betwene the tire and the road its no where for the heat to go. Rubber will dissapate heat better than the metal in the rims. Stay with a 17 inch rim that way you will have sufficent rubber to deal with the heat. If you dont belive me on this look at the C5-R's, NASSCAR, Formula 1, and INDY cars. notice how all theyre tires have a good amount of sidewall on them. Its all because of heat. Also in a top speed situation having a wide *** front tire isnt gona help either, it just adds to the frontal surface area of the car so stick with a 9.5 inch wheel on he front. Some will even lower the car so that the wheel will be completly in the fenders to the point where you can hardly see the tire from the front. If your serious about this, id definatly consider a trade in for a C5 as theyre better suited for this because of the lower CD and the smooth under body. And theyre have been reports of the WS6 lower air box cracking at 180 becasue of the whole ram air effect. The stock steel hood is better suited for this also.

02WS6Bird

iTrader: (2)

i thought i saw the C5-R wiht 19's on it...oh well my mistake thanks for pointing that out...but everything else that i first stated i believe should do it...a high speed rated tire will be a must

The Death Knight

i would look into a c5, but, i love my car, i fit well in it. the reason i want to set it up for top end, is because i don't know of many guys who build f-bodies for top end, i may be wrong, but i don't kow of many personally. also my roomate (turn'nLt4), myself and a few of our buddies want to build it for it, we think it could be a fun project.

WindWalker

Oh yeah...top ending IS cooler (under "perfect" conditions) than drag racing, which doesn't last long and tears up the car. Of course the downside is it's not legal of course. But then again, nuttin's illegal if ya don't get caught.

Racehead

NataSS and myself are both involved in ORR ( open road racing ) and are very familiar with the requirements of running an fbody at high speeds. I would love to answer any questions you might have, but I couldn't tell exactly what you use your car for by your post so let me ask YOU a few questions

1. Are you actually involved in any organized events or are you just talking about midnight "big end" runs ?

2. Do you just do short high speed runs on straights and then back out of it, or are you running thru corners at 130+, 150+ for more extended periods ????

Racehead

Actually some of the fastest cars in ORR are fbodys, not C5's. stock from the factory the fbody has a **** poor suspension for high end runs. With a little help however they are on equal footing with any car out there.One regular to the ORR events runs his '95 Camaro to 225 mph and usually is overall winner in these 90-130 mile events.

Racehead

I agree with most of what you've said here, but strongly disagree with a few points.

1. WS6 airboxes don't crack at high speeds, however, WS6 hoods will begin to have problems with folding up and blowing away at 190+ mph without bracing and/or taping up of body seems to keep air out. If you have the BGRA ( like I do ) you need to glue the oblong rubber sealing plug in place at 150+ and the others at higher speeds as the airbox will see significant pressure.

2. While it's true that the C5 underbody is smoother and flows the air under the car more smoothly, it's also true that once you get into the 170-180 range your going to start thinking about fabbing up a custom airdam for the front of the car, no matter what car you have, to prevent 99% of the air from getting under the car, which negates almost all of the advantage that the C5 has. For this and many other reasons the fbody is nearly the technical equal of the C5 in "big end" events such as ORR, and in real life is usually the/one of the winners.

3. As long as you don't add any tire outboard of the fenders you haven't added any affective frontal area at all. Having said that let me say this. A 275/40-17 tire is what you'll find on the very fastest of fbodys.

Cal

iTrader: (1)

Yes, fbodys are actually better suited than C5's for high speeds in some ways. The additional weight helps hold them down onto the road/track.

Also, something that you may not know is that the fastest stock-bodied car in the world is an fbody. It holds the record for a "door slammer" on the Bonneville Salt flats at just over 300 mph. It had no additional air dams, spoliers or ground effects, they just lowered it so low no air goes under the car.

It is very important not only to have speed rated tires, but to have them inflated to over 40 psi. Lower presures allow the tire to get too hot and come appart.

If you are serious, I sugest getting into ORR or LSR (land speed racing.) Going this fast on public roads is not cool . . . other drivers don't even see you coming and will merge right in front of you.

Cal

iTrader: (1)

For starters, you might want to try getting into the 150 mph club at Bonneville. It's pretty safe since you are out on the Salt Flats with little to run into if you spin out. I did this last year and it was a great experiance. Here's the requirements and a little more information:
http://www.saltflats.com/I30%20Club.html
http://www.saltflats.com/130-150%20members.html
http://www.saltflats.com/index.html