HELP Vette won't hook!
 

I took my vette to the local EFI SHOOTOUT this last Saturday. It did OK but I am having traction issues. I am running MT ET streets on a 17 rim.
On a 100 shot the car hooked pretty good and ran a 1.58 60ft 6.77 1/8 @ 106.66 8.64@122.65 1000ft.

I was needing to run in the 8.30s to win so I put a 200 shot on the car. It ran a slower 1.67 60ft 6.96@107.97 8.80@124.45 1000ft spinning over half track.

The next round I dropped it to a 150 shot. 1.60 60ft 6.79@107.73 1/8
and 8.64@123.49 1000ft. all over the track. I thought I was going to loose it.

This is a 1000 ft track!
I have stock shocks.

What upgrades should I do to get the car to hook .

take out the front sway bar that will help a little when i had the et streets I ran my air at about 14 pounds if u can put a real slick on their. put some Qa1 on the back and a good 90 10 shock on the front

Waht tire pressure where you running at?

Started at 12psi went to 14 psi all before burnout!

still looking for more info
I would like to spend money on the right parts.

Has anyone done the drag race alignment?

does it help the rear tire contact patch?
does it wear the tires on normal street driving?

I thought you guys know how to go fast.
not much response to this.

You have making some good power with the 403 stroker before the nitrous is applied. I assume that when you say you are spinning half way down the track, you are spinning out of the hole also. The 17" ETs do not have enough sidewall to support a good launch. I suspect this is your problem. I would go with a 16" wheel to get an ET with more sidewall. The bigger sidewall will help you transfer the power to the ground rather than spinning the wheels. I would also think about get a Hoosier full slick. They have a 28x10x16 tire that fits the C5. There is a little rubbing if you do not remove the inner rear fender liner though. Also moving more weight to the back will help. A battery relocation kit is a good start.

Keith

Upgrade your shocks. I'm running Bilstein Sports and while I haven't been on the track (yet) I can tell a marked improvement in traction on the street as opposed to my old F45 setup.

Remove front sway bar & install a set of QA-1 adjustables.

The car brakes the tires loose from the start and spins past the 330 mark.

Is there an inexpensive drag wheel setup for the C5.

What are my options.

I gave u the good info put qa1 on back put a 90 10 SHOCK ON THE FRONT put slicks on then go to the track and see were u need to set the shocks I run 9 50 at 147 with a 1.35 60 ft is that fast enough but rember when u start hooking like that parts will break

and we done the drag race alignment on my car when we changed the upper and lower control arm bushings did not make a time difference but did get rid of the wheel hop

and i run the ccw drag pack

I used stock firebird wheels with 28x10 full hoosier slicks for a cheap setup. I had to use a 3/16 spacer and grind alittle of the spindle but it worked.

Dending on where you are RPM wise @ the 1000' mark you might want to go with a different diameter tire to give you more/less gear. BTW why are you only running to 1000'?

If you want to get serious I'd suggest getting a CCW drag pac. With stock suspension and all the swaybars still installed I pull low 1.5s on a regular basis and have even managed to pull a couple 1.4's.

I'm running the same MT ET street you are except in a 26x11.5x16" size and traction is not an issue. Dave @ Cartek suggest I run around 10.5psi hot with those tires and it seems to work well. The only issue with my setup/power level is that Im only around 6100 RPM going thru the traps, if I get to a 25" tire I should be right around 6800 RPM. thats why I suggested you see where you are RPM wise @ the 1000' mark.

Yes, there are and I think I have tried them all :jest:

- There is narrowed/widened setup using 16" Firebird or Camaro wheels. A used of set rims go for about $300 and the work to widen 2 to 16x9.5 and narrow 2 to 16x6 cast about $900. Tires go for about another $500. So you are in it $1700.

- The C4 16x9.5 wheels with GTO spares( 17x5 ) for skinnies. I would not trust a spare tire rim at 140+ mph with my life!

- The Bogart 15"/16" combo. You put rear calipers up front and run a 15" wheel and a 16" wheel in back. Down side, you have a small azz caliper up front.

- There are many other less attractive solutions also.

Trust me, save yourself a lot of head ache and get the CCW drag package. There are couple sets on the CF right now for $1600 to $2000. New I think they go for about $2400ish.

As other people mentioned suspension mods are another good route. I am running Bilstien HD in the rear and coilovers up front. This allows me to remove the front leaf spring along with the front sway bar. This combo give a nice weight transfer to the rear.

Keith

Thanks for all the info guys. I think I need to buy the drag pack