honest question ..what to expect going from a high 10 sec 11.00 sbf car to new combo should be mid 9s give or take ? details inside

my last combo was a sbf with vortech s trim stick car ...11.00 best was 10.9 this is back 3 years ago

My new combo 528ci bbf in works with vaccum pump excpecting 700-725 hp give or take on q16 ...this is with big valve dove heads ported that Randy malik did


THIS is my first bbf and first car with a glide and transbrake ( never used a transbrake)..... my question is on paper say mid 9 sec car at 140mph ish maybe less
for me what should i expect ? first time out is this thing gonna be night and day vs 11.0 ( im assuming ) I know most of your guys combos this is a baby motor and combo compared to yours , but my drag racing exp has been more of stock shortblock blower mustangs ....either run till block splits or the T-5 tranny is shot . This will be a learning exp

im pumped on getting this thing done , i guess theres only one way to find out and thats to let it have it !!

if any of you Vet drag racers have any input on how to go about my first passes or anything would be greatly appreciated

IMO mid 10's to mid 9's is huge, more so going from a sb to a bb.

Im always a put it on the wood and hang on kinda guy, never really eased into a new combo, this might not apply for everyone though.

Everyone has there own way of doing things but we always abuse the 60 ft the first pass and then just drive it out easy to make sure it goes straight, steers fine and brakes okay. After that, game on!!

I'm w/Jon,balls out andif it starts to get swirly alittle on first pass just get out of it.

new engine and a known chassis just go flog it... new chassis and engine I'd take it easy and ease up to speed to check brakes, steering, etc...

should be a 9 sec combo though.

Going from a 640hp small block to an 850hp big block, the first thing I noticed is the launch was so much less so violent. The small block was 6000 RPM clutch drop. The big block was a 4500 rpm stall converter release. Everything was less so abusive, the small block was a definate bang bang bang bang... every shift kicked ya in the kidney.

The big block, so much more like driving a street car.......... it just pushed ya back in the seat and pulled.

Well I can tell you about my 528, dynoed at 751hp. Me, like you never had anything like this with the power it makes along with the fact I'm a novice race car driver so.... I did a couple 60' passes first, to see how the car would react. Because I changed alot on the car. The new combo consisted of the 528, a glide, transbrake, front and midplate set up along with quite a bit of other changes. Prior to the new combo the car ran 11:30's @ 117 mph with a 466 and C-4 trans. Anyways after a couple of 60' passes I ran some 1/8 mile passes, then I ran two 1/4 mi passes (all footbraking). The car got pretty squirrely between the 1/8th and 1/4 mile so I kept it to 1/8 mile runs. That day my 1/4 mi E.T.'s were 10.17@138, 60' foot times sucked... something like 1.52's.

Since then I've put some new tires on it and some Strange single adjustable struts and shocks, changed some springs and rear control arms and only got out once this year with it due to work, some personal outings and the fricken hot weather . Best times that day for me was a 9.93@137 w/1.42 60'. I truly believe I can get some 70's (if not better) with a few minor changes to get those 60' times down next spring/summer. One change I will be doing is removing the .373 and putting a .410 gear in it that I picked up awhile back for a song . BTW I footbraked, transbraked and left off idle (meaning I floored the pedal at the last amber) that day and it 60'ed best from my off idle launch.

X2 on what Kim said about pushing you back in the seat and pulling. I've never had that feeling before in my life . Best I can describe it is like I went down the biggest hill ever in my life .

Good luck, be safe and keep us posted

I usually tell someone on a first pass with a new car/combo.......

#1 Do a long rolling high gear burnout like the "Pros" do. If the water box is fairly close to the starting line do the rolling burnout across the starting line if necessary (screw the starting line crew if they don't like it). The high gear rolling burnout will usually give you a very good idea what direction the car will launch. So if it tries to point/drive to the right or the left during the burnout, there's a good chance it will point/drive to that same side during the launch.

#2 I agree with "hitting it hard for 60ft", then lift some & drive/cruse the rest of the track on a very first pass. This is just in case the side-to-side preload is a little off, it's easier to deal with a car pulling/driving to one side in the first 60ft than it is at the finishline. Along that same thinking I have no problem with someone doing a hard dry-hop before staging on a very first pass (even though dry-hops are frowned upon these days).

#3 Somewhere after the first 60ft do a slight steering wheel wiggle test during the rest of the "easy cruse" to see if there is enough positive caster for the steering to self correct back to center.

#4 Do a break test after the finish line. Start with a very slight momentary drag & release on the brakes, take note if the car pulls to either side. If it's breaking straight do it again applying a little more pressure this time. Do this several times applying more & more pressure each time to get a feel of what is needed to slow the car as fast as possible without locking up the brakes.


If everything checks out on the first pass, and the driver has past experienced driving cars at the car's expected ET, then hammer on that bitch every pass after. But if the driver is new to driving a drag car, or never been this fast, they of course have to take things a little slower & work up to it.

normally if the chassis is new to me or we did a major change on it the street in front of the house or return road at the track is a good place to feel it out.........

I jumped in a buddy's maverick w a 351c and a must II front end one time, little did I know the caster was off so bad he held a knee against the wheel to keep it under control....... bout shit my pants for sure on the deal......

well if you are going to an NHRA track, and quicker then 9.99 for the first time, then you will have to get your NHRA license. To get the license, you will have to do a 60', 330' two 1/2 track passes, and two full passes to get your license.

I didnt lol.

grudge racer......

hell naw not me

thanks for info , still in proccess still gotta assemble engine and wrap things up


I will keep ya all posted

richter69 wrote:normally if the chassis is new to me or we did a major change on it the street in front of the house or return road at the track is a good place to feel it out.........

I jumped in a buddy's maverick w a 351c and a must II front end one time, little did I know the caster was off so bad he held a knee against the wheel to keep it under control....... bout shit my pants for sure on the deal......

LMFAO,But doesn't sound like you were when you drove the Maverick.

Later Mark.

that was light years ago, hell the ole grande ran 12.0's, that Maverick was a 13 sec car......... when the front end is f-cked it dont matter how fast it is your in for a ride..........

psfracer wrote:grudge racer......

GrUdGe HeRo !!!

richter69 wrote:that was light years ago, hell the ole grande ran 12.0's, that Maverick was a 13 sec car......... when the front end is f-cked it dont matter how fast it is your in for a ride..........

I know just messing with you Jon.

Later Mark.