It's in the shop getting a rebuilt T-5. No more C-4 hello overdrive! 5th gear will turn my 3.70s into 2.52s on the highway! Not to mention knocking 1/2 to a whole second off my 1/4 mile time. (C-4 has factory 1400 rpm stall) Due to the 3.35 1st gear compared to the 2.48 1st in the C-4. to date the car has run a 14.26 @ 103.9. on the G-Tech. Its all top end. It leaves the line like its driving away from a stoplight, then it comes up on the cam and goes nuts. It will be nice to be able to launch at a decent RPM.
a 3000-3500 stall converter would do the same ....with the stick you will prob blow the tires off more ...what rear end in it ??
I agree, the manual shift cars are a neat way to go but if used on the dragstrip without "BIG" stickys and a 9in rear, you will get tons of tire spin and lots of broken parts. Love to see them with deep gears and 32x16 wide M/T's, do wild wheel stands and slam that shifter, raising the whole anatomy out of the seat. Course, not everyone beats on a car like I do, so may do alright in the long run if some care is taken at launch. Know some guys who can master the clutch slippage thing and ease off the line then give it heck, down track. Turn decent et's but 60ft times are a bit slow. Definately recommend a blow proof shield or blanket on the tranny/bellhousing for safety. Great project though and wish you the best with it.
The T5 isnt the strongest trans for drag racing. Powershifting will shorten its life considerable. Dave is right on. It takes considerable finessing to get off the line without spinning. Its been a little frustrating for me but once I'm rolling, banging gears is the only way to fly. Best I've gotten is 12.98 and 60 ft still over 2.1 seconds. I know the car has low 12's in it, its just a matter of practicing. The only time I race it is at the Roundup so that dosent help much either.
I have a 9" rear, scattershield and AFM clutch/steel flywheel. Also has subframe connectors. I am saving for a Tremec TKO-600. I might run 4.30s with it because from a torq multiplication standpoint they (the T-5 vs. the Tremec) are the same in first with the Tremecs 2nd 3rd and 4th haveing more torq multiplication the .64 overdrive will make the 4.30s into 2.75s. I am a seasoned stick driver so I will learn to launch it but I will probably have to run drag radials when drag racing. I want it to run 12s when I get the 331 but it needs to handle good too. I need advise on how best to do that, any ideas? Where can I get stuff to improve my cars grip in the curves?
I saw somewhere a rebuild kit for T5's that make them as strong as a Tremec. I think it cost about $1200. Then you don't have to buy a special bellhousing and new shifter.
I won't argue that you'll have a better 'high' gear, but the drag racing point could be contested (bench racing here). A torque converter multiplies torque from the engine to the transmission (at a rate proportional to the difference between the engine and converter's rpm - thus a higher stall will provide MUCH more torque than your stocker). Also, being in drag racing circles, I know of no one that has successfully used the T-5 running in the low 12's, 11's. Clutches (and some tranny parts) go relatively quickly (vs C4's). Again, just bench racing (who's to say who's right?). Either way, good luck with swap and let us know how you like it .... after 6 months.
Rick- You are definitly right about the T-5. Though I have heard of people running in the low 12s with them even into the 11s (in 5.0s) but the trannys dont last long. I am going to run the 302 with the T-5 and switch to a Tremec when I get the 331. I will also look into the gear cluster swap kit that Bmcdanial talked about, Though my scatter shield has bolt patterns for the Tremec and the T-5. The 302 is onely hitting the ground with 240-250 HP so it will probably hold up. I plan on maybe road racing it someday so front disks and bigger front and rear sway bars are comming sooner or later. I like standard trannys better because they are more efficiant than autos. They get more power to the ground and are lighter. I know you have to drive em like you stole em at the track but I like powershifting If I raced for money or bracket raced I'd probably run an auto for the consistancy. I used to race my SVO and believe me that car was hard to launch. It was pretty souped up and with that turbo 2.3 there was such a fine line between blowing the tires off and bogging that it got frustrating. I finnaly figured out how to haze the tires just right though it often suprised me by blowing the tires off any way, but it was fun. I think the 302 will be more predictable on the launch. I dont drag race often any more (Bakersfield is 100 miles away) and street racing is a bad idea. I used to love taking the SVO through the mountain roads around here so I think handling will be a priority here thats why I asked for handling advise.
