9 Stocker Speed Tips

Drag racing is a funny sport. It's the only sport/hobby I can think of where we spend more money and work harder to get less time on the track. But for most drag racers, a harder launch and quicker ET means greater pleasure at the end of each quarter-mile run.

Aside from the speed, drag racing offers the average guy or gal the chance to test their mechanical ability and driver skill. The rewards range from personal satisfaction to national recognition--and even money, for those competing in the weekly brackets or a national or regional series.

While most drag racers would love to wheel a hot Pontiac like Warren Johnson's 6-second Grand Am, the average racers lack the budget to field such a car. Instead, many throttle jockeys compete in the local brackets or in classes like Stock and Super Stock because they offer the challenge of racing under strict guidelines, but with a much smaller budget.

Stock Eliminator is one of the best entry-level classes, especially if you are a musclecar purist. Super Stock takes a few more bucks, mainly because the rules are more liberal. In Stock, racers are limited to running a mostly stock engine including unported heads, stock carburetor(s) or throttle bodies, stock intake manifold and a stock-lift camshaft. Tires are limited to 9-inch wide slicks and the suspension and body must also remain--you guessed it--stock. However, many Stockers run amazingly quick, sometimes producing what may seem to be unbelievable times.

For example, our own HPP Eliminator Warrior 1997 Firebird convertible has run 10.79 at 122 mph at a race weight of 3,435 lbs. The engine, which was prepared by Woodo Josey of Georgia, makes approximately 460 horsepower, again, using the aforementioned stock LT1 parts.

The outstanding elapsed times produced by Stock Eliminator cars are often the result of more than just horsepower, though. Racers spend hours tuning the suspension, converter and gearing. To run 10.70s with our heavy Bird, owner John Caliendo has used up more than a few tricks. Of utmost importance is making the car launch like a rocket. After that, the goal is to make the rest of the package as efficient as possible. You must approach your low ET goal in this manner; all of the horsepower in the world is useless unless you can hook it up. Eliminator Warrior has produced a best 60-foot time of 1.38-seconds and it has an average of about 1.42. Now that's using all of those ponies!

Making your Pontiac run this hard is not black magic, instead it takes a little understanding of how your machine works. Freeing up parasitic drag and making your Poncho as efficient as possible are two of the most valuable performance improvements. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Of course HPP didn't want to leave you out in the cold so we dug deep and emerged with a few tips that will allow you to take your Pontiac to the next level. Many are not rocket science; they're common sense. What I recommend is that you take a long hard look at your Pontiac. Start at the front bumper and examine every nut and bolt. Figure out how to make each part work for you and soon you'll be running much quicker in the quarter.

1. Shift Your Load
One of the best ways to make your Pontiac ET better is to have optimum traction. Removing weight from the front of the car, moving weight from front to back (i.e., battery relocation) or removing the front stabilizer bar, will allow the nose to rise on launch, thus placing more of the vehicle's weight on the rear tires. Good weight transfer is a Hallmark of an efficient race car. Peter Biondo shows how it's done with his 400-inch Poncho-powered late-model Firebird.

2. Loosen Up
To get maximum weight transfer, install loose front shocks, or adjustable front shocks, and soft front springs so that the nose has less resistance when it tries to lift up during launch. The cheap trick for older Pontiacs is to use six-cylinder springs because they will still hold the front end up with the V8 but have a much lower rate and will allow the front end to rise more easily.

3. Fire & Ice
To make maximum power, it is necessary to have the engine oil and rear axle fluid hot, yet you want the coolant and intake charge to be as cool as possible. Pontiac engines are sensitive to variations in coolant temperature and oil temperature. Make sure you have high-quality temp gauges for both. Experiment with making runs at different temperatures to learn what coolant and oil temps your Pontiac likes best. We recommend icing the intake and using an electric water pump drive to circulate the coolant. Using an electric fan will also help keep coolant temp down. One trick is to keep a cool, wet towel on the hood between rounds, over where the carb or throttle body would be, during the hot summer months.

4. Read Me A Story
Inexpensive data recorders like the Auto Meter Ultimate Playback Tach can tell you how much rpm drop-off you have on launch. This unit can also show you the point at which your converter flashes, and where you are shifting. All of this is valuable information for tuning to go faster. You may find that varying shift points even from gear to gear, i.e., shift 1-2 at 5500 rpm and 2-3 at 5300, will result in a lower ET.

5. Low Down On Low Gears
Automatic-equipped Stockers often have a low-gear set installed in their transmissions to gain additional gear multiplication for launch, while maintaining the same multiplication in high gear. By swapping from a 2.48 in your Turbo-400 to a 2.75 first gear, you will greatly improve off the line acceleration, especially in Pontiacs weighing more than 3,000 lbs. (There are low gear sets available for some 4-speeds as well). Check the back of National Dragster for companies that provide these products.

6. Parasitically Speaking, It's A Drag
Parasitic drag robs more power than you may think. Stock racers combat this with underdrive pulleys and by slightly backing off the rear drum brakes. In addition, we've seen racers use a small Halogen lamp to keep the rear axle fluid cooking hot, as this will cause less drag on the ring and pinion. Other tips include installing light wheels and an aluminum driveshaft whenever it is legal. Even the wheel bearing adjustment is a bit looser than stock in some cases. Don't discount the advantages of synthetic lubricants either.

7. Slick Radials That Stick
Goodyear, Hoosier and Mickey Thompson all sell drag racing slicks with a radial design. These tires can be run as high 30 psi on some cars (though the normal setting is about 22 psi). The benefit is excellent traction with greatly reduced rolling resistance resulting in a lower ET.

8. ... Cogging For Flogging
Switching to a lower (numerically higher) rear gear ratio will help get the Pontiac moving quicker, especially if you are going through the traps well under peak rpm. Just be careful that you do not overgear your Pontiac. Corporate Pontiac engines almost always like more gears like 3.73s or 4.10s because their design is aimed more toward making power with the increased revs provided by these gears. Traditional Pontiac engines are torque monsters. They provide a lot of grunt down low. Of course the 400s with a 3.75-inch stroke and a 4.12 bore will still benefit from a 3.55, 3.90 or even a 4.33 gear set, depending upon the situation. However, don't be surprised if your 455 with its long 4.210 stroke and 4.15 bore prefers 3.55s because the numerically lower gears keep the engine in the torque band longer.

9. Dyno Doings
With the advent of the modern chassis dyno, virtually anyone can access this invaluable form of testing. We've found the Dynojet to be just about the best tool because it's simple and gives consistent results. For as little as $200, some shops will give you a few pulls and for a few more bucks you can make tuning changes and know how much power you have at the drive wheels. You can learn your exact rpm range and rpm at which peak torque is reached as well as peak horsepower, which should help you to shift more efficiently. Or you can test just about anything from timing to fuel to the effects of driveline fluid viscosity changes.

Sal Piacentini successfully campaigns this '78 Firebird in SS/MA. With a 350 engine, Sal consistently runs mid 11s at about 116 mph. That's about .75-second under the 12.15 SS/MA index.