I am wondering, if I wanted to build a low-end(1/8th mile) monster, what stuff would I need to cut 60ft times and 1/8th times? Off the bat I know Drag Radials, upper and lower control arms, and removal of the front sway bar. I hear a lot about drag shocks, drag struts, and a higher stall converterbutdo they make a big difference for the price or at all? Maybe even light weight rims/weight removal?Thanks ahead of time for any help!

 

A big converter and big gears will get it done. And yes a QUALITY converter is worth the money.

 

GEAR GEARS GEARS! If it is a 1/8 mile only car, a radical set of gears will get you awesome performance for the dollar. After that it is exactly what you said, Control arms, shocks, struts, springs, subframes, ect. High stall converters will do great as well. Get the stall speed setup right around your max torque. From there it is your typical power mods to get you moving.

 

a heavy duty rear end to handle the tourqe of a hard launch. I personally just bought a 9" strange rear end with 35 spline axles and a detroit locker tru trac in it. mine is a 1/4 mile/street car so i only went with 3.30 gears in it though. gotta hit the traps at 145+ in 4th so a longer gear was a must. I would also say for get the drag radilas and go right for the slick and skinnies on a light weight reacing wheel. I am looking into a set of 15"weld prostars.

 

Go get a 4.56 gear, a big stall, build your rear and transmission then match it up with some suspension work and good tires. Naturally, adding more power will help as well.

 

yeah, all the stuff above will make a good drag car, but most seem to be forgetting that youll need some power.

i feel that my car is a fine example. it weighs about 3700lbs (track weight), and has run a best of 12.39...that was the last run on a cool night, but it runs average times in the 12.40s and 12.50s, with a trap speed ranging from 106-108. im running hoosier quick time pros, 4.56 gears, a 3500 stall, no sway bar, and superstock rear springs. most of you probably dont know what that means, but your cars have different components than mine...

my car wont reach huge top end speeds, but it gets off the line hard, with my short times usually in the 1.68-1.72 range. i believe that my best 8th mile time was like a 7.83. i can only find one slip right now, and its a 12.47 with a 7.86 8th mile, 1.69 short time.

however, even if youre making decent power, and can get great traction, and a huge launch RPM, if the parts wont hold up, all that stuff wont do you any good...once you start makingenough power to pull good times, youll start finding weak links...for instance, isnt it fazm that keeps breaking rearends? and he knows what hes doing...

 

Those gears may not be the best choice. I suspect they are going to put you struggling at low rpm in 4th at the top-end.
I would have likely kept the stock gears, added very sticky tires, a custom built converter, left on a 100 hp shot, and trapped in 3rd.
You would have embarrassed a lot of bolt-on LS1's. It wont be any slower with the 4.10's but it just wont have that top-end charge.
You will have more trouble hooking it on a bigger shot as well.

1/8 mi is all about Gear, Converter, and launch torque but on a street car you can seldom gear it the way you would a race car.
Most cars specifically set-up for the 1/8 mi run 5.14+ gears.

 

you think that a 4.0 with a 100 shot, stock gears, a convertor, and slicks is going to beat a bolt on ls1?

 

That was a rhetorical question right?

 

You have to be able to hook it. If you can leave on the bottle you will have 445 lb-ft or torqe at the flexplate.
With a 2.6 STR Converter, 3.22 low trans, and 3.31 Gears thats 10,000+ lb of torque at the rear tires with 18% loss.
Thats going to launch a lot harder than a bolt-on LS1. Should 60' in the high 1.50 to low 1.60 range.
Then its up to him to try to make enough power to run you down.