The trick is to hit redline right when you hit the traps. If redline comes way to early, you got too much gear, you either change to a higher gear like a 4.56 or 4.30 or put on a taller tire.
I remember reading somewhere that these trucks, with the ratios they have in the trans work well with 4.56's and 32" or 33" tire, you end up right at redline thru the traps.

 

I guess the way I'm thinking about it is that it will give me an advantage getting off the line and accelerating through 1st, 2nd and 3rd and then I have od to fall back on up top which would be like running a higher gear ratio and not dipping into 4th at all......does that not make sense?

 

So by that theory, I would need to run a taller tire like a 35 or something to hit redline in 3rd at the traps.....right?

Even though that adds a little more rolling weight, would it affect my et's that much?

 

NO NO NO whenever you run WOT always turn off OD. With that much power you will scatter your trans all over the track on the 3-4 shift. It's a known weak point in the AOD, AODE, 4R70, 4R75 trans family. You never want to shift into OD under full throttle, NEVER.

 

You could try a 33, maybe a 34. Best I can say is try it with your current setup and see where you hit redline, if your close to the line, leave it alone or bump to a 33. But if you hit redline at say the 1000' mark, then you need a taller tire or less gear.

 

guess its the driver, there is 3 guys on here with the same mods as me there best times are 14's. but if you gear it and run slicks and have a bad *** tune I think you could maybe get into the 12's. but its a long shot these trucks are 6000#'s

 

Your truck is a freak of nature too, those other guys with the same mods as you are getting what 395-400 at the wheels. You've got 20 more whp than they do.

 

Gotcha.....I'm new to the performace side of these trucks and, until now, have never heard of that weak point in the trans.

That being said, I guess sticking with a 33" slick would be best.

 

I get what you're saying about the difference in et's with the same mods, but I'm not really talking about times in realtion to the same mods. I'm more asking in relation to pure power numbers and gearing/traction.

You launch in 2wd or 4? Any traction problems off the line?

 

Exactly, there is a big leap from 13.6 to 12.9.

Personally think a TC, and slicks, on the right night, with a sticky track you can hit a 12.99..

450rwhp is about the limit I would want to go on a stock block on a normal basis. Anything past that IMO you are getting into the un-known zone.

Hell I was going to be happy if my truck hit 13.5..lmao Ill have to run it at the track this fall when the weather is cooler. The key will getting the 60' down. The reason the JDM truck got such a great time was they were hitting 1.9 60's. Just watch that truck launch.

 

I've had a theory for a while, this might work, it might not. But nobody makes a slick for a 17" or larger wheel, the closest you can get is a 16". Mickey Thompson makes a classic 2 wheel in a 16 x 10 with a 6 x 5.5" pattern (6 x 139.7mm), our trucks have a 6 x 135mm pattern. Have those wheels redrilled for our pattern and see if they clear the brake calipers, if not put a wheel spacer behind it to clear. Then you can run a 16" slick, M.T. also makes a 33 x 10.5 x 16 slick that fits a 16 x 10 wheel.

The part # for the wheel is 360412.

 

Another option is to get a set of rear brakes from a 97-03 body 150 w/caliper bracket and rotors and redrill the rotors for 6 x 135 and put the smaller brakes on so you can run a 15" or 16" wheel in the back. Either way its going to require some custom work to run a full slick on the back of these trucks. I think the redrilled wheel and spacers is the best option.

 

I agree more than 450 and things might start to give,

 

Here is a thought for you, they say every 100 lbs cost you a tenth in your e.t. Figure the JDM truck weighs aprox 5300 lbs and runs a 12.8 If you had the exact same setup on your truck plus your extra 500 lbs (screw 4x4) the best you can hope for is 13.3 Your gonna need more power to get into the 12's

BTW for reference my truck is the same style as JDM's but I'm 4x4 and Ford listed the shipping weight at 5300 with full fluids and 1 gallon of gas, just like it was when it rolled out the back door in dearborn.

 

They add a 300lb ballast to their truck for traction.