Hey No Mercy,
Whereas I can't answer all of your questions, I think I have some insight on a couple of them...
1. 20" wheels WILL, in fact, hurt your performance at the strip. I believe this is because you're adding weight in the increased size of the wheels, and it's more difficult to turn that larger, heaver wheel at the axle. And, since you've undoubtedly decreased the height of the sidewall on your 20" tires, that sidewall is NOT going to flex and grip very well. Now, if you look at most drag cars, you'll see that they have large rear tires mounted on small rims. I believe the reasoning here is twofold: The small rim size keeps weight to a minimum, and the tall sidewall (on a slightly deflated tire) allows the sidewall to scrunch down (when the rear of the car squats), allowing more contact area and more grip. Sounds like you're going against these theories with your 20" rims.
2. More-than-enough octane CAN slow your car down. On a normally-aspirated engine (no blower), your car simply does need the extra octane. Octane is an additive that RESISTS DETONATION (premature burning of the gas in the cylinder). Too much octane in a stock engine makes the fuel more difficult to burn, and so you'll rob yourself of power. You WANT more octane in a supercharged car, since the supercharger crams air into the motor (which increases compression, making power) -- and the last thing you want is for the fuel mixture in the highly-compressed piston chamber to blow when it's not supposed to (this is how you blow a gasket, or a rod through the hood, etc.). So, there's a fine ballance. Too little octane in a performance car like a Vette and you could get some "pinging" (detonation). Too much octane and you make it more difficult for the fuel to do what it's supposed to do (mix with air, be burnt by the spark, explode, and push the piston down). High octance fuel lets SC'ed cars run "more timing" (more compression).
3. Not sure what size TIRES are best on a C5 drag car -- but the wheel should be a decent-width 15" (pretty standard) lightweight wheel. Someone else should verify what wheel/tire combo is the best.
4. That's what I heard. 2600 RPM's rings a bell. I think the Z's best times come from NOT spinning the tires much at all off the line.
5. Not sure!
6. Can't help here, either. I know the other stuff from my trials and tribulations of owning a blown '93 Cobra -- but I've never been to the track. Gonna have to get my Z there soon!
Good luck!!! /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
-Kirk
Whereas I can't answer all of your questions, I think I have some insight on a couple of them...
1. 20" wheels WILL, in fact, hurt your performance at the strip. I believe this is because you're adding weight in the increased size of the wheels, and it's more difficult to turn that larger, heaver wheel at the axle. And, since you've undoubtedly decreased the height of the sidewall on your 20" tires, that sidewall is NOT going to flex and grip very well. Now, if you look at most drag cars, you'll see that they have large rear tires mounted on small rims. I believe the reasoning here is twofold: The small rim size keeps weight to a minimum, and the tall sidewall (on a slightly deflated tire) allows the sidewall to scrunch down (when the rear of the car squats), allowing more contact area and more grip. Sounds like you're going against these theories with your 20" rims.
2. More-than-enough octane CAN slow your car down. On a normally-aspirated engine (no blower), your car simply does need the extra octane. Octane is an additive that RESISTS DETONATION (premature burning of the gas in the cylinder). Too much octane in a stock engine makes the fuel more difficult to burn, and so you'll rob yourself of power. You WANT more octane in a supercharged car, since the supercharger crams air into the motor (which increases compression, making power) -- and the last thing you want is for the fuel mixture in the highly-compressed piston chamber to blow when it's not supposed to (this is how you blow a gasket, or a rod through the hood, etc.). So, there's a fine ballance. Too little octane in a performance car like a Vette and you could get some "pinging" (detonation). Too much octane and you make it more difficult for the fuel to do what it's supposed to do (mix with air, be burnt by the spark, explode, and push the piston down). High octance fuel lets SC'ed cars run "more timing" (more compression).
3. Not sure what size TIRES are best on a C5 drag car -- but the wheel should be a decent-width 15" (pretty standard) lightweight wheel. Someone else should verify what wheel/tire combo is the best.
4. That's what I heard. 2600 RPM's rings a bell. I think the Z's best times come from NOT spinning the tires much at all off the line.
5. Not sure!
6. Can't help here, either. I know the other stuff from my trials and tribulations of owning a blown '93 Cobra -- but I've never been to the track. Gonna have to get my Z there soon!
Good luck!!! /phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
-Kirk
