relocating battery to the bed.

[RSBAD454]

Build a bigger motor or go Turbo......only way you will go faster.

[autorepr]

I circle track race and we add lead in ideal spots to balance the car. a source of lead..... you guessed it the battery. We even put the car on electronic scale pads to get the front to rear weight close to even and as much left side percentage as the rules allow. My red top Optima is right behind my drivers seat and about 4 inches from the track surface. Its secured in a tray welded to the frame rail. A balanced round track car is fast, a drag car that transfers weight is fast.

U can run a 2 Ga. or Single OT cable thru metal EMT conduit then bend it like brakeline to follow the frame rails. secure it with the clamps they make for EMT and it will be protected and not droop. The cable insulation will protect the cable from the conduit and the smooth inside of the conduit will craddle the cable ind not rub into it. ( debir the ends and flute them out) I won't knock the ford starter solenoid idea but I leave mine live and hook a 8 or even 6 ga charge wire from the alt. to the starter batt. cable term. Better fuse link it at the starter connection. A 10 or 12 ga link depending on charge wire size. Hook a 2ga neg from the batt. directly to the frame as short as possible, then a 2ga. from the frame to engine as short as possible. Go directly to the block, not a bracket or anything. Add a 10 ga ground from the frame to the bed, a 10ga ground from the frame to the cab floor, another to the core support and I'd even run 1 from the back of the block to the firewall like the factory does.

This alone may not turn it into a 10 second truck but it will be an  improvement, and make it look like you really mean business at the track!!!

[team39763]

Build a bigger motor or go Turbo......only way you will go faster.

I wish I could build a bigger motor, but I'm stuck with this one for now.  I'm trying to talk my wife into buying me a 6-71 supercharger to throw on top of it for my birthday.  BDS makes a 6-71 and 8-71 blower kit for the LS1.  I may just go ahead and spray it.  I want to hit a high 11's on motor and then spray my way down to the 10's.  My nitrous kit is setup for a 175shot.
That's a pretty good idea Autorepr. 

[Captkaos]

Get the EFI manifold for it and you can put a turbo on there,  You can use Megasquirt ECU to controll it...

[xtremjeepn]

I feel like I am totally missing the point of moving the weight on a PICKUP TRUCK!!!

You would have to do SOOOOOOOO much to these trucks to get them to handle really well that I fail to see the point.


Can someone actually convince me WHY this would REALLY be worth the time and effort?

[hogwild]

bigger motor is not the answer ,getting truck to hook first is. moving weight to the rear is a good start to get tracktion.these trucks with any power at all will not get traction

[werewolfx13]

For a drag truck (which is what team is going for), moving weight to the back will improve traction off the line for two reasons..one, the raw weight put over the back tires, and two, with the front end lightened, upon initial launch, the weight balance SHOULD shift from front to back, aiding in traction. Moving the weight in this case has nothing at all to do with improving handling, its solely to improve traction off the line, in somthing that already runs a locked/spooled rear end with some kind of traction aid (caltracs, 4 link).

[xtremjeepn]

I guess I can see it for a drag truck. 

[team39763]

I'm just trying to have a little edge over those trucks with big blocks or the ones with the high dollar motors.  I'm pretty sure I can't smoke them on the top end with raw horsepower, so I figure I'll try to get my truck to take off as best I can and make them play catch-up. 
This truck is a low budget drag project.

[hogwild]

i am biulding the same thing rite now , and let me tell you my truck with a 406 ci motor would not get any traction. i moved battery and feul cell to back and it made one heck of a difference. now it needs caltracs bars to prevent axel wrap. before the mods it would lite the tires up and barly move

[VileZambonie]

I hope you put a posi in it before you bother with traction bars.

[autorepr]

I'm hip to the gettin all that you can with spending as little as possible!!! My PRO 4 class now allows 2500 cc 4 cylinder engines. I got alot tied up in my 2300, which was as big as you were allowed 2 seasons ago and I just can't foot the bill for a new engine. I keep tweekin on her and gettin a little more all the time. If I can roll thru the corner faster I need less horsepower to get back up to speed on the straights. (and less brakes to wo it down) In bracket racing reaction time is 3/4s of the race. If you get off the line right on the light you got it in the bag. I know, I Wish it were that simple too!!!!! If you sit there spinning your wheels your just putin on a show.

KEEP TWEEKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Preyemer]

I put mine in the bed and used the cheap little plastic box from the parts store. It's not an optima but it's the NAPA drycell, basically the same just not the big name.


I've seen people mount the batteries on their sides under the bed on minitrucks before, i dont see why you shouldn't be able to since the company says they can be mounted anywhere...

[choptop]

I feel like I am totally missing the point of moving the weight on a PICKUP TRUCK!!!

You would have to do SOOOOOOOO much to these trucks to get them to handle really well that I fail to see the point.


Can someone actually convince me WHY this would REALLY be worth the time and effort?

It is easier to make a camero or vette handle, but it takes skill and determination to make these run on rails.It is possible, and is awesome to see when it is done. I have seen several of these trucks in the 9s and 10s. The greatest thing is spanking Junior in his daddy's vette, and not having to worry where you park it at the local Sonicdrive-in. It takes determination and thinking outside the box.  Team39763, hang in there, experiment, and think outside the box.Some of the best ideas come from not doing the norm.Like Hogwild said, traction is going to be your problem. Also, do some figuring on your axle gearing. You want your truck in high gear, just below redline as you cross the line at the big end.This will ensure you are geared as best as possible for what you are doing. It may not street drive well, but is usually tolerable, unless you drive on the highway. Get good race tires. Hooking up requires quality components, so don't skimpout on tires.Don't overlook aerodynamics,get it down as low as possible,pull in mirrors, tailgate dropped ( don't remove it, you need the weight for traction. Are the doors gutted( window rfegulators, glass etc. ) this is more weight, but use plexiglass for the sides,as the wind drag of an open cab is worse than having the weight there.Keep it up, I expect to here a report on being in the 10s soon.

[werewolfx13]

The tailgate on a shortbed won't (atleast shouldn't) have an impact on the aerodynamics unless you chop the top...Air doesn't actually blow down into the bed with a stock height cab, the cab deflects the air and it doesn't drop back down until about a foot past the tailgate. A longbed might see some benefit though. Have somone lay down in the bed holding a plastic wal-mart sack, tailgate down, on a calm day. Accelerate to about 45mph, then have them let go of the sack below the height of the bedrails, right around the wheel wells..The sack will not blow out of the bed, it will blow around up to the height of the cab and all over the bed, until it gets out on the tailgate itself, OR over the cab(which wont happen over 40 mph on a completely calm day), then it will blow away. I watched this happen in my own truck..I watched a small plastic sack blow around my bed with the tailgate down for the better part of 35 miles at highway speed..When I dropped down to about 25-30 mph, it finally blew up over the cab height and I drove out from under it.