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Engine block .030 455 with 2 bolt mains with standard length steel rods and nitrated crank. Pontiac heads modified to flow 250 cfm at 28 inches on the intake, compression set for pump gas at 9.50 to 1. Four tube headers with performance intake and 850 carb. Solid lifter cam in the 500 lift range (contact Nitemare Performance for details).Turbo 400 transmission with 10-inch converter and trans cooler.12 bolt rear with 3.55 to 4.10 gears.
The tire combination and the way the front and rear suspensions are set up can make more than a full second difference in quarter mile ETs.
Nitemare Performance has tested M/T and M/H DOT street legal tires and has found them to be excellent tires for the track. Moreover, these tires being DOT approved are great when you do limited street driving to shows and cruises, since changing your tire/wheel combination is not required for legal street use. During drag track testing, Nitemare Performance has found that these tires often out perform full race slicks on heavy muscle cars in the 3,500 to 4,000 pound range. They require more pressure for optimal performance and this has the added benefit of improved vehicle control.
Rear suspension modifications require all four control arms to be boxed, and polyurethane style bushings and stiff rear springs with air bags installed for maximizing pre-loading of the suspension. No wheel well modifications are required.
The front suspension is extremely critical for launch performance on heavy nosed muscle cars. Removal of the front sway bar, loosening up the front control arms so the suspension travel is increased (being sure that the factory control arm lock nuts are still holding their required torque so as not to loosen and fall off the bolt), and the installation of soft front springs and 90/10 shocks will greatly improve 60' times. These are drag track only changes and severely impair your vehicle's ability to maneuver and should never be used on the street.
Nitemare Performance also recommends an electric fuel pump system with half-inch fuel line and modifying the stock gas tank with the addition of a sump, as this improves consistency and reliability. This is not an absolute requirement for this level of performance.
The cooling system requirements are simple, a four core radiator, stock style or aluminum with flex fan and fan shroud.
A cold ram air system is important since a home-fabricated system can decrease the 1/4 mile times by more than 0.2 seconds for relatively little money spent. Ease of installation depends on the vehicle type. K/N filter with extreme lid is necessary if cold ram air system is not an option.
All pipes in the exhaust system (headers excluded) should be in the 3-inch range. This is a minimum requirement for a 455 powered Pontiac. These systems can now be made to fit as nicely as the stock system.
The above listed specifications are a basic layout for a high 11 second car. This combination (500 hp motor and suspension) will produce 1.75 second 60 foot times, and result in 111 to 113 mph trap speeds. There are many combinations in this performance range and these can be easily tailored to your specific budget and/or ET requirements.
Nitemare Performance has a 1968 GTO running 10.48 ETs at 127 MPH. This extreme level of performance was achieved using a single 4 barrel carburetor, on aluminum intake, using gasoline only as fuel, no nitrous oxide, alcohol, blowers or turbos were used to obtain this performance. This GTO ran these numbers in 1999, after which it has spent more time on the street than the track. This GTO weighing 3650 pounds (with driver), ran a 455 block, .030 TRW pistons, stock stroke crank with steel rods, a mild .600 lift roller cam with 300 cfm Ram Air 4 heads with a 990 cfm Holley. The remainder of the drive train consisted of a turbo 400 transmission, 4.56 geared 12 bolt, with DOT 30/12 inch tires, a full 4 inch Nitemare Performance fabricated exhaust system was also used. This GTO named the NITEMARE ran 1.46 60 foot times off idle (NO trans brake). This combination was proved to be reliable for many years, with no breakage, despite frequent drag strip visits and high street mileage accrued, in street legal trim, participating in local cruises and shows.
Road course style suspensions, that promote handling, will limit front end travel and obviously promote rear tire spin on launch. While these suspension are much more suited to street usage they are not optimal for the drag strip. With these suspensions you can expect similar trap speeds at the track but much slower ETs, due to the slower 60' times.
A properly installed 150 horse power nitrous oxide system can be expected to produce 10 mph increases in trap speed in automatics and 6 mph in stick shift cars. Improvements in ET are approximately half a second for stick shift cars and a full one second in automatic cars, utilizing the suspension/tire combination described above.
