318TI Drag Cars

[Jordan James]

Hey All. Do I have to start every topic? Haha
Anyway, I was wondering if one was going to tune a 318TI for primarily drag use, what would be some good mods mostly for acceleration. Thanks

[J!m]

Replace the ti with a 1971 Dodge Demon with a big-block, or stroker small block.

That should do it. :)

The ti is a better road car...

If you must, I would obviously gut the entire car out, and have a 12-point roll cage fabrcated. This will help hold the car together as well. Get a 'glass nose, and lexan windows. Maybe have the doors acid-dipped. I don't think you can get 'glass doors for the ti. Remove the entire rear suspention, and have a custom-made 4-link set-up installed with a shortened Ford 9" rear with a spool and 5.13:1 (or so) gears.(depends on how you have the motor built, obviously) Of corse, tubbing is not even an option. It must be done to get the power to the track.

Moving forward, I would go with an automatic 'tranny. You will need a reverse manual valve body, so it's technically an automatic, but not actually, since you must manually shift it. Probably a Chrysler 727. There fairly bullet-proof when built properly. Stay away from a manual box for serious track work. Too much time is wasted shifting.

The motor: I would go with the tried and true Chrysler 426 HEMI. You can now get all the parts (including the aluminum block) direct from Chrysler. Build it up right with low comp. pistons to handle the blower. Better get a pro for this part.

Fabricate "elephant ears" to attach it to the front frame rails, and a custom trans. mount and drive shaft.

I won't go into details on the cooling system and other minor items which will need to be fabricated and tested.

I estimate a cost of 60-80K$, depending on the ammount of work you can do yourself.

Good luck!

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"Speed's just a question of money. How fast you 'wanna go?"

[fourbanger]

And just in case you meant using a ti for drag but still being able to call it a ti...

Get some Group N engine mounts, tranny mounts, tranny enforcers, a short differential (4.44+) with limited slip, a six speed close ratio gearbox, a lightweight clutch and flywheel (Turner has a great set that weighs in at 11lbs total), carbon driveshaft, lightweight rims, drag slicks, change the glass to lexan, get as many body panels in carbon fiber, tear out the interior, get a short shift kit, agressive cams, a good intake, restriction free exhaust, coil-overs, a custom chip, independent throttle bodies, performance ignition... some other stuff, can't really think of it right now...

If you really want to have some fun, throw in a supercharger and some 'throttle in a bottle' and you'll really get kickin...

estimated cost: $21k+
not including all the hours of labor it's gonna take to do all that crap..

[GDB]

a shortened Ford 9" rear

9"'s are for pansies, go with a dana 60, and stick to all chrysler parts :icon_pist

[RAiMA]

How fast did you want to go?

We do 13.3s and moving into the 12s with the M44. Mind you, this isn't a dedicated drag racing car, it's more of a circuit and daily driver car.

[JedzE36/5]

or you could do like a few E36ers and put an LS1 or LT1 in your car.

[BMWDRIFTER]

they are really quick w/ a smallblock, but traction will be a big problem. mine weighted in at 2440 lbs. with 40% rear weight. It was empty on fuel and the battery was still in the engine bay. with the car gutted two people can lift the rear off the ground without much struggle.