Why is my car so slow??

I have an 1989 Saleen mustang, Headers, Mac off road H Pipe, Mac catback exhaust. MSD coil, MSD Superconductor wires, E303 cam, its a factory t-5 car, good clutch, stock 3.23 gears, Mac cold air intake w/ mass air, Hurst Short throw shifter, Tokico Blues on all four corners, weld in subframe braces, lower K member brace, Rear strut tower brace, stock 16" wheels w/ Toyo T1R's and i cannot get the thing any faster than a 15.5 at the drag strip. I've just recently purchased the car, and haven't done anything but a basic tuneup. The car runs fine with a slight lope from the cam, and is kind of a pain in the ass to start while cold ( acts like a carbed car, have to keep a foot on the gas for 5-10 seconds ) What would cause this thing to be so slow?

Traction can be a problem. Getting used to how the car acts might take a while too....

but seriously, doesn't a stock Mustang run low 14's/high 13's in the 1/4? I would think that a Saleen would do a LOT better than 15.5 especially considering what has been done to it. The 3.23 gears ain't helping either. I like 3.73's as a good all-around gear for both street and strip...especially with a 5 speed.
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With the T1R's i can't hook that well in 1st but 2nd hooks and the car takes off, but with what little it spins off the line, i don't think that traction would help but maybe another .2-.3 seconds, so i'd still be above a 15 [img]/forums/images/smiles/icon_frown.gif[/img] i've had the car since january and have become fairly used to the characteristics of the car, and though i'm no pro, the 15.5 is hitting all shifts smooth and getting a nice low spin launch ( normally around a 15.7 with a bad launch )

what kind of 60ft times are you turning ??

You shoudn't need to put your foot on the gas to start. Fuel Pressure Problems?
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my best run...

r/t - .281
60' - 2.397
330 - 6.508
1/8 - 9.995
mph - 68.90
1000 - 13.028
1/4 - 15.556
mph - 89.31


When its cold the car will start on its own, but won't hardly idle, kind of like a carb'd car if ya kick the choke off too soon, so ya have to sit there and keep it about 1500 rpm for 5-10 seconds, but On really hot days (100+) it seems to start and idle fine.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 89Saleen on 8/1/06 1:55am ]</font>

what gear are you in when you cross the line? you should be in 4th and at the top of your power band, which is only about 5500 with your engine. most mods i see are exhaust and cam. you need to seriously look into heads and intake mods for it. but that wont resolve your issue. sorry but your r/t is high. install aline lok kit and itll help your r/tt if you're prepared.

when i cross the line i'm in third gear, i can't remember what RPM though. i read the article "13's the easy way" on here and it was saying that with a t5 my car should be in the 14's stock, and thats whats got me wondering whats goin on? I would like to get the trick flow top end kit and go from there, but i'd like to squeeze what power i could from what i've got now

drop to 3.73 if a hard daily driver, although youll find 4.10's ultimately nice all around. whats your tire height? #1 rule...as i said before, you want to cross the line at the top of your power band in (with a t5) fourth gear-your 1.00 ratio. i run 4.56 with a 25" tire...suffers as a daily driver, but is leaving future room to run a larger tire.

in the rear i have a 245/45/16 w/ the stock rims, i'm not sure of the height but they should be close if not spot on to the factory rim size. Is there anyone else thats got stock et's for ya 5spd gt? because i don't think that the few power mods saleen did would cause the ET for it to drop much at all.