I agree that the 8.125" rod hurt my low end TQ but felt the longer rod and reduced compression distance would allow me to drasticly reduce the piston, rod and pin weight and make life a lot easier on the crank. By the way, the piston is a custom JE with a 50cc dome. I couldn't find an OEM piston with enough dome to get the compression I wanted. With this combination I saved more than 1.25 pounds per piston/rod/pin.

Another factor is our rules that require a bias ply tire with a maximum tread width of 6 inches. Traction off the line is a problem and tire spin in first gear is excessive, but taking off in second bogs the engine. I wish the rules allowed an automatic tranny. Some of the guys are running automatics and can control wheel spin much better. Their also a few tenths quicker even though our car miles per hour much better.

I'm going to try the 4x1 header and I think it will pick up the TQ quite a bit.

Thanks for the comments, Ron