I am dead hooking the tires I have now. I have all the traction I need. When I drop the clutch, the car lurches forward, and the motor almost instantly bogs. This results in 1.8XX times.
The reason I quoted you above, is the bog. If you are bogging after you launch, it's very likely you are simply not making enough power to move the weight. A gear set would be the best alternative. Beyond that, you're right, you'll need more power. I don't think this is the issue though. According to the numbers you quoted as having, you have enough power.
There are a few other minor things that do play a part, but I won't go into them much - Track Temp- Real hot or cold can hurt. I think around 95-100 degree's is best for my car. More than 115 or a cool day, you'll have problems. Your burnout- If you are getting your tires too warm or cold, you won't hook either. Tire pressure. Too much will make your tires bubble out and not enough will make them cup. Not knowing what size tire you have or kind (Drag Radial or real slick), I don't know where to suggest.
You need to put a white stripe on your tires and video tape it. Watch it in slow motion, are the tires really hooking? The white stripe is there to be able to really see what your tires are doing. Maybe, maybe not. I know what you are saying by them feeling like they are hooking, but they can feel that way and actually be spinning. My car feels like it hooks, but if you watch the video, even of my avatar, you can see the tire spinning.
Here's a video of my car (maybe not a good example),
http://www.jbmotorsports.com/movies/jeremy10.wmv but you can see the stripe on the rear of the tire between the Hoosier logo's before my burnout. When you video tape the car, have someone come up as close to the side of your car as you can get away with. Sometimes they'll give you a hard time at the line, but don't get in front of the car. Get to the side and video tape the car. You'll be able to see in slow motion the strip move around as you launch.
Lastly, because I've been having my own traction issues over the last year, I spent some time researching certain launch techniques and setups. Because I'm limited on tire size and am assuming you are too, I looked at Stock Elimator cars to see what makes them hook so well. The best thing I could come up with was the width of my rear wheel. It actually makes a difference. I was running a 10" wide slick with an 8" wide wheel. What that was doing was making the sidewall softer than it needed to be. This year, I forked out the change and bought two 10" wide wheels and dropped a little over a .010 of a second on my sixty's with essentially the same size tire. All or most of the Stock Eliminator cars are running as wide a wheel or even an inch wider wheel than their slick width. This makes the sidewall stiffer and transfers more power into forward motion instead of spinning or pressing the tires to the ground. I will say this has been the single best improvement in my 60 foot times this year. Tubes in your slicks will also make the sidewall stiffer, this could be another suggestion.
I think you are probably feeling like you are hooking, but it's spinning a little. Remember, this is RMR and my car hooks substantially different at other tracks. I know others on here will attest to this. Video tape the car and let us know. I bet you are making enough power, just getting it to the ground is the key.
