Craig - Trans brakes are literally a kick in the pants. I don't know that I could compare 60 ft's before and after because my car was going through other changes at the same time as the brake. With the Hipster brake the trans functions normally (manual reverse valve body, no need to hold the button for reverse). The best 60ft I have ever had was 1.293. I run a 32 tall 15 wide Hoosier slick and a 4 link. I have some shots of the car under the topic "Track Results - Licensing" in the Lobby. The car has a 54% rear weight bias with the motor lowered and moved back about one foot. The timing cover sits behind the spindle centerline, to give you an idea. See the pics. With a brake I was able to gain more confidence in my ability to cut good lights because I found I could be more consistent with the brake than I could footbraking the car. You'll definitely want a quality converter. Mine is a TCI 8" custom ordered with spec's that Jim Butler provided. Some people use a two step on the brake but I prefer to matt the pedal and let the converter decide what my launch rpm is going to be. I studied just about every dyno sheet I could find of other Pontiac race motors and it always seems like peak torque falls between 4500 - 5200 on a well prepped combination. My TCI stalls at 5000. Ideally (if your tires and suspension can hold it) you want to leave around peak torque and shift just a smidge past peak HP is what I have been told before. I think the current set-up I have is about right. Once you get the car hooked solid you'll want to have a rear-end that won't need to be sewpt off the starting line in little pieces after you let go of the button. This is why I run a Dana 60 and Richmond Pro-Gears. The pro gear doesn't last as long because it's softer (Rockwell Scale) than street gears and aborbs the shock loads better. The trans brake is so fun that I think I would want one if I were still driving a street car, the psychology of sitting at a street light in an auto car with the tach buzzing at full stall would have the guy next to you so pumped he'd see tail lights before he knew the light had turned green. Not that I advocate street racing mind you especially when it's so easy to go to a sactioned track. Good luck with the brake if you decide to put one in. Maybe you could share some before and after for the rest of us once you get it dialed in for maximum stickage on the line!
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