1,789 WHP | Georgina and Dave Buckley | Ultra Street Mustang

One of the most popular categories in small-tire outlaw racing is Ultra Street, also known as Xtreme Street in the NMCA series. It combines the skill of limited traction with DOT-legal drag radials and powerful conventional-type engine combinations under the hood. Boost is limited to small-block engines with specific cylinder head and intake packages and strict rules on the turbo or supercharger system. The nitrous crowd benefits from radical small-block setups while the big-block Chevy and Ford enthusiasts have a wide-range of conventional-headed combinations with displacements up to 588ci.

It is the last combination that we are focused on for this FuelTech exclusive video, a big-block Chevy that spun the Mainline Hub Dyno to a robust 1,789 WHP! The impressive number came by way of a single nitrous plate using the 0.136-inch Ultra Street/Xtreme Street nitrous jet. The S197 Mustang belongs to Georgina and Dave Buckley, the former is the driver and they run a two-car team with Dave’s notchback Mustang competing in the Limited Drag Radial ranks. The trip to FuelTech isn’t their first; the ProCharger supercharged LDR ride spent a day on the dyno over the winter and the Buckley’s loved the experience and the FT600’s capabilities so much, they converted the Ultra Street car to EFI.

Once the swap was completed, the Illinois-based racing team booked an appointment for the Hub Dyno Performance Tuning Session. The service is designed to give FuelTech customers a day at the Georgia headquarters to learn about their PowerFT engine management system and test their vehicle on the dyno. The FuelTech customer service staff, led by Cameron Lohrmann, helps identify any problems and a professional driver slips behind the wheel for the full power testing.

The Buckley’s Mustang relies on an FT600 engine management system, which is becoming a popular EFI setup for nitrous-powered racecars in a variety of categories. One of the allures is the PRO Nitrous function, which has the ability to control up to 6 stages of nitrous injection. It can also set operation thresholds, offer custom timers and delays, complete ignition timing and fuel control, nitrous bottle pressure compensation, and individual cylinder trim.

Beyond the PRO Nitrous functions, the FT600 engine management system has standard features like sequential injection and ignition, O2 closed loop, Data Logger, Delay Box, Boost Controller, and Nitrous Controller. The FT450, FT550, and FT600 ECU units also come with an LCD display and touchscreen, showing real-time data and allowing the user to make adjustments without a PC connection. Additionally, all the PowerFT control units feature AMP SUPERSEAL automotive connectors, accelerometer and gyroscope, and 2 CAN networks. The FT600, FT550, and FT550 LITE are capable of transmission controls with its built-in GearControl. If that isn’t enough, the FuelTech Input Expander is available, providing 24 additional inputs, including 20 analog inputs and 4 VR sensors.

Data acquisition is another highly touted feature of the PowerFT line of engine management systems with accelerometer, gyroscope, and the ability to link up to any sensor via CAN connection. The information is displayed with the engine and power management data, allowing the tuner to use only the FTManager software when analyzing the information. It streamlines the process for easy and quick changes for the next run, especially for this team since both vehicles utilize FT600s. This Mustang is equipped with a pair of FuelTech WB-O2 Nano Wideband O2 Controllers , which are also connected to the FT600 via CAN and doesn’t require the use of an analog input. A FuelTech SwitchPanel-8 offers additional CAN connections for expanded inputs and its primary function is to be an easy-to-use control pad for various functions.

From the flame-throwing nitrous combinations that are set to dominate the small-tire wars to world championship professional racing teams, there is a reason you’re seeing #FuelTechEverywhere