Auto Racing: traction on the street, pole position tires, 18 inch wheels

Question
I have a 96 Mustang Cobra.  Stroked to 5 liter, Vortec supercharger, making 420 hp at rear wheels.
3.73 rear gears, stock transmission.  Strictly for
the street.  I have 18 inch wheels, 10 inches wide.
275x35 Bridgestone pole position tires. I have no
traction at all in 1st and very little in 2nd gear.
I have kenny brown extreme subframe kit, bilstein
shocks and struts, not lowered.
Would appreciate your suggestions.


Answer
Wayne-

  There are a lot of ways to improve traction on the street.  You've already got some pretty fat tires, so the first thing I'd do is invest in some nice upper and lower control arms.  You don't have to go overboard here for a street car...double adjustable arms aren't necessary.  Just a good solid set will do fine.  If you're really desperate, you could always go with something like a torque arm.  That would actually help your traction in a straight line as well as in corners but would also be a little more expensive (not by a whole lot, but a bit) than a set of control arms.  Or you could combine the two and hook like nobody's business.  Normally the first thing I'd advise is to knock the gear ratio down to something like a 3.55, and that may work for you...but modular motors tend to like to live in high rpms so the 3.73s are good for that.  Hope this helps.

Steve