Suspension Changes, will I go Faster or Not?

So after I put on all new suspension parts, I went slower (1.49 to 1.55 60'). Probably due to the new bushings and suspension being too tight. So thanks to Okibono's help I added roller spring perches, Calvert Racing spherical strut rod bearings (these are awesome), and loosened the lower control arms up by using an eccentric eliminator kit. But, I also lowered the front end by about 1" by cutting 1 coil off. The suspension moves extremely free now, which is good.

What do you guys think it will do? Go slower cause I lowered it or faster cause better suspension? I wonder if I'll need to adjust the Caltracs?

I'll be testing tomorrow so I'll let you all know how it goes. It sure looks cooler with it lower in the front...it has a real nice stance now.

 

do you have a way to limit the front suspension travel? That will most likely help. I say with the changed you have made it will be a little quicker.

 

i thought a soft suspension is best for the track... it allows the weight transfer to be easier

thats why i am afraid to fix mine... even though it needs to be fixed

 

edit:

I will predict, with total confidence, your 60' will do one of three things: 1) Stay the same; 2) Decrease, or; 3) Increase.



Good luck. I'm anxious to hear back from you.

 

slower cause I lowered it


mine did ..it don't seem to bite as good as it did when the front end was up .john said he ran into the same when he cut his ....but it looks better

 

generally looser will help traction. cutting that coil also stiffened the spring rate which can hurt.

if the front end has a lot of travel & you have no spin, start limiting the travel & see if the 60s improve. if they do, limit a bit more, until things stop improving.

 

Sounds like a suspension limiter may be needed...hmmm.

Anyone know how to tell if my front shock settings need to be adjusted from 90/10 to 70/30 or 50/50? Or is it just trial and error?

Oh yeah, thanks for the help everyone.

 

trial and error is the only way to find out. Years ago I ran stock suspension...car only had about 40,000 miles on it so everything was still pretty tight. I found that with the 28x10.5 slicks and the little 302, limiting the front suspension did a good job of improving the 60' times by about a half tenth. First thing I noticed though was that it was much more consistent. Car was now going forward rather than wasting motion going up on the suspension. I limited total wheel travel by 2", FWIW

 

Well...I ended up spinning real bad 3 out of 4 runs and getting all out of shape, but I don't know if it was the lowered front or the track. The track was pretty slick with lots and lots of fwd rice and overwatering of the water box along with very wet/humid conditions. Also, dumb me I never had the car re-aligned after making the changes and I noticed the toe was way out. That's probably why it was very "unstable".

However, I did match my best 1/8 mile time of 6.89 and my mph was best ever in 1/8 of 99mph and it still didn't feel all that good . I'll try again this Friday-Sunday at the PSCA race. I'll be getting the alignment done before then. Just going to take lots of testing and tweeking.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

that's why i never go to firebird on a friday t&t. whatever runs you make give you absolutely no info cause they don't prep the track at all. you spin and have a bad run. get back in line and wait 3 hours for another run. lucky to be able to get 2 runs. sometimes i will go to tucson, they seem to set the track up a little better, plus they don't seem to get as many street cars, so it's a little more consistent. good luck at the psca race.

 

I got an alignment today from a drag race shop. My caster was at -5 degrees when it should be +1 or 2 (for drag racing), my camber and toe was way off, and my passenger side upper control arm was too tight and binding. That explains why I felt like I was going to crash last Friday...I'll let you guys know how it goes this weekend at Fontana. Hoping to get into the 10's one of these days.

 

everytime i went to SIR, i had to wait in line for 1.5 hours or more, while all the ricers go.. it was frustrating to pay money to sit around all night..
and maybe get in 3 runs

 

I was talking with a friend about the new race car he built and he explained that when he aligns the front end he always jacks the car up in the front. He said that when your going down the track the front end is up slightly throughout the run, so that is the position you ned to align the wheels.

 

maybe you need me there... you'll go faster that way

 

It's been my experience that the stiffer you make the suspension, and the closer you get it to perfect, the more you make the tires work. Work 'em too hard and they start spinning too much.

Take a pound out of the slicks and see if it does anything. You might need to put another 1/2 pound back in if it hooks or take a half out if she still won't hook as hard.

There are also two schools of thought on the front end.
1) 90/10 shocks to keep the front end up. This helps to prop up crappy tires.

2) suspension limiters. These help transfer weight faster, and will shock the tires more, but if you have enough tire, then you'll definitely leave harder.