drag racing suspension setup

[BLLDOGG]

first off, im ganna say that i dont know anything about suspension. so, if you read this topic, your ganna read some stupid questions. alright, this is what im hoping you guys can tell me cause i cant find out any were else. im setting up my car for drag racing and i need to drive this car every day. ride quality isnt really an issue and i would like better handling than i have now, but the main issue is that i want to have a setup that is good at the strip. can you guys tell me what the best shock and spring combo is and what other suspension products will help me and what products will help with handling but not effect my drag racing and products that will interfer and what it will do. also, give me any info about specifics like bushings and stuff. i know the fisrt person is ganna say that i need to search, but the thing is and im just not finding what i need to know. can you guys help?

[Arctc Wolf]

anything u do to beef up the rear suspension will help ur drag racing. most noticable mods will be lca's, torque arm, and sfc's. traction will improve, and so will cornering.

[BLLDOGG]

what is the best street driving/ drag shock/spring setup?

[ April 03, 2004, 04:36 AM: Message edited by: BLLDOGG ]

[BLLDOGG]

anyone?

[FbodTrek]

street driving/ Drag shock/Spring setup???
First off, if you want maximum traction at the track, it's gonna make for a ****ty drive through the twisties. The idea is to transfer as much weight/torque to the back of the vehicle when you launch. The easiest way to do this is with LCAs, Relocation brackets, a good stout torque arm and some really soft rear springs. It would also be beneficial to ditch the front swaybar and lossen the rate on the rear one. Car should steer like a Cadillac now....or not. Lowered cars tend to get worse traction than ones with a stock setup, so keep that in mind. An "all-around" handling setup is the stock one, there's a reason people in GM's R&D ept. make 100,00$ a year. Tune in next post, I'll tell you how to make it good through the twisties......

[12secondv6]

I run:
stock v6 springs
stock shocks in rear
hal 12 way adjustable in front
v8 rear sway bar
no front sway bar
hotchkis trailing arms boxed
hotchkis pan hard rod
rk sport tubular sub frames
random tech adjustable torque arm
poly torque arm mount
poly tranny mount
pa racing mild steel drag k member
pa racing mild steel lower a arms

i think that is it

[FbodTrek]

NOW, for "street" handling:
Keep the front swaybar (maybe upgrade to a "V8" one). Increase the size of your rear swaybar as well (although you'll want it smaller than the front one...). Now, go ahead and add some LCAs, they actually do help cornering a bit (and they help keep the wheels on the ground). A good stiff panhard bar does wonders. Strut tower braces make some difference. Sub frame connectors are amazing. Upgrade to poyurethane bushings on your panhard bar, sway bars and endlinks.

[Rob@USC]

Originally posted by FbodTrek:
NOW, for "street" handling:
Keep the front swaybar (maybe upgrade to a "V8" one). Increase the size of your rear swaybar as well (although you'll want it smaller than the front one...). Now, go ahead and add some LCAs, they actually do help cornering a bit (and they help keep the wheels on the ground). A good stiff panhard bar does wonders. Strut tower braces make some difference. Sub frame connectors are amazing. Upgrade to poyurethane bushings on your panhard bar, sway bars and endlinks.

I'm no expert in suspension, but I noticed a few things in this post I want to point out. First off, the v8 has the same front sway as us v6's (unless I'm mistaken). Also, if you do upgrade your sway bars, you MUST get different springs and shocks (not in the 'must' like it won't fit, this is the 'must' as in if you don't your car will handle like sh**). I'm not going to say what bars and springs to get (they need to be matched), I don't know enough to tell you. I've heard you should probably call Sam Strano www.stranoparts.com or talk to someone who knows their stuff about suspensions (what I plan to do when I finally upgrade that).

Basically, you need to make sure everything you put on matches and goes together very well - if you don't you could make your car handle dangerously.

(sorry this wasn't really help, just a warning)

[12secondv6]

V8's (non WS6's and SS's) and v6's have the same 30 mm front sway bar
ws6's and SS's get a 32 mm front sway bar

[Arctc Wolf]

ok, some of the things said in here so far need clarification.

Fbodtrek, the reason lowered cars usually get worse traction is because of spring rate and lca angle. stiffer springs allow less weight transfer to the rear, meaning less weight to push the rear tires into the ground, meaning less traction. also, if the lower control arms are angled in this direction \, then they're helping push the rear tires into the ground. stockride height cars have the lca's angled this way. lowered cars cause the lca angle to go like this /, allowing the wheels to come up off the ground easier. relocation brackets help this, even on stock cars, because the more the lca is angled to the ground, the better traction ur gonna get.

Rob@USC, swaping springs and shocks w/ swaybars isn't a "must". I swapped in 1LE swaybars w/ my stock V6 springs, and it helped my handling and traction both. yes, to get the most out of ur combo, u'll wanna tune everything to each other to get every ounce of cornering or traction out of it u can.

now, to throw all this together. bigger rear swaybar will help u get more traction since it'll help keep the rear axle from twisting as much(meaning it'll help keep both tires planted). I'd get a swaybar set front and rear so that u don't mess up the car's cornering characteristics. so if u get the 1LE rear swaybar, get the front too so that it balances out somewhat, the same goes w/ BMR or ne1 else. stock V6 springs are soft enough for a streetable drag setup while still being able to corner decently. serious drag racers will throw air bags in each rear spring to help launch more solidly w/o as much axle twist(same idea as the bigger rear swaybar I talked about above).

there's a bunch more, but let this info simmer and sink in first b4 i go ne farther.

[BLLDOGG]

thanks for your help guys. i love all the detail. i need to learn some how. keep it coming. i'll just keep reading this to learn everything. just try to tell me everything you know.

[BLLDOGG]

also, can you guys give me details about what r the best brands for things and just specifics. like tubular or square tubes...things like that. just everything you guys can tell me will help

[FbodTrek]

I know this^. As for the V8 sway VS V6 sway, they are WAY different with thirdgen cars (which I happen to build suspension setups for). I have a 36 MM front sway on my V6, it came with a 30. My rear was an 18 mm, i have a 23mm. My car outcorners every car I've ever driven (I work at a dealership, day job). I've driven many 4th gens and alot of cars with "sport" suspension setups. I assumed the V6 and V8 4thgens came with diff. size swaybars.

[speedy-v6-camaro]

HAL shocks are good because they are adjustable (quickly) so you can get good driving in the corners when you stiffen up the shocks and good drag when you loosen them up.

[BLLDOGG]

ok, what would be the best first drag/street suspension mod??? details please