Drag suspension help... help me lower my ET .. pics

[Zapp109]

Wondering if anyone has some tips on setting up my suspension. I have UPR pro series front coilover suspension including anti-rollbar and adjustable control upper/lower arms.. I am running a ls6 vett motor with th400 trans 4k stall. I believe it has 4cyl springs in the rear. I noticed when i sit in it the car leans a bit to the drivers side and im not fat... So any tips on setting this thing up properly? Im running 275/60/15 MT ET Streets. Slips are 1 NA pass and the other 2 on a 100 shot... but my converter isnt liking the extra power so i need to upgrade soon.

 

[1991notchbackLX]

Love the car man. The problem is it looks like you have $20k in a drivetrain and 25 cents in a suspension to put the power to the ground. Dude, you clicked off a 10.3 @ 134 on stock 4 cylinder springs??? That's a DEEP 9 second car scaled with the right suspension under it.

How about listing the suspension components in the car now and then we can go from there.

 

[Zapp109]

wish i knew everything done to it exactly. I bought the car with the suspension done, so i can only go by what i can tell and what was told to me. But heres what i know

..........................REAR..............................
8.8 out of a newer mustang
Rear disc brakes
355 gears
Yukon axles
Yukon Diff
.........................suspension..............................
AJE K-member
AJE A-arms
Coil overs in front with Lakewood struts
Lakewood rear shocks
Flaming river Manuel rack
UPR outer tie rods and adjusters
Wolf anti-roll bar
Adjustable control arms upper and lower
Sub frame connectors

10pt cage

I cant tell the springs in the rear dont say anything on them unless im missing it somewhere.. I just know they feel soft so i guessed 4cyl. and the rear control arms i cant tell what they are exactly either. but they are boxed and have 2 holes on the bottom .. imma try to get a pic

 

[Zapp109]

 

[Sharad]

looks like southside control arms.

You need to switch to UPR Pro Series suspension and don't look back! I went a 1.39 60' time with this suspension and a little less mph than your car makes. The UPR stuff flat out WORKS! (plus it has a lifetime guarantee)

1979-2004 Ford Mustang Pro Series Chrome Moly Rear Suspension Kit - UPR Products

 

[90lxcoupe]

are those control arms welded to the lower shock mount? If so thats all wrong for the southsides. Either way, get rid of those southside lowers, they work well on a 12 second car, but they are too aggressive for what you are running and will cause you nothing but problems.

Without knowing what springs are in the front its hard to five any advice on that, but a 12"-150 is what i would use. Also invest in a set of strange 10 way adjustables front and rear. I think for the rear suspension a set of team z relocated uppers and double adjustable uppers would work well with that setup, and a stock set of GT springs.

This is all advice ive gotten for my personal setup and i feel like our cars are pretty similar. also check these threads out if you wanna make your head spin with suspension talk. Read them 2 or 3 times, its alot to take in.

Lots of info here
Now lets really talk suspension! - Hardcore 5.0 - The Hardcore Ford Drag Racers Forum

Springs...
Who's swapped from 150lb to 130lb coilovers? - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum

More good info here, i think this one really applies to you
how fast are Mega bite jrs good for? - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum

 

[Zapp109]

Thanks for the info, I have a message in with the original owner about the rear springs and control arms to find out for sure, BUT the front springs are 150# i thought they were 14" .. i have to jack it up and take a peek to double check the length but im positive they are 150s.

 

[Cobra912]

are those control arms welded to the lower shock mount? If so thats all wrong for the southsides. Either way, get rid of those southside lowers, they work well on a 12 second car, but they are too aggressive for what you are running and will cause you nothing but problems.

Without knowing what springs are in the front its hard to five any advice on that, but a 12"-150 is what i would use. Also invest in a set of strange 10 way adjustables front and rear. I think for the rear suspension a set of team z relocated uppers and double adjustable uppers would work well with that setup, and a stock set of GT springs.

This is all advice ive gotten for my personal setup and i feel like our cars are pretty similar. also check these threads out if you wanna make your head spin with suspension talk. Read them 2 or 3 times, its alot to take in.

Lots of info here
Now lets really talk suspension! - Hardcore 5.0 - The Hardcore Ford Drag Racers Forum

Springs...
Who's swapped from 150lb to 130lb coilovers? - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum

More good info here, i think this one really applies to you
how fast are Mega bite jrs good for? - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum

I said that's pretty bang on IMO ^^^

 

[Zapp109]

Yea thanks thats really what i needed to read.. I think a good start is going to be change my front springs from the 14" to the 12" 150#... Then change my rear lower control arms either to UPR adjustable or mega bite jr... and change the spring any idea on rear spring?

 

[Cobra912]

I'd go coil overs if you can swing it but I went with moroso drag springs, adjustable arms with adjustable spring perches and adjustable uppers. Setting pinion angle for me made a huge difference as well. I consistently bang off 1.50-1.52 60 fts

 

[Zapp109]

I'd go coil overs if you can swing it but I went with moroso drag springs, adjustable arms with adjustable spring perches and adjustable uppers. Setting pinion angle for me made a huge difference as well. I consistently bang off 1.50-1.52 60 fts

what kind of lower arms did you go with that had the adjustable perches?? I had granettali or however it spelled on my old 89 gt and they seemed a bit sketchy i didnt trust them but they worked for a stiff suspension setup

 

[90lxcoupe]

Use a team Z double adjustable lower with a stock GT spring, the weight jackers can add pre-load into the suspension when you jack them up. Also, with the weight jackers there is no way to square the rear end, making it impossible to get the tire centered in the wheelwell.

With my MM weight jackers, the higher i went with the car the closer the tire was to the front of the fenderwell. When i switched to a slick, they rubbed really bad on the top end and my drag radials only had about a half inch of clearance when the car was set to the ride height i liked

 

[Sharad]

Yea thanks thats really what i needed to read.. I think a good start is going to be change my front springs from the 14" to the 12" 150#... Then change my rear lower control arms either to UPR adjustable or mega bite jr... and change the spring any idea on rear spring?

Definitely go with the UPR control arms rather than the mega bite jr. (I've run both) You don't want an arm with the relocation brackets on a Fox Body. The UPR Pro Series control arms are super simple but they work well.

 

[90lxcoupe]

Definitely go with the UPR control arms rather than the mega bite jr. (I've run both) You don't want an arm with the relocation brackets on a Fox Body. The UPR Pro Series control arms are super simple but they work well.

I agree with this to a point, not saying that there is anything wrong with the UPR stuff, but the team Z is a better design. They make the only double adjustable lowers that i know of so you do not have to remove the front bolt when making adjustments to square the rear in the car. Just loosen up the two jam nuts and make the arm the length you need it.

UPR

Team Z

Also, i think your car would benefit from thier relocated upper control arms. Thats something that you would have to talk to dave about to make 100% sure though

 

[Zapp109]

Yea i like the team z seems like a better allround product.. but UPR is great.. but team z just might be greater on this ..

 

[Sharad]

I agree with this to a point, not saying that there is anything wrong with the UPR stuff, but the team Z is a better design. They make the only double adjustable lowers that i know of so you do not have to remove the front bolt when making adjustments to square the rear in the car. Just loosen up the two jam nuts and make the arm the length you need it.

UPR

Team Z

Also, i think your car would benefit from thier relocated upper control arms. Thats something that you would have to talk to dave about to make 100% sure though

I like the idea of the lowers being double adjustabe... but from an engineering physics standpoint, I don't like the extra point of failure introduced by that teamz design though. (I suppose he wouldn't sell them if they break though?)

Anyway, the fastest stock suspension cars don't use that double adjustable style or the upper arm relocation.

Look at UPR, Wolfe, RaceCraft, even TeamZ. Their fastest guys use parts that all look very similar. I've been using UPR for almost ten years and have been very happy with it.

 

[90lxcoupe]

Anyway, the fastest stock suspension cars don't use that double adjustable style or the upper arm relocation.

Look at UPR, Wolfe, RaceCraft, even TeamZ. Their fastest guys use parts that all look very similar. I've been using UPR for almost ten years and have been very happy with it.

im pretty sure that strange housing in your car was designed by dave at team Z

I use UPR too, my whole front end is from them

You cant compare the guys suspension that are running sub 1.2 short times and 6 second passes with a 9 or 10 second car. The relocated uppers are designed to work on non mini tubbed cars to get the suspension geometry closer to where it needs to be because you cannot get the rear end low enough without mini tubbing the car. I kick myself for not buying them

There are alot of varibles here though, you cant say, just go and use brand A or B and bolt on parts and expect things to work magically.

 

[Sharad]

im pretty sure that strange housing in your car was designed by dave at team Z

I use UPR too, my whole front end is from them

You cant compare the guys suspension that are running sub 1.2 short times and 6 second passes with a 9 or 10 second car. The relocated uppers are designed to work on non mini tubbed cars to get the suspension geometry closer to where it needs to be because you cannot get the rear end low enough without mini tubbing the car. I kick myself for not buying them

There are alot of varibles here though, you cant say, just go and use brand A or B and bolt on parts and expect things to work magically.

I'm not doubting you about the Strange housing, but this is the second one I've ordered from J.C., I've talked to him a million times, and he never mentioned Dave Zimmerman designing the housing. If it's true, I'd be mad if I was Dave. (I should ask him about it)

Also, I agree about not just issuing a blanket statement and expecting magic but I should mention my personal experience with a 9 or 10 second car.

Back in 2003, I ordered UPR Pro Series suspension for my 306/ATI P1SC/T-5/8.8/26x10 notchback. I laid the UPR arms next to the factory arms to approximate the proper length and I installed them that way without checking the pinion angle because I didn't have the proper tools to check it. I took the car to the track completely untested (first time with the entire combo) The car went 10.17 @ 132 with a 1.39 60' time on 26" tires. No relocation kit needed on that car.

 

[Green 94 5.0]

I can't even see how Team Z and UPR is a fair comparison. If I am buying suspension, Team Z is a no brainer. If I'm buying billet pedals and shift knobs, UPR is my company of choice. Just my opinion so feel free to flush it like the stinky turd that it is.

 

[stang&2Birds]

I suppose he wouldn't sell them if they break though?

Do a search on UPR on here and the corral.

Okay, time to talk about reality.
In reality, just about ALL of those types of companies have designs done by a machinist, or someone that has experience in manufacturing.

In reality, no one at those companies likely even has a clue what Finite Element Analysis is, or means. So, IMHO, most of those designs are "good luck SUCKER designs".


Again, in reality, from a profit point of view, it makes zero sense to have a top notch experienced Principal structural Mechanical Engineer on staff for over $100K/year and have a few hundred thousand of dollars in software. Heck how do you think things were done in the 50's -70's? Many of those designs were based on experience.


Note: There are a few companies that do have the income and sales (and respect) to have real structural mechanical engineers. But, those companies are the exception verses the rule.


*I* care about handling. That's why I use MM (Maximum Motorsports) stuff. MM has a very knowledgeable and experienced structural mechanical engineer that has the software and tools to do real design and analysis. WOW, what a concept!


So, please be VERY careful about ANY aftermarket component you put on your car! Some are down right MORONIC in their design. And, the company/execs are so *****ing *******, they won't even do cheap/simple/no-cost things to fix an otherwise VERY risky ****ed design.


Hey, you asked!