lowering vs. 1/4 mile times...

[stangliter04]

Do you guys think with the suspension mods I have in my sig it will hurt my 1/4 mile times??? (not that they are fast anyway but just wondering)

 

[ToplessStang]

Your setup is pretty much like what I have on my car. I run on the stock GoodYear tires. Didn't change my 60ft to much. My best with stock suspension was 2.037 and my best with the suspension change is 2.042. It's worth it in my book.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Any time you lower, or stiffen your suspension, you're going to hurt your quarter mile times. It may be a little, it may be a lot. How much, depends on how extreme your set up is.

 

[tonys5.0]

Any time you lower, or stiffen your suspension, you're going to hurt your quarter mile times. It may be a little, it may be a lot. How much, depends on how extreme your set up is.

Why does lowering or suspension stiffening hurt your quarter mile times?

 

[DocG]

My best guess would be you want soft suspension in the back so the weight will transfer more.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Why does lowering or suspension stiffening hurt your quarter mile times?

My best guess would be you want soft suspension in the back so the weight will transfer more.

Exactly....soft in the rear end, so the car "squats" on launch and loose in the front end, so the springs extend and it comes up when you nail it. If it's too stiff all the way around, you get neither of these and the car does nothing but buff ash vault.

 

[Jackie Chan]

it all depends on the dynamics of the suspension. weight transfer to the extreme doesnt always mean better 60's. I have cut mid 1.8s on street tires in my cobra with a slammed susp.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

it all depends on the dynamics of the suspension. weight transfer to the extreme doesnt always mean better 60's. I have cut mid 1.8s on street tires in my cobra with a slammed susp.

Just think about how much better you could have done with softer springs.

 

[tomustang]

Just think about how much better you could have done with softer springs.

it's more about the shocks, the rear springs don't have too much of a difference since it's a live axle in the back, some rear springs run progressivly lower than stock springs, up to around 300lb

stock: 210
steeda sport: 200-250

you can't really get alot stiffer in the rear

 

[DropTopPony]

you can't really get alot stiffer in the rear

you keep your stiffness away from my rear!

 

[steveb24]

would lca's solve any of this problem..jw cause i have the h&r ss setup with lca's..which i love

 

[steveb24]

and i know lca's are supposed to "plant" the rear more on the ground

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Contrary to popular belief, going with a set of LCA's don't necessarily translate to better 60ft times. Truth be told, LCA's are actually going to hurt you in the first 60ft on street tires. Great for use on a car running a stiff chassis and slicks, but not so great on your average stocker.

The problem being, is that there is next to no flex because of their rigid construction and hard durometer rubber, urethane or solid bushings. This is great for consistency and getting all of the power to the pavement, but getting all of that power to the pavement right off the bat isn’t always a good thing. Unfortunately the power soaking stock arms that are often responsible for unpredictable 60ft times are also great for absorbing that initial "shock" that's realized through the rear end when one comes off the line and often breaks the tires loose. Without the springy stock arms in place to do this, the forgiveness that you would normally get, isn’t going to be there.

Bottom line…..if you’re going to build your rear suspension for drag racing, then actually build it to drag race. Many have tried the multi purpose route, or putting in the odd part here and there because some buddy of theirs said it would help, but in the end the only real winners at the strip are going to be the ones that were purpose built to do just that.

 

[Black Stang 97]

you keep your stiffness away from my rear!

LMAO!!!!!

 

[Mike97gt]

Contrary to popular belief, going with a set of LCA's don't necessarily translate to better 60ft times. Truth be told, LCA's are actually going to hurt you in the first 60ft on street tires. Great for use on a car running a stiff chassis and slicks, but not so great on your average stocker.

The problem being, is that there is next to no flex because of their rigid construction and hard durometer rubber, urethane or solid bushings. This is great for consistency and getting all of the power to the pavement, but getting all of that power to the pavement right off the bat isn’t always a good thing. Unfortunately the power soaking stock arms that are often responsible for unpredictable 60ft times are also great for absorbing that initial "shock" that's realized through the rear end when one comes off the line and often breaks the tires loose. Without the springy stock arms in place to do this, the forgiveness that you would normally get, isn’t going to be there.

Bottom line…..if you’re going to build your rear suspension for drag racing, then actually build it to drag race. Many have tried the multi purpose route, or putting in the odd part here and there because some buddy of theirs said it would help, but in the end the only real winners at the strip are going to be the ones that were purpose built to do just that.

Agreed. when I have the money I will build up the rest of my suspension. in fact I considered waiting to install my control arms untill I get some sticky tires, build the rear end and springs.

 

[Chili]

My best with my stock suspension, last October, was 8.64.. Over the winter I went to Sportlines with CC plates and the bumpsteer kit, and switched from the stock 8" wheels in the rear to 10.5". No other changes were made (see mods in sig). I went out yesterday, in warmer weather and higher humidity, and pulled an 8.71 with a comperable 60 (1.89 in October, 1.90 yesterday).

The drop didn't have as much effect as I expected it to. I expected to be stuck in the 8.8's to 8.9's.