Rear suspension advice (drag)

brands5.0

Founding Member
Jun 25, 2001
577
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17
miami ,florida
hi guys it been a long time since i posted but i am back working on my new 88 peoject drag car .. After we build our car's we can all say if i had it to do over again we could have done it better or cheeper. well i am starting over again. Right now i have a clean 88 coupe that is striped down i have. it has a rebuilt 306 cleaned up heads an e cam and long tubes. I want to get it on the track so i am looking at seting up the rear suspension i want something solid i was thinking of going with coilovers and X2C race upper or lowers or would upr pro race set be much better my gole is to have a mid 10 track only car simple can some one point me in the right direction on this what the best set up thats easy to run???? Thanks brandon ill have lots of pics
 
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Before you spend your money on anything, read the tech pages on this site. http://www.baselinesuspensions.com/index.htm

Regardless of whether or not you purchase the particular products on this site, the suspension information behind the product development is correct. Pay attention to the importance of instant center with regards to an efficient launch. One can spend a lot of money on high quality racing control arms, however, if they are not set up with the correct rear geometry, their performance enhancing effects may be quite limited.

There are other products on the market which allow for changes the instant center such as Wild Rides Race Car's "S" box, adjustable 4-link brackets, and other rear upper control arm systems like those offered by Baseline Suspensions.
 
rear susp

I agree with AutoX on Rear Suspension Geometry. However, purchasing the proper components make that a much easier reality. A coil-over set-up is a much more efficient package for Drag Racing IMO. Also try this web site:

www.teamzmotorsports.com

They handle chassis and susp work for some of the hottest rides in the NMRA and FFW both. The guys name is Dave Zimmerman. He took me from a 1.73 60ft to a 1.41 60 ft only working on the rear susp.

Good luck
 
Good upper/lower control arms are essential. Poly at both ends is bad, but if it won't see street use, then that's not really a big deal. use good oem gt springs in the back, with some good solid shocks, or adjustable shocks, throw an airbag in the rt rear spring, maybe both. Use 4 banger springs up front. My buddy has the 4 banger struts/springs in front, gt springs in back, airbag in back, and control arms, he's running a mid 12 notch, and recently had to install a bump steer kit too. You want as much weight transfer to the rear that's possible, but a firm suspension back there that won't squat when all the weight is transferred to it. Take the front sway bar off.
 
i like the baseline and team z stuff . do you think it would be a wast of money i dont know if i need that hard core stuff. But i do only want to buy this stuff once. also the a kit like the team z or base. with so many adjustments to make how hard would it be to get the car right i am not a pro i guess what i am asking is would i get the same ruslts running reg. U&L and and some good 50/50 and in front 90/10. or go team z and coilovers??
 
brands5.0 said:
do you think it would be a wast of money i dont know if i need that hard core stuff. But i do only want to buy this stuff once. also the a kit like the team z or base. with so many adjustments to make how hard would it be to get the car right i am not a pro i guess what i am asking is would i get the same ruslts running reg. U&L and and some good 50/50 and in front 90/10. or go team z and coilovers??

Well, at least with Baseline Suspensions, Kevin Slaby will give you the right adjustment specs when you place your order and give him the pertanent vehicle data...so it's not like you are on your own to try to figure it out.

I'm looking at your combo...you've got a lot tied up in the engine, but you'll need at least that much put into the chassis and suspension to put that power efficiently to the pavement. You don't have to be a professional to reap the benefits of good parts. If you've done your shopping around, the hardcore race parts really aren't that much more expensive than the "hobbiest" level, street performance parts. My advice is to steer clear of control arms with polyurethane bushings on a sub-11 sec. car...God forbid you get a little "squirrelly" on the track. The snap oversteer that can occur at speed occurs far more violently with the polyurethane bushings. If you must use polyurethane bushings, find control arms with a spherical bearing on one end to reduce suspension bind, and grease fittings for the poly bushings.

The idea of double adjustable coil-overs is an excellent idea. That way, you can adjust the shock/strut combo for 90/10, 80/20, 60/40, whatever, so you can best put the energy toward forward movement, not upward movement. Weight transfer is important, but not if the front end lifts. You've overshot in that case. The vast majority of the time I've seen a front end lift, the racer lost the run.