WheelsUp84z

iTrader: (2)

well here's the brake down of what i have:

Pa racing tubular k-member, a-arms
Front Coilovers with 275# springs
Adj caster/camber plates
spohn adj PHB
spohn adj LCA's with relocation Brackets
spohn th-400 crossmember with adj Tq Arm
Stock z28 rear springs
QA1 12 way adj rear shocks
car is setup right now for an afr headed 10.8:1 383 on spray, ptc4000 stall th400 and a ford 9" with 3.89 gears.
Wheels are MT ET drag series with 3.5" fronts with DS-2's and rears are 10" with 28x11.5 QTP's

Do you think its absolutley necessary to go with adjustable fronts or will something like a lakewoon 90/10 work good enough? What exactly does the adjustability on a front shock do? change the rate of expansion/compression? Just wondering what some of the more serious guys are doing for shocks out there. Thanks

MrDude_1

the lakewood 90/10s work good enough.

if you drive the car alot (commute) expect to replace them once a year.. they wear out fast.. but otherwise they work good.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

I've had my lakewoods for quite a fw years S/S with them and they're still working as good now as they did when i bought them.

Only thing to keep in mind is sometimes having the front end pop up too quickly can be a bad thing since it's possible to unload the rear tires when it pops up as quickly as they do with the common 90/10 set-ups. Most folks, have no issues with them, but some I know personally have and they ended up going back to a stock strut/shock since it's a slower progression to full extension it allows some time for the rear end to load and stay loaded before the front end starts coming down again. Often times when running 90/10's and decent hp..which is sounds like you have, the front end will pop up, tend to lift the front tires off the track breifly,and then come back down. It's when it comes back down the strut compresses and for that breif moment it will want to unload the rear tires until it rehooks and extends the front end again, which now is'nt a big deal since your up and running so it's not wanting to pull the front end off the ground the second time it hooks.

just be aware so if they do cause problems, you know how to correct it-slow down extension rate.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

What about the 70/30 struts? Wont pop up as fast as the 90/10's but still be better than stockers, right?

5678TA

i run 90/10's.. street/strip.. drives just like a stocker.. but i can really see the strip part of the strut when i bumb the clutch at a stop light.. it lifts pretty quickly and doesnt settle completely down till i start going again..

WheelsUp84z

iTrader: (2)

thats kind of why i was looking to get some adjustables for the front, so i can tune the front depending on how the track is hooking and how the car is reacting. The car isnt really put together at all but i'm just getting opinions for the "last" part of the suspension. I still have to order my wolfe rear anti-roll bar too. The car will make somewhere around 440-450 on motor and add another 150 or so to nitrous coming out of the hole, so im sure all that power with a good suspension and a 3000lb car will pull the wheels decently easy, though i'd much rather hook and go....wheelies are cool if thats all the car is made to do, i'd rather have ET!

IHI

iTrader: (1)

I dont mean to scare you away from 90/10's, hell, they're still working in my car just fine and we're making over 600hp N/A on a small tire with consistant 60's and winning races. I was just letting folks know they're not always a good thing and "can" create problems under certain circumstances. Just like 70/30's could be a problem by not letting the car get on the tire quick enough and cause problems that waay too.

90/10's driving like a stocker....I hope you mean stock class car in racing, cuz they sure dont drive like OEM struts LOL!! First time i drove my car after swapping struts I was like WTF...no mater what I did the front end wanted to fully extend ANYTIME I gave it gas to leave a stop light, accelerate coming out of a corner in the neighborhood, etc...

IHI

iTrader: (1)

I figured the extra 100hp and goobs more torque I had with the new 427 over the old 388 would do the same....nah, leaves just the same as ever..I was hoping for bigger wheelies too LOL!!! but got screwed.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

that's what I'm worried about if I want to go drive the car around. Guess I can always switch struts out when switching to the street gears for winter. Picked up a center section with 3.50 gears a couple months back, should make it a bit nicer for street and highway.

IHI

iTrader: (1)

Like anything, there is a trade off. Now that Im used to it I dont think anything of it and have just changed my driving habits to adjust to different struts. but it reacts nothing like a stocker at all, reacts much quicker.

WheelsUp84z

iTrader: (2)

i was thinking of doing that too since im running a th-400. You're running a 9" right? i was wondering if you could pull the tq arm bracket with the tq arm attached to it off all at once? (running spohn adj tq arm / tranny x member combo) or if i had to unbolt the tq arm and then pull off the bracket, because the way it sits, there's no way the center section is coming off or on with the bracket in the way.

mod313

An alternative to non adjustable 90/10's are the Koni SPA-1's. You can set them full loose for the strip then adjust them stiffer for street driving.

jbenge

iTrader: (2)

I'm running Koni SPA-1 adjustable struts. They really aren't that bad on the street especially if you adjust them to a stiffer setting. Kinda makes it ride like a caddy instead of a sports car. It definately doesn't handle all that great with the trick springs and 90/10's but I wouldn't consider it dangerous unless you decide to drive it like an autocross car. I wouldn't want a daily driver set up that way but for a weekend cruiser its just fine.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Yep, all I do is support the rear a bit since it likes to rotate without a torque arm in place. Then pull the two big bolts holding the torque arm bracket to the housing and let the whole arm and bracket swing down out of the way.

5678TA

just swapped gears a couple weeks ago.. did the exact same thing.. if you cant get the rotation you want(to put the bolts back on) put the jack under the panhard mount.. it will rotate a little more since you will pivot at the springs..

WheelsUp84z

iTrader: (2)

sweet that should be about a 30 min gear swap as i will have a spare centersection, most likely 3.42's or 3.55's on a factory chunk to put around, maybe even make a road trip in.. thats why i love ford 9"s!