91L31Lo3

i'm planning on back-halving the camaro... i was wondering if anyone on here has personal expeirence with any of the above rear suspension setups i know stock has that huge torque rod the goes from the rear end up to the transmission, it's an alright design but, not really for what i'm looking to do.. i also know 4 link is more for drag but, how is it on a road course? is there alot of binding going on when driven on the street? the 3 link on the other hand is more for road courses but, hows it on the strip? does it launch good? i'm basicly looking for the best of all worlds personaly i'm kinda leaning toward the 3 link, should i modify the torque rod design or should i just scrap that... i'm going to be making everything myself so i don't really want to go changing stuff once i'm done

also, i know alot about all of the above mentioned suspension plus more so if anyone has a question feel free to ask me

fenton06

to be completely honest, the torque arm that came stock will probably be the best bet for all around performance, and it does just fine on the strip and the twistys

91L31Lo3

i know what your saying but, the back halve is going to end up being a full perimeter frame and i can be running around with a stock suspension, I'm going to have all that rigidity for a good suspension, i have to put it too work

car_fixer

what are your goals? a parallel 4 can work in road racing, dont think it would fare well at the strip, 3 link great road race, bad strip setup. whats the plan here?

AlkyIROC

You're conflicting in what you want. You want a suspension that's good on the dragstrip and on the road course and you want to back half the car. You're not going to find a happy medium.

Back halving means you're going for really big tires and those won't do any good on the road course. It also means you're willing to change the rear suspension to a 4-link or ladder bar setup since cutting out the entire rear section of the floor removes all the points for stock style suspension. (See my thread to doing a back half project)

Keep what you currently have. Upgrade to an aftermarket adjustable torque arm, panhard bar, LCA and relocation brackets. That will give you the best all around performance.

91L31Lo3

I'm more of a road race guy, but, how would it be on the street? would i end up having any problem with it on the street
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back halving isn't just for straight line racing

car_fixer

A drag race 4 link would be junk on a road course. it will bind and be un predictable, a torque arm woks good for road raceing, and a three link can work ok for road race, however a sprung or bushed 3 link will absaloutely suck on a drag strip, and probably wheel hop like crazy since the rear would be so wound up, and it wont transfer weight to the rear tires well. how are you going to build the frame? round or square tube? big tires or normal tires?

91L31Lo3

now that was the kind of info i was looking for main frame rail will be 3x2 square and i was thinking 23.5x11.5-16 tire

car_fixer

23? or do you mean 32? ...and you want to road race, well performance drive this in curves? here is what i would do. go to a local scca race, look at what they have. most american iron\a sedan cars use a torque arm, even the mustangs, why becuse it works. I think it is better than a conventional 3 link since the roll axis is lower (well its actually going to have several diffrent points of roll but ill explain a little) a conventional 3 link is mounted on top of the axle quite high, the body will want to piviot on that high point, making it basically top heavy, a torque arm is mounted low where it attaches to the body therefore lowereing the piviot point, yes the track locator device does have some input too(panhard bar watts link, wishbone etc.) using a long torque arm will keep the car more setteled in turns when getting on and off the throttle, since you want to modify the chassis, make the lower arms as long as possible, that will help with wheel hop under brakeing, a torque arm is going to be the most versitile setup, a 4 link of any sort weather parallel or set up like a drag car will wear an the street, even using urathane rod ends it will wear and have alot of stress on it that it wouldnt see at either track. you can build it with 2 anti roll bars 1 for street/twistys, and another ultra stiff one for drag strip use. this is a major project, and there are alot of things to consider, and some engineering tasks that arent to be taken lightly. Build a road race car and hope you can get it to work on a drag strip, thats the best scenario for that. it still wont be great at anything but it would be mostly streetable

car_fixer

check out art morrisons stuff he has 3 4 and i dont know what back half frame rail kits check them out

Norm Peterson

Actually, a car with a 3-link doesn't want to roll about either end of its its single upper arm (unless you're thinking of a triangulated "wishbone" sort of upper link with two chassis pickups - or a tubular/boxed upper with poly in both ends). Think closer to PHB height instead, just like it is for the OE torque arm/PHB arrangement. Unless the 3rd link's bushings are solid (or nearly so), they will simply squish the three or four degrees necessary when the chassis rolls in a turn. The use of rod ends/Johnny-joints/poly-***** instead of OE-style cylindrical bushings will firm a 3rd link up against wheel hop without getting in the way of the cornering requirements (IOW, developing "bind").

FWIW, the last generation of stick axle Trans-Am cars used a 3-link/PHB. And Sam Strano - long associated with F-bodies - cleaned up this year out at Topeka in an F-Stock car that runs a 3-link/PHB. The Pro-Solo event includes a dragstrip-style start.

The 3-link actually has the potential for easier anti-squat tuning (launch) without screwing up the roll steer (handling). Just that you need to provide some pivot point adjustments for that 3rd link. IMO, that and a less obvious suspension effect makes the 3-link technically superior to the torque arm, if only slightly so. It's as good as it gets for the "simple" stick axle suspension arrangements.


Norm

car_fixer

I was refering to a wishbone style upper link, however i didnt make that clear, and i also reccommended the torque arm , as did nearly everyone, why one wants to use that large a wheel/tire and expect it to do everything i dont know, but to each his own and i hope he enjoys the hell out of whatever he does.

91L31Lo3

ok well i decided to do a three link most sactioning bodies the don't require chassis mods at all. if it is done, done to there specs. i still want to change it as for the torque arm it's too much unsprung wieght. those are just the tires i have in the garage i was looking at them next to the car they are a little big. i beleive they are for a f-1 car. also i understand there is a lot of detail in the project the only thing that going to be stock is the body when i'm done.