For you guys that autocross and road race, what can you recommend for a full suspension setup? I am going to be running my car in autocross and try to do the silverstate a couple of times. Please keep in mind that this will also be a daily driver. I can live with a stiffer suspension.
I am getting ready to install full poly-graphite bushings in the front end, and the rear already has poly-urethane bushings in the pieces I will be keeping.
I plan for now to install 36mm frt sway bar, 28mm rear sway bar, adj panhard bar, tubular rear lca's, adj torque arm, I am interested in running eibach springs, and bilstein shocks and struts as I have heard that they work in conjunction to build matched components.
I will be installing sfc's, and a 8 point roll cage to help stiffen the chassis.
I also plan to keep the factory front lca's, I am having a set powder-coated. Other than that, I am open to any and all suggestions.
Thanks to all who reply.

 

Anyone??

BTW, I have changed to a six point cage from the eight.

 

well 28mm rear bar seems a little big. alot of people for road racing say 24mm. (1le bar). but that combo will still have some understeer, you might try a 25mm.

you may also want to look into adj. sway bar end links (www.ground-control.com) and possibly their wieght-jacked adj. spring kit.

i would also try to get in on the next run of HMS sturt mounts (sorry it is too early for me to do a search for the link, just search for HMS )

you will also want to check the auto-x rool book on what modifications are allowed. if you are installing SFC's if i remeber right you are put into a modified class for auto-x.

 

http://www.ground-control.com/

if you didnt already figure it out.

 

DOH

that is what i get for not reading my post before i hit submit.

 

What exactly does their wieght jacked adjustable spring kit do. I found it on their sight but didnt find a good explanation of it.

Ben

 

Weight jackers are strictly for setting wedge. Wedge is used for circle track racing to get a car to push or run more loose in only one turning direction. It will distribute more of the cars weight to either the (RF and LR )or to the (LF and RR) tires and will allow for chassis rotation. You don't need this for what you are doing.

If I can give some advice about the Silverstate Classic, the best two things you can do are lighten your car as much as possible and buy a very good set of roadrace tires. Most people that have died at this event have been a result of tire delamination. You'll be running high top speeds in a heavy car for 45 mins across a hot desert road, thats murder on tires.

 

I learned my lesson early in life with my previous firebird. I had just had a killer engine installed and not 6 days earlier picked it up from having a six point cage installed. Too bad I skimped on tires, although being young and dumb I trusted the word of the guy that sold me the tires. He said they were Z-rated, They had a Z in the name. They were not. I don't remember the accident, but the Highway Patrol estimated I was travelling at about 130-135 when one of the front tires blew out.
I remember hearing a loud bang and the car going hard right on a deserted stretch of Kansas Highway. I overcorrected as the car went sideways back to the left, that's the last thing I remember. What the KHP could tell me was that the car went sideways and caught air, rolled several times, and stopped in the middle of the highway, crumpled. I thank *** for having the cage, it saved my life. I walked away bruised and battered, but no permanent damage and no broken bones.
Back to the original point, I will definitely have at least Z-rated tires for the Silver State, if not flat out racing tires. I've learned a bit about speed ratings since then. BTW, not only did he tell me they were Z-rated, he wrote it on the receipt. Too bad the speed rating was right there on the sidewall for my lawyer to see. Got me a noce little settlement that paid for the car, everything I had done to it, and a little pain and suffering. Although the judge ripped me a new one for driving so fast on a public, albeit deserted, roadway. The only part of the car I salvaged was the radio. Even the engine was damaged, it actualle broke loose from the frame leaving the mount connected to the frame.

I don't think I will be using weight jackers, this will still be a street car, and I will be racing in more than circles.

 

I wouldn't say that the expert is me - I never formally raced my Camaro, but the setup is very similar to a lot of the competitive cars out there (that do race).

First it depends if you want to replace stock suspension pieces with race-style bolt-in parts, or if you want to go all-out (weight jacks, coil-overs...).

In the stock replacement department, I can help you 100%. Most every suspension tuner will tell you that the third gens need a very stiff spring in the front (700-800lbs/in), and that the 36mm front bar is a good idea (though some prefer a smaller set of bars). They will also tell you to lower the car about 1" (any more and you lose travel and bottom out, less than 1", the center of gravity is too high). They will also tell you to get weld-in subframe connectors, poly bushings for the sway bars & end links, tubular panhard & rear control arms, HD TQ arm, and adjustable shocks/struts. You may also want to upgrade to 275-40-17 rubber at all 4 corners too.

The part of the car that there is some confusion is the rear suspension setup - namely springs and sway bars. If you drive always on the gas, you should go soft (small bar and less stiff springs). If you are less inclines to be in the gas, you may want to go with thicker bars and stiffer springs. Keep in mind that third gens do not have the rearend control of an independent suspension, so make it too stiff and you will kick the rear out over turns too easy (and maybe wreck the car). I suggest you go soft and adjust your shcoks to keep it from floating like a buick.

One thing to remember about high speeds is the fact that heat build up kills tires and makes for failures. You have to inflate tires to very high pressures at very high speeds or tires will fail (I'm talking 40+ psi here). A lot of people who have tires fail at high speed events can trace their problems to underinflated tires. Another thing that kills tires at high speeds is laod, at 150+ mph sustained speeds, you cannot go over 50% of the tire's rated load and expect it to last. Most of the untra fast cars (190+ mph) in the top speed races use huge tires (higher load capacity) and are very lightweight (mostly for tire conservation). That is why a lot of production cars like the Lambos are geared for only 200, if they went faster the tires would disintegrate (they weigh 3700+ lbs!). The F1 McLaren only weighs 2500lbs and runs even bigger tires, making it a lot faster in top end.

Z rated tires are not good enough, go for the 186+ mph rated (W or Y rated) ones - Michelin Pilots and PZeros are rated for that type of speed. The extra capacity may save your butt.

If you do decide to go for one of the top speed race, you will have to re-evaluate you car's cooling system - and not just the radiator. I'm talking a huge trans cooler (if its an auto), power sterring cooler, huge engine oil coller, and a rearend cooler. You will have things fail if you have engine oil and rearend fluid like water.

 

Thanks Paul. You brought up a few things I had neglected to think about. Like additional coolers. I was already planning on a larger trans cooler, and an engine oil cooler. Didn't even think about steering or the rear end.

As far as speed class, for now I am probably going to stick to about 160 or 170 and lower. With the engine I am getting, not sure if it would pull much higher than that with a built 700r4 and 3.83 gears. BTW, I am trying to get a Golen Engine Services 430 HP 383 stroker.

I just want to run the Silver State a couple of times just to have fun and to say I did it. After that probably stick to auto cross and road racing on closed tracks. But even for auto cross the steering cooler is a good idea.