I have searched a bit and didn't come up with anything i was looking for.

I have pretty much finished up the drivetrain in my car and I know I need to give my suspension some attention now.

So far I have 90/10's, 50/50 adj.'s. and a Spohn adj. Torque arm.

I know I need an 8 point roll bar and frame connectors pretty much before anything.

I guess my question is, What are the benefits of

- adj. control arms
- adj. panhard bar
- rear drag sway bar
- drag springs
-tubular components (for weight and strength i know)

Post up your E.T.'s, 60ft's and experiences with drag suspension parts.

 

I know the panhard is meant mostly for cars changing ride height. It will keep your rear end centered, thats about it.

Sway bar will make the rear suspension more "solid" You should also remove the front sway bar completely and save some weight.

Im not heavy into dragging, but just a couple of points i know.

 

I believe adjustable control arms are to move the axle either forward or backward. Panhard bar and drag sway bar have been explained. Drag springs carry more momentum to continually assist the lift of the front rather than being basically out of push too early. 6 point is regulation for 10.0-11.49, or rather 5 point, but you usually do even numbers for looks if nothing else. Items that made the biggest difference for me were LCA relocation brackets and rear shocks at 50/50. Everything I'm using is: drag shocks/struts front and rear, front drag springs, adjustable tq arm, LCA, and LCA relocators along with the 325/50/15 tires made for a 1.31 60' and a 9.55@ 140: http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...ent=track2.flv
I probably need a tougher sway bar if you see my launch against the red camaro, but I'm going to see what preloading the stocker does for me first.

 

When I was still running a factory style suspension, other than drag front struts and rear shocks, my suspension was relatively stock until I was into the 10's. V6 springs front and rear. Tubular adjustable panhard, LCA and torque arm with heim joints on all. LCARB are a tuning aid mainly required if the car is lowered. I didn't even have a rear sway bar installed.

You don't need a roll bar until 11.49 but SFC are a must in these unibody cars.

I put ladder bars in my car when I installed a 9" and now my car is back halved with a 4 link.

 

How fast are you looking to go?

 

im gona cut in this too. Im looking for 9.90's

I so far got lca's and the lowerig brackets front sway off 90/10s 50/50s body mount torque arm and thats it so far. im lookin at gettin some drag springs next but idk. im hookin like 1.75 60' on 275/50/15 mickey thomp et streets i know it will hook more in its fashion but i freakin havent much passes and the carb was choking up on launch.

 

Ive got

90/10 lakewoods / 10 inch 200# springs
mild steel tube K member
mild steel tube front control arms
coil over conversion front / rear
qa1 12 way adjustable rears / 10 inch 130# springs
rod end control arms chrome moly
control arm relocaters
spohn torque arm chrome moly rod end
wolfe racecraft panhard rod end /chrome moly
wolfe racecraft anti roll bar / chrome moly

-3 degree pinion angle, control arm in the lowest hole, shocks set between 5-7 depending on track condition, anti roll set neutral.

best 60ft 1.27
best et 9.13 (150 n20)
best mph 151

my car never hooked until I put a transbrake in, typical foot brake times were 1.5`s 60ft typical trans brake times are now low 1.3`s 60ft

 

Redoing the suspension with all the trick parts will not get you from 11.3 to 9.90.

You "might" break into the 10's by controlling wheel hop, traction and getting better weight transfer but you're not going to get anywhere near 9's without cutting out a lot of weight or making a lot more HP.

Your 60' times will need to get down into the 1.4's and you're not making enough torque to get the car off the line that quickly.

Your MPH and ET are very close to similar HP numbers. To get into the high 9's, you'll need to make close to 138 MPH. You can't make more HP with suspension changes.

 

^ this is true, you`ll need some HP to do it and whole bunch if you live where Stephen does!

 

I think you have two posts mixed up? I am not retarded. I know the difference between 9.90's and 11.30's. I'm looking for suspension upgrades because I want to maximize my car and E.t for what it is before I put on a 250 kit which I have sitting next to my car and ready to go on. If the car can't cut a 60' on motor it doesn't stand a chance to ever go 9.90's even with the kit.

I guess the two things I have narrowed my interest towards are the trick springs and also the benefits of coil overs.

GreezeMonkey, can you explain the benefits of both anymore?

 

the trick springs are long and store energy for the launch to maximize wieght transfer, downside is the things like the stockers are big time heavy, but for pure stock or extreme budget it works. Coilovers for the front at least allow ride hieght adjustment, several spring rates and free lengths avaliable and also are light wieght plus free up room under the front end.

what tire you looking to use? I`m sure you can get to the 1.5`s without spending much money at all.

 

Put the adjustable torque arm, tubular LCA and panhard bar, LCARB and SFC in and go racing. Everything else is tuning aids and won't help if you don't need them. I ran into the 9's still using stock springs, on 10.5" tires and never bothered with shock or suspension adjustments until I started using the 4-link.

When you start having problems or major inconsistencies at those speeds, then you can consider upgrading to something better.

 

hey man do you know how much these cars weigh in stock form i might be buying one that ive been buying parts from and am debating whether it is worth it for $200 because ive got a 600hp 600ftlb 461 to go in it im pushing 11.40 in a 4000lb short bed truck and i want to go faster but i dont know suat about these cars TIA

 

they are about 3300 to 3600 depending on year and options.

 

can anyone give me any advice on suspension upgrades for this thing in case i get it i run 11.40 in a truck with leaf springs so im a bit out of my league with trying to lay serious power to the ground with this Z28suspension and my wifes ss only puts out about 450hp so no problem but this Z28 is new to me with trying to put some power down TIA guys
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also this car will have everything out of it that i can get as it will be race only so that is why i was asking about weight

 

what would yall think about using lakewood lift bars on a car with adjustable lcas and adjustable torque arm. would they do any good or cancel each other out? also would a rear sway bar be necessary if using adjustable coilovers?

also: i didnt see a complete answer on adjustable control arms. what is the benefit here, loading the suspension? Moving the axle for and aft wouldnt really apply with the torque arm in place as it would limit that movement. lca adjustment would theoretically shift or rotate the axle using the torque arm as a pivot point?

 

The torque arm either has a sliding front mount or a shackle type mount, thus is does nothing to locate the rear forward or backward. Adjustable lca's are required for this, they also help equal out "inconsistencies" in unibody alignment. - The lakewood "traction action" bars are garbage - do a search there's tons of info on them. - Any type of a floating(can pivot at rear, not just front - ie ladder bars=non-floating) link suspension will require an anti-roll bar to minimize/eliminate body roll. Trying to properly a tune a suspension on a car that has body roll would be a nightmare, as you would be unable to consistently account for the load transfer, plus it's wasted energy.

As for the original post and the other who have asked - I agree with what has been said by most. Start in the back; Lca's, relocates, torque arm and decent shocks. I went 6.00's(1/8) on a completely stock front suspension(other than travel limiters) and had no problems what-so-ever.

fast82z - preloading my stock bar got me around .05 better 60' in my street vert(ran 1.66's). Plus, no torque stear coming out of the hole. Not bad for a tuning aid.

 

excellent answer on the torque arm! i will do some searching on the lift bars.

 

I just put a threaded rod in place of the bolt on the driver side of the sway bar, and jacked up that side by about 2". Don't get to see results for a few months until the track opens up again in the spring at which point I also should be using a BIG turbo for ideally the capability of 8.50 et.

 

You want the driver's side to be shorter. As the body rolls over the center of the rear, it pulls upward on the driver's side of the sway bar and pushes downward on the passenger's side. You either want the driver's side shorter or the passenger's longer, or any combination of the two. IIRC I shortened the sleeve about 1/2-5/8 on the driver's side and just used a shorter bolt.

How big? I've got a 96mm for a stock suspesion/radial tire car I should be starting work on soon. Honestly, it won't be big enough. I've got to run in the 7's to even get in the program down here.