So again I have another off the wall question for the masses of TGO.......


As the title states I've decided a long time ago that I want to build my car to be more of an "all around" type of car. Not just straight line or twisties but a combination of both. I know that i will have to make sacrifices on each level to accomplish this. What would you guys recommend?

 

I don't do the track in my car - just not my thing. But I must say, I really love my poly bushings, larger sway bars (34mm frt, 24mm rear), Eibach Pro-Kit, Bilsteins, TDS wonderbar, Edelbrock adj panhard bar and Edelbrock STB! And the SFC's are next. To me, my car rides really nice on the street, corners really well, and I get alot of 'feel' of the road.

I'm sure the track guys will chime in with more about LCA's and such track-oriented goodies.

 

cars that are set up to turn can also go straight, cars that are set up to go straight can't turn

 

Just for alittle heads up here's what I already have for my car....

Edelbrock TBI/Carb strut tower brace
Stock IROC wonderbar with stock k member braces
BMR adjustable panhard bar and LCA's
UMI Lower control Relocation brackets
UMI adjustable torque arm (installing as we speak)
Ground Control weight jack spring kit with 800lb front and 250lb rears
Energy Suspension stuff all the way around
Alston subframe connectors
and MAJOR weight reduction. Down to 2860 race weight

I'd like to know of other ways I can improve upon my suspension.

 

You could look into shocks and struts next, and at the same time put in some adjustable strut tower mounts. What about the steering? Has that ever been replaced? If not you could look into that. Those parts are now over 20 years old and worn out. If it is not a daily driven car you can look into tubular k-member and a-arms.

 

Agreed. You can make up for a "corner carving" setup with HP and slicks at the 1/4 mile. It will take a lot more to get a "1/4 mile car" to go around corners. This is especially rewarding on the street where you won't be "launching" the car anyways.

 

My car ran great all around IMO. Straight line it ran pretty good 60 foots and good ET's considering the gearing wasnt optimal.
Street handling was AWESOME. It grips hard and scares me.

Its factory IROCZ big sway bars (36/24mm?), Eibach prokit springs, Tokico 5 way adjustable shocks/struts, Spohn LCA's with brackets, Spohn torque arm, hotchkis adjustable panhard bar, TDS wonderbar, Spohn subframe connectors, and 8pt roll bar.

Its really stiff but rides good since you can adjust the shocks. thats key to have for a car to do everything.

Set the suspension up for drag race days and bolt on your favorite slicks/skinnies. Then Stiffen up the shocks and bolt on your street tires for a good handling machine.

My 383 with 400whp ran consistant 1.55 60 foots without trying hard. Was able to do 1.41 on 150 shot and ran 10.63 at 128 and it didnt even pull the wheels! Just went straight forward. I set my front shocks light, and rear medium stiff. Works great at the dragstrip. Even left the sway bars on!

With 19x10's in the rear, 18x8.5's up front, the car handles very well with suspension set on stiff.

 

Tokico adjustables sound pretty good, Anything I get HAS to be adjustable. Where's a good place to get them?

 

How do the adjustable mounts work? what is the benefit of them? I'm in the process of rebuilding the front end. I'm piecing everything together right now. I already have the solid UMI adjuster sleeves. Spohn used to sell an entire front kit but it's not listed anymore or else I would just have gotten that. I do want to get a whole tubular front suspension, not necessarily for the weight savings (which is a bonus) but for the easy access of everything. I haven't decided on either Spohn on BMR.

 

For the full benefit of the STB, you also need after market strut mounts (no rubber, no deflection), such as the Spohn or HotPart versions. The pieces offer other benefits as well.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...rut-mount.html

JamesC