Which suspension manufacturer designs suspension systems which would allow me to turn corners without losing traction.I want something that i can use to drag and to have really good handling on the corners(track racing). Thanx

'89 Camaro
383 American Speed engine

 

No such thing. Factory suspension is a combination of everything since it has to respond to all driving conditions. Drag suspension is designed for straight line accelleration. Road racing suspension is designed for cornering. You'll never get a drag suspension to handle corners or road course suspension to handle a drag strip.

The best thing you can do is change all the factory components to aftermarket parts. Start with Steve Spohn rear suspension parts. The torque arm, panhard bar, lower control arms and relocation brackets will make the car handle much better.

Performance shocks and struts will be next however drag struts are not recommended for street use. 90/10 struts are strictly drag race only. For street use you want a 70/30 although I don't think they'll work well on a road course.

Spring selection is a tough choice. Spring rates are designed to handle differently on different tracks. Drag racers want a light spring rate to allow the front end of the car to raise allowing better weight transfer. Road course cars want a stiffer spring rate so that the car doesn't plow into corners.

Shock tower braces will help corners by limiting the flexing and movement of the shock towers.

Sub frame connectors are a must on all f-bodies to increase the stiffness of the unibody.

A simple 6 point roll bar with swing out door bars for easy access will help stiffen up the body of all cars even drag racing 13 or 14 second cars.

Air bags inside the rear springs will help a drag race car launch better. I run 15 psi in the passenger bag and 5 in the driver side.

Have I forgotten any suspension components. I haven't even covered differentials or tires.

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87 IROC-Z SuperPro ET Bracket Race Car
461 naturally aspirated Big Block

Best ET on a time slip: 11.242 altitude corrected to 10.89
Best MPH on a time slip: 121.52 altitude corrected to 125.89
Altitude corrected rear wheel HP: 497.9
Best 60 foot: 1.546

Racing at 3500 feet elevation but most race days it's over 5000 feet density altitude!
Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

87 IROC bracket car, 91 454SS daily driver, 95 Homebuilt Harley

[This message has been edited by Stephen 87 IROC (edited July 08, 2001).]

 

I would like to mod my car if I decide to keep it and I think I'd start with suspension. I could car less about drag racing. I want to pull some serious G's and carve some corners. I plan on going with almost all of Spohn's parts but have a couple of questions. What's the difference between all the LCA'a and panhard bars?

 

Some are square. Some are round. Factory ones are u-shaped with rubber bushings. Most aftermarket ones have polyurathane bushings. Race versions have heim joints. Most are solid direct replacements other are adjustable to fine tune the suspension.

The cheapest replacements are non-adjustable polyurathane ones.

The whole idea of upgrading the suspension is to eliminate uncontrolled flexing and movement of the factory suspension components. Movement needs energy and if energy flexes the suspension components then it isn't getting to the ground. If you remove or reduce unwanted movement then the energy is transfered somewhere else, usually to the ground in one form or another.

Take a pencil and bend it. The force exerted is taken up by the movement. Take an 8" spike and bend it. You'll need a lot more force to get it to bend. Since it won't bend the energy is transmitted to the opposing side.

The LCA's are transmitting forward motion to the front of the car. the panhard keeps the rear end centered. If anything flexes then those forces will also change.

Since you want more of a canyon carver, a good panhard bar will keep the diff from wanting to drift in and out from under the car. The LCA will help transmit power to the ground when accellerating out of the corners.

[This message has been edited by Stephen 87 IROC (edited July 08, 2001).]