I've been looking into future upgrades for my 91' and I often see 4 link rear suspension pop up, but no explanation on what benefits there are for a street car. My end goal for the car is something I can take for a drive now and then, but also go through corners somewhat fast at a track/autocross. I'd be interested in knowing opinions on whether or not a 4 link is worth it for that type of application, as well as peoples experience with/without a 4 link.

 

No, 4 links are more for straight line cars. The factory torque arm setup is better suited, but still had room for improvement.

 

While both have their limits, a 3-link typically has better articulation than a 4-link.

 

I'm not an expert, but I'd agree with the other responses as well, with regard to a four link.

...to dig a little deeper into the gray matter of the conversation...You say you want to be able to jump in the car and drive it, which sounds like you want it streetable and not pure race car, but that you also want to improve upon the car so that it can be "somewhat fast" in a competitive format. Is that accurate? I ask because if you ask 10 different people what "streetable" means, and what "competitive" means, you're going to get 10 different answers. Also keep in mind that as you progress from one mod to the next, slowly making the car more and more capable, the costs get higher, the performance gains get smaller, and the driving skill required to SEE those gains is higher. You have to start asking how badly you want it!!!

What I can tell you from first hand experience, is that it doesn't take a lot to make some big differences. A decent set of brakes and some good shocks/struts/springs will make a huge difference! For just a little more you can do some bolt on chassis upgrades. Read up on the guys who are tracking their cars, and look at what they're doing. a lot of the guys winning national events are very skilled drivers with very specific custom built and tuned cars, however lots of guys are still very competitive with stock style/bolt on cars.

 

Torque arm is not a 3 link.
3 link is completely out of scope of discussion and will not fit on the car.

 

Given the YYYYYUUUUUUUUUJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJE amount of effort required to put a 4-link into these cars, I'd say NO, in all but the most rarefied forms of competition.

Get some new sway bar bushings and end links (biggest bang-for-the-buck suspension repair you can do), LCARBs (best mod for accelerating traction), tubular LCAs, tubular panhard bar, springs, and shocks/struts; you'll be AMAZED at how much better the car drives. A better torque arm, "wonder bar", and strut tower brace also make AHELLUVALOTTA difference. Along with, of course, repairing anything that's just plain wore out or broken (front control arm bushings, ball joints, wheel bearings, strut bearings, TIRES, brakes, etc.). It's beyond pointless to "modify" a car that's not already in more or less perfect working condition, except to the extent that your "modifications" also provide "repairs" to stuff that needs it.

 

I think it's one of those things you only do if you think it's going to be fun. It's a big job, you have to cut up the car and the exhaust routing is totally different. You are going to lose the back seat too, and need to do some custom sewing on carpet to cover up the humps.

Hardly anybody here has done it, but I've never seen anybody regret it either. @redmaroz has one and he has said it rides smoother than stock. Maybe message him and see if you can get some more of his thoughts.

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Typically a 3 link sliding toque arm design has better anti dive.
so right off the batt the torque arm has better braking.
A 4 link is better for acceleration though.
As far as handling, I'm not really sure.
when Detroit Speed was testing their 3rd gen 4 link, they weren't sure it was going to beat the torque arm in all aspects. According to them it did, but I don't think they were using a full race setup for the 3 link testing.

​​​​​welding up a 4 link seems like a lot of time and money when that $$ could be spent on something that does make a huge difference. Like getting a 315 Super 200TW tire on all 4 corners. A052,RT660, or CR1 ex.

 

DSE sells a 4 link kit for the cars. Every other vendor has versions of panhard and torque arm setups for upgrades. Heidts even sells an IRS kit. In competition, the only car running the 4 link that is beating the panhard/torque arm setup is the DSE-Z. But that car also has a professional driver and a lot of money in the drivetrain. Bottom line is I haven't seen any evidence it actually provides visible gains for the typical driver.

 

DSE puts a 4-link in everything. I think maybe it's a recipe they're familiar with and they just stick with what they know.

 

I looked into the quadralink a while back. It has many positive aspects to it, but watchin some of the testing videos it seemed to cause some real corner/ braking issues. They may very well have gotten it ironed out after watching the DSE-Z. Although I don't know if its any better than a proper setup torque arm setup

 

I suggest contacting Sam Strano to plan upgrades for the car so correctparts are purchased the first time. After suspension is refreshed with a rebuild with bushings, shocks, springs, etc look into a UMI Watts Link.

 

I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. I love the quadralink setup in my car. And it seems to work well, but that's just me.

 

No one said a torque arm was a 3-link. And a 4-link requires just as much modification to install as a 3-link.

I have a decoupled 3-link in a 2nd gen dedicated autocross car and love it. If my 91 were to become a dedicated autocross car, I would put one in it as well. For street duty, the torque arm setup is great.