I have a 1989 Trans Am GTA with the WS6 suspension package and when I go around 100 or faster the front of the car floats up and down real smoothly. It feels like my 1971 Caddy Eldorado convertable does when I'm on the freeway. What would make the front end stick to the road more? I don't want to lower it because I have a ground clearance problem already. Thanks

 

There is another problem. Cars like Camaros and Firebirds are front heavy and that makes them unstable at high speeds. I know you don't want to hear that you need to slow down, but until you get this resolved....

 

So is there anything I can do to resolve this problem or no?

 

I didn't answer that, did I? For a reason. I don't think there is a simple fix for this. You may want to talk to someone that has experience in that area. Maybe a company that races F bodies, such as Trans Am racing. After all, the subject is serious enough that if someone gives you bad advice, you are going to learn about it at 100 mph. That would be as bad a time as there is to learn that you got the wrong advice.

I did some searching on the internet, but I didn't find anything specific. I looked at lgmotorsports.com. Lou Gigliotti races a Camaro and maybe a Corvette. (I know you have a Firebird). I didn't find anything specific, but you might want to give them a call. They have a tech line.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. I just wanted to warn you about the hazard you are facing.

 

The float is from getting too much air under the car--just like the wing on a car the air under it gives it lift. In the rear you probably have a spoiler to help give some downforce. In the front you need to prevent as much air as possible from going under your car. To do this, you either need to lower it or extend the nose closer to the ground. Bad struts can make the problem worse. I had the old 82 up to 130 just last night, it's stable as hell. Lowered, aftermarket ground effects, Eagle GS-C's, shocks struts, aftermarket sway bars, ect...

 

Don't go that fast.... speed limit should be 70. But seriously, I had a '91 Z-28 that we pegged the speedo out at 145 and what I remember is that same thing--felt like riding on air with the front bobbing up and down.

 

I don't know if the front suspension is messed up or not because when I look at the car from the side the front looks higher than the rear. Is this normal? Could it be some worn out parts, because the car is a 1989. Thanks for the help you guys.

 

Strange,
my :hail: formula feels great at 130! No floating or anything..... nice and solid...

:lala: <----- would this be what your GTA does at 100??

 

if your front looks higher then the rear you wantto take care of that

also getting a front/chin spoiler should help things out also

though as was stated you want to prevent as much air as you can from getting under the car to causethat lift

 

hey rx7speed, wankles rock man! I am going to be using a 13b turbo in my 68 VW beetle when its finished, with either peripheral porting, or just a really good bridge port job, plus a turbo upgrade for sure! I plan on about 250-300 rwhp, in a 1900 lb. (driver included) VW! Shuold be good for 10's!

Cale
calereeves@hotmail.com
( I'm using my brother's login, seeing as have no third gen, but hey, the 78 T/A is gonna whoop up on my brother's LT1 pretty soon :P)

 

I used to have this problem on my old hot rod around 120. I later had 158 louvers punched in the hood which helped alot. The air that is piling up under your front end needs to get out. A cowl induction hood or simply opening up the fake air extractor vents on the GTA style hood should help significantly. I know I opened the vents on mine for that very reason. I have also heard that you want a 5 to 7 degree rake on the car, meaning that you want the front lower than the back at roughly that rake. Hope I could help,

Tyler

P.S. You could also change over to the Trans Am style fenders that come with air extractors. Or you could make a lower air damn behind your ground effects, hell make it channel air into your engine while you are at it.

 

Thanks HotRod, I'm going to look into opening up the fake heat extractors in the hood, but this is my daily driver in the summer so what about rain getting in there?

 

Well unfortunately GTA owners are lucky enough to have a car that is equipped with a rear spoiler that actually produces lift instead of downforce. Score one for the graphic design artist and zero for the engineers. I actually had the rear spoiler raked and filled when my car went to the body shop. I have not done any wind tunnel testing to prove that the raking helped, but I am waiting for the weather to clear to see if it makes a seat of the pants difference. Good luck.

 

A small amount of rain will get in but it wont hurt anything. Rain already sprays on your engine when you drive through a puddle or when it goes thru your radiator (common). I have actually had my jeep engine completely submerged with just a few modifications to alow it to breath and keep water out of the distributer. My hot rod has a louvered hood and the engine also gets wet when it rains. Good luck

 

On a more basic note...do you have original struts, bushings and springs up front? Your problem could be a combination of old parts. They are 13 years old and that is the absolute first step in resolving this process....don't overlook the basics...

 

Rake...

 

Rake : increasing the angle of the spoiler, so the trailing edge encounters more of the wind stream than the leading edge. This usually creates more down force.

 

my 83 bird just sticks to the road at 110mph, no bobbing or heavy vibrating, its an s/e so it has the stock t/a suspension and ofcourse no gfx. It feels like the car at 60mph only the bumps in road dont feel as bad. Maybe it has to do with gfx. The GTA has no real front damn (mine does) to provide extra downforce

 

SMKNGTA,
Dollars to dougnuts I bet that your struts and shocks are badly in need of replacement. Also, if you are going to be traveling at those speeds and have not had your front end rebuilt - look into it. You should at least have a thorough inspections of all of your running gear if you want to play up there. I agree with 88TPI406GTA on this.

I also have an 89 GTA. Mine has been lowered a bit with Eibach Sportlines. At 100 it feels no different than 70. At 130 not much different either (except for my rear end being all clenched up!). There is definately no 'floating' sensation. Get that looked at bud.

Now for others...

DAVECS1 - huh? Spoiler that actually creates lift? You may have spent time and or money needlessly 'raking' your spoiler. The land speed record for a factory bodied car is held by a 92 trans am.

quotes: "The key to keeping the car on the ground at those kind of speeds is its weight," explained Jeff Kugel. "Downforce works up until a certain speed, but then the car starts going so fast through the air that the aerodynamics have it almost flying. What keeps it on the ground is its weight. You’re okay until about 280 or 290 mph, but when you hit 300 mph the wind tunnel tests on this car say it should be air borne. But the car is heavy enough that it stays glued to the surface. Even at 307 mph, the Firebird was showing absolutely no signs of getting light on the front."

"We also run the stock rear spoiler from a 1990 Pontiac Firebird on our 1992 car because we feel that is the best spoiler that Pontiac has. It’s not an aftermarket spoiler, it’s an actual stock rear spoiler and it’s the one that starts on the glass itself and goes all the way around the deck lid."

More Info Here

Maybe DAVE is running over 300? j/k

300hpse: No front air dam on a GTA?



It is the biggest one on 3rd gens. So much drag that the Formulas are more efficient through the air.

My .02 in an attempt to keep the info correct.

-Schultzy

 

air under the car is not the problem. you need good struts-shocks and then align the front end correctly. also the front end should be tight.

my car has oe springs and bilsteins and handles fine at 115mph. and yes I have the aero wing too.

 

These cars are great at high speeds and are very areodynamic. Your problem is the front struts being worn out. Since you said that the car has a bottoming out problem, the springs are probably bad too. See if you can find a ride hieght measurement for your car (n a good manual). That will tell you about your springs. Bounce thjefront of your car as hard as you can by hand. If it continues to bounce after you stop, the struts are bad. I bet your springs and shocks are bad though.

 

I think they made it this way to get air into the radiator to keep the car from overheating since there's no type of grill.

 

I have always been told that your springs don't go bad.....someone help me out here

 

Not true, they get fatigued, and sometimes even break. There is a standard ride hieght spec for every car, which is how we find out if they are bad. they sag and produce aa lower ride hieght

 

I know about land speed racers such as the 92 TA, but that is not a 91/92 GTA. If you happen to glance at a 91/92 GTA measure the angle and length of the rear spoiler. Then using the vast engineering background you have like I do do some simple fluid dynamic equations, specifically those dealing with Bernoulli's principles and you will deduce that somewhere around 75-80 MPH lift is being produced by the 91/92 GTA wing. Is it noticeable? Probably not at 80-100 in a straight line, but go over 100 on a track with curves and I bet you will notice the tail end might not sit as tightly as you would like. Do I go over 300? Common sense would tell you probably not. I gave credit to the individual that if he was driving over a 100 MPH that he had enough common sense to ensure his running gear was up to snuff.

 

Mine did the same thing until I replaced the Struts

 

never had that problem spounds like suspension not air