Drag Suspension Q's

[Ieatcamaros]

I plan on putting 90/10 struts up front and some good control arms in the back of my 89. This car will not see street use. I am looking for good recommedations of struts and control arms. Are camber plates really necessary in drag racing? What coil spring should I use? Right now I am going to be running DR's. I just want her to hook good.

[Coupe Devil]

I would look into a coil over kit. Recently XTC was selling there complete front and rear kit for like $259 shipped. As far as control arms go. I would also maybe call them and see what they ( or what ever company that you choose to get struts from ) recommend to work with there coil over kits. If you go with just struts I recommend the lake woods for drag racing, or some Bilstiens if the car sees some street time as well. Then for control arms I would go with the XTC units, seems to be the hot new thing on the market now. JUST MY OPINIONS THOUGH

[PWR_RYD93]

It really depends on how much power you're making and how fast you want to go. I know several guys with Mustangs running high 11's with all 4 stock springs, just Lakewood 90/10 in front and 50/50's in back and no front sway bar. That's on a 26" x 10" slick.

[Mike93GT]

Don't bother with the rear coilovers. I bought both from XTC and sold the rears. If you go coilover on the front, you should get cc plates too. Also, the XTC's only come with 175lb springs. They were too stiff for me, and I switched to 150's. I like the Pro3i or Maximum Motorsports adjustable lowers, and any double adjustable upper. I have the megabyte jr.s on mine.

PWR_RYD93 is right though, the stock suspension is pretty decent. I'm just planning for the future.

[PWR_RYD93]

I should have added that they did also have lower rear control arms. One guy runs old school southside lift bars, the other has Factory 5 upper and lower (non adjustable) arms.

If you interested, I run Outlaw double adjustable uppers and TRZ adjustable lowers, a TRZ rear sway bar, HAL 12 way shocks, and stock GT rear springs. Up front are Lakewood 70/30 struts and D&D coilovers w/ 150# springs. C/C plates are D&D as well. Everything works well together. The car leaves hard and straight.

[Ieatcamaros]

I am leaning towards the lakewood 90/10's up front. And the megabite jr's for the rear. I should have stated in the beginning that this a car that will have a 393 N/A motor. 8.8 with 4.10's in the back (maybe 4.56's). No front sway bar. I just can't see the use for cc plates in drag racing. It has the stock K member now, will probably put a QA1 or D&D in later. I am concentrated on the struts, control arms and motor for now. I want to be able to pull the wheels and run in the 10's.

Also, the XTC's only come with 175lb springs. They were too stiff for me

Why too stiff? I thought, the stiffer the better.

[Mike93GT]

On the front, you want a softer spring. it will compressmore and store more energy. The 175's just did not transfer the weight well enough. The 150's made a big difference. I don't have much weight up front, manual steering, hood, relocated battery, etc. So with the added weight of your 351 and depending on how heavy the front is, 175's might work for you. If you are going to coilovers, you need cc plates as all the front end weight will now be supported there. It's not a matter of needing more adjustment, but needing something stronger than stock.
I went with 70/30 lakewoods. If you are going to drive it on the street a lot, that might be a safer option. But if you want to pull the tires high, the 90/10's will definately help.

[tireburner163]

90/10's up front, 50/50's out back, Eibach Drag spring kit (with air bag), adjustable upper control arms, Mega Bite Jr lower control arms.

That should hook like hell



-Josh, aka the tireburner

[Ieatcamaros]

Does anyone know what the stock shock's and strut's ratio is? I would assume 50/50 front and back.

This is what is on my list:
Lakewood 90/10's front
Lakewood 50/50's back
Steeda double adjustable uppers
HPM mega bite jr's lowers
Probably the eibach drag spring kit (as tireburner suggested)

I was only going to do the shocks, struts and control arms until you guys mentioned the springs. Which it makes sense to do it while you are there. Do you think the eibach springs will work alright without the air bags? I am not interested in air bags.

Once I get all this on my car, with some drag radials, I should see some good wheelies. BTW, which drag radial would you suggest?

[Mike93GT]

I have had the Eibach drag kit and it worked good. It comes with one bag, so just put it in, the springs are tuned for it. My only complaint is that the front sat way to high. I would cut half a coil off to start before you even install them. Also, they are a pain in the *** to get the fronts in since they are quite a bit longer than the stock springs.
I don't know if you will be able to pull the tires on drag radials though. But I've had both, and the Nittos work well and last a long time, but the BFG's work a little better, but don't last even half as long. If you want to pull the tires, buy some slicks.

[tireburner163]

I agree, I also would cut 1/2-3/4" of a coil out of the front of those springs.

Also, the kit comes with a air-bag. It just goes in the right rear spring and keeps the car from twisting too far to the right. It can add or remove air to tune it.

I also agree with getting slicks, drag-radials are nothing compared to a true slick. If you want to keep a DOT legal tire you could always get something like a Mickey Thompson ET Street.



-Josh, aka the tireburner

[86GT]

I've been running the Eibach Drag Launch spring kit, with 1/2 coil out of the fronts, no air bag in rear (since its got a hole in it). I use Lakewood 70/30's in the front, 50/50s in the rear. I'm running the Lakewood Traction Action lowers, and MAC adjustable uppers. This setup works well, and once I get the pinion angle set properly, and some real tires, I can't wait for the 60' times to drop.

Works nicely on the street, I kinda wish I had 90/10s in it tho, as there not bad for what I drive like on the street.

[Ieatcamaros]

With double adjustable uppers you can adjust the pinion angle, correct? What exactly do you adjust it to? I mean, what is it I am looking for in adjustment? You know, you start at said adjustment, run one time and then adjust. How do you know which way to go? It is obvious I know nothing about suspension. So I am looking for some answers in layman's terms. Also, would it hurt to cut 1 full coil out of the eibach's? Thanks.

[Mike93GT]

You want to adjust it to a negative angle. How much depends on what type of bushings you have and how much they deflect. Such as rubber deflecting the most, poly second, and then solid. Usually for rubber or poly, around -4 is pretty good.

On cutting the coil, just remember you can always cut more, but you can't add any back. I would start at 1/2, and go from there. Also remember if the springs are new they usually take a couple weeks and then settle down a little more. So leave it just a tiny bit higher than you want it.

[bigred90gt]

In talking with a few people that have run both, steeda drag springs is where I would go. I havent personally had any experience with anything but stock, but from what I ahve heard, the steeda's are a much better choice.

[Scrapla]

Does anyone have a pic of there car with a 302 based motor in it with the eibach drag springs installed and uncut I wanna see how high they really sit.

[Mike93GT]

Originally posted by Scrapla
Does anyone have a pic of there car with a 302 based motor in it with the eibach drag springs installed and uncut I wanna see how high they really sit.

Sure, at this time, the battery was relocated, a/c removed, foglights removed, aluminum heads, and no swaybar. The skinny tires are also full size height, they were sportsman 26". The car sits a lot lower now, and if I would have kept the front springs, it would look rediculous. I now have the rear dropped to the lowest setting on megbyte jr's, and had to use an airbag in each side to keep from rubbing the tire on big bumps.

[Scrapla]

Thanks, it does look a little high and my car is gonna be a daily driver so I think I might just cut 1/2 to whole coil off and see how that looks, also for a daily what are some nice upper and lower control arms that wont be horrible to street around, I dont mind a little bumpy stiff suspension but I drive the highway and backroads almost everyday.

[88workcar]

I have the D&D kit, arms, k- member, coil overs, 90/10 lake woods
skinnys, Air bags. 4 cyl springs in the rear, stock boxed rear control arms. On ET streets and only a 300hp motor I cut 1.5s all day.

[blue oval 50h]

If you want to set -up the rear now and just forget about it, ide go with the UPR Pro Series kit. It includes the uppers, lowers, sperical bushings, and anti-roll bar. Kit goes for about $600.

Pinion angle is the differance of angle between the driveshaft/harmonic balancer and rear pinion yoke. Depending on what bushings you run on the control arms, there are several degrees to set it at.

As far as the front, the stock V8 spring or coil-over with a 130# spring is recommended. For the best struts, ide go with the Strange 10-way adjustable. They are dollars more than the 90/10's-and you get 10 differant rates.

Do not cut corners with suspension, do it once, do it right.