A-Body Autocross?

tomswheels said
Hey I know I'm a little late adding my 2 cents, but it really is all about what you want to spend. I'm sure a car with coil overs and a rack and pinion will be EASIER to drive quickly on an autocross, and if you have the money to do it, great. I don't have the money so my 69 Barracuda convertible runs torsion bars, leaf springs, $14.95 Gabriel gas shocks, a firm feel box, front sway bar, and subframe connectors. That's it. Less than $1000 in suspension/steering. At the last Goodguys Autocross in Del Mar it beat the $150k Camaro that just got invited to Optima (Alcala) and Steven Rupps "Bad Penny" Camaro. Just goes to show you torsion bars can still surprise the big-bucks guys....

Awesome work!!! :thumbup:

The torsion bar suspension design can absolutely be competitive, its good to see that in practice and not just theory. And have someone show that you don't need to have tens of thousands of dollars into your car to do well at these events. Although I am surprised your $14.95 Gabriel shocks work that well for you. :D

magnumdust said
I don't know if the goodguys autocross is a fair example though. JMO, but the typical course they use is short and simple. Everything looks good on their course.

That said, i'm still debating on whether to keep my T-bars or not. That hotchkis challenger is pretty incredible and i feel like the borgeson box may be an equalizer. I can't imagine autox on a stock box. Its just crap and a part of me wonders if the big advantage in the coilover systems is how nice and crisp the steering is compared to an oem setup.

The course may be simple, but all the cars on it have that advantage. A simple course should be a piece of cake for a 150k dollar ride. Maybe it won't test all the advantages that car may or may not have, but it won't make it slower.

Coilovers are easier to set up, but that's really about it. More options as far as spring rates and matched dampening. They're just springs, just like torsion bars. Nothing magical. A properly matched torsion bar spring rate and shock damping rate can do just as well. As far as the steering, the conversions just go to a rack and pinion. Superior to the old Mopar boxes sure, but with Flaming river boxes and the new Borgeson stuff out there now I think you can deal with the steering.