horsepower to suspension limit

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Foomaster

Foomaster

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Kinda curious what your guys thoughts would be a maximum HP limit to a standard V8 car suspension..
Working on 72 duster. So far I upgraded to large bolt pattern disc brakes on all 4s, 8 3/4 rearend, rewelded the k member. Plans to put coil over shocks on the rear and a upgraded power steering box.
 
Horsepower and suspension are 'fairly/kinda' although not somewhat unrelated to each other. :)
Coilover shocks are actually a bandaid to too soft springs.
Good (adjustable) shocks and improved rearsprings are a better way to go imo.

What's the indented purpose of the car? straightline performance or general handling and cornering?
 
Mainly handling. Strip race on open nights maybe twice a year. I have 340 getting a 416 stuffed in it.
 
The rear upper shock mounts will not live long with coil overs or air shocks.

If handling is a goal (and it should be) this is the basic order of improvements:

Rebuild entire front end.
GOOD shocks
Front sway bar.
Larger torsion bars
Rear springs that match
chassis stiffening
serious wheel/tire combo
bigger and lighter brakes

The steering gearbox can be changed about anytime. The more you tighten up the rest of the suspension, the more you'll enjoy a firmer box.

Improving the basic factory suspension works quite well for a street/road car with basic upgrades. $1500 should get you big improvement.

If you're made of money, there are complete aftermarket suspensions also.
 
There are cars going 7's on leaf springs. at least last time I checked.

There are also some cars that handle quite well with the factory style setup too.
 
Yeah. There are cars runnin down in the 7s with the good old SS springs. Moved in of course for larger tires, but leaf springs nonetheless.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Yeah. There are cars runnin down in the 7s with the good old SS springs. Moved in of course for larger tires, but leaf springs nonetheless.
Click to expand...

small tires are fast too.


http://www.dragzine.com/news/outlaw-8-5-one-quick-leaf-spring-nova/

DJ Reid recently joined an elite group as one of the top three fastest 275 leaf spring cars in the country. DJ recently posted a 4.88 ET at 151 MPH at the West Coast Hot Rod Association race on July 27th. DJ's Procharger-assisted small block Camaro is equipped with Cal-Tracs leaf springs and traction bars, and relies on a Hughes Performance Powerglide with a 1.69 gear set. Bringing the whole package together and putting the H.U.R.T. on his competition is a Hughes Performance Heads-Up-Radial-Tire GM101MD billet 10" torque converter.
 
Damn. That's stupid fast for small tires.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Damn. That's stupid fast for small tires.
Click to expand...


Craig Watson of “2 Quick Nova’s” Racing is amongst a growing number of racers pursuing the small tire wars in a unique and upcoming class called Outlaw 8.5. Like other Outlaw series, the 8.5 refers to tire size and in this class an extremely small tire measuring just 26 x 8.5”.

Watson’s 1973 Nova sports a valid license plate. It has a stock front suspension, leaf springs, Caltracs, factory 10 bolt rear, and 90% of its original street equipment. This car however is tells quite another story on the race track. When the light turns green this unsuspecting Nova stands all original 3200lbs on the bumper and disappears down the strip in a hurry.

"There’s no magic, just hard work. Fans come to the pits looking everywhere for some trick part but there is none.” “The most interesting thing about my car is that it’s a stock suspension leaf spring car."

So far Watson has run a best time of 5.43 @ 127 mph in 1/8th mile competition. The Nova is powered by a 434 cubic inch small block Chevy with a single plate of nitrous backed by a Bradco converter and powerglide transmission.
 
Leaf Spring car. Saw him in Memphis. Best part is it has a big block mopar in it.
 

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