QA1 Six-Link Rear Suspension Conversion Installed
I only asked for input when I first got the A- Body car I am working on in March of this year. I've always stayed away from them. You really didn't have anything ground breaking you have done. I was planning on just low buck upgrades for a car to beat around in on the street. But with over 700hp on tap I really can't see just going with 295 tires out back with an offset shackle kit and Hamburg swaybars. I did that in high school. And no it doesn't have leafs anymore. They won't work for what I am doing.
So, I scrapped most of it, and went in a direction of going overboard and not building the cheap route. If I am going to be in there cutting and welding, I might as well do it for the two purposes I see the car being used. So it's a compromise all around. I 've built several Mopar's and have owned a '70 Barracuda for 32 years now. (And that's an all aluminum Hemi)... So, no I don't agree that Chrysler had all of these cars designed perfectly. I know they didn't. I had too many of them.
My point is this. If all of you sit around and whine about every new product that comes out from a company that takes interest in our old Mopars, they won't spend the time to bother with us. Detroit Speed took up an interest in our old cars 5 years ago. And they abandoned it because the feed back was "Mopar guys like the originality of their cars more than performance". This from a company that designs top notch suspension systems for Chevy's and Ford's but not a Mopar (Which has suspension that has common cross platforms). And yes their Quadralink system is what most of the guys are running that want a car to handle. So, I'm left with mini-tubbing and narrowing having custom swaybars bent. While you guys screw around telling everyone about your bolt on mods, I've actually spent time fabbing my own parts and it gets costly and above all time consuming. It would be great if I could just go to someone like Detroit Speed & Engineering and buy a system that works and has success on the track too.
And that's where none of you are doing anything ground breaking other than typing "I can make my own 4-link rear suspension". Sure you can, in your dirt driveway, sitting on jack stands made from cinderblocks and used tires! And you guys amaze me with your skill at narrowing rear housings with no narrowing jig! Wow, you guys are so amazing!
The only thing I can see QA1 did wrong was caving in to purist who won't cut up a Mopar and actually having a completed car done for comparisons. But still I'm interested in what they accomplished.
And talk about a hypocrite 72BluNBlu, didn't you screw up installing your Hotchkis UCA's? And that's why you constantly write about how Heim joints are junk. That's funny I use them on suspension test fixtures everywhere for 20 years now and they last up to 4 million cycles. Funny yours puked out at 7,000 miles.
Again with the "whining" comments. It's not whining. It's constructive criticism of the pros and cons of a certain suspension system. They all have them. Any company that builds suspension should know this, and will understand their product won't be for everyone. Most of the criticism of the QA1 system comes straight from their own installation instructions- can't use tailpipes, must use all the stock locations for suspension mounting (limiting tire width), etc. They're already aware this product won't be for everyone, they designed it that way.
I've never shortened a rear axle housing without a jig, and I actually have a jig for doing just that. I don't have a dirt driveway. And honestly, if you know how to use a level and a plumb bob, having a dirt driveway is in fact irrelevant. If I did my own four link, I would design it on my computer with a CAD system, because yeah, I was an engineer. And I'd run it through suspension software. And again, if you can use a ruler, you don't need a CAD system either. Just a piece of paper and a good straight edge. Not that many folks out there do hand drafting anymore, but there's nothing wrong with it. My calculator has more computing power than the computers used for the Apollo program, you don't need fancy crap to do big things if you know what you're doing.
As for my Hotchkis UCA's- I purchased the original UCA's right after they came out, when they did not come with boots to keep dirt out of the heims. They lasted 7k miles of street driving before they wore out. When that happened, I posted about it on another forum. Hotchkis' representative on that site contacted me, and I shared detailed pictures of my installation, alignment settings, frame rails and suspension mounts, etc. Hotchkis sent me replacement heims because they could find nothing wrong with anything I did. They even included the boots that now come with their UCA's, because they realized that it was an issue to run without boots on the street. Even with the boots, that set of heims is starting to show signs of wear after another 7k miles. They're not worn out, but I doubt they'll see 10k. There was and is nothing wrong with my install, and Hotchkis confirmed that themselves.
If you know so much about engineering, you'll understand that what works on a test jig isn't real life. It's not an accurate representation of what happens in the real world. Which is why, despite having test rigs that can approximate millions of cycles in all weather conditions, all of the major auto-manufacturers still do extensive real world testing before they release a product. Because what happens on a test fixture isn't what happens in the real world. Heims don't like dirt. The don't like all weather conditions. Which is why I would never recommend them for use on the street. That is not just my opinion either. If you frequent any other boards that are racing specific, you will find plenty of recommendations that say that heims are for race cars, not street cars, and not even cars that spend most of their time on the track but still see the street.
And, I AM interested in seeing what the QA1 system is capable of. Which is why I keep
saying that. But given the disaster of a thread this has turned into, if I were the OP I'd never post here again.
Unfortunately there is not something that does it all....even with cutting.....but that is what most expect.
IMO ....to maximize performance in one catagory, you loose in another. A throw down drag race set up is very different than a autocross package....and it is hard to beat leaf springs for cheap but effective street suspension. I have tried all the different bushings with my 4-bar, both ran in parallel and ladder bar configurations and for a nice street ride.....stick with rubber bushed leaf springs .
BTW....I have a concrete driveway and HD jackstands.
Exactly so Denny. All suspension is about compromise. Which is why your suspension is so great, because you truly understand that.
