Quick chassis

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elevensies

elevensies

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So what makes a chassis run quick?

What do you do to improve it and what's the best simple advice to get better 1/4 times.

Mine.. Leaf spring clamps
Chassis ties
Pinion snubber
Roll cage
Wound down front wishbones
Kyb front shocks, air rear

I am wanting better rear shocks, but what I don't yet know.

I want to improve on all this.
 
elevensies said:
So what makes a chassis run quick?

What do you do to improve it and what's the best simple advice to get better 1/4 times.

Mine.. Leaf spring clamps
Chassis ties
Pinion snubber
Roll cage
Wound down front wishbones
Kyb front shocks, air rear

I am wanting better rear shocks, but what I don't yet know.

I want to improve on all this.
Click to expand...

What is the rest of the combo? Tires? Engine/transmission/gear? Matching the components to the application is the first priority. Converter, timing, carb settings, blah blah blah.

To answer your question in terms of what you have - clamping the front section of the springs and the snubber are old school ideas but they work OK. Can't really do much else with regular leaf springs except maybe adding a leaf on the right to help keep the left side from unloading on the hit. Caltracs are the next step up if you want to stay with a leaf spring style suspension.

Definitely get rid of the air shocks, they are probably doing more harm than good. Also, the KYBs are probably not helping in the front either because they are really not biased correctly for drag racing. You want the front of the car to rise quickly, to a point. KYBs are more of a handling shock and will try to keep the front end planted.

Generally you want 5" of front end travel in the front before the tires lift off the ground. You can check that in your garage with a floor jack under the k frame. The KYBs likely won't allow that much travel and would probably be slower to react than a 90/10 shock. If you want inexpensive, try some 'drag' type shocks - 90/10 in the front and perhaps some kind of adjustable in the rear. Even old worn out shocks in the front would probably be better than the KYBs.

A drag only car usually can benefit from 6 cylinder torsion bars since they react quicker than a larger diameter bar.

Removing unsprung weight always helps to make a car react quicker and getting the weight distribution right is a good idea too, like moving the battery to the trunk over the right rear tire. You can take these two ideas pretty far.

There's also the basics - check your pinion angle and make sure it's not causing windup. Set your ride height, then align the car. You want a little rake but no so much that the *** end of the car is up high. Make sure the rear is square too.

There's also tire pressure, launch rpm and on and on.
 
thanks for that, set up is 10.5 Sportsman pros rear, battery in the rear, fuel cell at the very back, 340 through a modified 904 with high stall, trans braked reverse valve.

i want to stick with leafs, its such a good feeling beating multi linked multi adjusted, high fancy shocked cars lol, such a good feeling.

i want my chassis better now, and you have confirmed about the shocks, thank you

i will take on your advice, :)
 
Adjustable shocks will help with setting your car up,also many companys(RMS,Hotchkis)selling heimed strut rods and tubular(heimed) A-arms for the front end which help free up movement with front end lift.
 
I would say the Sportsman Pros on the back are not doing you any favors either. It sounds like a dedicated race car with the roll cage and fuel cell so get a pair of real slicks and be done with it. Front tires are somewhat less important but a set of front runners will provide less rolling resistance and potentially take some weight off the front. You don't want to waste energy pushing a heavy tire down the track.
 
rmchrgr, i need to drive the car to the drags, as i have no way of transporting it, as my PT cruiser (POS) wont tow it
so im stuck using the best i can with a street legal drag. and getting hold of a spare set of SBP mopar wheels in the UK is non existent, without the big expense of ordering from states, and shipping, (works out 2 wheels, rubber, shipping and impost tax around £1200 or $1600

im ordering from mancini either the lakewood drag front and rear shocks, or comp engineering ones, which are better?
 
elevensies said:
rmchrgr, i need to drive the car to the drags, as i have no way of transporting it, as my PT cruiser (POS) wont tow it
so im stuck using the best i can with a street legal drag. and getting hold of a spare set of SBP mopar wheels in the UK is non existent, without the big expense of ordering from states, and shipping, (works out 2 wheels, rubber, shipping and impost tax around £1200 or $1600

im ordering from mancini either the lakewood drag front and rear shocks, or comp engineering ones, which are better?
Click to expand...

Understood, however (I'm sure you realize this already) this is not an optimal set up. Those tires may have some bite but nowhere near what a slick or drag radial would have. They're basically street rod tires. Guess you could air them down and see what they do.

If you do decide to purchase different tires at some point, do like everyone else and get a set of drag radials. Most guys that have dual purpose cars these days have them. They hook like slicks when right and can drive on the street like a regular tire.

In regards to the shocks, I really have no idea which is better. They're probably about the same. CE is the more recognizable name for chassis components though if that means anything to you.
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Did you ask wheelsup73 yet?
Click to expand...

Kind of pointless and not terribly helpful to respond like this. The OP is from the UK and unless he has run across a video for Lisa Caldwell and her Dart then he would likely have no idea what you were referring to.

Sure, some of their ideas could translate here but only in a general sense. They have been drag racing for a long time and have perfected their combo to a higher level than most.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGq7GVUAADE"]Lisa Caldwell's huge 3 gear wheelstand in car - YouTube[/ame]
 
So? I directed him to someone who knows whats up. 70aarcuda is another good one. He doesn't need a 5 page icebreaker to ask a question. He's search function works just as well as yours does.

6 pages of info that's been posted 16 times already could be sent by PM. This is a road well traveled, it's not like drag racing a Dart is something new. It's borderline boring honestly.
 
PoisonDart74 said:
So? I directed him to someone who knows whats up. 70aarcuda is another good one. He doesn't need a 5 page icebreaker to ask a question. He's search function works just as well as yours does.

6 pages of info that's been posted 16 times already could be sent by PM. This is a road well traveled, it's not like drag racing a Dart is something new. It's borderline boring honestly.
Click to expand...

Lighten up, Francis.

Asking questions in an open discussion forum is the whole point of their existence. Of course it's up to the OP how to interpret the answers he's given. This stuff may not be so obvious to some people. Maybe he gets lucky and someone with some knowledge and experience chimes in which benefits everyone. Why stifle discussion with snarky answers?

If he is truly interested, maybe it will spark him to do some research on his own.
 
I wish the best for the OP, but it reminds me of groundhogs day around here, same questions everyday. Now I know how a musician feels playing the same songs, over and over and over.

The fastest results here are to search.

At some point, it isn't worth the server space to keep answering redundant questions. It sure isn't worth "schooling" a older about his posting practices either. My dad's not dead yet, so I don't need a new one.

Sorry for the flame elevensies!


PS: these links should help

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/archive/index.php/t-69944.html

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/archive/index.php/t-44545.html

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/archive/index.php/t-16370.html

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/archive/index.php/t-250560.html

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/archive/index.php/t-73827.html

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/archive/index.php/t-174891.html
 
wow calm down guys, i asked a couple of honest questions, that have been answered million times before, and im sorry Poisondart74 that my dart bores you, but searching i had done, and searched lots, and asked people at the strip, everyone has their ideas what works,
so.......... why not ask on here, as you guys invented not only the muscle car, but also drag racing, so by that process, i asked what makes a quick chassis.

i have made what i feel is the right steps towards a better chassis, and i also understand whats needed for the next step, is it wrong of me to ask for advice and clarification?
what if i had searched without asking, and got it all wrong? i have now found 3 things, thanks to rmchrgs help that will improve my 60'
and yes i will PM wheelsup, and yes i will read the threads posted,

but none of them run what im running, so advice was sought.

but thanks anyway, because even if one tiny tiny bit of experience is passed to be by anyone, even if it come as sarcasm. i take it onboard, and try benefit from their lesson

everydays a school day.

mark
 
Cool, Mark, I'm not directing any venom at you. Thanks for the perspective and asking. I hope you get it sorted. Keep it mind, these chassis tolerances vary a bunch, and what works for one person, may be too tight or too loose for another. I find experimentation is key.

:prayer:
 
oh my god that darts quick...and its a small block :)
 
PoisonDart74 said:
Cool, Mark, I'm not directing any venom at you. Thanks for the perspective and asking. I hope you get it sorted. Keep it mind, these chassis tolerances vary a bunch, and what works for one person, may be too tight or too loose for another.

:prayer:
Click to expand...

none taken, its very difficult creating something when you take best guesses, and chances,
my money is better spent when more experienced people advise me, but i do understand where your coming from, its like the tyre debate...sorry tire lol

i know now what direction to go for better traction, and i could only have got that by asking, there was one thing i read however, and thats the caltracks alternative , cant recall the name, but it looks to have better adjustment, and now im going with adjustable shocks i can dial in, much better,
:thumbup:
 
PoisonDart74 said:
I wish the best for the OP, but it reminds me of groundhogs day around here, same questions everyday. Now I know how a musician feels playing the same songs, over and over and over.

The fastest results here are to search.

At some point, it isn't worth the server space to keep answering redundant questions. It sure isn't worth "schooling" a older about his posting practices either. My dad's not dead yet, so I don't need a new one.

Sorry for the flame elevensies!
Click to expand...

Not to keep beating a dead horse here but I feel like a few things need to be clarified since you are so concerned about wasting bandwidth and having to take precious time out of your life to answer redundant questions.

Again, this is a DISCUSSION forum. Searching a particular topic can help to a point but sometimes you may not find the exact answer you are looking for.

This forum happens to have a very narrow focus so there really can't be a whole lot of variation in how you accomplish something. So that being the case, obviously there are going to be similarities to other people's cars and setups which of course means that (you guessed it) the same answers come up again and again. Sorry for wasting bandwidth and pointing out the obvious.

Regardless, at the risk of boring some people, it's always better to have asked directly rather than just assume everything you read on the internet is correct. There is no harm in seeking clarification or advice.

Apologies for getting off topic.

Get some drag radials and decent shocks and tell us how you make out.
 
-Split mono Calvert springs
-assassin bars or call race
-Double adjustable shocks on every corner
-adjustable strut rods and 6 cylinder t bars..

As for tires I'd get some Mt drag radials and callet it a day.. this would be a good working car with these mods...
 
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