Suspension tuning

[QTRPONY]

ANybody here good at setting up suspensions?

I have mainly MM parts LCA's, subs, pan hard bar, etc (pretty much the rear grip kit) and D-SPec shocks. I have been struggling to figure out what works and am looking for help if anybody has any experience. My 60 fts are killing me especially when I see other Machs with stock or near stock suspensions cutting faster short times. I am lucky to get 1.7 and I see others on DR's getting 1.5's on a regular basis. I am running M/T DR's and I am pretty sure I have more torque then most other Machs so I am sure the problem is in the setup.

[Dan]

came and see us @ performance solutions we can help

[QTRPONY]

came and see us @ performance solutions we can help

Just curious what you can do in the shop? I was thinking that I would need to figure out what the problem was at the track i.e. by trial and error to see what works.

BTW-I think I saw in an earlier post that Devin (not sure of his last name) was working there. If so, he built a 347 motor for me when he worked at AMP which ran like bat out of hell. His boss and I almost went at in his office :twisted: but Devin was pretty cool. He was about the only one down there I trusted.

[BurnTire]

ANybody here good at setting up suspensions?

I have mainly MM parts LCA's, subs, pan hard bar, etc (pretty much the rear grip kit) and D-SPec shocks. I have been struggling to figure out what works and am looking for help if anybody has any experience. My 60 fts are killing me especially when I see other Machs with stock or near stock suspensions cutting faster short times. I am lucky to get 1.7 and I see others on DR's getting 1.5's on a regular basis. I am running M/T DR's and I am pretty sure I have more torque then most other Machs so I am sure the problem is in the setup.

What PSI are you running on the D/Rs?
Do you do a good burn out?
Do you shallow stage on the tree?
Are you dumping the clutch or slipping it when you launch.
1.7 isn't a bad 60ft.
Your trap speed sould net an 11.5 or so.
Heck I wish I could get a 1.5, but the IRS limits my aggression.
It takes some experimenting. I used to run consistent 1.5-1.6 60ft times on my old 5.0, but it took many runs to figure out what worked best.

[QTRPONY]

What PSI are you running on the D/Rs?
Do you do a good burn out?
Do you shallow stage on the tree?
Are you dumping the clutch or slipping it when you launch.
1.7 isn't a bad 60ft.
Your trap speed sould net an 11.5 or so.
Heck I wish I could get a 1.5, but the IRS limits my aggression.
It takes some experimenting. I used to run consistent 1.5-1.6 60ft times on my old 5.0, but it took many runs to figure out what worked best.

I am running @ 14 psi. I figure that is about as low as I can go without breaking a bead. I still trapped at 121 last night so the low pressure did not hurt.

Ithink I do a pretty good burnout, probably at least 30 seconds especially early. I smoke the tires in first and then shift into second (I have a line lock which helps) for another 20 seconds or so.

As far as staging I try to stage just enough to trip the second light.

1.7 is OK but when you compare it to 1.5 there is room for improvement. I am thinking with a stock suspension I would be happy but I have some of the best parts money can buy (MM) and I don't think I should be getting "holeshot" by somebody with a stock parts.

Going by the trap speed I am thinking I should be running low to mid 11's.

I am slipping the clutch mainly because every time I have dumped it I have spun and bounced it off the rev limiter. :twisted:

[BurnTire]

I am running @ 14 psi. I figure that is about as low as I can go without breaking a bead. I still trapped at 121 last night so the low pressure did not hurt.

Ithink I do a pretty good burnout, probably at least 30 seconds especially early. I smoke the tires in first and then shift into second (I have a line lock which helps) for another 20 seconds or so.

As far as staging I try to stage just enough to trip the second light.

1.7 is OK but when you compare it to 1.5 there is room for improvement. I am thinking with a stock suspension I would be happy but I have some of the best parts money can buy (MM) and I don't think I should be getting "holeshot" by somebody with a stock parts.

Going by the trap speed I am thinking I should be running low to mid 11's.

I am slipping the clutch mainly because every time I have dumped it I have spun and bounced it off the rev limiter. :twisted:

Man that is one hell of a burn out.
I burn out for 5 seconds in second gear with line lock.
What RPM are you launching at?

[Lucafu1]

well since the azps homo fagged up your other thread ill reply here.

Are you bogging at all? i like to have alittle spin when i launch. so if your bogging then try to launch alittle higher and give it gas earlier so there is no bog. the s/c whine helps to hear if you bog or not. also maybe bump the psi up to 15-17. its gonna take some train and error. I bog with et streets and cut 1.6-1.7 and i know its has some 1.5s in mine with some practice.

[50 BMG]

well since the azps homo fagged up your other thread ill reply here.

huh?

What thread?

[QTRPONY]

well since the azps homo fagged up your other thread ill reply here.

Are you bogging at all? i like to have alittle spin when i launch. so if your bogging then try to launch alittle higher and give it gas earlier so there is no bog. the s/c whine helps to hear if you bog or not. also maybe bump the psi up to 15-17. its gonna take some train and error. I bog with et streets and cut 1.6-1.7 and i know its has some 1.5s in mine with some practice.

Yeah, he's a piece of work isn't he. The best his shop can do is a goat running 11.49 & one with a crate motor (cause they blew the factory one) that only ran 11.55 before the guy put it up for sale. He went through a couple of tranny's in the process. The one at SW friday night is slipping already so he will be down without a tranny soon.

I bogged a little on my second pass and then came back and lauunched a little higher and broke traction. The fastest of the night was a 1.73 and I was wheel hopping pretty bad so I stiffened the rear up a little and it went away but I could not get a quicker 60.

[QTRPONY]

huh?

What thread?

He was talking about a thread on AZMUSTANGS. The dipshit that runs the shop that worked on a Goat that I ran at SW on Fridaynight came on talking crap. I ran him 11.80 to 11.49 and he his talking how he owned me. He does not want to talk about the race a few minutes earlier when "his" goat got his ass handed to him 11.11 to 11.57. I posted the video up in the Drag Racing forum.

[QTRPONY]

came and see us @ performance solutions we can help

Dan do you guys have a gauge (?) to check the pinion angle? That is probably the main thing I am not sure about. It might be way off with the different tranny and rearend mods.

[Gene]

Dude, its Gene with the black KB cobra that you met at speedworld. I'm Ethans buddy, not his cousin. Although, I can see the resemblance. That panhard bar is killing you. Thats for road racing. Get some Ford Motorsports uppers, that way you dont need to worry about your pinion angle. Thats what I run as weel. Get some Lakewood 90/10's in the front & some QA1 Adjustables in the back, and you'll be good to go. Gene

[QTRPONY]

Hey Gene, sorry for the confusion. I thought Ethan said you were his cousin.

Anyway, here is what I am running. Basically it is the launch box kit by MM minus the cage and upgraded to the D-Spec struts and shocks:

MM Caster/Camber Plates
MM Full Length Subframe Connectors
MM Drag Race Adj. Rear Lower Control Arms
D-Spec Struts
D-Spec Shocks
H&R Super Race Springs, rear pair
MM Panhard Bar
MM Heavy Duty Torque-arm
MM Front Coil-Over Kit
Hypercoil springs, 2-1/2”
MM Tubular A-Arms
MM K-member

I talked to MM and they said the Panhard bar would work better even in the straight line then going with uppers. I am still up in the air on that one-would not have a problem swapping it out but I don't think that is the main problem.

I talked to Devin this morning at PS and I am going to take it down when they get the lift installed to check the pinon angle and see what else may need to be tweaked.

[Gene]

Everything looks good besides the TQ arm and panhard bar. I would also get ride of those springs in favor for the stockers or get some eibach brag springs.

[QTRPONY]

Everything looks good besides the TQ arm and panhard bar. I would also get ride of those springs in favor for the stockers or get some eibach brag springs.

Actually I made a correction on the springs-they are the H&R Super Race springs and not the Sport Springs. Supposed to be weighted at 260-300#.

As far as the TQ arm & pan hard bar-I pretty much listened to MM on that. They are pretty adament about them working very well on drag setups. I was not sure I wanted to go that drastic but I ended up going with it to see. I have had pretty good luck with MM parts before and they have a pretty good rep for standing by their stuff so I took a "leap of faith" that it will work as they say. So far it hasn't, but I really have been sidetracked with other issues like finding a tranny and clutch that will hold up. Now that I got that worked out it is time for the suspension tuning.
If I can't make it work I will definitely pull them and go back to uppers.

[Gene]

You've got the power, just need to transfer the weight. Get the Lakewood 90/10's and be done with it.

[DavidHarsay]

Does the RH tire spin, or both?

[QTRPONY]

Does the RH tire spin, or both?

Usually both.

[Dan]

Everything looks good besides the TQ arm and panhard bar. I would also get ride of those springs in favor for the stockers or get some eibach brag springs.


actualy the panhard bar keeps the rear end in perfect alignment with the trans I would actualy keep that Item my self I noticed a huge fiffrence when i installed one on my 94 cobra as for the tQ arm Im with gene on that one get some solid adjustables and set it at about 7* you will be fine

[QTRPONY]

actualy the panhard bar keeps the rear end in perfect alignment with the trans I would actualy keep that Item my self I noticed a huge fiffrence when i installed one on my 94 cobra as for the tQ arm Im with gene on that one get some solid adjustables and set it at about 7* you will be fine

Yeah, I am leaning that way. First thing I am going to start with is new tires. They are worn down to the wear bars now since I have been hitting the track alot lately. I have been running 15X10 Prostars with 275/50/15 MT DR's. I am thinking now those may be a little narrow for 10 in. wheels and they may be convaving when I launch and not getting the full tread pattern on the ground. I am going to step up to 325/50/15's and see if that helps any. They are a taller tire so I will get more sidewall flex and tread footprint is an 1 1/2 wider.

The other side is I am running 4:10's so that should make them seem like a higher gear for me. Not sure how to calculate that.

If that does not help drastically I will pull the TQ arm and go with UCA's and see what that does. I hate experimenting.