right now im building a 1931 chevy 2 door sedan. i have a worked 327 motor with roller rockers. 350 turbo tranny and 4:10 posi rear gears with big slicks. i am planning to z the frame so cars sits like 6 inches from ground. gas tank will be in back. question is what rate spings will hook up good. dont really want a tire peeler. i see springs advertised 180, 200, 250, and 300 what do you think the ideal sping rate would be to give good hook upany info will really helpthanks
the right way to determine what spring rate you need is to get everything on/in the car that its going to have. then weigh it front and rear. I use a piece of tubing made into a strut until I'm ready for the springs. Gary
question is what rate spings will hook up good. dont really want a tire peeler. i see springs advertised 180, 200, 250, and 300 what do you think the ideal sping rate would be to give good hook upany info will really helpthanks[/QUOTE] depending on what style 4 link ...(parallel , triagulated , drag style) .and the location of the instant center..... as for spring rate.....that would also depend on shock length as a longer shock could get by with less spring....and a shorter might need more....my first a sedan highboy ran 130's....with a tci all american coilover....my last a had 200's...with short qa1's......both rode about the same......brandon
depending on what style 4 link ...(parallel , triagulated , drag style) .and the location of the instant center..... as for spring rate.....that would also depend on shock length as a longer shock could get by with less spring....and a shorter might need more....my first a sedan highboy ran 130's....with a tci all american coilover....my last a had 200's...with short qa1's......both rode about the same......brandon[/QUOTE] Basically you start out as has been mentioned by getting the weight that the spring has to hold up. and then go from there. There is a lot involved in suspension tuneing. The angle and placement plays as big a role as the spring rate. Then as has been mentioned, what type of 4 link you plan on running, the length of the suspension links, flex in the chassis etc. Do the weight thing to start with, then make all your mechanical adjustments (assumeing you have a real raceing style 4 link and not the pansey crap they sell to the street rodders). Once that is done then you start playing with your spring rate to get more or less squat on launch. Huge learning curve for sure.
i was just going to use a regular triangulated 4 link with tci coils. at a 45 degree angle. what is a good racing 4 link consist of. is a panhard style better than triangulated. does something stiff or soft hook up better. do i want as soft as i can get away with or will something stiffer be betterthanks for the input weighing the rear may be a problem. hoping other hambers with similar set ups could help
That's the pansy shit. Not much different than the coil setup under a 64 impala. It works but its not a performance suspension. There is no adjustment. If you want to be able to make it hook you need a fourlink preferably parallel with a panhard bar or a diagonal link that has some adjustment on the links IE up and down. Leme see if I still got an old sketch laying around here. If so I'll post it. When you start dealing with squat you are getting way deep into suspension geometry, I know what it takes to make it work for me but I haven't a clue how to explain it. Here's a little diagram and the basic pieces for a performance 4 link, set up for coil springs instead of coil overs. This setup went under an S-10 several years ago was totally streetabel and run 11s on street tires. These links are a little long 30" but made it articulate better on the highway, normally the 4 link setups that you buy have 18" links. OH this pic doesn't show the panhard bar, essential for keeping your rearend centered.
The 45 degree angle mounting is too much, 30 degrees from vertical is what is usually used. For racing applications they are mounted vertically used along with a four link, but you give up some of the road handling. Also mount axle bumpstops so if it bottoms out, you don't bottom out the coilover and bend the mounting bolts or brackets.
i run the triangulated 4 link And it is adjustsable. there are heim end in all 4 bars. for a street driven car this is imho the best. a mustang uses a tri 4 bar and that is pretty good. you don't need a panahard bar with this either. easier to run exhaust. the bars are aprox 30''
if you want some more bite you can mess with the instant center...and either raise the top bar ....or lower the bottom bar.....same principles that are applied to a & g body gm's will do the same on a hot rod....if your thinking of adding decent hp......think of adding a anti roll bar setup .....or....mess with the shocks and springs.....brandon
the triangulated 4 link i was planning to use would be one with the hyme joints, is there more adjustment availble in parallel 4 link. what would be better legnth 18 inch or 30.
I haven't seen an over the counter triangulated unit that has any adjustment for instant center. Doesn't mean that they are not out there. If you can't move your Upper and lower bars up and down see pic then once its in its set. You live with whatever traction you get. Now if it has that adjustment then it won't make much difference if its triangulated or not. I would not run one without a panhard bar period. Thats a lot of lateral strain to put on a piece of 1" tubeing. I'm still a firm believer in 4 parallel links if you have room for 'em. But its not my ride. now back to your original question, any company that sells these setups should have an idea what a ballpark spring setup should be for your sedan. Its not like you're trying to put a simca together or something, you have a pretty popular ride. so lots of 'em are getting built. I used the 30" links on that particular setup because the little truck was driven daily, the longer links articulate better, gives you a more supple ride. the shorter your links the more rigid and flat your axle will stay. So you link length depends on the most common usage of the car, and how much room you have for suspension. You won't be able to make a choice on length on most over the counter suspension setups. that are mass produced, and it costs more to make custom setups. That said, if you have already decided on a setup all of this is mute. I certainly wouldn't suggest that you build your own.
thanks for helping me out you totally convinced me on a parralel 4link with panhard bar. i appreciate your advice. you know any companys that sell weld in parralel 4links. i see alot of the triangulated not many paralell. thanks again ken
they are simple to build just buy the heavy tubing or if you are really wanting the car to "hook" weld the rearend to the frame fuck the shocks
go here. http://www.cachassisworks.com/ for a 4 link kit. there's also a good video in there for sale too that'll help you learn the basics of 4 link tuning for best bite in YOUR car. hope that'll help...mel
One other thing. If you are planning on putting out some serious power. the shorter bars may be the ticket. I have a 69 Camaro full chassis drag car. The chassis was built for 32 " ladder bars. Some joker added in another crossmember and went 4 link with it. The only thing wrong was the 30" bars of 1" tubing. The first time he launched the car they flexed and jammed the nose of the car into the wall. The car changed hands a couple of times and when I got it, I made new bars out of .375 wall DOM tubing to fit the old setup. These things are bulletproof. Point is, if you go with the longer bars, make em stout.
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