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Technical Help! Drag Car Suspension Problem

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by AldeanFan, Jul 8, 2023.

  1. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,591

    theHIGHLANDER
    Member

    And try to jack up 1 side of the axle too. Or, just rock the car hard on one side and see how far it articulates. My guess? More than a car like that should. Get the diagonal link...
    Screenshot_20230710_154815_Gallery.jpg
    I hid the car out of respect for the board, but I had a ladder bar gig under this, farther apart than your deal, very little articulating, and with the suspension hanging loose it went up and down almost as a unit. You'll always have some otherwise it would break, but it has to all work in harmony.
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2023
  2. lippy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2006
    Posts: 6,857

    lippy
    Member
    from Ks

    Why run suspension? Just a question. Lippy
     
    AldeanFan likes this.
  3. AldeanFan
    Joined: Dec 12, 2014
    Posts: 1,121

    AldeanFan

    Good question,
    I didn’t build this chassis and I don’t know why decisions were made.
     
  4. RodStRace
    Joined: Dec 7, 2007
    Posts: 7,598

    RodStRace
    Member

    lippy said: Why run suspension? Just a question. Lippy
    AldeanFan said: Good question, I didn’t build this chassis and I don’t know why decisions were made.

    Uh, because a short wheelbase, stiff cage and frame, bodied race car will not flex like a dragster, which means it will either have stiff 60 PSI tires and skip over the surface, or bounce uncontrollably on the typical 10-20 PSI thick soft drag slicks. Been there, done that. How many hardtail doorslammers can you point to?
     
  5. lippy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2006
    Posts: 6,857

    lippy
    Member
    from Ks

    Well, first off I don't even know what kind of car it is. lol Is this a doorslammer?:) 1964 (by Pete Jensen).jpg
     
  6. Marty Strode
    Joined: Apr 28, 2011
    Posts: 9,582

    Marty Strode
    Member

    It certainly was after it got the shortened 64 Mustang body installed, and was named Colt 45.
     
    lippy likes this.
  7. 1971BB427
    Joined: Mar 6, 2010
    Posts: 9,661

    1971BB427
    Member
    from Oregon

    My experience with this type of issue often is caused by a suspension that's too soft. Any tiny movement of the steering wheel is magnified at high speed, and the car can become extremely erratic at speed.
    It could be just the front being too soft, or front and rear both being soft. I would put the tires and wheels back on it, and put it on the ground. Then push from one side up near the drip rails and see how much "roll" the body has when trying to push is sideways.
    The springs on the rear coilovers might be able to adjust in more preload, but may need to switch to heavier springs. Not sure what's up front, but a friend had issues with his tube axle's leaf springs up front that did the same thing around 140-150 mph, and he had to add coilover shocks to his parallel leaf setup to get it firmer and stabilize it. But it fixed his problem, and his car handles great at high speed now.
     
    lippy likes this.
  8. AldeanFan
    Joined: Dec 12, 2014
    Posts: 1,121

    AldeanFan

    This is actually a contentious issue between my friends and I.
    Some of us want firm suspension while others want very soft suspension.
    I think the car has 120lb rear springs which to me seem light but others think that’s about right.
     

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