Drag racing suspension mods..suggestions?

[biomedtechguy]

Thanks again to all who replied. Here is a pic of the aluminum Rally wheels I want.
Any problems anticipated going with a 17 on the rear (like the fronts) as far as tire availability for my stated purposes? Street/highway driving/drag racing
Also I may need a custom EXACT COPY of this wheel to maximize the rear tread width-who could make such a wheel if necessary ?

 

[daytona kid]

Be careful, a lot of wheels are not legal for some drag classes, especially uni-lug. Coker Tire is a popular wheel supplier that can custom-fit your wheels to your specs, I think. You may get even better racing info in the "racer's hangout" forum.

 

[Hemirunner]

Sidewall is an important consideration in drag racing and you're going more down the path of "pro-touring" and "street" than drag racing with a 17" wheel choice. Maybe have some 15" aluminum wheels with drag radials mounted on them for "track days".

 

[biomedtechguy]

Sidewall is an important consideration in drag racing and you're going more down the path of "pro-touring" and "street" than drag racing with a 17" wheel choice. Maybe have some 15" aluminum wheels with drag radials mounted on them for "track days".

Definitely!! I will have a set of 14s or 15s for track days as the sidewalls on a really good drag tire are usually quite tall. Track days are the exception, so for traction and appearance when I am not at the track, I want to put as wide a tire as possible under the rear fenders.

 

[Longroof]

Not much selection of drag tires in a 14" rim. Stick to the 15".

 

[dvw]

A 10 second car can work well with Cal-Tracks and 275 drag radials. The key is the shocks. We run 9.60's with 60ft as quick as 1.38 with a 3.55 gear. Sorry to say handling and good 60 ft times require different set-ups. Ladder bars are worthless for handling. An unequal length 4 link would be good if properly braced and located, a lot of work and expense. That leaves leafs. Actually the stock stuff with big sway bars is pretty good. Probably better than most drivers when properly set-up. Spend the big money on a set of custom valved double adjustable Afco's from Mark Menscer. I'd go with sliders mentioned previously as well.
Doug

 

[biomedtechguy]

A 10 second car can work well with Cal-Tracks and 275 drag radials. The key is the shocks. We run 9.60's with 60ft as quick as 1.38 with a 3.55 gear. Sorry to say handling and good 60 ft times require different set-ups. Ladder bars are worthless for handling. An unequal length 4 link would be good if properly braced and located, a lot of work and expense. That leaves leafs. Actually the stock stuff with big sway bars is pretty good. Probably better than most drivers when properly set-up. Spend the big money on a set of custom valved double adjustable Afco's from Mark Menscer. I'd go with sliders mentioned previously as well.
Doug

Thanks! ! I have 275s on my stock Rallye 15s now...maybe use those or another set of them for the drag tires??
Also, not interested in "handling" so much as wanting a more adjustable, less sloppy front end, and adding rack and pinion (probably power) steering. My stock manual steering is a real effort when I am not moving much and on slow sharp corners. Also, I have had 2 very experienced old school front end guys take a shot at it and they cannot get the caster/camber/toe in-out and other geometry straight, but there may be other factors involved.

 

[69 GTX]

I would stick with 15s. I ordered Magnum 500s from coker 15x10 w 5.5 bs and 15x4 for the front. They are a bit heavy but look how I want them.

 

[Geri]

I also had a 70 Hemi cuda with fullcage and 2 x 4 chassis BUT retained the Mopar SS rear springs- with auto trans and 3000 stall converter it ran low 10's at 128 with a mild cam. I should have put a much better cam in it, I was given a cam by Crane to test- it sucked. if anyone offers you a crane "no pop" 426 hemi cam--run.

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personal opinion I like the 15" wheel with a fuller tire,old schoold but the 17's,18's look out of place on the B body cars. the bigger wheels live well on SUVs and trucks ,but?
when I put the 426 hemi in the '62 Dart wagon I tubbed it- a little harder but also a little easier to do,I movedthe springsinto the frame section allowing for 15"wide tires inside the fender,I loathe tires hanging outside the body with the car jacked up.

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agree, no unilugs in racing, just barely tolerable on street cars.

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excellent advice

 

[biomedtechguy]

Thanks guys.

 

[daytona kid]

Be advised that power steering is not really a good idea on a car that is drag raced a lot, and even kind of frowned upon. The main reason is the possibility of leaks, which can cause wrecks., and not always the leaker but the next car down the track after him. Kinda depends on how much you're going to drag race and how much you will drive on the street or road course style race. For drag racing, the smaller style/size drag front radial tires and a front end that is in good shape will make power steering unnecessary, but the smaller front tires won't road race well. It's difficult to have a car that does both road track and drag strip well without compromising one or both. Just something to think about.

 

[biomedtechguy]

No road racing! Mostly street and highway driving with the occasional 1/4 mile track day.
Would manual rack and pinion be easier to turn than my stock manual setup I have now?

 

[Average Joe]

No road racing! Mostly street and highway driving with the occasional 1/4 mile track day.
Would manual rack and pinion be easier to turn than my stock manual setup I have now?

I have a power Rack and Pinion in my Charger.I lost the power steering belt at Bandimere and holy crap I thought I was going to rip the steering column out of the car trying to turn it under slow speed. Could be different with other set ups that just how it is in my car with out the pump assisting.Joe

 

[daytona kid]

No road racing! Mostly street and highway driving with the occasional 1/4 mile track day.
Would manual rack and pinion be easier to turn than my stock manual setup I have now?

Sorry, I know nothing about manual rack and pinion. Since you say you'll be mostly street and occasional 1/4 mile track visits you would probably be happier with power steering. My car was power but I changed to manual because I'm going to be doing very little "slow" street driving and little more drag strip racing.
So in other words, just ignore me. lol. Good luck..

 

[Hemirunner]

I run a manual rack on my RMS alterktion. I've never had any real issues in parking lots but it does take quite a bit of steering effort. I wouldn't want to do it with big pro touring meats on the front. Thinking about using the manual rack on my new car and ordering a power rack for the current car.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

manual rack and pinion would be marginally better than manual steering at best. It's pretty tough to steer at slow speeds. Now if you can step up to Power Rack and Pinion, that is the best in my opinion. I have the firm feel stage II box in my car now and it's pretty good, but power rack and pinion would likely have better feel and control.

Anyone try to Borgeson jeep box conversion? That's supposed to be pretty good too and takes up a very small space.

 

[dvw]

I all depends on the steering ratio. Rack and pinion at the same ratio will be the same as stock. It is a lot of work to swap to a rack. Mopar's are rear steer so the K-frame , steering knuckles, ball joints, steering column attachment are all different. That leaves an expensive kit or do it yourself. You better be a pretty sharp suspension guy to do it yourself. I've seen alot of messes. The stock stuff in good shape is really pretty decent.
Doug