Most significant suspension upgrades, thoughts?

[Sixpactogo]

I'll have to look it up, I believe I used a CCP brake booster? I'm not shooting for Viper handling, that was just the advertising claim from Hotchkis.

Yeah, I don't know much about the CCP unit other than I put one of them on my Niece's 70 Challenger when I built it for her. I didn't like the feel of it on her car so replaced it with a Bendix style dual 8" like I have on my Charger. Now that I think about it, I can't remember if it was 8" or 7" but it wasn't enough boost IMO. Here is a pic of the CCP that wasn't up to the task. I don't have a pic of the Bendix I replaced it with.

 

[747mopar]

I'm definitely liking the guys at Firm Feel, from what little I talked to them they seem like great guys. After a short discussion he knocked my list down to 3 items, how often does a business recommend buying less? I believe I'm going to take his suggestion, rear leaves, Bilstein shocks and a 1 1/4" front sway bar.

 

[dfrazz]

Chris just put out another video on subframe connectors and makes some good points. Skip to 5:25

 

[Dennis H]

USCartool connectors. Bilsteins. Tubular UCA’s. Firm Feel Stage 2. www.musclecarbrakes.com

Don’t get carried away. Mine handles well enough for me. Good ride, stops adequate, caught in rain no sweat. Good road car. Comfortable. AC, PW, Modern seats don’t hurt.

 

[Runner 68]

Chris just put out another video on subframe connectors and makes some good points. Skip to 5:25

More gooder.

 

[747mopar]

I thought I was going with Firm Feel, great guys but no, at least not the springs. I've had nothing but trouble with my current springs, one of the problems has been the "banding straps" like pictured on Firm Feels set walking off of the stack. Hotchkis appears to use the heavy duty straps that are pinned to the stack. Surprisingly Hotchkis is cheaper and come with hangers and hardware.

Springs, Borgeson gearbox and universal joint are all ordered.

 

[dvw]

I've built a fair amount of frame connectors. In my experience the best thing you can do? Split the floor and weld them completely to the floor. I don't buy the weld the tube all the way to the front rail in post #24 video. If it was a big enough concern the crossing at the torsion bar X memer to rail/subframe connection could be plated. "Chinzy sheet metal" is what an entire unibody is constructed from. The key are bends and shapes creating strong structures. Bolting on control arms and strut rods does little to address the issue. After frame connectors Tires, sway bars, and shocks will have more influnence than anything else. Want to make it really stiff? Put a full cage in it. Though my B body is a drag car, stiff is stiff. It's has 12 years of being dropped from wheel stands as high as 5 feet. The door gaps and outer sheet metal are still laser straight. There are no cracks anywhere. Dead stock upper and lower control arms. It also has the aftermarket rear suspension components attached to the stock rear rails. Nothing moves around there either even with over 700lbft/900+hp.
Doug

 

[dfrazz]

I thought I was going with Firm Feel, great guys but no, at least not the springs. I've had nothing but trouble with my current springs, one of the problems has been the "banding straps" like pictured on Firm Feels set walking off of the stack. Hotchkis appears to use the heavy duty straps that are pinned to the stack. Surprisingly Hotchkis is cheaper and come with hangers and hardware.

Springs, Borgeson gearbox and universal joint are all ordered.

View attachment 1793017 View attachment 1793014

Hotchkis are lowering springs, make sure that is what you want. The best springs I have found are from Springs n Things - https://www.springsnthings.com/ The build them exactly how you want and have high quality parts.

 

[747mopar]

Hotchkis are lowering springs, make sure that is what you want. The best springs I have found are from Springs n Things - https://www.springsnthings.com/ The build them exactly how you want and have high quality parts.

I doubt they'll be low enough, they're only 1" drop, I'm closer to 2".

 

[747mopar]

I've built a fair amount of frame connectors. In my experience the best thing you can do? Split the floor and weld them completely to the floor. I don't buy the weld the tube all the way to the front rail in post #24 video. If it was a big enough concern the crossing at the torsion bar X memer to rail/subframe connection could be plated. "Chinzy sheet metal" is what an entire unibody is constructed from. The key are bends and shapes creating strong structures. Bolting on control arms and strut rods does little to address the issue. After frame connectors Tires, sway bars, and shocks will have more influnence than anything else. Want to make it really stiff? Put a full cage in it. Though my B body is a drag car, stiff is stiff. It's has 12 years of being dropped from wheel stands as high as 5 feet. The door gaps and outer sheet metal are still laser straight. There are no cracks anywhere. Dead stock upper and lower control arms. It also has the aftermarket rear suspension components attached to the stock rear rails. Nothing moves around there either even with over 700lbft/900+hp.
Doug

I guess I can verify that 1 1/2 x 3 box tubing isn't enough and can definitely see having them welded into the floor as a major advantage. Yes, the upper arms I have are more for improving the geometry for driving, not stiffness. I'm adding quality shocks, front sway bar and better rear leaves for starters. Still looking at options to stiffen the chassis, really hate to gut the interior right now though.

 

[cap67]

I didn't expect my Charger to handle like a Viper so probably not much help for you in that category but I am very happy with the way my car performs. I have the Borgi steering gear and I believe that will fix your #1 complaint.
I have the stock front sway bar and the Firm Feel 3/4" rear bar. I went with that because most of the aftermarket rear bars are underslung adding to the unsprung weight.
I used the super stock rear springs and 1.03 torsion bars with Bilstein shocks and love the way the car handles.
I too installed the polyurethane bushings up front but I plan on ditching them in favor of the stock rubber bushing as they are my only complaint.
Not sure what is going on with your brakes. Do you have the dual diaphragm 8" booster?

Hi do you have a pictures of your borgeson box. Mine has very off center. Didn't shim it yet.

 

[autoxcuda]

I doubt they'll be low enough, they're only 1" drop, I'm closer to 2".

The Hotchkis ones are an easy 2” lower than stock. The drop from the front hanger is an 1” … then the springs are nearly flat.

One thing people might not be noticing here. He has 1.10” front torsion bars. That’s nearly double the rate of a 1” torsion bar. And nearly 3 times the rate of a stock bar.

You might want to consider the Hotchkis Fox shocks or Viking shocks to control that spring rate.

I run 1.14 torsion bars on an A-body. Because they are shorter it’s even a stiffer rate than same diameter in an B/E body. They ride rough. That’s just the way it is.

 

[747mopar]

The Hotchkis ones are an easy 2” lower than stock. The drop from the front hanger is an 1” … then the springs are nearly flat.

One thing people might not be noticing here. He has 1.10” front torsion bars. That’s nearly double the rate of a 1” torsion bar. And nearly 3 times the rate of a stock bar.

You might want to consider the Hotchkis Fox shocks or Viking shocks to control that spring rate.

I run 1.14 torsion bars on an A-body. Because they are shorter it’s even a stiffer rate than same diameter in an B/E body. They ride rough. That’s just the way it is.

That would be great if they are 2" drop, I really like the stance and ride I have now (minus the mentioned issues). Thanks for the heads up on shocks, I'll definitely look into it.

 

[Sixpactogo]

Hi do you have a pictures of your borgeson box. Mine has very off center. Didn't shim it yet.

Mine was not centered properly either. (at least to my thinking) I ended up adding a 1/4" thick washer to put it in alignment. I thought they may have fixed that issue since mine was one of the early ones. I didn't like how it was tilted out and contacted Peter about it. He thought the angle was fine but said the shim would be Okay. He said he was going to look into the issue. I never followed up on it so just thought it got fixed. Maybe not huh? Anyway, here are some pics of mine and how I fixed it. Pic #2 shows the spacer. I have checked the bolts a few times over the years and it has never been loose