redbird555

iTrader: (14)

Hey guys I'm finally getting around to putting in my fti 3600 and I know whats bound to happen with traction.

Currently the car runs 295 BFG kdwIIs in the back with lcas and lca brackets. It hooks up ok but I still spin if I hit it from any time in first gear. I know I'm not going to hook up perfect on the street with a stall on street tires but I would like traction in first gear for the occasional stop light drags.

I really can't do drs because I drive 10k miles per year since its my daily and plus in fl it rains...like a lot lol. So I was thinking about maybe some qa1 shocks along with some other small tweaks. However I hear qa1s are bad on the street so if anyone has thoughts post up.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Extra set of back wheels and a set of et streets.

Blk98Vert

iTrader: (2)

Torque arm and some Bilsteins and Stranos with drag bags, and some Nitto NT 05s

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

In the end you're going to have to train your foot.

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

A tunnel mounted torque arm in the top hole would be a good start.

QA1's ride ok on the street but don't feel as plush as Koni's. It really is two different situations.

You could try QA1 rears (single adjustable) set to 4 on the street and 2 at the track.

If you go the Koni route for supreme awesome road feel you can adjust them to soft rebound when you get to the track so the front can come up more easily.

Just a few thoughts...

ramey

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

I have always heard that adding springs even with bilsteins will cause a traction loss because the weight wont transfer well with the stiff shocks and reduced spring travel. also my buddy has the nt05's on his m6 and honestly I like my bfg's better they grip about the same and have much more meat to start with and have better rain traction.
Oh believe me I know just looking for all the help I can get out back.
Thanks Ramey, just wondering but how does a tunnel mount tq arm help with a launch? And I'm not looking to make the car go around corners with a vette lol just looking to make it ride good for a dd and still be able to hookup ok on the street, will the QA1's and konis have about the same weight transfer and the konis just ride better or is one better than the other to launch with. Also which model of konis were you referring to

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

We've actually been discussing in a few other threads the merit of a shorter torque arm. The fact that the Instant Center is moved back and up and the resulting increase in anti-squat seems to be what plants the tires better. In the spring we actually need to go to the strip with our WS6 and two styles of torque arms. I need to perform the testing and publish the results. Does short give a tenth overall? Knock a tenth off the 60 ft? Industry standards say short is better so that's what we recommend but I really do need to get data.

I haven't seen the damping curves for the Koni's but do have the damping curves for the QA1's. Seat of the pants reports indicate the Koni's do everything better in general but numbers wise I can't compare their rebound figures to the QA1's without a chart. Perhaps I'll try to get that data from their engineering department.

Koni Single Adjustable Front Yellow's 8241-1139SPT

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

thanks! I was looking at just a nice affordable shock up front because konis all around would really brake the bank lol. However as far as the back goes its around 300 for qa1s and 350 for konis do you think the qa1's would do the job just as well as the konis for just the rear shocks only?

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

Hey there! I ran a very similar combination in my Trans Am with a Yank 3600 and LCAs+Relocations. There really is only two KEY items you'll need to get this combo to blast out low 12s at the track, and that's a good tire and torque arm. The best "bang for your buck" in the drag tire world is arguably the 16-inch Firebird wheels with a 26x11.5x16 ET Street tire - not the radial. I had no trouble going high 1.5s to low 1.6s on that combo.

If you see yourself going much faster with the car, you may look into a short torque arm. They're really only suggested for drag racing applications and can increase interior noise since you'll hear/feel every shift and some rearends can transfer some noise into the cabin. If you're sticking with street duty mostly, the full-length torque arm located off of the transmission is probably your best bet. Either part will take care of the inherent problem these cars came with from the factory, and that's a flimsy torque arm mounted to the tailshaft of your expensive-to-rebuild transmission.

To gain the consistency on various track conditions, the QA1s are great for that. I had the singles and eventually the doubles on my SS and I can tell you that they are not very nice on the street. Even the doubles were still unpleasant for all my passengers. As a driver, you get used to it fairly quick and after that you hardly notice it. While they work their best as a complete set of four, installing them in just the rear can help control the straightness of the car's rotation under launch, and you can adjust how hard you hit the tires. Running them around 10 to 11 I found was a good setting to keep the back end from squatting and letting the tire do its job.

- Kevin

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

Thanks Kevein, the car has a full bolt on ls6 crate motor with 3.42's out back so I'm hoping for a solid high 11 sec pass at the track with the right suspension of course lol.

But from what I gather your saying is that a tunnel mounted tq arm will help get the car launching on the street and the track? Obviously on the track I will try to run dr's but its just not practical on the street which is where i spend most of my time at. would the konis also do the same job as the qa1's outback and still h=offer a good ride for passengers? sorry for all the new questions i just wanna make sure i get this right.

How do you think the car would be on the street tarction wise with a good 295-315 street tire, tunnel tq arm, existing lca brakcets, and a nice set of shocks out in the back

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

The nice thing about QA1 rears is you can adjust to your liking and have the fun of tuning. I actually like the rear to be soft (i.e. click 2) to allow the car to squat in the rear and plant the tires without blowing them off. In reality the shock is a fine tuning tool for after the rest of your combo is sorted out..,

Ramey

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

Ah nice. Yeah, a bolt-on LS6 is usually good for around 375-385, more than enough power to get you to your goals.

The "tunnel mount" torque arms are excellent for forward traction. It does so by reacting quicker and settling faster versus a longer arm. It's leverage point being further to the back of the car has a lesser tendency to lift the nose up while a longer arm will try to hold the nose up, wasting energy. This is a change in instant center, and moving the instant center can have a large impact on certain applications. The draw back to the shorter arm is that under braking the rear axle wants to twist downward and the moved leverage point can lead to brake hop.

Konis are a handling performance shock, and are valved accordingly. Even with the built in adjustment, it's still not ideal. We have a few recreational street/strip customers who have enjoyed some success on them, but the QA1 certainly takes the cake at the strip. The Konis are certainly more comfortable and could get the job done, but I guess you could say it comes down to whether you are more concerned with your comfort you feel every day, or a timeslip you get at the strip. And we're talking a tenth or two tops at this point with your car. My vote is for the Koni shocks if you want to improve your car every day of the week - eventually buying the matching fronts. They will be better than what you have on the car now.

Your major traction gains are going to come with a sidewall, not tire width. The contact patch will be considerably larger on a 275/50R15 versus a 275/40R17, for instance. That being said, going wider certainly doesn't hurt. There are a lot of fast cars running on 17s...LOTS.

I'm not one to quess someone's ET, but those parts with your converter are a recipe for a good slip - should the tires get traction.

- Kevin

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

So redbird555, after all this you're either going to fly down the strip or sit there in a pile of smoke and tire rubber!

ramey

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

I've heard plenty of people that hate the short arm for street driving. I like to hook while giving up relatively nothing is ride/handling. For his goals a short arm is not necessary.

ls11998

Buy different pair of extra wheels with with mickey Thompson or hoosiers drag radials

HioSSilver

iTrader: (8)

Redbird you should have no problems getting to high 11's with the ls6, you probally seen my sig by now....lol . Actually I think mid 11's would be easy with a auto and stock suspension. I've been wanting to change tq arms also, I still run a stock one. I would love to see a back to back comparison of the stock one, to the long one, to the short one.....first sponser to post up real numbers gets my money!!!

a-low

iTrader: (26)

^^^^ im with hio, ive been holding of getting a torque arm because i been wanting to see a comparison of stock , short/long.