black02-z28

iTrader: (8)

I am also a guy on a budget, and my car is still my main family-mobile, so I understand where you are coming from on that. One thing you have to consider is the rear end and trans. My 10 bolt lasted one season with a bunch of low 1.5x passes before it gave out. The 4L60 went south right after that. I spent $4K on a rear and trans. You will also have to budget or plan for a cage if you are going to race it on the track, which is another reason i held off from H/C. If you break 11.49 you need a cage. So I'd do it just like I did mine:

- LCA's and reloc's first, pull off the front sway, seats, etc. Ditch the STB, those are for auto cross, not drag racing.
- Keep the 18's for the street and get some weld wheels with MT DR's, they need just a little grinding on the rear calipers. You can typically find a used set in the $600 range.
- I'd still go bigger on the TC, at least 4000. I still get 19 MPG with my 4200, it drives fine on the street.

See where that gets you. Should be 12.00-11.98 range. See if the rear holds up. I'd hold there until you can get a 12 bolt, finish the suspension (QA1's, Panhard rod, adjustable torque arm, right rear air bag) After that you should be about where I am, 11.7 range. Next get a cage and add your cam, lighten it some more, you should be lower 11's, N20 will do 10's if you have it hooking right.

Did you see jaber's post on how to go fast? Great info in there! He is another Eastern F-body guy, and he knows his stuff.

Jaber's How to go fast sticky.

Superman09

iTrader: (65)

Alright thanks. You knocked my fullproof plan off course, lol. I need a change in plan now. I was jsut planning on making power and forgetting suspension. After seeing the times you are pulling with basically jsut a bunch of suspension is amazing. I am a little sceptical on getting a stall in the 4ks to run nitrous on in the future. So i think im going to stick with the 3800 2.5 str for now. Hows this full proof plan sound....

1.) LT headers, true duals
2.) 3800 stall 2.5 str, shift kit, cooler and gauge
3.) LS6 intake
4.) LCA's, relocation bracket, torque arm, panhard rod, QA1's, remove FRONT swaybar, STB and rear seats.
5.) Drag welds and skinnies
6.) MS3
7.) 12 bolt and level ? 4L60-E
8.) Cage
9.) Nitrous and further weight reduction

Think i should flip flop 6 and 7 or think it will be fine or a gamble? Can you sell your stock 10 bolt? Or is it really not worth much? I was wondeirng if i got a 12 bolt before i broke my 10 if i could sell it for a good amount or no?

Planning on finishing bolt ons and than doing full suspension than shoot for the moon in power and drivetrain.

With the QA1's........ Can i easily adjsut them for however i want for the track whether it be spring stiffness/rideheight and than come home fro mthe track, throw my 18s on and adjust the QA1's to sit where my stance is now??? That how they work?

So hows my plan sound?

1BAD98LS1

iTrader: (33)

Like Black02z28 said...both of us work on our cars very similair and get about the same results, i am sure by the time the air gets better both of us will run 11.8x easy as we sit (SI with big stall)... There you have it... oh and by the way my car still has 118k on it and still has factory shocks, t arm, k mem, etc..

blkZ28spt

You shouldn't have to worry about the rear end anytime soon, but the tranny is a ???. I already have a built tranny and my car has <60k miles. That's abnormal, but the tranny almost always has problems before the rear with an A4.

1BAD98LS1

iTrader: (33)

This is my second stock tranny, first one died with 112k on it. Died the first pass down the track with my new convertor... that day sucked, but the stock tranny i have now has 75k on it and runs great...has a bit of slip in the 1-2 but other than that its alright.. Believe it or not I have the STOCK REAR in my car with 4:10's. dang thing whines so loud i went and bought a spare rear just in case...

Superman09

iTrader: (65)

oh weird. Man....... Well i am stumped on this.... If i go cam first, ill be clsoe to same times, mid-high 11's or close. Than if i add suspension on that.... ill more than likely eff up my 10 bolt or trans... or is i go suspension than ad power to that.... same outcome...... So i am stuck that either ill have to go suspension/12/trans/cam or cam/12/trans/suspension...... Or do you think maybe i could get away with suspensio nand the MS3 for a while? How should i do this. Im looking into suspension parts now..... I hear to go chrome moly whenever possible to save weight.... Also am curious to go with adjsutable torque arms and panhard rods or non adjsutable? And what series of QA1's? Someone help here and also add input on to go suspension or cam first? Or will they both hold up maybe to the drivetrain together?

1BAD98LS1

iTrader: (33)

Get the following for best results:
1) Relocation Brackets
2) Adjustable T-Arm
3) Lower Control Arms (if dont already have them)
4) Subframe Connectors (" ")

I like BMR suspension parts, they seem to be the best quality for fbodys.. in my own opinion. Those items will help all around.

1BAD98LS1

iTrader: (33)

BTW panhard rods are not quite as essential as the rest of those items but get one if you have the extra cash.. it cant hurt..

Superman09

iTrader: (65)

ok thanks. I see BMR and Spohn. Is Chrome Moly worth the extra money or no? Can someone give me some info on the QA1s adjustablitity and which series set to get? Also for LCA's http://www.ls1speed.com/catagory.cfm...%20/%20Chassis Which set to get? Off that page..... can someone pick me 1 of all the essential suspension parts for best quality and price? Shocks/springs, TA, LCAs, relocation brackets, PHR. Already have SFCs

Superman09

iTrader: (65)

How bout Upper Control Arms? BMR has a standard upper and lower package as you see? Well just pick out all the parts you think i need. Thanks!

nuzee

iTrader: (2)

Superman09
What 1Bad98LS1 and black02-z28 are saying is spot on! Check my last post in this thread https://ls1tech.com/forums/drag-racing-results/365630-lifted-wheel.html

Set it up from back to front and you'll go fast. If you just do power mods, you can go slower with more power. My 2 cents on the MS3, it is a great dyno cam and maybe a good track cam if you have the right setup to match it. If you don't have the right setup for the MS3, you won't go much faster than a mild cam setup. As they said earlier, you can get into the 11s without a cam or, for me, without headers.

blkZ28spt

That will always be true of larger cams. You won't go much faster with a larger cam if you don't match the rest of your car to it. It's all in the COMBO. Simply throwing a larger cam in doesn't guarantee you anything. I know that for a fact, this isn't the way my car was set up this spring.....

nuzee

iTrader: (2)

DOHHHH .... I forgot that you ran that cam. My comment wasn't meant to be an insult of your setup.

Superman
Do your suspension mods back to front starting with the tires/rims. See what happens & how the car reacts with the tires and mod accordingly.

Superman09

iTrader: (65)

Alright. Thanks for the info. You guys got me doing suspension first. So do i need upper control arms, are they a help or no? Also for all my suspension should i stick with one brand like BMR or Spohn? Each company's products seem a little higher for different parts...weird... Should i stick to a brand, stay with one? Or try to get all chrome moly? Someone help me on what to buy here if you wouldnt mind taking a sec and looking at the link i posted above. That would be great. Also info on the QA1's. Do i need the double adjsutable or are the R series or Gen F fine? Thanks

NXZ28

iTrader: (45)

I ran my 11.90@115 on a stock suspension, un-hooked front sway bar, no weight reduction, BFG Drag radials, and no SFCs. I now have QA1s, Kenny Brown DD SFC, and a Wolfe 6 point cage. I was only planning on running 12s last year but when it went 11.90 on my last run of the year, I was shocked. I only had a 1.72 60'. Pretty much due to not having any suspension mods. You can get to the 11s on stock suspension with the engine mods you are planning to do, but you will end up ordering it anyway. I reached the limits of the power I can put to the ground before I added the shocks, cage, and SFCs.

black02-z28

iTrader: (8)

Upper control arms are no big help. Put that on the "buy when I have done everything else list."

- I run the single adjustable 50/50 QA1's, the R series are 90/10 and sounded like a bit much for as much as I drive on the street. Two way would be the pimp setup if you have the $$$. You don't want to adjust your ride hight up and down with the QA1's, it'd mess up your wheel alignment, and it really is not that easy to do. Takes a lot of grunt. My nose sets pretty low, I like a little rake on the car, you just adjust the shock firmness for the track and the street. When the car launches it throws the weight back on to the rear wheels. A lighter front and soft shocks helps that weight pop up and plant the rear, but if it is too soft it will then slam back down and unload the rear.

I like sticking to one brand, but mixing it up is no problem either. Chrome moly is nice, I run boxed steel since I am not building a light weight car anyway.

You might get away with running the MS3 on a 10 bolt, but you might not. My original plan was to run the 10 bolt until after I did heads/cam, but I broke it S/i so I changed plans. If you get a 12 bolt you can sell your 10 bolt for $!50-$300 depending on the buyer.

Try to hook up with some local guys, most of this stuff is easy to do with a little knowledge and help. Save the $$$ you'd pay for labor to buy more mods!

Ed

Ed

Superman09

iTrader: (65)

alright sweet, so im guessing you have the Gen F shocks? So its either those or the double? The double are a lot more but would they give me way better results? Also how would the height be with my 18's? Thanks. Should i get an adjsutable panhard rod or reg? Thanks

Superman09

iTrader: (65)

Also what is a good brand of light 15" rims with skinnies to run for the track? Like prostars or are those very pricey? Thanks

black02-z28

iTrader: (8)

Make sure you read Jaber's thread, that answers most questions

I run the F series, the dual adjustable ones would be better, they were not out when I bought mine, and they are much more expensive. F is fine for a dual purpose car. You can set the ride height where ever you want it and leave it there.

Weld Prostars or Draglites are the most common, you can get a set for around $600 used, I think i paid about $1200 new.

black02-z28

iTrader: (8)

An adjustable pan hard rod is nice of you buy one, lets you center the rear in the car.