For you guys that can set aside an FBody, trailer it to the course (i.e.. no street), how low would you drop it. My guess is that the autox course is a lot smoother than street. However, the geometry of the suspension is changed more and more as it is dropped. At some point it is so far out of wack that it is not worth lowering the center of gravity anymore. Not to mention the fact that you reduce the range of motion that the suspension has to work in before it hits the stops.

So I guess two situations are.....
1) Fender mods so that tire rub does not come into play (for you 17x11 315/40ZR17 guys).
2) No fender mods.

Any thoughts would be appreciated,

Jeff

 

it depends on where you autox. theyre not all at tracks or airport runways. my local club races at a giants stadium parking lot.......needless to say it is NOT smooth as glass. holes, dips, dives, bumps, you name it, its there. the usual autox susp. set up is koni SA/strano springs. i have it, it drops about 1.5in. the rest depends on your exhaust. nothing on the car itself will scrape at that height. how low your exhaust hangs is the issue. you dont need to drop it like a ricer would. the stranos are plenty for looks and performance.

you only need to roll the rear fenders if you use 11in wide rims. if youre staying with stock size, you dont need to roll. conversely, if you keep stock ride height, then you also dont need to roll with 11in rims. ive done it. i currently have the koni/springs, with 17x11 (315) rears for the street. i did roll my fender. for racing, i have kuhmo 710 slicks on 16x8 rims....no rubbing whatsoever.

 

So you don't think that going lower than 1.5 in would help with handling?????
Say with some custom Strano springs?

Jeff

 

Strano springs give a 1.2in drop and thats what Sam says is enough for keeping good suspension geometry with these cars.
Maybe your just asking to ask, but if you want to improve handling do shocks first, youll be amazed what a difference proper shocks will have on your car.

 

Slamming it to the ground won't make it handle better; it will just make it bounce off of the bumpstops. Start with Konis, big front bar, and an alignment before you worry about springs and ride height.

 

unless youre on a race track, and its a dedicated race car, going any lower then what strano spring bring you is a waste and dangerous. i was surprised how low it actually took mine. it was at least 1.25 to 1.5 inches. added note: i re-used the rubber isolater in the rear instead of doing the heater hose. i needed that extra half inch or so of clearance. it doesnt hurt anything to keep it, and the half inch or so will only help in clearance. i kept the front konis on the middle perch, also.

another note: FYI to java....im sure that sig pic is WAY too big. sooner or later itll be deleted by the moderators and youll have to make a new one.

 

Strano stuff is top shelf, and there is no doubt in my mind that Sam knows his stuff (Sam’s the man).

I realize you need the supporting suspension components or your handling will never be close to what you want (Tires, shocks, springs, sway bars, SFC’s, ...). What I am asking is....

Is there a point of diminishing returns when dropping these F-bodies, if you assume...
1) No street use and
2) Tire rub is not an issue.

Everything is a trade off when dealing with performance suspension, and my guess is the ~1-1.5 in drop springs that are out there today assume some street use (my assumption may be wrong here). So, what if you had no street and no worries about tire rub, where is the point of diminishing returns (2in, 3in, ...)?

EchoMirage thanks for the heads up, but they are links to other sites, so they are no burden to LS1Tech (storage or serving them up).

Jeff

 

Jeff,
Having the the ride lowered will not affect drivability as long as your springs are properly dampen with good shocks. The only problem you will encounters steep driveways, speed bumps and the like.

I daily drive my car. It is lowered about 1.3 inches. just a tad lower than with Strano springs. Another local guy here in the board has Strano springs so I have seen them in person. I have the DMS which are progressive not linear like Sam's. Ride is good though a bit noisy because I have Poly/Rod Rear LCA, Panhard Bar and relocated TA. But if I had stock LCA and Poly/Poly adj. panhard bar My ride would be as good as stock although more precise and responsive. Only drawback is on deep potholes the stiffer suspension will cause you to cuss if you don't slow down. The soft springs/shock combination that comes stock will feel less harsh when you hit a deep pothole. Other than those areas the ride will be much improved. You can't go wrong with Koni/Sam Springs combo. You will want that adj panhard bar to re-center your rear under the car as the lower rear will move the axle slightly towards the passenger side. Everything else except swaybars is optional and more application specific.

As far as your question about how much is too much I seem to recollect that anything above 1.5" will screw up the geometry angles and you will need a lot of after market parts ans possibly some chassis modifications to get the angles back inline.

 

The point of diminishing returns in past about 1.5 inches. Even for auto-x, you need still compression travel. Auto-x courses are not smooth, and big race tires can create body roll even with drop springs. Lower is not always better.

Also, if you are serious about being competitive, you need to run 315's on all 4 corners, and those rub a little at times on some cars even with fender beating and proper wheel offset.

One last thing: Drop springs are not all that is out there. Many people run an adjustable perch with off the shelf 8" and 10" springs so they can set their spring rate and ride height independently. This setup offers maximum flexibility, but requires more work to get it all setup properly.

They will still be removed, since they take up almost a full screen on most everyone's computer.

 

Well, it looks like we were right. Nice sig.