Hey guys, just wondering as far as shocks and springs go what you guys are using or what works somewhat best for mostly drag/street use?

Right now iv got koni shocks and strano springs (which are great btw) but since iv put in my 9" with a detroit locker my cars days of doing any sort of fast turning are over lol I was looking for a drag setup that wont make the car float all over the road on the street too.

Any help is appriciated, dont know much when it comes to drag setup in suspension but working to get there!

 

how big of rear sway bar do you have ?

 

I run SA qa1's with 275 front springs and BMR 1.25" drop rears. I also have the Spohn drag bar out back and nothing up front. For every day driving I just tighten up the shocks and go. Then loosen them up at the track. I have no problems with the way the car rides. It doesn't ride like a brand new Mercedes or BMW, but I never expected it to. Most guys here would probably say its a horrible ride from what I've found. I also have a full rod ended suspension on the car.

 

How much power does the car make? What kind of transmission are you using? Any kind of weight reduction done on the car? What kind of tires are you planning on using at the track, slicks or drag radials? If you answer these questions it will make it much easier to help you out.

Kyle

 

Sorry I can't quote since I'm on mobile. But I have stock sway bar in the back just with aftermarket stuff to fit the 9"

Iv heard qa1's are usually where you wanna go but Iv also heard stay away from them? I don't need it to ride like a BMW or anything, just enough to not feel completely weird lol

Right now I'm a full bolt on car with 9" and 6 speed. Weight reduction will come but not right now. If I can get it to 3200 without me il be happy. I plan on using mickey Thompson ET streets, bias ply version for the 6 speed basically.

 

I'm interested in this also. Sounds like you are exactly the same as me except I ordered a S60 and am looking for a torque arm also.

 

I know exactly what il be wanting or a torque arm. I had a deal going with a full length adj one and a little later on get a relication kit for it. I started a thread about that a couple months ago if you want to look

 

QA1 has started using steel bodies for their shocks so they are a bit heavier than the Strange shocks and I have personally had better luck with Strange stuff. If you are looking for a super budget setup that will work well the Strange SA front shocks with 300lb springs and Competition Engineering 3 way adjustable rear shocks my be worth looking at. With the power you are working with and the tire you have this setup should work out well and drive decently on the street. As you start making more power you will want to reevaluate your shock setup because the more power you make the harder it is to control it all during launching and shifts and this will lead to traction issues. With this setup you can adjust the ride height with the front Strange shocks so you can keep your current rear lowering springs to achieve that lowered look.

As far as the other suspension goes make sure you have a decent set of tubular lower control arms with relocation brackets so you can adjust the amount of positive anti-squat the car has so you can fine tune the launches. Since it is a drag/street setup I would recommend a full length torque arm along with a torque arm relocation crossmember, this will allow you to keep the nice drivability will you are driving on the street but also give you some instant center adjustment. A good anti-roll bar will also help help out a good bit but is generally not absolutely needed to start getting around the mid 11 second time zone.

If you want give Kevin or myself a call here at the shop and we would be more than happy to go over your goals and budget for your car and get you set up with something that will work well for you without breaking the bank.

Kyle

 

Well I kinda did want to set it up for future mods so I don't have to do it again.... Which is really H/C/I

 

Correct me if Im wrong but, so brand of spring doesn't really matter? Just the weight? Would I get the same 300lb springs all around?

 

You'll want 300 lb springs up front, and you can keep your Strano's out back if you like the way the at sits currently. A lot of guys keep the stock springs out back, I personally have the BMR ones on my car. You only really need the lighter spring up front.

 

The Compeition Engineering shocks should still work out well pretty for you but you may want to look into the rear Strange SA shocks which will give you a bit more adjustment which will be needed as the car gets going faster at the track.

Most guys will either run the stock rear springs our a set of stock style lowering springs like our BMR ones. The optimal setup for the front is to run the a coil-over style springs which will save you some weight and let you run pretty much whatever spring rate. If you do want to keep the Strano springs all the way around you can use them instead of the coil-over style springs but you will need to run our BMR spring seats (SA001).

BMR spring seats (SA001)

 

A lot of people choose stock F-Body V6 springs over V8 F-Body springs, they seem to do a great job.

 

I'm using the QA1 SA w/275# springs, no swaybar w/skinnie radials up front and BMR 1" lowering springs, stock shocks/swaybar w/MT DRs out back. Car rides and handles good for a drag setup!!

 

Thats exactly what I was thinking. Thanks for the input!

Iv heard of that setup, I may even do this if it really does do that well

Thanks man thats what I wanted to hear was experience in what people are running!

 

I have double adjustable alston vari- shocks coil overs, bmr rear lowering springs, strange sa rear shocks & my car also rides really nice. The stock location torque arms are much nicer on the street then the tunnel mounted ones, also has way more ground clearance

 

Before you ruin the car for actual fun driving.... why not try to run the car with the springs and Koni's. Turn the shocks down, and unhook the front bar. You might be surprised.

 

This is what I plan to do, but I was asking for future reference on the susp, but I actually have heard possitive things also with the koni/strano setup as far as the track!

 

Oh yeah, theres a lot of folks out there running good times on Strano springs with Koni's shocks.

 

This thread really sucks!
Buford17 you need to make up your damn mind.
You want to but you can't,but you thought that you should because you have no money yet,but that's your plans but your waiting for the future!
WTF!!!!