Best all around setup?
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Teching In
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: fayetteville, nc
Best all around setup? OK I read the sticky on canyon carving. Well I'm wanting to have that ability to take my car out to the twisties and have some fun over stock. BUT I'm wanting to be able to take my car to the drag strip and get some really good launches in.
I have a 98 z28 m6. I've already upgraded my TQ arm to a UMI tunnel mounted. I'm looking at QA1 double adjustable shocks, chrom molly adjustable LCA's, and BMR chrom moly adjustable PHR. I have no idea on what spring rates I should get or what other mods I should do. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks
I have a 98 z28 m6. I've already upgraded my TQ arm to a UMI tunnel mounted. I'm looking at QA1 double adjustable shocks, chrom molly adjustable LCA's, and BMR chrom moly adjustable PHR. I have no idea on what spring rates I should get or what other mods I should do. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: St.Charles MO
Search:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/754482-qa1-s-vs-koni.html
Cliff notes: QA1s are drag only shocks, don't bother with them if you want handling.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/754482-qa1-s-vs-koni.html
Cliff notes: QA1s are drag only shocks, don't bother with them if you want handling.
personally set up i would go with and will be eventually going with is exspensive but should give you a excellent set up at the track and should ride like stock, probely even better. tubular kmember with a 300 spring and qa1's. the 300 spring is a middle spring (275 is normally drag and 325 is more handling ). set the qa1s soft for the track and stiff for the street. The weight savings on the kmember will allow you to still handle pretty well in turns cause the amount of weight your shaving off the front. As far as cost the diff is really just the price of the kmember not even cause konis and stranos which you'll see the post fill up with is around the same price. that set up is a great handling set up but you said you want and people have said it works well at the track and have seen 1.6x 60's done but that doesnt impress me much with the power levels i saw pull them. A car over 450hp should be in the 1.5's, i know bolt on cars with a prokit and stock shocks pulling 1.7 on 17" drag radials(nitto and bfg)
edit oh yea if you do the set up i said and you want it to handle a little better and hook a little better ditch the battery to the rear
edit oh yea if you do the set up i said and you want it to handle a little better and hook a little better ditch the battery to the rear
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 9,764
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From: Eastern MA
Why bother with the 300 front spring when the stock front springs are 292? Its a waste of money for that marginal difference.
Here are some common spring rates:
http://www.angelfire.com/my/fastcar/suspension.html
Here are some common spring rates:
http://www.angelfire.com/my/fastcar/suspension.html
Originally Posted by boxmonkeyracing
OK I read the sticky on canyon carving. Well I'm wanting to have that ability to take my car out to the twisties and have some fun over stock. BUT I'm wanting to be able to take my car to the drag strip and get some really good launches in.
I have a 98 z28 m6. I've already upgraded my TQ arm to a UMI tunnel mounted. I'm looking at QA1 double adjustable shocks, chrom molly adjustable LCA's, and BMR chrom moly adjustable PHR. I have no idea on what spring rates I should get or what other mods I should do. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks
I have a 98 z28 m6. I've already upgraded my TQ arm to a UMI tunnel mounted. I'm looking at QA1 double adjustable shocks, chrom molly adjustable LCA's, and BMR chrom moly adjustable PHR. I have no idea on what spring rates I should get or what other mods I should do. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks
LOL!
Choose one or the other.
If you mix parts for canyons with parts for drag, you will have a shitty setup for both. EXAMPLE:
If you buy drag springs and bilstien shocks for turning, your car wont have enough spring to turn and the shocks wont let the weight transfer how its sposed to when you launch.
Choose one or the other
Or swap out parts depending on what you are doing that day.
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 5,798
Likes: 16
From: St.Charles MO
Originally Posted by Ruckus46Gt
personally set up i would go with and will be eventually going with is exspensive but should give you a excellent set up at the track and should ride like stock, probely even better. tubular kmember with a 300 spring and qa1's. the 300 spring is a middle spring (275 is normally drag and 325 is more handling ). set the qa1s soft for the track and stiff for the street. The weight savings on the kmember will allow you to still handle pretty well in turns cause the amount of weight your shaving off the front. As far as cost the diff is really just the price of the kmember not even cause konis and stranos which you'll see the post fill up with is around the same price. that set up is a great handling set up but you said you want and people have said it works well at the track and have seen 1.6x 60's done but that doesnt impress me much with the power levels i saw pull them. A car over 450hp should be in the 1.5's, i know bolt on cars with a prokit and stock shocks pulling 1.7 on 17" drag radials(nitto and bfg)
Search is your friend:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...t=qa1+handling
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....5&postcount=18
Thats just one thread.
Stock handling is BAD compared to handling with proper shocks, I know, the Konis made such a huge difference in ride and handling.
The weight savings from the k-member is not going to be significant enough to really change the handling, not nearly as much as proper shocks/springs will do. And the car is still going to be numb and wobbly with the QA1s.
lol dude have you ever had a car with lets say an eibach drag launch kit and then swapped out kmembers, and moved the battery to the back and used the same springs. Its a night and day difference. kmember and battery off the front of the car is close to 85lbs off the front of the car. You will loose a lot of boady roll. Oh yea my set up didnt run the front sway bar either, but hey a sway bar wouldnt effect anything with handling cause it doesnt have anything to do with the proper shocks.
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Go easy on the new guy
A competitive drag setup is counterproductive in a road race, and vice versa (road race setup on drag strip).
Though if you want a hybrid of both, to get some decent handling/road manners a good set of shocks and either stock springs or good aftermarket springs would work well. Get a good swaybar set. When you get to the track, disconnect one endlink from the front swaybar, or keep it connected if you don't care about that extra fraction of time or are lazy like I would be. Buy a set of rear wheels with slicks to toss on when you get to the strip. Start with those things and see how your launches are and then figure out if you need LCA's or relo brackets. I'd try without first though, at least you will be able to make a comparison that way.
Personally I could have fun with either setup on either course whether I'm fast or slow. Unless you want a hardcore drag strip car, set your car up for handling, get some slicks, and you should do pretty well in both.
A competitive drag setup is counterproductive in a road race, and vice versa (road race setup on drag strip).
Though if you want a hybrid of both, to get some decent handling/road manners a good set of shocks and either stock springs or good aftermarket springs would work well. Get a good swaybar set. When you get to the track, disconnect one endlink from the front swaybar, or keep it connected if you don't care about that extra fraction of time or are lazy like I would be. Buy a set of rear wheels with slicks to toss on when you get to the strip. Start with those things and see how your launches are and then figure out if you need LCA's or relo brackets. I'd try without first though, at least you will be able to make a comparison that way.
Personally I could have fun with either setup on either course whether I'm fast or slow. Unless you want a hardcore drag strip car, set your car up for handling, get some slicks, and you should do pretty well in both.
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Which pro-kit? Notice they are quite different for LS1's and LT1's.... LS1's aren't all that high at all (not high enough actually for the amount of lowering they usually cause).
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I somehow get the feeling that ruckus46gt has something against me..... I can't imagine what I've done other than try and educate folks on why certain parts aren't right for certain goals.
Frankly, a drag car is easy to setup. Soft springs, light nose weight, loose suspension in front, funny LCA angles to move the instant center rearwards, etc. I think folks get offended when I say that, but it's quite frankly true. You have one goal with a "drag" suspension that's hooking and going semi-straight for 8-13 seconds. Making a suspension work for the real world is not that easy because you have a LOT more parameters involved. Bumps, dips, potholes, smooth roads, bumpy roads, turning left, turning right, accelerating, braking, sometimes one of those two while turning, ride quality and so on.
Here's the deal. A good handling car can launch pretty damn well, and there are something we can do @ the strip to help it more, and change back for the street. A launching car won't turn very well. Here is my example: An Audi R10 LeMans car. All about speed. Big rear wing, ground effects, etc. Put it on a drag strip and it's pretty fast. So is a Pro-Stock car (faster of course, but also has about 1000 more HP too). But how well is that Pro-Stock car going to turn?
I run my battery in the back for weight distribution, and yes lightening the front can help handling. But it's secondary to making the suspension work correctly in the first place.
Frankly, a drag car is easy to setup. Soft springs, light nose weight, loose suspension in front, funny LCA angles to move the instant center rearwards, etc. I think folks get offended when I say that, but it's quite frankly true. You have one goal with a "drag" suspension that's hooking and going semi-straight for 8-13 seconds. Making a suspension work for the real world is not that easy because you have a LOT more parameters involved. Bumps, dips, potholes, smooth roads, bumpy roads, turning left, turning right, accelerating, braking, sometimes one of those two while turning, ride quality and so on.
Here's the deal. A good handling car can launch pretty damn well, and there are something we can do @ the strip to help it more, and change back for the street. A launching car won't turn very well. Here is my example: An Audi R10 LeMans car. All about speed. Big rear wing, ground effects, etc. Put it on a drag strip and it's pretty fast. So is a Pro-Stock car (faster of course, but also has about 1000 more HP too). But how well is that Pro-Stock car going to turn?
I run my battery in the back for weight distribution, and yes lightening the front can help handling. But it's secondary to making the suspension work correctly in the first place.
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Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion
www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450
Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion
Originally Posted by Sam Strano
I somehow get the feeling that ruckus46gt has something against me..... I can't imagine what I've done other than try and educate folks on why certain parts aren't right for certain goals.
Frankly, a drag car is easy to setup. Soft springs, light nose weight, loose suspension in front, funny LCA angles to move the instant center rearwards, etc. I think folks get offended when I say that, but it's quite frankly true. You have one goal with a "drag" suspension that's hooking and going semi-straight for 8-13 seconds. Making a suspension work for the real world is not that easy because you have a LOT more parameters involved. Bumps, dips, potholes, smooth roads, bumpy roads, turning left, turning right, accelerating, braking, sometimes one of those two while turning, ride quality and so on.
Here's the deal. A good handling car can launch pretty damn well, and there are something we can do @ the strip to help it more, and change back for the street. A launching car won't turn very well. Here is my example: An Audi R10 LeMans car. All about speed. Big rear wing, ground effects, etc. Put it on a drag strip and it's pretty fast. So is a Pro-Stock car (faster of course, but also has about 1000 more HP too). But how well is that Pro-Stock car going to turn?
I run my battery in the back for weight distribution, and yes lightening the front can help handling. But it's secondary to making the suspension work correctly in the first place.
Frankly, a drag car is easy to setup. Soft springs, light nose weight, loose suspension in front, funny LCA angles to move the instant center rearwards, etc. I think folks get offended when I say that, but it's quite frankly true. You have one goal with a "drag" suspension that's hooking and going semi-straight for 8-13 seconds. Making a suspension work for the real world is not that easy because you have a LOT more parameters involved. Bumps, dips, potholes, smooth roads, bumpy roads, turning left, turning right, accelerating, braking, sometimes one of those two while turning, ride quality and so on.
Here's the deal. A good handling car can launch pretty damn well, and there are something we can do @ the strip to help it more, and change back for the street. A launching car won't turn very well. Here is my example: An Audi R10 LeMans car. All about speed. Big rear wing, ground effects, etc. Put it on a drag strip and it's pretty fast. So is a Pro-Stock car (faster of course, but also has about 1000 more HP too). But how well is that Pro-Stock car going to turn?
I run my battery in the back for weight distribution, and yes lightening the front can help handling. But it's secondary to making the suspension work correctly in the first place.
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Joined: Nov 2005
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From: Boston, MA
Originally Posted by Ruckus46Gt
sam i have nothing against you at all, thing that pisses me off is look at every post when someone asks about something or is looking for a certain ride type etc and people put everything else down etc saying everythign else is crap basically. Its like everyone in this section has a one track mind not everyone cares if there car is ready for an auto x, some want a comfortable ride, some want a harsh ride, some want a stock ride, some want a drag set up, etc
I don't think anyone wants a harsh ride or stock ride. They are pretty much one in the same. With the right setup, and it does take tuning even after you bolt on all the hardware, you can have a firm, comfortable ride that launches well. By changing a few things (tires, pressures, shock settings, sway bars links) you can have a car that launches well too.
Drag tires will give you the most improvement in launching if the rest of the suspension is up to the task. So why not setup the suspension right for the street and make some changes when needed for the strip.
Auto-X and Road Racing setups are not so far off from a good street setup on these car.. IMHO.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 5,798
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From: St.Charles MO
Originally Posted by Ruckus46Gt
lol dude have you ever had a car with lets say an eibach drag launch kit and then swapped out kmembers, and moved the battery to the back and used the same springs. Its a night and day difference. kmember and battery off the front of the car is close to 85lbs off the front of the car. You will loose a lot of boady roll. Oh yea my set up didnt run the front sway bar either, but hey a sway bar wouldnt effect anything with handling cause it doesnt have anything to do with the proper shocks.
sam i have nothing against you at all, thing that pisses me off is look at every post when someone asks about something or is looking for a certain ride type etc and people put everything else down etc saying everythign else is crap basically. Its like everyone in this section has a one track mind not everyone cares if there car is ready for an auto x, some want a comfortable ride, some want a harsh ride, some want a stock ride, some want a drag set up, etc
You dont seem to understand shocks, my car rides better (more comfortable, eliminated the very few rattles I had over bumps) with the Konis, and at the same time significantly improved the handling/feel/responsiveness of the car.
I have yet to see anyone say their car rides/handles better with QA1s.
Launching!
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 231
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From: Philly
I have QA1s on my car now, and they are total crap for the street. I am looking for a replacement and the konis seem like the way to go, along with 1LE springs. BTW, my Evo gives me a great sense of what excellent handling should be...it really gives me a basis for comparison to see how bad those QA1s are on the TA...for the street, they are WORSE than stock at any setting.
SsZERO's findings are quite similar to my own. FWIW, YMMV, IMHO, etc, etc.
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Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
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www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450
Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion