Let's talk front shocks street/strip

[Longroof]

Next thing on my list to get ready for next year is a set of front shocks. Car is a 64 Savoy Wagon, 440 should be around 500hp hopefully has a 727 with a 3000 rpm converter, 4.10 gear and a bastard pack of stock wagon main leaf mixed up with SS springs and will be running hoosier quick time pro' s. Car should hopefully run somewhere in the low to mid 12's for brackets ans NSS. The budget for getting this car out to the track is in direct competition with wife's budget to renovate outdated house we moved into over the summer. .haha so yeah my budget sucks!!!

This is a street/strip bracket car... thinking calverts or competition engineering cheapo 3 settings... or spend some coin and get some QA1 single adjustables. Let's hear your experience with these or other shocks.

 

[ykf7b0]

The Competition Engineering 3-way adjustable has worked for me for many years.

 

[383man]

Same here as my front suspension is all stock with the Comp 3 way shocks. It drives fine on the street as I have been driving on them on the street since 2008. And they work fine at the track for me. Ron

 

[32PB]

Ditto on Comps 3 way.

 

[dvw]

I've learned that the trick is to keep the extension stiff enough so the front suspension doesn't immediately extend all the way. The shock needs to be loose enough to allow the front end to lift. Yet be stiff enough so at full extension it's not hitting the travel limiter. Once the front suspension has fully extended there is no more "help" from the front suspension to aid hook.The less power you have combined with the C/G further forward will require more front suspension travel. To do this may require a weaker spring /torsion bar that is compressed further/tightened up to store more energy. Not necessarily a looser setting. Super loose settings letting the front suspension top out will cause the rear to unload and cause spin. Finally there is no need for the car to pitch rotate/lift the front end if there is no tire spin. Wasted motion will only slow you down. Keep the front suspension at tight and with the least travel you can get away with. For my racecar I ran a pair of QA-1 single adjustable street shocks on my car (9.20's) with good results. Since then I've switched to double adjustable Afco's. So far the improvement has been small (.03/60ft). My street car (11.0) works fine with stock front factory replacement shocks.
Doug

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

Comp 3 ways are probably the worst shock out there for a mopar. There's not enough front end travel to the shock to make them work properly. Unfortunately when I was going slow, I had them on my car and the car did not work. My 63 Plymouth has them still but I really don't race it much but when I do get it out of storage, the Comp 3 ways are coming off. Those shocks actually work as a frontend limiter.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wx6yHXAxXc&index=48&list=UUM9_BKJgPRTfpVgks4hRA0A

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the frontend not working and porpusing. Pardon the shitty video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNxTb3j4Xak&list=UUM9_BKJgPRTfpVgks4hRA0A

 

[67Satty]

I use the Calvert 90/10 shocks on the front. I drive it on the street, even some twisty mountain roads on the way to the track and they work fine for me on the street and on the strip. My car runs 7.90s in the 1/8 so it's probably about the same as mid to low 12s.

 

[dvw]

Comp 3 ways are probably the worst shock out there for a mopar. There's not enough front end travel to the shock to make them work properly. Unfortunately when I was going slow, I had them on my car and the car did not work. My 63 Plymouth has them still but I really don't race it much but when I do get it out of storage, the Comp 3 ways are coming off. Those shocks actually work as a frontend limiter.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wx6yHXAxXc&index=48&list=UUM9_BKJgPRTfpVgks4hRA0A

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the frontend not working and porpusing. Pardon the shitty video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5VNKVlldh0&list=UUM9_BKJgPRTfpVgks4hRA0A&index=37

I agree in this video the front shocks are wrong. This is a classic example of front shocks that are to loose. The front end tops out, then unloads the rear. These are 3 way. Where were they set? On full loose? Like Chris says, this car may not have enough suspension travel. We don't know because the shock is so loose the rest of the car isn't working at all. This could be from the shock being to short or the suspension hitting the limiter. The shock being to short is an easy fix. Add a shock extension. The shock should not be the travel limiter. This fix could be a simple as adding a shock extension and tightening the front shock. I would definitely try that first.
Doug

 

[68 HEMI GTS]

I had CE on my dart. wasn't real impressed. they worked ok. the calvert 90/10's really seemed to help it but, they are real loose on the extension. I have the CE's on my roadrunner now, still not real impressed.

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

my 63 Plymouth makes 715 hp going 9.98-10.04 consistently and with these POS CE 3way Shocks with ladder bars, I can't get better than a 1.42 60 foot.
my 65 Plymouth that went 9.89-10.03 had a 1.34 60 foot with strange double adjustable shocks and the same exact rear suspension and converter.

 

[dvw]

my 63 Plymouth makes 715 hp going 9.98-10.04 consistently and with these POS CE 3way Shocks with ladder bars, I can't get better than a 1.42 60 foot.
my 65 Plymouth that went 9.89-10.03 had a 1.34 60 foot with strange double adjustable shocks and the same exact rear suspension and converter.

Where were the CE 3 way set? Loose, middle, tight?
Doug

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

Where were the CE 3 way set? Loose, middle, tight?
Doug

Loose, I tried every setting and this worked the best of the 3 settings. I need to buy new shocks that I'm use to and try that next. Those Afco's were going on the car but I knew I wasn't going to race it last season.
Going to get it soon and see if 'I can get it to hook better.

 

[Longroof]

I think i have come to the conclusion that i want a single adjustable shock. Anybody have experience with the QA1 R series or Strange single adjustables? These seem to only have adjustable rebound, which for a drag car is the primary action to adjust. How are these on the street? I want to have a shock that I have adjustment with at the track, make a few clicks and have something that is decent to drive home with.

 

[65 Plymouth Satellite 426]

Mopar Told Everybody That The Comp Engineering Shocks Were To Replace The Old Longer Super Stock Shocks That You Can't Get Anymore. What's Up With That?

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

I think i have come to the conclusion that i want a single adjustable shock. Anybody have experience with the QA1 R series or Strange single adjustables? These seem to only have adjustable rebound, which for a drag car is the primary action to adjust. How are these on the street? I want to have a shock that I have adjustment with at the track, make a few clicks and have something that is decent to drive home with.

Singles are fine if you don't do big wheel stands so you can control the compression on the way down. I need mine all the way stiff on compression to avoid being a pogo stick on the landing.
For the rear doubles all the way. You can fine tune the way your rear reacts, especially with a Caltrac or leaf spring car where the rear winds up.

 

[dvw]

I think i have come to the conclusion that i want a single adjustable shock. Anybody have experience with the QA1 R series or Strange single adjustables? These seem to only have adjustable rebound, which for a drag car is the primary action to adjust. How are these on the street? I want to have a shock that I have adjustment with at the track, make a few clicks and have something that is decent to drive home with.

The QA-1 R is what I was using. They adjust both rebound and compression at the same time. The QA1 stocker star adjust only rebound with the compression fixed ( the compression is stiff enough for street use). The "R" worked pretty well for me but I'd bet the stocker star would be better.
Doug

 

[69 GTX]

What shock do you guys think has the longest travel, of the ones that are useable.

 

[383man]

Comp 3 ways are probably the worst shock out there for a mopar. There's not enough front end travel to the shock to make them work properly. Unfortunately when I was going slow, I had them on my car and the car did not work. My 63 Plymouth has them still but I really don't race it much but when I do get it out of storage, the Comp 3 ways are coming off. Those shocks actually work as a frontend limiter.

- - - Updated - - -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wx6yHXAxXc&index=48&list=UUM9_BKJgPRTfpVgks4hRA0A

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the frontend not working and porpusing. Pardon the shitty video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNxTb3j4Xak&list=UUM9_BKJgPRTfpVgks4hRA0A

I agree there are much better shocks out there by far but I disagree they are the worst out there. For a guy like me on a tight budget and just running SS springs with all of the rest of the suspensoin stock they work fine. I mostly street drive and my 63 handles very nice driving on the street. Course I only run 10's but they work fine for my car and my budget. At 10.70's running 124 to 125 and a 1.50 sixty how much do you think I would really pick up et wise to make it worth it for me to run a high dollar exspensive shock ? Sure it might pick up a little but for a guy like me I cant complain about them on my car. I usually hook ok as last year at Cecil it ran 10.76 three passes in a row so it was pretty consisdent for using the cheap 3-way Comp front shocks. Course I dont run an adjustable shock on the rear either as I just use the longer MP shocks. Hey it worked 30 to 40 years ago just fine and they still work fine for me. I know because of the technology today everyone thinks you must run the shocks with 9 or so adjustments or your car wont work. Well it may not work as good as it would with the good adjustable shocks but it works fine for me. Ron

 

[dvw]

What shock do you guys think has the longest travel, of the ones that are useable.

On 62-70 B-Bodys I have tested QA-1,Rancho and Afco fronts. Non limit stock front suspension travel. They may require a simple shock extension stud at the end to make them longer if your combo requires more travel than stock.
Doug