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Front suspension poll?

What front suspension do you prefer for drag racing?


  • Total voters
    39

Hemirunner

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Just looking to see what everyone prefers for drag race style front suspensions. Feel free to list other options I missed.
 
I don't drag race much so I'm curious as well. The only mention I tucked away into memory was that you want the front suspension to hang during launch. So no swaybar. I would suspect the factory pieces would be suitable.
 
In my humble (and useless) opinion,the aftermarket suspensions are designed to handle, not provide the loose front end with lots of lift that a drag car (with limited power, say, under700hp) wants, and the stock components can provide.
 
In my humble (and useless) opinion,the aftermarket suspensions are designed to handle, not provide the loose front end with lots of lift that a drag car (with limited power, say, under700hp) wants, and the stock components can provide.
Don't see them as a good choice for handling either.... Most of the aftermarket stuff is based on Pinto suspension... They call it Mustang II but since Mustang II used Pinto suspension & the Pinto came first.....
 
The factory front suspension is well designed and, with some minor tweaks can be set up to very effectively work with both drag racing and handling scenarios. I am completely reworking an RMS K-member and it got me to thinking about what everyone here is using.
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The factory front suspension is well designed and, with some minor tweaks can be set up to very effectively work with both drag racing and handling scenarios. I am completely reworking an RMS K-member and it got me to thinking about what everyone here is using.View attachment 1458422
Since your playing with one, what are your thoughts about it? Things that I didn't care for include the Ackerman angle being severely off which means at or near full lock the front tires bind to the point the car will stop & you need to apply more throttle to complete a turn into a parking spot, if you turn far enough you'll feel the inboard tire step over which relieves the bind & the car will go a short distance with no binding then the process repeats...

Also the steering doesn't self center, it stays at full lock....

I've experienced this on two vehicles that both had RMS Alterkation front suspensions.. The first one I just figured it wasn't setup properly... The second one doing the exact same things makes me think otherwise...
 
Since your playing with one, what are your thoughts about it? Things that I didn't care for include the Ackerman angle being severely off which means at or near full lock the front tires bind to the point the car will stop & you need to apply more throttle to complete a turn into a parking spot, if you turn far enough you'll feel the inboard tire step over which relieves the bind & the car will go a short distance with no binding then the process repeats...

Also the steering doesn't self center, it stays at full lock....

I've experienced this on two vehicles that both had RMS Alterkation front suspensions.. The first one I just figured it wasn't setup properly... The second one doing the exact same things makes me think otherwise...
Is the Ackerman angle related to caster? I'm not familiar with the term ackerman, just curious.
 
Ackerman allows the inner front wheel to toe out when the wheels are turned. If the stock rear steer arms are swapped to front steer without modification. The wheels will now toe in on a turn. No good. As far as suspension styles? I have two takes on it. #1 Cut the stock K member for pan clearance and lighter weight. Check and adjust toe pattern, Urethene strut rod and lower bushings. Works well, cheap, and weighs about the same as everything else available that bolts on. #2 Cut everything off, Weld on a tube front clip. Add struts and a rack. Now it's light. You have both struts and R&P. The cost of these aftermarket conversions are insane for little gain. They weigh nearly the same. Geometry ispoor or questionable at best. Steering radius is reduced, manual rack untits are very stiff to steer. They do offer better header room.
Doug
 
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Since your playing with one, what are your thoughts about it? Things that I didn't care for include the Ackerman angle being severely off which means at or near full lock the front tires bind to the point the car will stop & you need to apply more throttle to complete a turn into a parking spot, if you turn far enough you'll feel the inboard tire step over which relieves the bind & the car will go a short distance with no binding then the process repeats...

Also the steering doesn't self center, it stays at full lock....

I've experienced this on two vehicles that both had RMS Alterkation front suspensions.. The first one I just figured it wasn't setup properly... The second one doing the exact same things makes me think otherwise...
I have not experienced either of these issues. The turning radius is much less than stock but the ackerman seems close enough. I can dial in enough caster to where it self centers fine. I have built my own version of it and am now completely reworking the original one I purchased. There are definitely improvements on the design to be made, I have had this one since 2006 and haven’t kept up on if the design has evolved any.
 
A guy I know installed a Magnum Farce setup in an early Valiant. The turning radius is much wider, the suspension travel is less than stock too.
Oh boy.....oil pan clearance is great. He hasn't pulled the pan once in 6 years but then again, he doesn't like how the car runs and drives so it just sits now. $5000 to get some oil pan clearance and the room to use slightly cheaper headers. Yay!
 
A guy I know installed a Magnum Farce setup in an early Valiant. The turning radius is much wider, the suspension travel is less than stock too.
Oh boy.....oil pan clearance is great. He hasn't pulled the pan once in 6 years but then again, he doesn't like how the car runs and drives so it just sits now. $5000 to get some oil pan clearance and the room to use slightly cheaper headers. Yay!
Lol. I’ll never use Ford Pinto Suspension
 
What's everyone running?
My Mopar has a stock k-member, rubber bushings in too many places, /6 bars and 90-10 shocks..... and it still doesnt react like I would like.
The other two (small foreign cars).... one with struts and r&p (stock) and the other has a dropped solid front axle with coilovers.
 
A guy I know installed a Magnum Farce setup in an early Valiant. The turning radius is much wider, the suspension travel is less than stock too.
Oh boy.....oil pan clearance is great. He hasn't pulled the pan once in 6 years but then again, he doesn't like how the car runs and drives so it just sits now. $5000 to get some oil pan clearance and the room to use slightly cheaper headers. Yay!
The increased turning radius and reduced travel are definitely drawbacks over stock, as is the expense. Both issues contribute to the reasons why I’m reworking this one.
 
I have no interest in aftermarket suspension/coil-over, for my cars. If I was gonna use it...HDK. My a-body build......

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My opinion: For a typical 10-11 second drag race effort, I don’t think you’ll find worse performance return on dollar than front end modifications.
As long as the stock setup is in good order, with a good set of drag-race specific shocks, it should work great.
 
You can trim the K frame for easy oil pan removal and weight. Stock strut rods can have the ends cut off. Machine them down to fit moly tubing. Make them shorter by a bit if you want to increase caster. Lighter and stronger. Extra travel can be obtained with longer upper ball joints if needed. High misalignment heim outer tie rods and 7 degree adapter studs can be used with a fabbed tie rod sleeves to dial in bump steer. 6 cylinder torsion bars work very well. Add a good pr of double adjustable shocks and you're set. I've been 1.24 60 ft off the foot brake with this set up. My neighbors 62 Dart w/ a SB Chevy, glide, and a brake has been 1.28 60ft even a slightly less refined stock front set-up.
Doug

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All after-market stock-type, in my e-body....

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