Suspension mods for street vs strip

Posted By: 73cuda340

Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/24/11 10:31 PM

I was looking at getting some of the hotchkis suspension parts for my cuda to replace the factory ones. Mainly, I was looking at the sway bars but if I was to put a set of their 1.03" torsion bars in, how much would this hurt the cars weight transfer and affect the cars ability to launch? This will be a street/ strip car so I'm kind of stuck between building the car to doth both. Thanks for any help.

Posted By: cogen80

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 12:05 PM

everything is a compromise one way or another. figure out what way you want the car to be more( street or track). then deal with it taking a hit on the other.

Posted By: POS Dakota

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 02:25 PM

You can always remove the swaybars at the track and with adjustable shocks make the necessary tweak there. The only thing you;re really stuck with are springs per se. You could set up a suspension that you can adjust for both. You wont get the best of both worlds, but you wont miss the best either.

Posted By: Mr.Yuck

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 03:16 PM

FWIW you can just rebuild your stock stuff w/ good hardware and bushings and you'd be suprised how well it handles. If you just want a bigger sway bar try a PST unit. They are much cheaper, nothing against hotchkis but that stuff is $$$ and is mainly for guys that run road courses.
At the track (drag) you can always unbolt you front sway bar links for more transfer.

Posted By: PHJ426

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 04:12 PM

I am kinda following what Rick E. did with the 69 Road Runner in Mopar Action. The car runs 11 second 1/4 mile times turns and stops well.

Im currently digging through my old issues and ordering up the ones I am missing. Go online at mopar action and some of the info is there.

Like has been said before its all a compromise. With the current motor technology out there among other things having a car that does most of the above is possible.....unless you need a car that goes deep into the 10's or faster and also corners with the kids in the back seat eating ice cream with the dvd's playing for them with the a/c cranking.

Posted By: jbc426

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 04:36 PM

Quote:

.....unless you need a car that goes deep into the 10's or faster and also corners with the kids in the back seat eating ice cream with the dvd's playing for them with the a/c cranking.

Ice cream in the car is out of the question, but the availability of hydraulic roller cams, stroker kits, and great aftermarket heads give us the power. Caltracs with split monoleafs, great shocks, Firmfeel's swaybars, upper control arms and power steering box mods, US Cartool subframe connectors and modern tire technology(like 325/ 50 15 Nitto 555r's) that provides mind-boggling traction; give us control of the road AND the ability to launch. Don't forget to add Perfect fit Vintage Air A/C with a hidden compressor kit from Bouchillion, a few bulk packs of well placed Dynamat Extreme and cocoon up the rest of the interior with rolls of The Insultor Mat from AirCraft Spruce and some aluminum tape.

These days we can have our cake and eat it too, ala-mode if you like.

Attached picture 6841609-IMG_1538(Large).JPG

Posted By: 73cuda340

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 09:41 PM

I'm not looking at building an autocross car. I would much rather have it be able to launch better than to take corners faster. I just was looking to improve on the handling a little but wasn't sure if it would be a big difference with the torsion bars added. Would this hurt alot of the cars ability to transfer weight or would it only be a small difference?

Posted By: PHJ426

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 11:28 PM

JBC --- I like the way the Cuda stands with them Nitto's one bad ride there.

Posted By: PHJ426

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 11:30 PM

I have a .960 T bar on my 72 Runner it weight transfers fine with a 4.30 gear out back and a set of super stock springs with Drag Radials.

Posted By: 451Mopar

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 11:32 PM

That 1.03" is a pretty stiff T-bar so the front won't rise much at all, but it should handle corners and dips well

Posted By: DennisH

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/25/11 11:43 PM

Firm Feel, USCartool subframe connectors, and 4 Hotchkis-tuned Bilstein shocks alone made a dramatic difference in handling on the 69 Coronet. Hotchkis bars are reported to be hollow (I think) making them lighter and better performing than stock originals. They are on my list.

Posted By: TC@HP2

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/26/11 03:05 PM

Quote:

I'm not looking at building an autocross car. I would much rather have it be able to launch better than to take corners faster. I just was looking to improve on the handling a little but wasn't sure if it would be a big difference with the torsion bars added. Would this hurt alot of the cars ability to transfer weight or would it only be a small difference?

IMO, build it to be better mannered on the street than the strip. Will it imapcts its ability to transfer weight, yes. What will the impact be, maybe 2 or 3/10 of a second. We aren't talking huge differences here. Most street strip cars are far from having the ultimate drag strip suspension anyway, so giving up a couple more tenths for a safer street vehicle is no big deal. On top of that, you are likely running it as a bracket car. In this case, consistantcy is far more important the ultimate e.t. The firmer street suspension will be more consistent run after run compared to an all out drag set up.

Posted By: 70Cuda383

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/26/11 05:29 PM

Quote:

I am kinda following what Rick E. did with the 69 Road Runner in Mopar Action. The car runs 11 second 1/4 mile times turns and stops well.

Im currently digging through my old issues and ordering up the ones I am missing. Go online at mopar action and some of the info is there.

Like has been said before its all a compromise. With the current motor technology out there among other things having a car that does most of the above is possible.....unless you need a car that goes deep into the 10's or faster and also corners with the kids in the back seat eating ice cream with the dvd's playing for them with the a/c cranking.

I think there's a Cadillac that can do that...

Posted By: 73cuda340

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/26/11 11:28 PM

Quote:

Quote:

I'm not looking at building an autocross car. I would much rather have it be able to launch better than to take corners faster. I just was looking to improve on the handling a little but wasn't sure if it would be a big difference with the torsion bars added. Would this hurt alot of the cars ability to transfer weight or would it only be a small difference?

IMO, build it to be better mannered on the street than the strip. Will it imapcts its ability to transfer weight, yes. What will the impact be, maybe 2 or 3/10 of a second. We aren't talking huge differences here. Most street strip cars are far from having the ultimate drag strip suspension anyway, so giving up a couple more tenths for a safer street vehicle is no big deal. On top of that, you are likely running it as a bracket car. In this case, consistantcy is far more important the ultimate e.t. The firmer street suspension will be more consistent run after run compared to an all out drag set up.

I'm not running it as a bracket car, just something that I can have fun with on the street and still put down some good times at the strip. The main reason Im so concerned about hurting the cars traction is because I have a 528 hemi in the car; so I can use every bit of help in the traction department.

Posted By: Pauls69

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/26/11 11:39 PM

Quote:

That 1.03" is a pretty stiff T-bar so the front won't rise much at all, but it should handle corners and dips well

i have the MP 1" bars on mine & would never go back. it rides & handles like a completely different car. the steering is still vague, but much of the understeer/plowing is gone. kinda wish i would have bought a larger bar now.

Posted By: Hotchkis

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/27/11 05:12 PM

Quote:

I'm not looking at building an autocross car. I would much rather have it be able to launch better than to take corners faster. I just was looking to improve on the handling a little but wasn't sure if it would be a big difference with the torsion bars added. Would this hurt alot of the cars ability to transfer weight or would it only be a small difference?

73Cuda340 � Having a Hemi in your Cuda is really sweet! Obviously however you decide to build the car is up to you, but as TC pointed out�building a car with better manners on the street makes for a car is so much more fun to drive. We get lots of coverage of our customer cars on the autocross track, but mostly because that�s a good way to demonstrate how well the cars handle. In reality, 90% of our customers don�t ever turn a wheel in anger, they simply want their car to have better road manners on the street. Our system improves overall feel and control without a punishing ride. So the next time you hop out of your modern daily driver and into your Mopar muscle car, you get modern handling with the power and sound we all love.

Here�s a double duty Challenger owned by a Hotchkis H-Team member:

Posted By: 73cuda340

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/28/11 12:26 AM

Would the strut rods have any noticeable affect on a car that's mainly street driven?

Posted By: Hotchkis

Re: Suspension mods for street vs strip - 09/29/11 07:31 PM

Quote:

Would the strut rods have any noticeable affect on a car that's mainly street driven?

73Cuda340 - The heavy duty Hotchkis strut rods eliminate control arm deflection during hard braking and hard cornering so the geometry stays true for best driving performance. So if you will notice it depends on how you drive on the street.