Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: mopardamo]
#1304228
09/15/12 02:54 PM
09/15/12 02:54 PM
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 96,661 On The Boat, On The Lake, Wa. ...
amxautox
Still Retired. Still Posting on Moparts. A Lot.
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Still Retired. Still Posting on Moparts. A Lot.
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 96,661
On The Boat, On The Lake, Wa. ...
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I like the soft springs and heavy sway bar for the streets. Ride on the streets is great, and still handles great. Did that with my first handling car, a '71 Sebring. Any handling requirements like road course, major autocross, then heavier springs are required, then a heavier sway bar also. Not to mention proper shocks.
Tom
"Everyone should believe in something; I believe I'll go fishing."
-Henry David Thoreau
Men and fish are alike. They both get into trouble when they open their mouths
author unknown
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: mopardamo]
#1304229
09/15/12 07:55 PM
09/15/12 07:55 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,388 Pikes Peak Country
TC@HP2
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,388
Pikes Peak Country
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I'd say there are three schools; soft spring-big bar, moderate spring-moderate bar, stiff spring-soft bar.
The soft spring-big bar approach has a narrow range of performance because the pricipal is, as autoxcuda pointed out, the spring rates are so soft that aeroforces as low as 60 mph will begin to push the nose of the car down. These rates are so low that they are only effective on a smooth surface race track. On a street car they would be bottoming out and causing issues. In the case of the stock car shown above, these would be wheel rates as low as 150#. When your springs are that soft, shock control of the motion becomes hypercritical and requires valving requirements that are not going to be found in an off the shelf offering. As pointed out, the race team about has a dyno to select the best shocks based on their combo of springs/bars they are using at any particular track. That is far and away more work and effort than almost any street driver will be willing to put in.
By comparison, 150# wheel rates are down around many of the stock size t-bars that mopars came with. I don't know about many guys here, but I have bottomed out almost every stock sized offering in a mopar in regular street driving, even teh "big" Hemi bars. To use combos like this on the street requires very large sway bars to be effective, and honestly, there are not large enough offerings out there to really go this route on a classic mopar. As Hochkis pointed out in another thread, they are looking at a 1.5" diameter bar for this approach to even get to the moderate range. That is huge.
I agree with the Herb Adams approach that the moderate rate combo is the best allaround approach for most street cars. BTW, during the Herb Adams era, Pontiac also developed and marketed the Radial Tuned Suspension. This was nothing more than aggressive alignment specs to take advantage of the new radial tire design. But, it tweaked a lot of parts counter jockeys and car owners for the better part of a decade. But I digress. In any case, this is why, finally, we are seeing a migration in the mopar world towards 1.0 and bigger bars, whch are fairly moderate rates. Combined with the widely available sway bars of 1, 1.125, and 1.25, we have finally hit the point Pontiac found in the 2nd gen F body around 1974.
The higher spring rates are necessary when you start driving very aggressively because there are a multitude of forces at work. Not only do they resist the obvious bump and roll, but there is also anti-dive at work here as well. Stabbing the brakes going into the corner really shift dynamic loading and it can easily overload the average shock absorber, so you need rate to hold things up. Racing at speed alos increases the load of dips and bumps, so significantly higher rates are need to resist bottoming on less than smooth surfaces because of the speed. I'd also make an arguement that calling competition style anti-roll bars "soft" ma also be a bit of a misnomer. They may appear a bit softer compared to some springs, but they still are pretty stout. In this approach, I might even argue that mopars come up short. A 1.22 t-bar is the biggest occasionally available t-bar around. This is entry level racing performance, but in a mopar, you're maxed out. Its easy to see why there has been a steady migration towards chevys at the nation's oval tracks. As Mitch has pointed out in multiple posts, the radical transition loads placed on a car in an autocross has led him to constantly increase t-bar sizes to the 1.24" he has now, and, unfortuantly, he is maxed out.
Now, that isn't to say everyone out there needs a t-bar that is an inch and a quarter in diameter. But, I think almost anyone would benefit from the overall moderate approach because it uses readily available parts that can be matched with a decent, but cost effective shock, such as the widely popular RCD Bilsteins, without breaking the bank of getting into super trick shocks.
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: TC@HP2]
#1304230
09/16/12 12:17 AM
09/16/12 12:17 AM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 4,302 Nebraska
72Swinger
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master
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Posts: 4,302
Nebraska
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Brake dive is another issue worth mentioning that comes with a lighter spring.
Mopar to the bone!!!
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: TC@HP2]
#1304233
09/16/12 03:47 PM
09/16/12 03:47 PM
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,328 St. Louis, MO
mopardamo
OP
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,328
St. Louis, MO
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I've liked Herb's thinking ever since I read one of his books 30 years ago. I'm getting it. Thanks for the info guy's especially TC@HP2 To me shocks are a big deal. Have not heard much about Fox or King shocks i guess due to the costs? Just what is an awesome shock for a street performance E body? I don't mind spending extra coin on shocks that are worth it. Damon
Last edited by mopardamo; 09/16/12 06:51 PM.
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: mopardamo]
#1304235
09/16/12 05:28 PM
09/16/12 05:28 PM
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 841 Santa Fe Springs, CA
Dan@Hotchkis
super stock
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super stock
Joined: May 2012
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Santa Fe Springs, CA
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Quote:
I now know why King and Fox shocks are not talked about. They don't cater to the street crowd. I was used to seeing talk about them on Truck forums and thought they might do something for the car hugging crowd too. Nope!
Damon
Not true. Ridetech Shocks are made by fox and are the best on the market....for now.
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: Dan@Hotchkis]
#1304237
09/16/12 07:24 PM
09/16/12 07:24 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,467 So Cal
autoxcuda
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,467
So Cal
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Quote:
Quote:
I now know why King and Fox shocks are not talked about. They don't cater to the street crowd. I was used to seeing talk about them on Truck forums and thought they might do something for the car hugging crowd too. Nope!
Damon
Not true. Ridetech Shocks are made by fox and are the best on the market....for now.
You mean best that have bolt on applications for older Mopars?
Penske, Ohlins, Bilstein, Koni, competition Sachs shocks are what NASCAR, F1, and Indy cars use.
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: autoxcuda]
#1304238
09/16/12 08:19 PM
09/16/12 08:19 PM
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 841 Santa Fe Springs, CA
Dan@Hotchkis
super stock
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super stock
Joined: May 2012
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Santa Fe Springs, CA
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Quote:
You mean best that have bolt on applications for older Mopars?
Penske, Ohlins, Bilstein, Koni, competition Sachs shocks are what NASCAR, F1, and Indy cars use.
Sorry, I was referring to gas-charged, adjustable that didn't cost as much as most people cars. Ridetech's are the best bang for the buck.
Quote:
Arn't the Ridetech shocks electrically controlled air type of shocks? I thought they were used when doing a coil over conversion? Dan what about them do you like so much?
Damon
Nope, their current offerings are coil-over bodies with the coil-over junk removed, available in single and triple adjustable. Smooth-bodied will be released by SEMA this year.
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: Dan@Hotchkis]
#1304240
09/16/12 09:22 PM
09/16/12 09:22 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,467 So Cal
autoxcuda
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,467
So Cal
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Quote:
Quote:
You mean best that have bolt on applications for older Mopars?
Penske, Ohlins, Bilstein, Koni, competition Sachs shocks are what NASCAR, F1, and Indy cars use.
Sorry, I was referring to gas-charged, adjustable that didn't cost as much as most people cars. Ridetech's are the best bang for the buck.
Yea I realize those shocks are full race units. Not really applicable to what people are doing here. Just wanted to show there is a whole range of performance we don't/can't even touch at this level.
How much for bolt on Ridetech for older Mopars?
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: autoxcuda]
#1304241
09/16/12 09:46 PM
09/16/12 09:46 PM
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 4,302 Nebraska
72Swinger
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master
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Posts: 4,302
Nebraska
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What is the collapsed length a guy should look for for the front?
Mopar to the bone!!!
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: TC@HP2]
#1304243
09/17/12 12:25 PM
09/17/12 12:25 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,442 NW Chicago suburban area
Mopar Mitch
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NW Chicago suburban area
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TC -- I agree further with your description of the "3 choices". One big negative and a "caution" to consider, in my opinion, with the soft-spring/big bar choice, is that the soft springs allow too much dive and lift, which tends to occur during cornering transitions as well, but especially upon hard breaking and accelerations. Simply increasing the suspension stiffness will progressively take those effects away. The driver's intent with the car, whether it be street/hwy cruising... and up to competition autocross/road course events (and.. depending upon the "class" chosen to compete in at that level), would determine the "choice" of setup. Personally, when I "compete" in autocross and/or hi-speed road course events, as well as in my occasional street/hwy driving, I want the best level of handling to come from my car... If I'd want a soft(er) ride, then the handling potential becomes less in competition and the resulting times become slower... I like to beat the Fords/GMs.
Mopar Mitch
"Road racers and autocrossers go in deeper and come out harder!"... and rain never stops us from having fun with our cars... in fact, it makes us better drivers!
Check out MOPAR ACTION MAGAZINE, August 2006 issue for feature article and specs on my autocross T/A!
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Re: Soft Spring big sway VS Stiff spring smaller sway bar
[Re: 72Swinger]
#1304244
09/17/12 12:29 PM
09/17/12 12:29 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,442 NW Chicago suburban area
Mopar Mitch
pro stock
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pro stock
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,442
NW Chicago suburban area
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"Brake dive is another issue worth mentioning that comes with a lighter spring."
72Swinger -- And in a worse case, the shocks do bottom-out and require replacement/rebuild.
Mopar Mitch
"Road racers and autocrossers go in deeper and come out harder!"... and rain never stops us from having fun with our cars... in fact, it makes us better drivers!
Check out MOPAR ACTION MAGAZINE, August 2006 issue for feature article and specs on my autocross T/A!
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