Drag front clip- A arms vs strut

A arms or Struts

What are the pros and cons to each on a dedicated drag car? B body 4 link (4-1/2” -5” frame height off ground) 9.0 - 9.30 et car. Maybe dip in the high 8’s in future. No street driving ever. Looking at front clips and need to decide. Just don’t want to make a mistake now for down the road if i decide to go faster than 9’s. Any info, experience you could share is appreciated.

Thanks.

Warren Johnson pointed something out to me last year when I was thinking about having an old 10.5 car I have converted to strut. He asked how many formula one cars I'd seen with strut front ends. He went on to say, struts are lighter, and make more room for headers. Prostock even recently went to some type of a arm, strut combo for a while.

My car is all round tube with a short section of factory frame rail molded around the tubing. The A arms are custom, but the knuckles are 69 camaro. The car is two fingers on the wheel stable. Moral of the story was no strut can handle as well as an A arm, but at a cost.

Struts if you want the lightest option that provides the most room and generally a lower ride height and flat front frame section, also resale will be higher. A Arm works just fine, more moving parts still require a GOOD front shock and packaging and weight are worse. Strut would also allow for a spindle mount wheel to keep the weight down even more. Although for more money that can be done with a A Arm too.

What Al said ^^^^^ an A arm front suspension can take more abuse than struts and when a strut needs rebuilding the whole suspension needs to be rebuilt/replaced un like an Arm you can just change out the shock as needed. Struts are the next level race car part.

Look at the rules for any events where you might decide to participate in the future, like Drag week, NSS, etc. Some classes have restrictions on the front clip.

Dedicated drag car I'd go with struts but only if you have access to a good chassis shop. And if you have access to a good chassis shop then go ask them which they prefer to install and what the tradeoffs are. You'll get into a whole discussion starting with is the engine centered in the chassis or offset. Custom headers or off the shelf. Tube chassis car or stock. Stock floor, stock firewall or all fabbed. Lots of decisions to make when building a car.

My car is all stock front suspension , it’s been faster than 9’s . As mentioned what are future plans ? Read rules as some classes don’t allow struts . If bracket racing it may not really matter

Thank you fellas , for all the replies and advice. You have given me food for thought and i will keep researching and make a decision. I am leaning towards A-arm setup as of now and will let everyone know.

I am leaning towards the Chassisworks front clip and they have various options with regard to spindles. Any major dissadvantage to choosing the mustang Ii spindle vs the $$$ billet fabricated spindle on a car of this level (not super fast)? And what about a brake recomnendation? I will be moving the firewall back about 9”, and will be using a framerail mounted master cylinder/pedal assembly. Any one know if there is anything i should know to look out for when combining this design master? I will speak to wilwood about the components, but figured if anyone had any pitfalls to avoid?

Thx

Are you planning to do the work yourself?

Yes, Andy. I am doing the fabrication. The backhalf 4 link is installed and verified to be square within the body and the factory LCA points.

I have this one, no idea who makes it, but it works great for me & loads of room for headers etc...

Maybe this post with pictures may help. Rather old pics, at mid-point of this project,but it is before the tinwork was done so there is a clear view of space and availability.The 2" fenderwell headers have since been replaced w/homebuilt Hedman 2 1/8" shorter primarys from a modified kit. They look similar to dyno/sprint car headers due to the fact that the tubes exit over the frame rails in a straight exit from the head's exhaust ports.Remember this is an A body, w/ a B body you may have even a little more room.Hope these pictures work Bill https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2005202/1.html

Struts are lighter with fewer moving parts. Framerails are lower and out of the way. On a big block Mopar, the oil system needs to be considered.

Handling on a drag car is not much of an issue. High speed stability is. Proper caster is the main concern.

I wouldn't put spindle mounts on a heavy car for a number of reasons - strength, available brake kits being the main ones.

My car was built with a-arms years ago to try to save a few bucks. Basically an aftermarket Pinto style deal. I didn't have it long before I wished it had struts, but it's light and a bit smaller than a B-body.

That's an Alston kit. They work well. They do (did?) a few variations of that including a fabricated upper a-arm that saved some weight and space as well.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/607986/new-ss-struts.html

Old post from fastfish451 Struts with factory frame rails

If you're going to do the work yourself and have never done this kind of work before then I'd suggest buying a kit. Or hiring a chassis guy to help you with the project. Lots of stuff has to be put together correctly on the front suspension for the car to be safe at speed.

I am definitely getting the kit from Alston. They offer both types, which is why i was asking for pros and cons as well as which one is more suitable for my application. After reading everything and considering budget in future for upkeep and maintenance: i think i will be going the A-arm kit.

Thank you.

Thanks guys for the advice and all the pics. Those really help in putting this plan together. I also have a guy that i know that built a backhalf/front clip b body in the early 90’s that I can get some feedback from. I know that was a long time ago, and things have progressed, but his car ran in the 9.20’s back then and was nicely built.

Use the short shock like in the photo at the top. If the car is low, has a 4 link and the engine is moved back, you don't need or want 6 inches of travel.

I used theirs 24 years ago fabed top and bottom with Koni shock and Airhart brakes. Once I got bump steer and rack right drove straight and TURNED right. ton of room for full length pan and headers over the rails, 3” frame height and 4 link-wishbone, hook on snot. 1.21 60 at 5.60. Almost no weight transfer with a strut, have to rely on HP to rotate the car. 1000 hp and up a strut, 5-600 a-arm.