Radical Suspension Mods
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Hell man, I'm 36 years old, I don't remember what I had for lunch yesterday! To be honest with you , I didn't remember even selling you a spring Dave! Sorry, in all seriousness, I don't recall the spring rate. Do you remember WHEN you bought it, that might help. I switched over from 440 lbs to 500 lbs at some point.
Bob
Bob
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1,521 Posts
Hell i don't remember either HA HA
I did figure that most common folks got the softer spring
(I thought it was 200 a something)
and only a few got the 500lb spring
I will be shipping the spring to Stan regardless.
i also told him you gave all the info on Manufacturer to Gil, i hope i wasn't out of line with that statement (i think that's what you told me)
Anyway my GT was modified for Coilovers but that's another story or should I say disaster.
Stan was trying to contact you about the Manufacture.
I talked with him on the Phone today and he said the number he had did not work.
also i asked him if he had any help for the Runoffs at MidOhio
and he said no
so i am thinking about going
Davegt74
I did figure that most common folks got the softer spring
(I thought it was 200 a something)
and only a few got the 500lb spring
I will be shipping the spring to Stan regardless.
i also told him you gave all the info on Manufacturer to Gil, i hope i wasn't out of line with that statement (i think that's what you told me)
Anyway my GT was modified for Coilovers but that's another story or should I say disaster.
Stan was trying to contact you about the Manufacture.
I talked with him on the Phone today and he said the number he had did not work.
also i asked him if he had any help for the Runoffs at MidOhio
and he said no
so i am thinking about going
Davegt74
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1,521 Posts
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10,366 Posts
If you have a couple of pictures, you can add them to the Members Photo Gallery . Click on the upload button in the right corner.davegt74 said:
Dave,
posting pictures in the forum is quite easy. When you reply just scroll down to the 'attach file' section and hit 'browse'. You can then point it to the pic on your computer. The only catch is that the pic must be less than 350x350. If you don't have the tools to reduce the resolution feel free to send them to me and I'll modify and post. My home address is [email protected]
-Travis
posting pictures in the forum is quite easy. When you reply just scroll down to the 'attach file' section and hit 'browse'. You can then point it to the pic on your computer. The only catch is that the pic must be less than 350x350. If you don't have the tools to reduce the resolution feel free to send them to me and I'll modify and post. My home address is [email protected]
-Travis
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10,366 Posts
The 350 x 350 limit is for attachments to posts in this forum.Travis said:
The max for the Members Photo Gallery is 1,000 X 1,000 It will automatically shrink the photo and make a thumbnail for you. Once approved it will appear in your personal album.
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1,521 Posts
on the PICS above
i haven't bought shocks since i am thinking it may have to be redone
the rules say any holes in the fender well must be covered you can see its going to be hard to cover these pieces
the bolt on the opposite side of the bar that goes from left to right, that is where the top of the shock mounts
also the end of the tube you see coming from the rear of the car, its part of the roll cage.
that tube is not welded to the car its all bolted in (at the front)
its not what i asked for, seems most places no mater what you say they do what they want anyway
after all i did ask for a circle track type setup
also on the right of the car you really dont want anything sticking into the engine bay since that's where you will be ducting air for the carbs or FI
the front PIC is to try to show how low the car is
very very low---that is a good thing
but it brings up another important point
when racing the GT-- solo II and i suspect road race
the problem is the front end of the car
the solution is to run as close to the stock height as possible
now if you really want to get radical and mod the front, you will screw up the rear of the car
so what i am trying to say is you have to modify the rear
so you can! modify the front
maybe we can get Bob and Bob to comment
but that's my take on things
hopefully i don't get to much laughter and we all learn a little
I will get the GT off the ground today and i will take some more PICS (dam thing is so low i will have to use a scissors jack i think)
Davegt27
AKA Homer
i haven't bought shocks since i am thinking it may have to be redone
the rules say any holes in the fender well must be covered you can see its going to be hard to cover these pieces
the bolt on the opposite side of the bar that goes from left to right, that is where the top of the shock mounts
also the end of the tube you see coming from the rear of the car, its part of the roll cage.
that tube is not welded to the car its all bolted in (at the front)
its not what i asked for, seems most places no mater what you say they do what they want anyway
after all i did ask for a circle track type setup
also on the right of the car you really dont want anything sticking into the engine bay since that's where you will be ducting air for the carbs or FI
the front PIC is to try to show how low the car is
very very low---that is a good thing
but it brings up another important point
when racing the GT-- solo II and i suspect road race
the problem is the front end of the car
the solution is to run as close to the stock height as possible
now if you really want to get radical and mod the front, you will screw up the rear of the car
so what i am trying to say is you have to modify the rear
so you can! modify the front
maybe we can get Bob and Bob to comment
but that's my take on things
hopefully i don't get to much laughter and we all learn a little
I will get the GT off the ground today and i will take some more PICS (dam thing is so low i will have to use a scissors jack i think)
Davegt27
AKA Homer
Joined
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315 Posts
I'm not sure which part you want comments on, so I'll make a few general comments.
1. The top of the shock tower, and the inner fender well were never designed to be load bearing. So as soon as you turn the suspension into a "coil over" set-up, it will be a "flexy flier". The sheet metal and "shock tower" will flex all over the place.... foreward under braking, up/down over bumps, and side ways under cornering.
2. The "strut brace" between the two shock towers only helps a little. With the brace the flex is shared between the two shock towers... now they both have lateral flex under hard cornering.
3. A 1.5"x.095" "1020" (roll cage material) tube that connects back to the roll cage fixes the foreward flex under braking, but does little for the lateral or up/down flex.
(Note that what I am talking about here is flex under hard core racing conditions with racing slicks etc. Using regular street tires might be OK.)
We designed a "kit" a few years ago, that fixes the flex. The problem with the kit is that it is like all racing stuff... very expensive. (Figure on at least $4k by the time you're done depending on what coil-overs you choose... we went with Koni's @ $550 each not including springs and hardware.)
After we got done with all the time, effort and aggrivation, the only advantage we ended up with was adjustability. And the reality is that once you've got the set-up, it never gets adjusted. (We changed springs and shock settings from track to track.) So, as it turns out, if you have adjustable shocks (non-coil-over) and a couple of different springs, you end up with the same thing... for a lot less $... but a lot more "pain" changing leaf springs.
In the end, when I "crunched" the car with the coil-over set-up, I went back to the leaf springs... and then on to win a National Division championship.
So, I guess my best advice is that unless you are going to go racing in the GT4 class, stay with the leaf spring. If you're going GT4, then cut off the front end at the fire-wall and tube frame the whole front.
1. The top of the shock tower, and the inner fender well were never designed to be load bearing. So as soon as you turn the suspension into a "coil over" set-up, it will be a "flexy flier". The sheet metal and "shock tower" will flex all over the place.... foreward under braking, up/down over bumps, and side ways under cornering.
2. The "strut brace" between the two shock towers only helps a little. With the brace the flex is shared between the two shock towers... now they both have lateral flex under hard cornering.
3. A 1.5"x.095" "1020" (roll cage material) tube that connects back to the roll cage fixes the foreward flex under braking, but does little for the lateral or up/down flex.
(Note that what I am talking about here is flex under hard core racing conditions with racing slicks etc. Using regular street tires might be OK.)
We designed a "kit" a few years ago, that fixes the flex. The problem with the kit is that it is like all racing stuff... very expensive. (Figure on at least $4k by the time you're done depending on what coil-overs you choose... we went with Koni's @ $550 each not including springs and hardware.)
After we got done with all the time, effort and aggrivation, the only advantage we ended up with was adjustability. And the reality is that once you've got the set-up, it never gets adjusted. (We changed springs and shock settings from track to track.) So, as it turns out, if you have adjustable shocks (non-coil-over) and a couple of different springs, you end up with the same thing... for a lot less $... but a lot more "pain" changing leaf springs.
In the end, when I "crunched" the car with the coil-over set-up, I went back to the leaf springs... and then on to win a National Division championship.
So, I guess my best advice is that unless you are going to go racing in the GT4 class, stay with the leaf spring. If you're going GT4, then cut off the front end at the fire-wall and tube frame the whole front.
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1,521 Posts
Front end stuff
Thanks Bob for commenting
Basically what I wanted was for you to give me your opinion on the front end.
A lot of time some input is better then no input.
what i have decided to do is retire the Opel
and a 85 MR2 will take its place as a project car
the Toyota if i want Bearings or ARP bolts for it i can just call and order the parts. it will be a LPFP Car
it is getting a roll cage right now
This Opel will get redone further down the road and I wont comment on what's in store for it.
Davegt74
Thanks Bob for commenting
Basically what I wanted was for you to give me your opinion on the front end.
A lot of time some input is better then no input.
what i have decided to do is retire the Opel
and a 85 MR2 will take its place as a project car
the Toyota if i want Bearings or ARP bolts for it i can just call and order the parts. it will be a LPFP Car
it is getting a roll cage right now
This Opel will get redone further down the road and I wont comment on what's in store for it.
Davegt74
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