Hi:
I'm fiddling with my tbird again and I wanted to ask a question of some folks more educated than me on tweaking my tbird's setup. When we had a V6 in the tbird, the car was quite neutral handling. It was a pleasure to drive on the track (road course) but dog slow. We've since beat on it for 5 years now so the suspension is probably a bit more worn than it was when we started. Once we went to a 5.0V8 though, the handling has been a little "looser" feeling but the V8 now lets us throttle steer as necessary ("not turning in fast enough? give it a little more gas and the car rotates more")
Current Handling Setup
- Front Springs: 91 SC springs (349-403 lb./in) , used, 1.5 coils cut off, on our car since our first race in Oct 2011).
- Front struts: Monroe Sensatrac, left replaced in 2011 as new item, right one recently replaced before last race (pre Feb 2016) b/c it was blown
- From pillow top rubber strut assembly mount: doesnt' appear busted on driver's side, replaced with a new one on the passenger side when the blown strut was swapped out.
- Front Swaybar: 95 tbird 3.8 stock - 1.06" tubular IIRC. Not inclined to replace it.
- Front UCA: replaced w/ new Dorman (2011)
- Wheels: Direzza Star Specs 225/45-R16. We went to a 16" rim when we realized our V8 could overwhelm our 205/50-R15 tires with even just partial throttle (accidentally nearly went sideways when I goosed the throttle on the street)
- Approximately 150LB heavier at the nose with the V8 vs the V6.
- Rear swaybar: 90 SC stock - 1.04" solid vs 95 stock which was tubular
- Rear Springs: 1.5" drop Eibachs (514-714 lb/in)
- Rear shocks: Motorcraft OEM from 2011 ($10/ea closeout rockauto special)
* My race spares are a set (front and rear) of Suspension Techniques linear springs & matching shocks: 432LB linear front 631LB linear rear. I also have a set of KYB shocks that a TCCOA contributed to me for the cost of shipping (he says they were soft). Finally, I believe I have a paid of SC front struts that have a bit of rust on them from Dan I could use/cutup/whatever.
At our last race, the judge hopped on our fender and described our front end as "comfy"
WHAT I PLAN TO DO ALREADY
* Replace the front sway bar bushings - these also look pretty worn out. - DONE
* Replace the rear sway bar bushings: they didn't look as worn so this is just money/effort. - DONE
* Replace rear toe compensator links: DONE
* Replace the rear shocks with 99-04 Cobra bilsteins - DONE
* Replace front struts with Bilstein 3000GT inserts: IN PROGRESS. Requires:
- cut and gut two stoxk struts: DONE
- install insert
- fabricate shock top w/ 5/8" shaft hole
* Fabricate front strut braces (strut rod frame mount to LCA mount & LCA mount to frame rail) - IN PROCESS
* Replace the front LCAs - the bushings look a bit worn and new MOOG ones are cheap enough @ $30/ea. - IN PROCESS
* Replace the LCA rear bushings (inner) - SKIP FOR NOW
Questions
Q1: I know that if you "over-spring" a car, the result is a vehicle with squirrelly handling as the tire will bounce up and down and when doing so, the car will lose traction as you go over any hills (Sears point is very hilly). This is a big concern for me. What i don't know is what happens when you over-dampen a car so I'd like some advice here if anyone is knowledgable in this area. Would it be considered overdampening to leave my springs as-is and just replace the struts/shocks?
Q1b: I suspect if I go from an OEM quality ride (Monroe Sensatracs + Motorcraft) to Bilsteins up front, should I do the same out back? What if I just replaced the back shocks and left the front ones as is? How would that affect handling
Q2: If I do decide to replace the dampeners, I might as well consider replacing the front springs. My gut feeling is that with the added weight of the V8, I could use more spring up front but is going to the 650LB/in linear springs up front going to be too much?
Q2b: I know that too stiff a front end in relation to the rear will contribute to understeering. Will changing the ratio between front/rear springs cause an issue if I go with the QA1 springs up front?
Q2c: What do people with the QA1 springs up front use for the rears?
Q2d: Finally, will I notice a weird feeling by mixing and matching linear and progressive springs? If I go with the QA1 springs up front, my gut feeling is to keep the Eibachs in back. It'll be cheaper and they don't look broken.
Thanks in advice for your thoughts....
-g
I'm fiddling with my tbird again and I wanted to ask a question of some folks more educated than me on tweaking my tbird's setup. When we had a V6 in the tbird, the car was quite neutral handling. It was a pleasure to drive on the track (road course) but dog slow. We've since beat on it for 5 years now so the suspension is probably a bit more worn than it was when we started. Once we went to a 5.0V8 though, the handling has been a little "looser" feeling but the V8 now lets us throttle steer as necessary ("not turning in fast enough? give it a little more gas and the car rotates more")
Current Handling Setup
- Front Springs: 91 SC springs (349-403 lb./in) , used, 1.5 coils cut off, on our car since our first race in Oct 2011).
- Front struts: Monroe Sensatrac, left replaced in 2011 as new item, right one recently replaced before last race (pre Feb 2016) b/c it was blown
- From pillow top rubber strut assembly mount: doesnt' appear busted on driver's side, replaced with a new one on the passenger side when the blown strut was swapped out.
- Front Swaybar: 95 tbird 3.8 stock - 1.06" tubular IIRC. Not inclined to replace it.
- Front UCA: replaced w/ new Dorman (2011)
- Wheels: Direzza Star Specs 225/45-R16. We went to a 16" rim when we realized our V8 could overwhelm our 205/50-R15 tires with even just partial throttle (accidentally nearly went sideways when I goosed the throttle on the street)
- Approximately 150LB heavier at the nose with the V8 vs the V6.
- Rear swaybar: 90 SC stock - 1.04" solid vs 95 stock which was tubular
- Rear Springs: 1.5" drop Eibachs (514-714 lb/in)
- Rear shocks: Motorcraft OEM from 2011 ($10/ea closeout rockauto special)
* My race spares are a set (front and rear) of Suspension Techniques linear springs & matching shocks: 432LB linear front 631LB linear rear. I also have a set of KYB shocks that a TCCOA contributed to me for the cost of shipping (he says they were soft). Finally, I believe I have a paid of SC front struts that have a bit of rust on them from Dan I could use/cutup/whatever.
At our last race, the judge hopped on our fender and described our front end as "comfy"
WHAT I PLAN TO DO ALREADY
* Replace the front sway bar bushings - these also look pretty worn out. - DONE
* Replace the rear sway bar bushings: they didn't look as worn so this is just money/effort. - DONE
* Replace rear toe compensator links: DONE
* Replace the rear shocks with 99-04 Cobra bilsteins - DONE
* Replace front struts with Bilstein 3000GT inserts: IN PROGRESS. Requires:
- cut and gut two stoxk struts: DONE
- install insert
- fabricate shock top w/ 5/8" shaft hole
* Fabricate front strut braces (strut rod frame mount to LCA mount & LCA mount to frame rail) - IN PROCESS
* Replace the front LCAs - the bushings look a bit worn and new MOOG ones are cheap enough @ $30/ea. - IN PROCESS
* Replace the LCA rear bushings (inner) - SKIP FOR NOW
Questions
Q1: I know that if you "over-spring" a car, the result is a vehicle with squirrelly handling as the tire will bounce up and down and when doing so, the car will lose traction as you go over any hills (Sears point is very hilly). This is a big concern for me. What i don't know is what happens when you over-dampen a car so I'd like some advice here if anyone is knowledgable in this area. Would it be considered overdampening to leave my springs as-is and just replace the struts/shocks?
Q1b: I suspect if I go from an OEM quality ride (Monroe Sensatracs + Motorcraft) to Bilsteins up front, should I do the same out back? What if I just replaced the back shocks and left the front ones as is? How would that affect handling
Q2: If I do decide to replace the dampeners, I might as well consider replacing the front springs. My gut feeling is that with the added weight of the V8, I could use more spring up front but is going to the 650LB/in linear springs up front going to be too much?
Q2b: I know that too stiff a front end in relation to the rear will contribute to understeering. Will changing the ratio between front/rear springs cause an issue if I go with the QA1 springs up front?
Q2c: What do people with the QA1 springs up front use for the rears?
Q2d: Finally, will I notice a weird feeling by mixing and matching linear and progressive springs? If I go with the QA1 springs up front, my gut feeling is to keep the Eibachs in back. It'll be cheaper and they don't look broken.
Thanks in advice for your thoughts....
-g