my potential rear suspension setup for drag racing

[nolanator]

Yesterday I was checking out the suspension on this car and pulled out a chunk of what looked like a big gulp cup from 7/11. It turns out it was part of an air bag, so for the sake of having some peace of mind, I am replacing the rear suspension. If the parts I pull off turn out to be good, hey! then i'll have spare parts or I can sell them, but I want to be sure the parts I will be running on my car in top notch condition, and the only way to do that is to buy them new, so here is what I am looking at, the part number, and approximate pricing.

UMI- rear adjustable upper/ non adjustable lower control arms - UPT-301517R - $379.95
QA1 single adjustable rear shock - TS801 - $154.97 (x2)
Air Lift air bags - 60733 -$102.85
Moog Cargo springs - CC507 - $76.97

The grand total would be about $870.00.

My purpose for this car is to have a quick street/strip car. I'm not too concerned about comfort or anything like that, so long as the car hooks hard. Can anyone see any ways I can save money by doing this whether it be substituting part X for part Y, so on and so forth?

Thanks

 

[ALBERTAN]

Changing the rear sway bar (and pulling the front...at least at the track) will net you as much of an improvement in launching as your other listed mods. Within reason, I don't think the actual brand of control arms makes a big difference. They are all similar. Get double adjustable uppers if you can so that you can adjust them on the car. I'm not sure if you need to go that ritzy on the shocks or get new springs either, although the adjustable shock will help you eke out a little more at the line (not a big deal on a +/- stock car). The air bags will compensate for that.

If it was me, I'd get the H&R Parts RSB, whatever good name brand control arms were the best deal, a set of Bilsteins, and the air bags with manual valve stems easily accessible under the back bumper. That would provide a good combination of riding nice on the street and hooking well at the track. But then my days of drag racing are behind me. So see what the gurus say.

Also, make sure it's a G80 (posi) car, or the rest is sort of moot.

 

[nolanator]

Okay, I did a little more shopping around and after reading a couple threads, I substituted a couple parts on my wish list. One being the QA1 adjustable rear shocks, which would cost about $310 per pair. I found a set of QA1 Stocker Star NA (non adjustable) shocks, for $210 a pair. These are the shocks that I had on my Nova so I have a little experience with them and know I like them. Secondly, the Moog cargo springs I was able to find for $64.97 bringing the total down from $870 to around $755.

The control arms come in a package, so it's hard to beat the price piecing together individual parts.

 

[charlief1]

Instead of using those arms, check out baseline suspension and the adjustable IC relocation kit. That will help with weight transfer quite a bit and not give you any ride issues. Have you don e anything with the front suspension yet?

 

[nolanator]

Instead of using those arms, check out baseline suspension and the adjustable IC relocation kit. That will help with weight transfer quite a bit and not give you any ride issues. Have you don e anything with the front suspension yet?

I'll check it out. I haven't started front. I am basically treating the car as a month to month project. This month is wheels, tires, and rear suspension. Next month my transmission should be arriving, so I will do that and front suspension.

Edit: I'm going to pass on baseline. they're pricey.

 

[getdowngranny]

What parts are on the car now? What wheels and tire size do you ultimately want to run? What do you want your ride height to be? All of these are questions you need to ask yourself. The shitty stock G-Body rear suspension can be made to hook really well at the track with minimal mods. Weight transfer is the ticket. You need to figure out what you want to do with the car before throwing parts at it. I have had G-body's go 1.3 60's with stock boxed rear upper and lower control arms, ebay anti-roll bar, stock springs and cheap-o summit 3-way adjutable shocks. In my experience with many g-bodies, it really does not take much to make the suspension work well at the track. With my current Turbo Regal, I decided to go with coil-overs because I am the type that is never satisfied with ride height and wheel combination. I very often adjust my height and shock rate and will always have coil-overs from now on. I run UMI upper and Lower control arms, QA1 coil-overs, and huge ATR rear sway bar and the car works really well all the way around. I am also a fan of removing the front sway bar if you run a big rear bar. If I were you (depending on what is on the car now), I would start with a H&R rear sway bar and and take it to the track to see what you get on the 60ft.

 

[charlief1]

The IC relocation kit will give you the best hook on or off the track. If you change nothing else, do the uppers. Also, if you only change the rear the fronts will give you problems, believe me.

 

[nolanator]

What parts are on the car now? What wheels and tire size do you ultimately want to run? What do you want your ride height to be? All of these are questions you need to ask yourself. The shitty stock G-Body rear suspension can be made to hook really well at the track with minimal mods. Weight transfer is the ticket. You need to figure out what you want to do with the car before throwing parts at it. I have had G-body's go 1.3 60's with stock boxed rear upper and lower control arms, ebay anti-roll bar, stock springs and cheap-o summit 3-way adjutable shocks. In my experience with many g-bodies, it really does not take much to make the suspension work well at the track. With my current Turbo Regal, I decided to go with coil-overs because I am the type that is never satisfied with ride height and wheel combination. I very often adjust my height and shock rate and will always have coil-overs from now on. I run UMI upper and Lower control arms, QA1 coil-overs, and huge ATR rear sway bar and the car works really well all the way around. I am also a fan of removing the front sway bar if you run a big rear bar. If I were you (depending on what is on the car now), I would start with a H&R rear sway bar and and take it to the track to see what you get on the 60ft.

The car has what looks to be boxed stock lower control arms in the rear but they are hideous. The springs droop a little and there are fragments of airbags collected at the bottom of the springs. My rear wheel/tire setup is a 15x8 wheel with 3.75" of BS and a 275/60/15 tire. I don't really care how the car sits or looks so long as it hooks. I'm reading about the weight transfer in these cars still, hence why I haven't moved forward with front suspension purchases.

Oh, the car also has Hotchkis sway bars. I will try to take some pictures this afternoon.

 

[nolanator]

The IC relocation kit will give you the best hook on or off the track. If you change nothing else, do the uppers. Also, if you only change the rear the fronts will give you problems, believe me.

I understand the parts are probably top notch, but I just can't justify the pricing, especially since ive seen multiple people making great passes on less expensive parts. I appreciate the advice though. I'm not neglecting the front end. I just haven't committed to a setup yet. I still have a lot of learning to do

 

[REAPER231]

Yesterday I was checking out the suspension on this car and pulled out a chunk of what looked like a big gulp cup from 7/11. It turns out it was part of an air bag, so for the sake of having some peace of mind, I am replacing the rear suspension. If the parts I pull off turn out to be good, hey! then i'll have spare parts or I can sell them, but I want to be sure the parts I will be running on my car in top notch condition, and the only way to do that is to buy them new, so here is what I am looking at, the part number, and approximate pricing.

UMI- rear adjustable upper/ non adjustable lower control arms - UPT-301517R - $379.95
QA1 single adjustable rear shock - TS801 - $154.97 (x2)
Air Lift air bags - 60733 -$102.85
Moog Cargo springs - CC507 - $76.97

The grand total would be about $870.00.

My purpose for this car is to have a quick street/strip car. I'm not too concerned about comfort or anything like that, so long as the car hooks hard. Can anyone see any ways I can save money by doing this whether it be substituting part X for part Y, so on and so forth?

Thanks

Sendin a pm