60ft. better just with suspension change?

Can a car 60ft. better if it already dead hooks? Does playing with weight transfer or suspension help any, on an already consistent launch?

In a nutshell, no.

In a nutshell, no.

Correct, however, as you add other performance improvements (more HP, or higher stall) at some point-in-time you'll need the suspension to handle it.

WD

I thought I once read that it was feasible that one set up over another might 60ft. better. Something to do with how much energy it takes to load the suspension and get the car moving. This was years ago, so I don't remember the details. Then again I'm lucky I remember my name day to day.

good thread...i will keep my eye on this one

I thought I once read that it was feasible that one set up over another might 60ft. better. Something to do with how much energy it takes to load the suspension and get the car moving. This was years ago, so I don't remember the details. Then again I'm lucky I remember my name day to day.

Not if you're dead hooking and rolling the front tires.
Now if your pulling a monster wheelie then you could get the car to work better and leave the tires down to get a better 60' by tuning the suspension.

Not if you're dead hooking and rolling the front tires.
Now if your pulling a monster wheelie then you could get the car to work better and leave the tires down to get a better 60' by tuning the suspension.

I'm probably one of those guys that would freak :eek: at a good size wheelie, take my foot out of the gas, and slam the car back down. :uhoh:
Thanks for the replys, Rick.

:confused: Strange, because I was consistantly in the 1.655 60' range and dead hooking but when I got the adjustable front springs and shocks I dropped to where I'm at now, and that isn't with the suspension fully tuned yet since I am still playing with it...

:confused: Strange, because I was consistantly in the 1.655 60' range and dead hooking but when I got the adjustable front springs and shocks I dropped to where I'm at now, and that isn't with the suspension fully tuned yet since I am still playing with it...

Then you were consistantly spinning a little every run. Been there done that.

Then you were consistantly spinning a little every run. Been there done that.

i think thats my problem

I'd have to say yes to the original question.

Look at a stock eliminator car. Even something slower like a K/SA. On a 9" slick and low HP, they have no problems running faster than cars with more HP. It's all about gearing, suspension and weight transfer. Of course there's also a lot more involved in being able to do that. Although a stock eliminator cam doesn't have a lot of lift, it has duration, overlap and LSA that a street cam doesn't have. Torque converters that stall over 5000 rpm and gears in the diff around 5.13 all help it get off the line quicker.

A proper combination of parts and a properly setup low HP car can easily outrun a higher HP car that isn't setup correctly.

Can a car 60ft. better if it already dead hooks? Does playing with weight transfer or suspension help any, on an already consistent launch?

I'd have to say yes to the original question.

Look at a stock eliminator car. Even something slower like a K/SA. On a 9" slick and low HP, they have no problems running faster than cars with more HP. It's all about gearing, suspension and weight transfer. Of course there's also a lot more involved in being able to do that. Although a stock eliminator cam doesn't have a lot of lift, it has duration, overlap and LSA that a street cam doesn't have. Torque converters that stall over 5000 rpm and gears in the diff around 5.13 all help it get off the line quicker.

A proper combination of parts and a properly setup low HP car can easily outrun a higher HP car that isn't setup correctly.


But the origional question was, can a car that dead hooks sixty better with just suspension changes.

:confused: Strange, because I was consistantly in the 1.655 60' range and dead hooking but when I got the adjustable front springs and shocks I dropped to where I'm at now, and that isn't with the suspension fully tuned yet since I am still playing with it...
Then you were consistantly spinning a little every run. Been there done that.

This is a shot of one of my 1.655 runs, it didn't feel like it was spinning :confused:

http://www.1slowformula.com/images/john_mason_dixon_launch.jpg

This is a shot of one of my 1.655 runs, it didn't feel like it was spinning :confused:

With street tires you can always tell when they are spinning because you have to pedal to get them to hook back up. When drag tires spin just a little you , well I, can't tell other than to look at the time slip. It may only slip a 1/4 or 1/2 a revolution. When you tune the suspension 'till that little bit of spin is gone then the 60' improves a little. And we're talking hundredths of seconds improvement not tenths.

There are all kinds of little variables. Al said what I also think is the most relevant point. When a car is already "dead hooking", there are gains to be had on the order of hundreths. To even see these, the car has to be consistent as heck.

Most cars have the best 60' times when they turn the wheels a few times. If you are looking for the last few hundreths, you need to paint a stripe on the rear tire and have some one video each launch. Then you can watch in slo-mo and really see what is going on. A sophisticated data logger that shows engine rpm, shaft rpm, etc. is very useful. It allows you to see exactly what rpm you launched at, calculate clutch/converter slip, etc.

Another thing Al said is very cogent - if the car is all over the place, pulling huge air, etc. than of course, suspension changes may improve the 60'. In this case, the nitrous and new converter referred to in the sig are going to change everything anyway!

Rich

Thanks again for the help Rich. The one thing I can't do with this trans, is let it spin a little off the line. If I do, it sometimes does a little 1-2, 1-2 as it looks for 2nd gear. Not always, maybe 1 out of 5 times. With a dead hook, it never does it.

Rich Covered what I was going to say. there are times when a car will 60 better with the tire rolling over some ;)

Rich Covered what I was going to say. there are times when a car will 60 better with the tire rolling over some ;)

That's got to be hard to do I would imagine. How do turn them over a couple of times, and do it consistently?

That's got to be hard to do I would imagine. How do turn them over a couple of times, and do it consistently?
mess with the tire pressure(try adding 2 lbs or so)
my old setup if the car dead hooks I would 60ft 1.73 if I get 1 or 2 turns of the tire it would 1.70 most of the time

mess with the tire pressure(try adding 2 lbs or so)
my old setup if the car dead hooks I would 60ft 1.73 if I get 1 or 2 turns of the tire it would 1.70 most of the time

I'll give it a try. So far my best 60ft has been a 1.63. A 1.60 would be pretty decent for this heavy car and the HP it has. What do you paint the tire with, white shoe polish? Oh and the car will be a 100 lbs. lighter, next time out.

Shoe polish works good.

Rich