What is the max lateral G's we can sqeeze out of 4gen f-bodys? (moddified of course) and what should a stock 4gen pull?

 

wow, nobody knows???

 

All very dependent on tires.

But with some G/force KDs, full suspension, etc i would expect .94ish, but i could be off by alot. More of an educated guess than fact.

 

Maybe the autocross forum would have an answer. Why is a number so important?

 

the number is so important because if this car won't be able to out handle my competition then I'm going to get another car that can.

 

Who is your competition and do they have numbers? Depending on what kind of racing, lateral g's are not the only part of the equation.

 

You can pull over a G As stated tires become a huge part of this. I don't know what Eibachs would yeild but from what I have seen coil overs with a meduim spring rate, poly bushings and 1LE front sway bar and a V6 in the rear with GS rims will do the trick.

Edit- I ment to add that was the key factors but going with aftermarket TQ Arm, Pan hard, track arms etc would be needed, preferably adjustable.

 

I saw an article in the last four or five months. They took a '93 or '94 Camaro and put on the lowering springs and variable rate shocks and new poly bushings. I think .96 or .97 was what they measured. They said a '99 corvette only pulled .94 or something less anyway. You should be able to find the article. Chevy High Performance or Super Chevy probably.

 

Lateral Gs are grip, if you think this car will be king then your looking in the wrong place. Get a car that will be as light as possible, and still fit meats on them, and that will be GRIP. However grip does not neccessarily equate to handling.

However, being a road race interested person, I likewise moved to another car for the purpose of going faster. A 240Z can be taken to under 2000 pounds if you tried (fiberglass, carbon fiber etc), but generally we are in the 2000-2400 pound area. V8s also fit easily due to the large engine compartment, and rear wheel drive configuration, even big blocks have been stuffed in these things.

As for putting big wheels/tires on, it can get expensive, but you can go as large as you want. Anything beyond a 245 on a 16x8" would start to get expensive, and require fender flares. There is currently a 17x11" rear and 17x9.5" ZR1 wheel setup on a C4 front/rear suspension 240Z, coupled with 600+ HP it will kill the competition I'd say www.fastassdatsun.com

You can go lighter, main options are Datsun 510 or Porsche 914, but they are small and will not be fitting big wheels/tires as readily, but are easily taken to the 1700 pound level.

Street 240Z cars can easily pull 1.2Gs, I've heard of 1.45, anything beyond that is ground FX dependant probably, if you want to beat it look at 17x11"s all the way around. As for the Camaro, I haven't heard of anything just barely over 1G, I'm sure someone could pull a 1.1 though, but the cars dont get light easily (cutting out the doors etc), so it will be work, and more expensive than a smaller car in both wheels, tires, and then brakes and so on.

 

how much do our cars weigh without a driver?

 

TAs are the heaviest of the Fbodies, its always been that way though. My 69 Firebird as an example had power windows, I dont believe that existed on the Chevy until later.

http://www.f-body.org/tech/4th_gen.htm#95weights
The Z28 is indexed at 3436/3521 (Z28) with 57/43 - 58/42 distro.

Many smaller cars are 50/50 or close, many even are brought into being rear heavy, 49/51 and so on. Plus nearly every small car will have IRS, and quite possibly lower COG. So far I have found that my Koni double Camaro is nowhere near the 240Z in terms of cornering even in with its half-assed setup. The Z also gives much better feedback and is extremely forgiving when the rear starts to come out, you can litterally not notice for 2 seconds and still bring it back without spinning. When at Sears Point with the car, the only vehicle I ran into that was not slowing me down, was a Cobra relipica, 2470 pounds with 460 HP, 275 front tires and 315 rears.

The Fbody shines as a nice, torqey car to have fun in. If you want to truly be fast, driver ability is going to be a significant amount of it, but I wanted to go through corners faster than anyone else could fathom, that means go light, and go big on your wheels/tires, and so on. The 240Z also has significantly better brakes even in stock 1969 designed form. I dont plan to take the engine past 450# TQ, but for a faster straightline car just throw a V8 in there. LS1/T56 240Z up north ran a 12.07@118 stock.

I like my Camaro, and I love horsepower. But for the track, I am not ashamed to say I go rice box and I wont look back. I have ideas for a first gen Camaro that would see some track time, but it wont be nearly as cheap or easy as the 240, so it is the primary track car. Any car can virtually be made fast, the question is how easy will it be and how much will it cost. Plus I dont mind beating others in a cheap little 6 banger that is 30 years old, I also wanted to get out of having to smog my fun cars.

http://www.forbes.com/2001/01/08/0108VOW.html
If you would only want to deal with a newer car, the Dodge Conquest is also an excellent choice. 2700 pounds, 2.6L Turbo, good aero, and 16x9" wheels were an option or since they are 5 luggers they are readily awaiting big aftermarket stuff on the cheap.

 

The WS6 and SS cars measure .91 or higher on the skidpad.

They aren't 240Z's or Porsche 944's but they still carry a lot of speed through corners. G's on a skidpad is not everything. With a few handling mods the F-bodies start to handle well. They are a good platform to start from. I wish I had the money for road racing.....