I've done the hole rear suspension with BMR except I did Ebach Pro springs and KYB AGX's and a 25mm swaybar,35mm in front. I'm pretty happy with it,but it sounds like I went with the wrong company for real racing. Did I waste my money?

 

Sounds like you didn't.


Kind of late to be asking this question, however I'd say that the Koni/Strano combination is pretty highly regarded.

 

When I bought the KYB's I was trying to save some money and still have some adjustablity. And I guess if I start racing it and I'm just not in the ballpark at all I can sell the BMR stuff and go with something else. My problem right now is I don't know what the something else is.

 

You already got it so use it. See how it works and make adjustments from there even if that means selling and getting new stuff. Once you start participating and get serious about it all then you can make the call of swapping out. You will also get the chance to talk to people in person about how to use what you got and why other products are better or worse.

 

Hey kartracer. Your first step should be to go race the car and see how the balance is. Strano/Koni is a popular choice for auto-x as it's a known combination. That doesn't mean other brands and combos won't work, it just means Strano/Koni is proven.

As for your suspension, companies such as BMR and our company, UMI Performance, make support equipment for the shocks and springs. Think of them as building blocks for your suspension. They keep things in place and allow the springs and shocks to work properly.

A Koni/Strano car on stock suspension pieces (I know there are some classes which require stock suspension pieces, I'm talking about modified classes) might not perform as well as a UMI car on another brand of springs/shocks. It's all about the balance.

Do you have stock front springs?

Get out, race the car, check the balance, see what it does/doesn't do correctly and then we can fix it. That's the fun of tuning.

Good luck.

ramey

 

Thanks for the advice. I have ebach pro springs and KYB AGX all around,BMR 35mm and 25mm sway bars,shock tower brace,adjustable panhard bar and relocation brace,non adjustable control arms and relocation brackets and BFG KDW NT 265 35 18 and 295 35 18. I'm waiting deleivery on BMR tunnel brace,torque arm relocation and adjustable torque arm and a UMI 4140 3 point sub frame connector. It's almost time to start on the front end,but it doesn't sound like there's not as much to do up there.
I've got $9000 into the car so far,not including buying the car. Not a lot of go fast yet,just suspension and things to look cool.
In the end I guess I'll finish what I'm doing and see what happens. I can change things as I see where I need it.
It's all good.

 

You'll love the SFC's. They're pretty stout and fit great.

Let me know if you have any other suspension needs. I'll be happy to help you tune your combination.

ramey

 

Ya, I can't wait for the SFC's,but they are back ordered until the middle of Feb.
What about A-Arms? I've heard lower A-Arms are a no-no and so is the K-Member.
And I need to get a 6 point cage at least and some good alum. racing seats,soon.
Why is it that the older you get you start thinking about safety more? That's why the suspension before the go fast. Even now I have to be careful with my foot. I spin the 295's with ease.

 

K-member and a-arms a no no? In what regard? We have awesome auto-x success with k's and arms. They're not stock class legal of course but for modified classes, no problem.

As for safety, auto-x is historically very safe. Track days can get sketchy but the sanctioning bodies are usually pretty good about enforcing safety rules.

ramey

 

I have a book that was written in 2010 called Performance Handbook and it's for Camaro's and Firebird's. It's given me some idea of what's going on.
Anyway,it says that the lower A-Arms and K-Members just can't take the stress of auto-x. Now,I'm not taking that as gospel and I'm taking that book with a grain of salt,but it puts questons in my head.
And as far as safety,I just ment that I'm thinking about it,where as when I was young I didn't care. I know racing is very safe,a lot safer then the street. But I'm going to be driving 99% street. Mostly I go way out in the country and slam corners and have fun. I'm a truck driver,so it's nice to take 35mph corners at 90,instead of 25. I haven't gone to a race yet,but I'm looking forword to going this spring.

 

I just uploaded a pic of the car.

 

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some of the k-members have a single cross tube and fewer guussets and are "drag race"; many of the manufacturers make road race k-members with dual cross tubes and additional gussets. I suspect all may well be weaker than stock (but lighter) as strength of a section is function of dimension/diameter across parallel walls of that section. The stock k-member is a much larger boxed section as opposed to a 2" tube; the same applies to the lower a-arm.

 

Ya,I'm kind of worried about bending it. You can order 4130 that is a lot stronger,but still.

 

I have a dualtube style with an stb (the edelbrock one that ties to the fire wall) and sfcs; I haven't driven at high racing speeds nor autocross but sotp, the combination of all three is more rigid than the stock k-member. I don't know relative contribution of each as i did them all at the same time; e.g., keeping the stock k-member may be stiffer still. Though the tube k-member makes for more room for headers and add in tube a-arms which are also smaller than stock (and lighter so less unsprung weight) and you have room for brake ducting.