A long overdue change in direction...

11Sec_Lx

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With my car being used 99% on the street, I finally came to the conclusion that I'm tired of driving 99% of the time, sacrificing for when I spend 1% of the time at the dragstrip.

I'm going to pull the plug on my goal of going 1.2x in the 60', set a new goal of 1.3's with a more handling focused suspension.

First step has already begun. I ordered a BMR radiator support and White Line sway bars this morning. I may order an airbag for the right rear spring as well.

I'm fully expecting to be launching in second, in order to soften the hit. Manipulating the timing ramp is likely in order as well.

Just an update. No pics yet.

Anyone else have similar thoughts?

Later...

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Riddick

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I'm curious to see how your car does at the track with the Whiteline sway bars. You will be one of the very few making the power you do running sways front and rear.

If I knew you were in market, I would of gave you a smoking deal on a Whiteline rear sway in new condition.
 

68gtscode

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Your post is very timely, as I’ve been consumed with suspension options over the past few months! I recently bought a car that makes good power, but has an Air Lift setup that I am going to remove. I was about to pull the trigger on Black Friday deals for drag-oriented stuff, but wasn’t sure I’d be happy with it most of the time. Mine will be used 100% on the street... I’d love it to handle decently while being able to apply some power on the freeway. I will be very interested to see how it does...
 

SHIFTYBUSINESS

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Yeah man street car that can handle good is a lot of fun. I'm adding pieces one at a time to improve the handling. Of course the supercharger makes all of that more fun. I just ordered Steeda behind the rear seats X Brace. Will see what difference that makes.
 

11Sec_Lx

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Post update:

Thr car is back on the road. I got some baseline settings from an S197 road racer. Given my springs/shocks/struts, he had me set the front sway bar to full stiff and the rear in the middle. He told me if it had over steer, to stiffen the rear bar.

So now, after adjusting it twice from baseline, I'm at full stiff on the rear bar. Thing is, I've tinkered with my shocks too (dialing them down, as they were pretty harsh, like an old school 50/50 shock), so who knows how that has played into things as we as my rear tire pressure (28). I initially adjusted the struts to full stiff and they are still there.

I can tell you this. The car feels very controlled. The front doesn't float over elevation changes and the body stays flat. I'm running the newer, 555 G2 up front as well as the newer 555RII's in the rear.

Would the body feel as controlled if I was on a more serious set of handling tires and furthermore, a square setup? I have my doubts.

Thing is, with these GT500 Drag springs (still a little stiffer than oem) and the suspension as-is, it still has a comfortable ride. I had a plan for a slightly stiffer front/rear spring combo per Dion at BMR and per my own research, Bilstein HD's, but don't think I'll go there as I'm concerned about losing ride comfort and don't want to lose the dragstrip friendly spring rates and shock/struts I currently have (Strange singles/Viking Warriors) for the couple times a year that I go. I still plan to be in the 1.3's (60') with this suspension combo.

My current thought is, if I go for more grip, I'll likely move to a stickier tire in order to keep everything else as-is.

I would 100000000% recommend aftermarket sway bars. They are fantastic. I drove my car for four years with the stock bars and always wanted better handling and to remove the floaty feeling. Well, now four more years later, I'm there.

Thanks for reading.

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Riddick

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On a square set up the car will definitely feel more controlled and handle better. Drag radials in general have softer sidewalls so with a stiffer sidewall tire the car will perform even better. If you want to take it up a notch throw a set of Toyo R888s on there, they will hook just as good if not better than the Nittos but they handle way better.

Curious on your new track times, if you go out there and cut 1.3 60s im putting my front sway bar back on.
 

11Sec_Lx

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Totally agree, Riddick. I've been running drag radials on and off since 1996. These 555RII's are the best balance of grip and rain friendliness yet.

I had a square setup in 19', but wasn't considering handling yet and had MT sport comps up front and SS's in the rear. 275's on both ends.

So I have come to the conclusion that I would be in one of the R compounds like the R888R if I wanted any chance at straight line traction similar to what the 555RII's provide. However, I would lose my ability to drive over standing water.

I've also come to learn that for a regular radial, the 555G2's up front are respectable given what they can do.

My point with this tire setup was to give me some semblance of traction and allow me to drive through the rain, should I get caught in it, going to/from an NMRA event. That said, with what I'veearned about handling tires (200 treadwear and then 100's), I'm planning on staying put and tweaking on these sway bars for now.

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CobraBob

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Great info on your proven setup. You've got it pretty well dialed in now, so I totally understand you wanting to make minute changes going forward. Your experiences with the aftermarket sway bars is really helpful for others. Great thread.
 

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