TomsCoupe Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Ok, so i found my new project car. I dont want to tell everyone what it is just yet, because it not mine yet. I was just wondering, how good is a leaf spring setup for street/strip. i was thinking about maybe a 4-link setup but im not sure where to look for info and/or pricing. Any info on a leaf spring setup would be nice along wiht some info on converting it to a 4-link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 I used to autox my pickup truck and the one thing I did to that truck that made the biggest difference in the rear was to eliminate the shackles with a circle track slider setup. That and some traction bars kept the wheel hop to a minimum and really kept the back end under control. Worked great and I've got 100K miles on the sliders and they're still in the truck. Here's one that's kinda similar to what I have, except mine has ball bearings instead of plastic blocks to slide on: http://www.racecareng.com/RCE/index.php?action=3&UID=2004032820224564.68.82.165&part_no=UBM35-2105 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 20, 2004 Author Share Posted November 20, 2004 mostly im looking for ride quality. i HATE bumpy rides. How does the truck ride with those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Leafs? You're gona have a bit of a bumpy ride no matter what you do.. Good shocks will help, and traction bars.. I drove my 93 king cab for 2 years lowered; with 2.5" blocks between the springs and axle, and front tortion bars lowered. Used heavy duty shocks as well.. the funny thing is.. (as far as trucks go anyway... well, nissans..) it actually rode BETTER with a bit of weight in the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 For the wheel hop issue, Jegs has "Slide-A-Link" for $325. Keeps the axle from wrapping and out performs slapper bars. They are adjustable and make on-car pinion angle and preload changes quick and easy. !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 20, 2004 Author Share Posted November 20, 2004 Yeah, thats why i was thinking of installing a 4 link setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Mine rides great. It's a Toyota 2wd P/U with JC Whitney traction bars, a rear sway bar, and the sliders. It's got Bilstein shocks, and I think the shocks were the biggest thing in making it comfortable. The stock shocks were useless, I tried KYBs and they were WAY too harsh, then I got some Bilsteins... just right. Used to routinely place in the top 1/3 at the local autoxes when I was running it. The problem with shackles is that they are supported with bushings which have a lot of flex even if you go to polyurethane. This allows the axle to move side to side under the car. When you eliminate the shackles, then the axle can't really move side to side. It allows you to use the long blade of the leaf spring to keep the axle in line. Also this might not matter for your drag car but the shackles stand up when you hit the brakes on a car with leaf springs, which makes for a lot of nose dive. The sliders totally eliminate the shackle which REALLY cuts down the nose dive aspect of hard braking with leafs. I've been trying to get my friends with a 510 wagon to do this to their car, and can't quite get them to do it. Really made a heck of a difference in my truck though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 Ok, so, ive been doing some thinking and, i may take it to the drag strip once or twice, but what im really looking for is an autox car. Something that will handle wicked with decent power(13b turbo rotary). Now, i am going to take the solid rear axle from a GSL-SE rx7 and put it in place of the stock rearend. Being that i have owned and parted out my first gen rx7, i know how the rear suspension of that car wokrs which im not exactly happy with it. I would like to shave off all the mounting points and start over. I want to put in a 4-link with coilovers. Would this handle well? really, i know shit about the installing of this stuff, so im probably going to be letting someone else do this for me, but i want to have a plan ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 The handling of the 4-link isn't the greatest either. They have a tendancy to bind-up when the body roll reaches a certain point. Look up some sites that talk about improving the handling of the fox body mustangs. They recomend eliminating the upper control arms and installing a panhard rod or a watts-link setup. Seems to me that while your making the change from the leaf springs you might as well get the best setup you can and the 4-link isn't it. Heres a very good site that talks specifically about the Mustang 4-link but they are all basically the same. http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/t_suspension.htm#Rear Wheelman[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 Awesome, thanks man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 Ok, so i did some looking and the rear on the rx7 is a Live Axle, 4 Trailing Arms,Watt linkage, coil springs, anti-roll bar. the only thing that i dont like, but could just fab something up to fix, is the shock and spring are seperate. i would like a coilover in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Now' date=' i am going to take the solid rear axle from a GSL-SE rx7 and put it in place of the stock rearend. Being that i have owned and parted out my first gen rx7, i know how the rear suspension of that car wokrs which im not exactly happy with it. I would like to shave off all the mounting points and start over. I want to put in a 4-link with coilovers. quote'] Correct me if I'm wrong.. the stock rx7 IS a 4 link.. with a panhard bar are you saying you want to take the 4 link from the RX and put it in.. ? or? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 im saying that is the rear end that im using, so it has some stuff i can work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Ahhh... I see now.. it was late last night as I read this, and I'd had a few wobly pop.. I had an 85 REX that I put a SBC in, and rigged a chev 10 bolt rear to the stock 4 link/coils. It worked awsome.. but the stock rx7 coils wern't quite enough.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 4 links can work fine. The early rx7 ones will bind and then go very stiff when lowered. Kind of not having suspension at all. The way to get around this is to use equal length arms top and bottom and set them up parrallel to the road. You might want to put a little adjustability here so you can play with pinoin angles and traction. A lot of race cars are useing three forward links theses days and one transverse link (panhard, watts, ect.) this should elliminate bind as well. This should be pretty easy to set up. You can get the links from dirt track store very cheep on you side of the world. use rose joints and get rid of all that friction and it will handel very nice. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Yah, I never did it to mine, but had all the info on moding the arms for adjustment in the 1st gen RX7. They are built from pretty thick tube, and IIRC there is an inch (fine I think) tap that will go right in there. basicaly you cut 2-3" out of the tubes, tap, and insert threded rod with nuts/washers. Then you can adjust lenghts and even rear axle alignment. I did notice a little binding during hard cornering at speed, but it did well overall... The things I liked about the 4 link is it doesn't change the pinion angle as it moves through it's travel, and I had next to NO wheel hop on hard launches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 Alright thanks guys. Man i love this place. Every site that i posted this question turned into a bitching match between 3 or 4 know-it-all's. Glad to see there is atleast one mature site to post these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsCoupe Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 does binding sound like rubbing? because my first gen did it all the time. it pissed me off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 I don't remember much of a sound (I had wide open 2.5" exhast dumping out either side.. kinda loud.. ) but it would feel like all of a sudden the rear suspension had turned into a solid mounted hunk of steel (for a few seconds) and the ride would get really stiff and jar the teeth out of your head.. In my case, it was a minor annoyance, as the front brakes and suspension were very weak , and the car felt more like it was being pulled by the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse than an internal combustion engine... Took a lot to hang on to it during. ah.. aggresive driving. I must build one again someday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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