Rear Suspension Upgrades
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 9
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From: NYC NY
Rear Suspension Upgrades
I am building my C3 for Road Race and I want to upgrade the rear suspension. Preferabbly removing the leaf spring between the rear wheels and installing a more modern suspension with upper/lower control arms, coilovers and a sway bar. Has anyone head of a set up like that? And where do I get the parts, or will I have to custom fabricate everything to fit from off of a C6 or something like that?
Thanks for your help.
~ Chris
Thanks for your help.
~ Chris
Last edited by Auto X 434; Nov 3, 2007 at 04:51 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2005
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 7,353
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From: Graceland in a Not Correctly Restored Stingray
If you don't want to fab up everything from scratch, Guldstrand's 5-Bar link is about as good a set up as you're going to find. IMHO, if you do decide to re-engineer the rear suspension, get a copy of Carroll Smith's "Tune to Win" and study it until you know it backwards and upside down or you stand a good chance that you won't accomplish anything resembling positive results. Of course, if you're simply going to adapt another design, you don't have to know all that stuff, but understanding it is worthwhile if you're serious about maximizing the handling of your shark.
Oh, and don't forget the front. There's a bit of sorting out needed on that end, too. Whatever you do, post up as you go so we can follow your progress. These are the kind of projects that keep pushing the C3 forward.
Oh, and don't forget the front. There's a bit of sorting out needed on that end, too. Whatever you do, post up as you go so we can follow your progress. These are the kind of projects that keep pushing the C3 forward.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 2,116
Likes: 156
From: Mid West
Cruise-In III Veteran
Here's a site with some interesting ideas along this line.
http://www.sriiimotorsports.com/196382corvette.html
http://www.sriiimotorsports.com/196382corvette.html
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,831
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From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
I am building my C3 for Road Race and I want to upgrade the rear suspension. Preferabbly removing the leaf spring between the rear wheels and installing a more modern suspension with upper/lower control arms, coilovers and a sway bar. Has anyone head of a set up like that? And where do I get the parts, or will I have to custom fabricate everything to fit from off of a C6 or something like that?
Thanks for your help.
~ Chris
Thanks for your help.
~ Chris
Thread Starter
Navigator
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: NYC NY
The guy who lives next door to me who has been building prostreet cars for a while. Has built a '71 chevelle which he crashed on the local highway. And is now building a '57 Chevy told me that link systems are more designed for the quarter mile strip rather than the slalom and wont help with traction on the turns. Is he correct? He tells me that I need a fully independent system.
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Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2005
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Guldstrand's setup was built for road racing. Dick Guldstrand is known as the one who built winning road race C3's. Guldstrand is to a road racing C3 Vette as Don Garletts or John Force is to drag racing.
Unless you're a suspension Guru go with a configuration that has been proven.
Unless you're a suspension Guru go with a configuration that has been proven.
Last edited by shafrs3; Nov 4, 2007 at 05:08 PM.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 276
Likes: 1
From: Pistoia PT (ITALY)
Very well...... more people doing some special rearend!!!!
I have designed this configuration:
and this is the status of the fabrication:
By the way, doing some calculation, I have seen that a similar design requires a spring with higer ratio!
Normally, with stock or aftermarket trailing arms, a 360 lbs leaf spring can be considered quite stiff...... but..... there is a "but" !
The stock TA can be considered as a third grade lever.... where the pivot is the...pivot, the wheel is the force applyed and the spring is the work done!
The lever has an efficency os less that 100% (nearly of 80%).... so it will result as a 450 lbs spring located on the axis of the spindle.
With the new configuration the lever ends in the pivot of the rods.... and the force is equal to the work!!!
...may for you, guys, that was well known..... but for me is a new thing!
I have designed this configuration:
and this is the status of the fabrication:
By the way, doing some calculation, I have seen that a similar design requires a spring with higer ratio!
Normally, with stock or aftermarket trailing arms, a 360 lbs leaf spring can be considered quite stiff...... but..... there is a "but" !
The stock TA can be considered as a third grade lever.... where the pivot is the...pivot, the wheel is the force applyed and the spring is the work done!
The lever has an efficency os less that 100% (nearly of 80%).... so it will result as a 450 lbs spring located on the axis of the spindle.
With the new configuration the lever ends in the pivot of the rods.... and the force is equal to the work!!!
...may for you, guys, that was well known..... but for me is a new thing!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,441
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Yeah, and there were many people who designed and built the Trump Towers but The Donald gets the credit, such as it is in our society.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 1,246
Likes: 1
what you are talking about is known as the spring ratio and wheel ratio, the spring ratio operates at a certain rate vs. the wheel ratio, dependant on the spring position relative to the axis and the force arms applies.
EDIT, I was replying to Stroker before Dr. Phil here interrupted.
EDIT, I was replying to Stroker before Dr. Phil here interrupted.
