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Has anyone got any pros or cons on the Detroit speed front and rear setup? Any other suggestions on solid setup for street car looking to have 750 plus hp?
The Detroit Speed chassis adds 4 aluminum knuckles and several suspension geometry changes, both front and rear, that should transform the way the car handles. Especially the 4-link rear. The strong rear diff can handle your HP.
The only downside is the price tag. But IMHO you get what you pay for. It's near C7 style suspension.
You can't get all of those things with any other suspension package.
This just makes me drool!
Last edited by leigh1322; Nov 28, 2022 at 10:38 PM.
These cars were designed to handle around 400HP. Beyond that every single part rear of the crankshaft needs upgraded for strength. At 750 HP your are in expensive territory. With a 12 bolt diff conversion, huge axles, u joints, driveshafts, transmission, clutch, and especially strong spindles, you are in $10k+ territory already. And then you still have stock level handling. Which is good enough for many. But the Detroit Speed setup is as close as you can get to driving a C7 underneath a C3. And it's almost a bolt-in.
There are other suspension conversions out there, but they focus on handling the HP first, and improving the chassis second, but they retain the stock geometry limitations, which are painfully apparent in the rear IRS. Zero anti-squat geometry means huge rear squat on launch, and resulting toe-in changes, or super stiff rear springs. And the rear toe-in changes during cornering, causing that squirrelly feeling at speed, will remain no matter what you do, as long as you maintain the OEM trailing arm, short of the above 4 or 5 link setup, which has no trailing arms.
A guy up here is in the process of building a 72 vert with the DS front and rear setup. I was over checking out the finished chassis last winter and it's almost mind boggling to look at and hard to take in all that there. The quality of the parts and overall design is impressive... as it should be for the price tag, but as mentioned above, it's comparing to a completely different level of car so that has to factory into the $$$.
Next time I'm over I'll have to get some pictures of the chassis just for $hits and giggles.
The body is out and had the widened fenders grafted on and they're supposed to be working towards paint this winter, then assembly, then interior, etc etc etc. so he's still a ways off
M
It's a great setup, quality parts and works well. Only downside is although well designed, it is limited as DS had to work within the constraints of a box for it to fit the stock frame. If funds are available and you want the best setup, an aftermarket frame and C7 suspension is the way to go.
It's a great setup, quality parts and works well. Only downside is although well designed, it is limited as DS had to work within the constraints of a box for it to fit the stock frame. If funds are available and you want the best setup, an aftermarket frame and C7 suspension is the way to go.
Corey I suspect you are right there.
And THAT is a comparison I would like to see:
A full Detroit Speed makeover of a C3 frame - VS - a SRIII frame w/ C7 suspension
Either way, the resulting restomod would be basically a C7 with the much better looking C3 Body on it
Corey I suspect you are right there.
And THAT is a comparison I would like to see:
A full Detroit Speed makeover of a C3 frame - VS - a SRIII frame w/ C7 suspension
Either way, the resulting restomod would be basically a C7 with the much better looking C3 Body on it
Hey a guy can dream can't he?
You and I both, brother.
Really hard to go wrong with either, everything I have put my hands on from Detroit Speed has been top notch!
It's 25k or so. And I am not sure if that number includes the updated diff pictured.
But the SRIII frame adds a round tubing frame with greatly enhanced stiffness vs an OEM C3 frame.
Look at the double round tubing run in the rear kick-up area by the rear diff. WOW!
And you know the C7 suspension bits are top-notch.
Hard to go wrong with either one. Just depends on your budget and ultimate expectations....
A full Detroit Speed system would run some less, maybe 16k or so. And retain the basic C3 frame.
The SRIII version "should" handle better, due to the improved frame. But at this level it will take a very discerning driver with some serious skills to be able to tell the difference. It "should" be faster on a timed track.
A back to back comparison test would be an amazing story.
The amount of money spent on a aftermarket chassis or suspension dose not equal the amount of performance gain over a properly set up stock suspension. The trick to a great handling C3 or C2 is chassis stiffness and the biggest tires you can run. You don't need to spend 25-40k to have a great handling car. Research it there is no proof that any of that crap works but there is proof that the stock style properly setup dose. And there are plenty C3s running 700+ HP in a stock style chassis including the rearend
You guys r light yrs passed me. I had all the suspension rubber replaced with poly-eurathane . The control rods ate the poly e in less than 3 K miles . Replaced them with Heim joints . The '71 grabs corners ........exciting for a 51 years old !!!!
Thanks for the input. I’ve owned this car since I was 14 and drove all through highschool. Been sitting over 20 years and a lot is available now compared to then. Aware it’s going to be expensive but want to build this car all out as I will always have it. Mainly want to be able to run wide as tire as possible (under car) with minimal flare and be able to run a dished style wheel. Looked at some new frames and don’t think I can achieve that. Still like that resto-mod/ pro tour look.
Yup! I would love to drive a 3 - way comparison too: heavily modded stock vs the above two.
And I will guarantee you that driver skill could make any of the three beat any of the others, the 3 chasses would all be very close. As long as they are all well-tuned.
Now one would hope that a top-notch driver could make the more expensive chassis go at least a little faster than the others. All that light weight aluminum and 50 year better geometry must help at least somewhere on the track!
Carguy: Cargotzman and Metalhead both have 18*10" wheels inside stock fenders, and drive them in competition. Several others have as well.
Search for their threads.
''john greenwood''
built 700-800hp cars that ran 200 mph at daytona,lemons,sebring,and many other tracks world-wide
using moded c3 frames and factory suspension,and outran ferraris,porsches
look in the older ''chevy power'' books as to how he did it
thanks I’ll check that out. I remember seeing a book long time ago that showed how they modified the factory frame on the race cars just couldn’t remember where that was.
thanks I’ll check that out. I remember seeing a book long time ago that showed how they modified the factory frame on the race cars just couldn’t remember where that was.
The Chevy Power book has this information. I found a copy on eBay, YMMV. Duntov hosts the Corvette section in their Tech Tips page, here:
We built a 68 a couple of years ago with a Detroit Speed setup and it is a awesome setup. It does take some time to install and it is not a bolt in setup. If you can weld then you will be fine but it is a really nice setup. The car drove too good to be honest, it was like driving a C6 Corvette without any traction or handling aids. This particular 68 we built with a LS3 and 5 spd and it was really hard to not speed in it. You could be doing 60-65 and felt like you were cruising a 25mph.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
