Drag suspension setup with 6 speed
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Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 1
From: Shreveport Louisiana
Drag suspension setup with 6 speed
Hey guys I'm new to the forum, been reading threads on it for years and finally signed up. I have an 86 fully optioned z51 car with a Doug Nash 4+3. It's been about 2 and 1/2 years since I bought the car and I'm doing a cammed lt1 swap while I gather turbo LS stuff just to get the car rolling around. It all started out buying the car when I was 17 and doing headers and a tire mod and going 13.15@106.7 and since now I'll have a good 100-110 more rwhp I would like to know what kind of suspension setups you 6 speed guys are doing to get these cars to hook properly. I would rather not get coilovers since I plan on going 9" after I blow the 44 with the turbo LS setup 😁 thanks for your help 👍
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
You already have the Z51 rear spring so that's good. I use the stock 84 Z51 rear spring on my race car.
You need a set of Double adjustable rear shocks.... your going to have to put the compression adjustment somewhere in the middle and the rebound/extension adjustment somewhere near full tight.
You need to install new rear snubbers/bump stops or build an extension to extend the factory ones so that the suspension can not squat down far enough to put a negative angle on the halfshaft.... this greatly extends U Joint life. Just keep in mind that what is perfect on a race car is not great for parking lot speed bumps on a daily driver so you have to decide how much suspension travel your willing to give up on a street car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9143 bump stops on my 84 race car and they were easy to trim to the correct length and fit to the car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9101 on my 92 street car and again easy to fit to the car but these are not as long as the above PN but for my daily driver seem a good compromise for a street car.
Tires. I run the Mickey Thompson 315/35r17 Radial 2 on my 92. I drive them every day rain or shine and they do a very good job on the street and at the track. Tread life is about 6,500-7,000 miles... with a few track days in there.
On my 84 I run a MT 28X10.5 stiff wall slick on the track and the MT 275/60r15 drag radial on the street...
I wouldn't worry about blowing up the D44. It is alot stronger than people think.... espc people who have never blown one up yet constantly talk about other peoples failures on the internet.
My 84 currently goes 1.24 60fts on stock IRS and the only thing I hurt are the U Joints. The needles crack and crush after about 75 passes.
The weakest thing in the rear end itself is the Posi unit.... most people let the clutches get worn and then torch the thing in the burn out box.... which over speeds the spider gears causing them to break. They don't notice until they drop the hammer on at a the starting line and then think they just broke it on launch, when in reality it was hurt playing John Force. Once you get some serious power you should put a spool in the D44 to eliminate problems from the Posi unit.
Just FYi I ran well into the 9's@145mph, with low 1.30 60fts before I started having problems with my home built Posi untis and converted it to a spool.
I have posted many times before about how to check the break away TQ on the posi unit and when it need to be re-built. Just do a search. U Joints are the real weak point. Buy the solid SPICER joints and inspect them every track day. Look around the seals for grease getting pushed out. That is the sign that lets you know the needles are getting loose.... it happends way before you can feel slop in them.... in a racing situation they will break way before you can feel slop in them.
There is other stuff you can do to raise the rear ride height of the car and gain some A/S % as well as putting a little negative camber in the rear suspension so it plants the rear tire square on launch...
The 6spd hits the rear alot harder than an auto depending on how much clutch you have. You need to realize you will always have to "drive" the car off the line with a street clutch in it. You can break anthing by just dumping a non lock up or soft lok clutch with traction.
I run a SPEC Stage 3 in my 92. With nearly 500RWHP on tap, I have slipped up and come out on the clutch too hard enough times to scatter a few U joints, which bash up halfshafts and sometimes even take out stub axels too..... It's not a cheap experience. It's a fun car on the street. Brutally fast in any gear but on the track with traction it's a handful to just keep it from destroying itself.
One of the reason why I built the 84 with an automatic. If your serious about drag racing it's the only way to go unless you want to spend tons on a muti disk adjustable lock up clutch and the maintenance that comes with one. Driving my 84 on the track is a dream compared to my 92.
Will
You need a set of Double adjustable rear shocks.... your going to have to put the compression adjustment somewhere in the middle and the rebound/extension adjustment somewhere near full tight.
You need to install new rear snubbers/bump stops or build an extension to extend the factory ones so that the suspension can not squat down far enough to put a negative angle on the halfshaft.... this greatly extends U Joint life. Just keep in mind that what is perfect on a race car is not great for parking lot speed bumps on a daily driver so you have to decide how much suspension travel your willing to give up on a street car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9143 bump stops on my 84 race car and they were easy to trim to the correct length and fit to the car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9101 on my 92 street car and again easy to fit to the car but these are not as long as the above PN but for my daily driver seem a good compromise for a street car.
Tires. I run the Mickey Thompson 315/35r17 Radial 2 on my 92. I drive them every day rain or shine and they do a very good job on the street and at the track. Tread life is about 6,500-7,000 miles... with a few track days in there.
On my 84 I run a MT 28X10.5 stiff wall slick on the track and the MT 275/60r15 drag radial on the street...
I wouldn't worry about blowing up the D44. It is alot stronger than people think.... espc people who have never blown one up yet constantly talk about other peoples failures on the internet.
My 84 currently goes 1.24 60fts on stock IRS and the only thing I hurt are the U Joints. The needles crack and crush after about 75 passes.
The weakest thing in the rear end itself is the Posi unit.... most people let the clutches get worn and then torch the thing in the burn out box.... which over speeds the spider gears causing them to break. They don't notice until they drop the hammer on at a the starting line and then think they just broke it on launch, when in reality it was hurt playing John Force. Once you get some serious power you should put a spool in the D44 to eliminate problems from the Posi unit.
Just FYi I ran well into the 9's@145mph, with low 1.30 60fts before I started having problems with my home built Posi untis and converted it to a spool.
I have posted many times before about how to check the break away TQ on the posi unit and when it need to be re-built. Just do a search. U Joints are the real weak point. Buy the solid SPICER joints and inspect them every track day. Look around the seals for grease getting pushed out. That is the sign that lets you know the needles are getting loose.... it happends way before you can feel slop in them.... in a racing situation they will break way before you can feel slop in them.
There is other stuff you can do to raise the rear ride height of the car and gain some A/S % as well as putting a little negative camber in the rear suspension so it plants the rear tire square on launch...
The 6spd hits the rear alot harder than an auto depending on how much clutch you have. You need to realize you will always have to "drive" the car off the line with a street clutch in it. You can break anthing by just dumping a non lock up or soft lok clutch with traction.
I run a SPEC Stage 3 in my 92. With nearly 500RWHP on tap, I have slipped up and come out on the clutch too hard enough times to scatter a few U joints, which bash up halfshafts and sometimes even take out stub axels too..... It's not a cheap experience. It's a fun car on the street. Brutally fast in any gear but on the track with traction it's a handful to just keep it from destroying itself.
One of the reason why I built the 84 with an automatic. If your serious about drag racing it's the only way to go unless you want to spend tons on a muti disk adjustable lock up clutch and the maintenance that comes with one. Driving my 84 on the track is a dream compared to my 92.
Will
Last edited by rklessdriver; Apr 28, 2014 at 12:41 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 1
From: Shreveport Louisiana
You already have the Z51 rear spring so that's good. I use the stock 84 Z51 rear spring on my race car.
You need a set of Double adjustable rear shocks.... your going to have to put the compression adjustment somewhere in the middle and the rebound/extension adjustment somewhere near full tight.
You need to install new rear snubbers/bump stops or build an extension to extend the factory ones so that the suspension can not squat down far enough to put a negative angle on the halfshaft.... this greatly extends U Joint life. Just keep in mind that what is perfect on a race car is not great for parking lot speed bumps on a daily driver so you have to decide how much suspension travel your willing to give up on a street car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9143 bump stops on my 84 race car and they were easy to trim to the correct length and fit to the car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9101 on my 92 street car and again easy to fit to the car but these are not as long as the above PN but for my daily driver seem a good compromise for a street car.
Tires. I run the Mickey Thompson 315/35r17 Radial 2 on my 92. I drive them every day rain or shine and they do a very good job on the street and at the track. Tread life is about 6,500-7,000 miles... with a few track days in there.
On my 84 I run a MT 28X10.5 stiff wall slick on the track and the MT 275/60r15 drag radial on the street...
I wouldn't worry about blowing up the D44. It is alot stronger than people think.... espc people who have never blown one up yet constantly talk about other peoples failures on the internet.
My 84 currently goes 1.24 60fts on stock IRS and the only thing I hurt are the U Joints. The needles crack and crush after about 75 passes.
The weakest thing in the rear end itself is the Posi unit.... most people let the clutches get worn and then torch the thing in the burn out box.... which over speeds the spider gears causing them to break. They don't notice until they drop the hammer on at a the starting line and then think they just broke it on launch, when in reality it was hurt playing John Force. Once you get some serious power you should put a spool in the D44 to eliminate problems from the Posi unit.
Just FYi I ran well into the 9's@145mph, with low 1.30 60fts before I started having problems with my home built Posi untis and converted it to a spool.
I have posted many times before about how to check the break away TQ on the posi unit and when it need to be re-built. Just do a search. U Joints are the real weak point. Buy the solid SPICER joints and inspect them every track day. Look around the seals for grease getting pushed out. That is the sign that lets you know the needles are getting loose.... it happends way before you can feel slop in them.... in a racing situation they will break way before you can feel slop in them.
There is other stuff you can do to raise the rear ride height of the car and gain some A/S % as well as putting a little negative camber in the rear suspension so it plants the rear tire square on launch...
The 6spd hits the rear alot harder than an auto depending on how much clutch you have. You need to realize you will always have to "drive" the car off the line with a street clutch in it. You can break anthing by just dumping a non lock up or soft lok clutch with traction.
I run a SPEC Stage 3 in my 92. With nearly 500RWHP on tap, I have slipped up and come out on the clutch too hard enough times to scatter a few U joints, which bash up halfshafts and sometimes even take out stub axels too..... It's not a cheap experience. It's a fun car on the street. Brutally fast in any gear but on the track with traction it's a handful to just keep it from destroying itself.
One of the reason why I built the 84 with an automatic. If your serious about drag racing it's the only way to go unless you want to spend tons on a muti disk adjustable lock up clutch and the maintenance that comes with one. Driving my 84 on the track is a dream compared to my 92.
Will
You need a set of Double adjustable rear shocks.... your going to have to put the compression adjustment somewhere in the middle and the rebound/extension adjustment somewhere near full tight.
You need to install new rear snubbers/bump stops or build an extension to extend the factory ones so that the suspension can not squat down far enough to put a negative angle on the halfshaft.... this greatly extends U Joint life. Just keep in mind that what is perfect on a race car is not great for parking lot speed bumps on a daily driver so you have to decide how much suspension travel your willing to give up on a street car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9143 bump stops on my 84 race car and they were easy to trim to the correct length and fit to the car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9101 on my 92 street car and again easy to fit to the car but these are not as long as the above PN but for my daily driver seem a good compromise for a street car.
Tires. I run the Mickey Thompson 315/35r17 Radial 2 on my 92. I drive them every day rain or shine and they do a very good job on the street and at the track. Tread life is about 6,500-7,000 miles... with a few track days in there.
On my 84 I run a MT 28X10.5 stiff wall slick on the track and the MT 275/60r15 drag radial on the street...
I wouldn't worry about blowing up the D44. It is alot stronger than people think.... espc people who have never blown one up yet constantly talk about other peoples failures on the internet.
My 84 currently goes 1.24 60fts on stock IRS and the only thing I hurt are the U Joints. The needles crack and crush after about 75 passes.
The weakest thing in the rear end itself is the Posi unit.... most people let the clutches get worn and then torch the thing in the burn out box.... which over speeds the spider gears causing them to break. They don't notice until they drop the hammer on at a the starting line and then think they just broke it on launch, when in reality it was hurt playing John Force. Once you get some serious power you should put a spool in the D44 to eliminate problems from the Posi unit.
Just FYi I ran well into the 9's@145mph, with low 1.30 60fts before I started having problems with my home built Posi untis and converted it to a spool.
I have posted many times before about how to check the break away TQ on the posi unit and when it need to be re-built. Just do a search. U Joints are the real weak point. Buy the solid SPICER joints and inspect them every track day. Look around the seals for grease getting pushed out. That is the sign that lets you know the needles are getting loose.... it happends way before you can feel slop in them.... in a racing situation they will break way before you can feel slop in them.
There is other stuff you can do to raise the rear ride height of the car and gain some A/S % as well as putting a little negative camber in the rear suspension so it plants the rear tire square on launch...
The 6spd hits the rear alot harder than an auto depending on how much clutch you have. You need to realize you will always have to "drive" the car off the line with a street clutch in it. You can break anthing by just dumping a non lock up or soft lok clutch with traction.
I run a SPEC Stage 3 in my 92. With nearly 500RWHP on tap, I have slipped up and come out on the clutch too hard enough times to scatter a few U joints, which bash up halfshafts and sometimes even take out stub axels too..... It's not a cheap experience. It's a fun car on the street. Brutally fast in any gear but on the track with traction it's a handful to just keep it from destroying itself.
One of the reason why I built the 84 with an automatic. If your serious about drag racing it's the only way to go unless you want to spend tons on a muti disk adjustable lock up clutch and the maintenance that comes with one. Driving my 84 on the track is a dream compared to my 92.
Will
I plan to go 4l80e when I get the new setup. How do you like to have the front suspension setup with the rear like that? Do you like it loose?
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 4,157
Likes: 554
From: Glenbeulah Wi
You already have the Z51 rear spring so that's good. I use the stock 84 Z51 rear spring on my race car.
You need a set of Double adjustable rear shocks.... your going to have to put the compression adjustment somewhere in the middle and the rebound/extension adjustment somewhere near full tight.
You need to install new rear snubbers/bump stops or build an extension to extend the factory ones so that the suspension can not squat down far enough to put a negative angle on the halfshaft.... this greatly extends U Joint life. Just keep in mind that what is perfect on a race car is not great for parking lot speed bumps on a daily driver so you have to decide how much suspension travel your willing to give up on a street car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9143 bump stops on my 84 race car and they were easy to trim to the correct length and fit to the car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9101 on my 92 street car and again easy to fit to the car but these are not as long as the above PN but for my daily driver seem a good compromise for a street car.
Tires. I run the Mickey Thompson 315/35r17 Radial 2 on my 92. I drive them every day rain or shine and they do a very good job on the street and at the track. Tread life is about 6,500-7,000 miles... with a few track days in there.
On my 84 I run a MT 28X10.5 stiff wall slick on the track and the MT 275/60r15 drag radial on the street...
I wouldn't worry about blowing up the D44. It is alot stronger than people think.... espc people who have never blown one up yet constantly talk about other peoples failures on the internet.
My 84 currently goes 1.24 60fts on stock IRS and the only thing I hurt are the U Joints. The needles crack and crush after about 75 passes.
The weakest thing in the rear end itself is the Posi unit.... most people let the clutches get worn and then torch the thing in the burn out box.... which over speeds the spider gears causing them to break. They don't notice until they drop the hammer on at a the starting line and then think they just broke it on launch, when in reality it was hurt playing John Force. Once you get some serious power you should put a spool in the D44 to eliminate problems from the Posi unit.
Just FYi I ran well into the 9's@145mph, with low 1.30 60fts before I started having problems with my home built Posi untis and converted it to a spool.
I have posted many times before about how to check the break away TQ on the posi unit and when it need to be re-built. Just do a search. U Joints are the real weak point. Buy the solid SPICER joints and inspect them every track day. Look around the seals for grease getting pushed out. That is the sign that lets you know the needles are getting loose.... it happends way before you can feel slop in them.... in a racing situation they will break way before you can feel slop in them.
There is other stuff you can do to raise the rear ride height of the car and gain some A/S % as well as putting a little negative camber in the rear suspension so it plants the rear tire square on launch...
The 6spd hits the rear alot harder than an auto depending on how much clutch you have. You need to realize you will always have to "drive" the car off the line with a street clutch in it. You can break anthing by just dumping a non lock up or soft lok clutch with traction.
I run a SPEC Stage 3 in my 92. With nearly 500RWHP on tap, I have slipped up and come out on the clutch too hard enough times to scatter a few U joints, which bash up halfshafts and sometimes even take out stub axels too..... It's not a cheap experience. It's a fun car on the street. Brutally fast in any gear but on the track with traction it's a handful to just keep it from destroying itself.
One of the reason why I built the 84 with an automatic. If your serious about drag racing it's the only way to go unless you want to spend tons on a muti disk adjustable lock up clutch and the maintenance that comes with one. Driving my 84 on the track is a dream compared to my 92.
Will
You need a set of Double adjustable rear shocks.... your going to have to put the compression adjustment somewhere in the middle and the rebound/extension adjustment somewhere near full tight.
You need to install new rear snubbers/bump stops or build an extension to extend the factory ones so that the suspension can not squat down far enough to put a negative angle on the halfshaft.... this greatly extends U Joint life. Just keep in mind that what is perfect on a race car is not great for parking lot speed bumps on a daily driver so you have to decide how much suspension travel your willing to give up on a street car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9143 bump stops on my 84 race car and they were easy to trim to the correct length and fit to the car.
I have the Energy Suspension PN 9.9101 on my 92 street car and again easy to fit to the car but these are not as long as the above PN but for my daily driver seem a good compromise for a street car.
Tires. I run the Mickey Thompson 315/35r17 Radial 2 on my 92. I drive them every day rain or shine and they do a very good job on the street and at the track. Tread life is about 6,500-7,000 miles... with a few track days in there.
On my 84 I run a MT 28X10.5 stiff wall slick on the track and the MT 275/60r15 drag radial on the street...
I wouldn't worry about blowing up the D44. It is alot stronger than people think.... espc people who have never blown one up yet constantly talk about other peoples failures on the internet.
My 84 currently goes 1.24 60fts on stock IRS and the only thing I hurt are the U Joints. The needles crack and crush after about 75 passes.
The weakest thing in the rear end itself is the Posi unit.... most people let the clutches get worn and then torch the thing in the burn out box.... which over speeds the spider gears causing them to break. They don't notice until they drop the hammer on at a the starting line and then think they just broke it on launch, when in reality it was hurt playing John Force. Once you get some serious power you should put a spool in the D44 to eliminate problems from the Posi unit.
Just FYi I ran well into the 9's@145mph, with low 1.30 60fts before I started having problems with my home built Posi untis and converted it to a spool.
I have posted many times before about how to check the break away TQ on the posi unit and when it need to be re-built. Just do a search. U Joints are the real weak point. Buy the solid SPICER joints and inspect them every track day. Look around the seals for grease getting pushed out. That is the sign that lets you know the needles are getting loose.... it happends way before you can feel slop in them.... in a racing situation they will break way before you can feel slop in them.
There is other stuff you can do to raise the rear ride height of the car and gain some A/S % as well as putting a little negative camber in the rear suspension so it plants the rear tire square on launch...
The 6spd hits the rear alot harder than an auto depending on how much clutch you have. You need to realize you will always have to "drive" the car off the line with a street clutch in it. You can break anthing by just dumping a non lock up or soft lok clutch with traction.
I run a SPEC Stage 3 in my 92. With nearly 500RWHP on tap, I have slipped up and come out on the clutch too hard enough times to scatter a few U joints, which bash up halfshafts and sometimes even take out stub axels too..... It's not a cheap experience. It's a fun car on the street. Brutally fast in any gear but on the track with traction it's a handful to just keep it from destroying itself.
One of the reason why I built the 84 with an automatic. If your serious about drag racing it's the only way to go unless you want to spend tons on a muti disk adjustable lock up clutch and the maintenance that comes with one. Driving my 84 on the track is a dream compared to my 92.
Will
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
Thanks a lot rklessdriver! This is the type of information I needed to know. The car will only have a clutch while I have the lt1 in there and the lt1 will only be there till around the end of this year and the beginning of next year. At least that's the plans I plan to go 4l80e when I get the new setup. How do you like to have the front suspension setup with the rear like that? Do you like it loose?
I plan to go 4l80e when I get the new setup. How do you like to have the front suspension setup with the rear like that? Do you like it loose?On a 275 radial I have to limit the front extension to 2 inches... otherwise the car can go up on the back bumper.
When I take the 92 to the track, I run the front free but I have never really had any better results one way or the other. I have to slip the clutch so much in low gear that optimal weight transfer for traction is not a big deal. Like I said, when its hooked up and I come out on the clutch too hard U Joints or the outer stub axle break.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 1
From: Shreveport Louisiana
On a slick I run it free.
On a 275 radial I have to limit the front extension to 2 inches... otherwise the car can go up on the back bumper.
When I take the 92 to the track, I run the front free but I have never really had any better results one way or the other. I have to slip the clutch so much in low gear that optimal weight transfer for traction is not a big deal. Like I said, when its hooked up and I come out on the clutch too hard U Joints or the outer stub axle break.
On a 275 radial I have to limit the front extension to 2 inches... otherwise the car can go up on the back bumper.
When I take the 92 to the track, I run the front free but I have never really had any better results one way or the other. I have to slip the clutch so much in low gear that optimal weight transfer for traction is not a big deal. Like I said, when its hooked up and I come out on the clutch too hard U Joints or the outer stub axle break.
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
There is a newer shock company called Viking Shocks that mnfgr's a decent DA shock and they probally have something that can be fitted pretty easily.
I personally built a different lower mount on mine and use a Koni DA Coil Over with the coil over spring and adjusters removed. Only because the Koni's are very high dollar shocks ($600 each) and I got a great deal on them used - So I just made a lower mount for them to work.
Just always keep in the back of your mind that a Drag Radial is what we in the small tire racing world refer to as a "Dead Hooked" type of tire.
That means it works best when it dead hooked on launch with no slip. If you spin a Radial it won't recover, it won't spin and then hook up until you stop spinning it and allow the tire and car speed to synchronize again. They will chatter and wheel hop because of the stiff side wall. You have to be very careful with a radial because of this. Like I said you have to drive the car off the line with the clutch.
This is a pretty good launch in my 92. I went like a 1.67 60ft...
Also a street car type 17" so called drag radial is a world away from a "275" or a 15" real racing drag radial. A 17" tire will spin very easily and takes alot of driver management on a high HP car with a stick shift. Also when they hook there is no give what so ever.... You have to be very careful getting greedy with the clutch and throttle.
A slick will actually work best with a small amount of wheel spin. The sidewalls are soft and take alot of the "HIT" out of the launch. They soften the shock to the drive line. It's amuch better tire for a stick shift or something with a fragile driveline. But you have to make it work like it should and if you dead hook a slick you can break stuff just like with a radial.
Will
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 1
From: Shreveport Louisiana
Without modifying the lower shock mount QA1 is about all that is availiable.
There is a newer shock company called Viking Shocks that mnfgr's a decent DA shock and they probally have something that can be fitted pretty easily.
I personally built a different lower mount on mine and use a Koni DA Coil Over with the coil over spring and adjusters removed. Only because the Koni's are very high dollar shocks ($600 each) and I got a great deal on them used - So I just made a lower mount for them to work.
Just always keep in the back of your mind that a Drag Radial is what we in the small tire racing world refer to as a "Dead Hooked" type of tire.
That means it works best when it dead hooked on launch with no slip. If you spin a Radial it won't recover, it won't spin and then hook up until you stop spinning it and allow the tire and car speed to synchronize again. They will chatter and wheel hop because of the stiff side wall. You have to be very careful with a radial because of this. Like I said you have to drive the car off the line with the clutch.
This is a pretty good launch in my 92. I went like a 1.67 60ft...
Also a street car type 17" so called drag radial is a world away from a "275" or a 15" real racing drag radial. A 17" tire will spin very easily and takes alot of driver management on a high HP car with a stick shift. Also when they hook there is no give what so ever.... You have to be very careful getting greedy with the clutch and throttle.
A slick will actually work best with a small amount of wheel spin. The sidewalls are soft and take alot of the "HIT" out of the launch. They soften the shock to the drive line. It's amuch better tire for a stick shift or something with a fragile driveline. But you have to make it work like it should and if you dead hook a slick you can break stuff just like with a radial.
Will
There is a newer shock company called Viking Shocks that mnfgr's a decent DA shock and they probally have something that can be fitted pretty easily.
I personally built a different lower mount on mine and use a Koni DA Coil Over with the coil over spring and adjusters removed. Only because the Koni's are very high dollar shocks ($600 each) and I got a great deal on them used - So I just made a lower mount for them to work.
Just always keep in the back of your mind that a Drag Radial is what we in the small tire racing world refer to as a "Dead Hooked" type of tire.
That means it works best when it dead hooked on launch with no slip. If you spin a Radial it won't recover, it won't spin and then hook up until you stop spinning it and allow the tire and car speed to synchronize again. They will chatter and wheel hop because of the stiff side wall. You have to be very careful with a radial because of this. Like I said you have to drive the car off the line with the clutch.
This is a pretty good launch in my 92. I went like a 1.67 60ft...
Also a street car type 17" so called drag radial is a world away from a "275" or a 15" real racing drag radial. A 17" tire will spin very easily and takes alot of driver management on a high HP car with a stick shift. Also when they hook there is no give what so ever.... You have to be very careful getting greedy with the clutch and throttle.
A slick will actually work best with a small amount of wheel spin. The sidewalls are soft and take alot of the "HIT" out of the launch. They soften the shock to the drive line. It's amuch better tire for a stick shift or something with a fragile driveline. But you have to make it work like it should and if you dead hook a slick you can break stuff just like with a radial.
Will
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
How do you feel about a nitto drag radial like the nt05r? I currently run those and they drive very well on the street but that was on my old setup with around 200 less rwhp. Are the MT radial 2's that good with a good driver on the street and track? I almost tried them but longevity is still somewhat a concern simply bc the car still sees quite a bit of street use. They were good enough for me to cut a mid 1.8x 60'. I'm just curious if you have used both with the 6 speed car. Thanks.
The NT-05 Drag Radial seems popular with the Terminator Cobra and Shelby guys. I have never had any problems outrunning them, so it's hard for me to give an opinion on if a different tire would make any difference.
I have driven the regular non drag radial version of the NT-05 on a friends 91 383 Super Ram car and it was a good tire traction wise but we are talking a much lower powered car here and his street mileage with those tires was as bad as my MT's.... I would have to imagine the Drag Radial version of the NT-05 would have to be just as bad if not worse wear wise. If your happy with the wear of the NT05 on the street you'll be just as happy with the MT.
I run MT's on the car at the track and on the street. The past 2 sets I got 7K on the first and 10K miles out of the second..... That's combined street driving and also drag racing the car almost every weekend throught the spring and summer. The second set is 3yrs old almost down to the wear bars at 10K and actually has dry rot cracks from the 92 sitting in the driveway most of last year as I have been focased on racing the 84.
I can tell you this: The real fast Radial tire guys run MT or Hoosier. The problem with Hoosier is it's not a street friendly tire. The MT is the best dual purpose tire your going to get IMO.
My advice would be to run your current NT-05's until they need replacement then buy a set of MT's.
Will
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 1
From: Shreveport Louisiana
I for drag radials I have run the Nitto 555R, The Goodyear, the BFG, the MT and the Hoosier. The MT and Hoosier are worlds better than the Nitto at the track.
The NT-05 Drag Radial seems popular with the Terminator Cobra and Shelby guys. I have never had any problems outrunning them, so it's hard for me to give an opinion on if a different tire would make any difference.
I have driven the regular non drag radial version of the NT-05 on a friends 91 383 Super Ram car and it was a good tire traction wise but we are talking a much lower powered car here and his street mileage with those tires was as bad as my MT's.... I would have to imagine the Drag Radial version of the NT-05 would have to be just as bad if not worse wear wise. If your happy with the wear of the NT05 on the street you'll be just as happy with the MT.
I run MT's on the car at the track and on the street. The past 2 sets I got 7K on the first and 10K miles out of the second..... That's combined street driving and also drag racing the car almost every weekend throught the spring and summer. The second set is 3yrs old almost down to the wear bars at 10K and actually has dry rot cracks from the 92 sitting in the driveway most of last year as I have been focased on racing the 84.
I can tell you this: The real fast Radial tire guys run MT or Hoosier. The problem with Hoosier is it's not a street friendly tire. The MT is the best dual purpose tire your going to get IMO.
My advice would be to run your current NT-05's until they need replacement then buy a set of MT's.
Will
The NT-05 Drag Radial seems popular with the Terminator Cobra and Shelby guys. I have never had any problems outrunning them, so it's hard for me to give an opinion on if a different tire would make any difference.
I have driven the regular non drag radial version of the NT-05 on a friends 91 383 Super Ram car and it was a good tire traction wise but we are talking a much lower powered car here and his street mileage with those tires was as bad as my MT's.... I would have to imagine the Drag Radial version of the NT-05 would have to be just as bad if not worse wear wise. If your happy with the wear of the NT05 on the street you'll be just as happy with the MT.
I run MT's on the car at the track and on the street. The past 2 sets I got 7K on the first and 10K miles out of the second..... That's combined street driving and also drag racing the car almost every weekend throught the spring and summer. The second set is 3yrs old almost down to the wear bars at 10K and actually has dry rot cracks from the 92 sitting in the driveway most of last year as I have been focased on racing the 84.
I can tell you this: The real fast Radial tire guys run MT or Hoosier. The problem with Hoosier is it's not a street friendly tire. The MT is the best dual purpose tire your going to get IMO.
My advice would be to run your current NT-05's until they need replacement then buy a set of MT's.
Will
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 1
From: Shreveport Louisiana
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,624
Likes: 431
From: Dale City VA
I have crushed the needles out of them but have not broken a body yet....
I have also run the MOOD solid U-Joints in the drive shaft of my race car and they lasted all last season without problem. The MOOG would be my second choice.
That pic and video of my stuff broken above was a brand new set of Neapco Brute Force U Joints... Litterallly a week old and their first trip to the track.... I think they broke on the 3rd or 4th pass.
Will
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,700
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
The weakest thing in the rear end itself is the Posi unit.... most people let the clutches get worn and then torch the thing in the burn out box.... which over speeds the spider gears causing them to break. They don't notice until they drop the hammer on at a the starting line and then think they just broke it on launch, when in reality it was hurt playing John Force. Once you get some serious power you should put a spool in the D44 to eliminate problems from the Posi unit.
Will
Will
Advanced
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 79
Likes: 0
From: Tucson AZ
Wow, been wondering why I have to replace the inside driver's side u-joint on the halfshaft so much. Besides using the spicer u-joints, is there a low budget way to beef up the stock bumper stops to prevent squat? My 88 is a street daily driver with an LS6 T56 conversion and some mods. Not a 9 sec car but still pretty fast, maybe in the 12 range and I replace that frickin u-joint every 2K miles.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 106
Likes: 1
From: Shreveport Louisiana
Wow, been wondering why I have to replace the inside driver's side u-joint on the halfshaft so much. Besides using the spicer u-joints, is there a low budget way to beef up the stock bumper stops to prevent squat? My 88 is a street daily driver with an LS6 T56 conversion and some mods. Not a 9 sec car but still pretty fast, maybe in the 12 range and I replace that frickin u-joint every 2K miles.