I am looking for some honest opinions on what type of rear suspension to put under a turbo big block 87 Dakota for street/strip driving. Im hoping to keep the weight under 3500lbs with driver. Im also looking to get the truck into the low 9's to high 8's on slicks. What would you all suggest for rear suspension? I was thinking 4 link with a wishbone but am concerned about binding. Also the two truck I have right now are long boxes with a 123.9" wheelbase but if I backhalf it I could go with a 111.9 inch wheelbase and find a short box for it. What would you do.
Thanks
Street/strip truck suspension?
Moderator: Team
-
TrxR
As I said I am worried about binding on the street when set to hook on the strip. I was thinking I could have two sets of bars and just swap back to the street settings when not on the track, But was wondering if maybe a 3 link would hook just as well and not bind on the street. ?? What about a triangulated 4 link? will it hook as well as a conventional 4 link? Can a wishbone still be used on a 3 link and is it suitable for heavier vehicles?
What do you think?
Am I over thinking things?
What do you think?
Am I over thinking things?
10+ years ago I built a 3 link setup patterned after the 4 link bar length and plates so that it could be driven on the street and raced also without binding. Used original rear leaf springs with sliders.
I made my own plates for the diff. housing copied from normal very adjustable 4 link plates as I only used lower plate parts. The frame parts were made without the upper portion also.
The upper diff. part was placed 3" to right of pinion center line with just 3 adjustment holes and a whole lot of bracing. The upper frame mount made from 1 3/4"?? round tubing was the most difficult as needs a lot of support to keep from flexing.
The car was a 1956 Ford weighing 3800 lbs. and the best et was 10.90 @ 12x speed.
Not quite in your league but the 3 link worked okay without any problems. The top bar heim joints were the strongest ones made.
I made my own plates for the diff. housing copied from normal very adjustable 4 link plates as I only used lower plate parts. The frame parts were made without the upper portion also.
The upper diff. part was placed 3" to right of pinion center line with just 3 adjustment holes and a whole lot of bracing. The upper frame mount made from 1 3/4"?? round tubing was the most difficult as needs a lot of support to keep from flexing.
The car was a 1956 Ford weighing 3800 lbs. and the best et was 10.90 @ 12x speed.
Not quite in your league but the 3 link worked okay without any problems. The top bar heim joints were the strongest ones made.
Dale C.
3 Link Wishbone
I remember seeing a road race car with a combined wishbone/3 link setup. They used some sort of ball type of connection where the center of the wishbone connected to the housing.
The idea that I had at one time was to make a wishbone that hooked up to a rotating coupling on the top of the rear end and use the normal lower links like a 4 link. The reason for this was to keep the roll center high and not induce rear end roll. That would allow for the softer springs on the rear end.
The pivot was going to be a large bolt type of affair with a matching sleeve welded to the top of the rear end. On the front end of the bolt would be the heim end bracket for the top wish bone link. The sleeve would be fitted with a zerk and set up to pivot allowing the heim to go through a large amount of roll without binding.
I had a friend with a short box pickup that needed to change the overall length of his rear suspension and this was what we came up with. He is on a 20 year schedule so we haven't done anything yet.
The idea that I had at one time was to make a wishbone that hooked up to a rotating coupling on the top of the rear end and use the normal lower links like a 4 link. The reason for this was to keep the roll center high and not induce rear end roll. That would allow for the softer springs on the rear end.
The pivot was going to be a large bolt type of affair with a matching sleeve welded to the top of the rear end. On the front end of the bolt would be the heim end bracket for the top wish bone link. The sleeve would be fitted with a zerk and set up to pivot allowing the heim to go through a large amount of roll without binding.
I had a friend with a short box pickup that needed to change the overall length of his rear suspension and this was what we came up with. He is on a 20 year schedule so we haven't done anything yet.