At what point do you need...

[admin]

I'm not a serious drag racer by any means.  I want to have fun and be safe!  However, at what point do you guys recommend making changes to suspension and chassis to keep the car safe?  Is a 12-13 second bug stable at the top end of the 1/4 mile track if it has only stock suspension?  My little 1776 is nowhere near that quick.  I currently run 18's.

But with a bigger and better motor going in, I want to make safety my first priority.  When do I need to start up grading things?  And what do I upgrade first?

I've got a "built" HD stock ratio transmission from Steve Beecher of Orange County Geerbox.  It's got stock axles in it.  (But that tranny is in my convertible right now.)

Scott Faivre

[Demian Dennett]

I'm no expert, but I would review the Berg tech article on suspension.  You have probably read it already, but if not its definitely a good read.  I think the info still applies and most of what he writes about is based on stock stuff. 
Well I hope this helps a little, I'm sure someone with more knowledge and experience than myself will chime in with some good stuff.
Nice website by the way!  I believe this is my first post

[admin]

I'm no expert, but I would review the Berg tech article on suspension.  You have probably read it already, but if not its definitely a good read.  I think the info still applies and most of what he writes about is based on stock stuff. 
Well I hope this helps a little, I'm sure someone with more knowledge and experience than myself will chime in with some good stuff.

I do have the Berg Technical Writings.  I'll have to dig them out and take another look at them.

Nice website by the way!  I believe this is my first post

Thanks for the comments!  I appreciate it! 

"Your" first post is "our" 500th!  Thanks!

Scott Faivre

[Demian Dennett]

 

"Your" first post is "our" 500th!  Thanks!

Scott Faivre

Cool!

[carl nolen]

I'm not a serious drag racer by any means.  I want to have fun and be safe!  However, at what point do you guys recommend making changes to suspension and chassis to keep the car safe?  Is a 12-13 second bug stable at the top end of the 1/4 mile track if it has only stock suspension?  My little 1776 is nowhere near that quick.  I currently run 18's.

But with a bigger and better motor going in, I want to make safety my first priority.  When do I need to start up grading things?  And what do I upgrade first?

I've got a "built" HD stock ratio transmission from Steve Beecher of Orange County Geerbox.  It's got stock axles in it.  (But that tranny is in my convertible right now.)

Scott Faivre

When the front end is lowered, it develops negitive caster. This angle can greatly affect how the car handles. With positive caster, the car has a tendency to go staight by itself. with negitive caster, the car will tend to wander at high speeds. Negitive caster is great for road racing but you need positive caster for drag racing for high speed stability. So, when you lower the front end, you need about 3/4 on an inch of material behind the lower beam of the front torsion beam to get the positive caster back. I use a thin and thick caster shim to do this. That will get you back around 2-3 degrees of positive caster.

The rear of the car I lower just a little. Not much really. However, you need to limit the up travel of the rear suspension. A VW beetle tends to rise in the rear at high speeds. This may cause excessive positive camber and make the car unstable. You can do this with a spacer under the spring plate or straps around the rear shock. Wings are used to break the vacuum that is created behind the bug at high speeds thus giving you down force. I run the Hedron Helper due to being small. It is designed to break the vacuum. The larger wings will create down force by them selves.

I would probably say that if you have lowered the front end, get the alignment back in specs. The rear end may not be a factor until you get over a 100 in the 1/4. And yes, I have studied the Berg info and have followed it. Very good info. As you get real quick, your next quest is to get the front end above the center of gravity as quickly as possible. As covered in Bergs info. Carl

[Demian Dennett]

I believe Gene referred to it as "building the wedge" or something like that

[Mike Soliven]

Heres what I did when i went from a 15 second 1776 motor to an all out 2276 12 second motor. I had an HD built tranny with stock gear ratios too. 12.28@ 109,ph was my fastest in the quarter at sea level. When I started to get my big motor together I didnt cut any corners when it came to the rest of the car. Almost overkill for my motor actually. Thinking in the same lines of safety I installed 28mm torsion bars, HD SAW springplates, QA1 adj rear shocks, Limit straps, Berg intermediate solid mount for my tranny. Solid mount tranny carrier, SAW axles. I did it right the first time to prevent any problems with the big motor. I didnt wan tto have to pull the motor to swap axles or install a solid mount etc. Its much easier to get it all done at once then do it in pieces. And so far on the steet besides being loud as hell. The ride is no worse than stock.

[Tom Simon]

When people think safety and racecar, they usually forget to add "good handling". After all, the very best helmet, belts and roll cage I've ever is the ones I never needed. What Carl and Mike are saying is right on the money.

Adding caster and a good alignment job is key to a good high speed handling car. Making absolutly sure the rear has no toe out is crutial to high speed stability. Even running 12's or 13's, things ae still pretty fogiving., but as a VW starts to dip into the 11's, 108mph is about the norm, and a little areodynamic help like a plain wing helps keep the rear planted and adds a little areodynamic drag to the rear (long story, but trust me it's a good thing).