Ol' Fart's Firebird Fantasy

Tony Corley · 01-18-2015, 08:13 PM

[QUOTE=oldskool;458884]Wow ! This blows my preconceived ideas out of the water. That site has some great info.

One of the main things I got from it that might pertain to a heavy coil spring Stocker is that if you are getting 100% traction without a lot of front end rise, then don't loosen up the front or use 90/10 shocks. What you want is to use all your power for propelling the car forward. If front end rise is not needed for traction, then your ET will be better if all your power is moving the car forward.

Also, I read that you want soft springs to help traction. But, this guy says that for a stock suspension coil spring car, you want stiff springs, so that all the weight is used to push the tires into the track. If the springs are soft, then on the initial hit, the body will squat, instead of pushing down on the tires. Makes sense to me.

And the part about the '71 Monte with nothing but air shocks: if I remember correctly, that was a heavy body style, very similar to the '69-'77 Pontiac GP. So, that may be a further indication that all these fancy suspension pieces are not needed for a HEAVY, low buck Stocker. Would probably be a good idea to start with stiffer bushings, stronger springs, air bags and stiff shocks--try that and see how it works, before spending a bunch on parts that may not be needed at all.

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It worked, but think of how much quicker it might have been using todays suspension technology!!

01-18-2015, 08:13 PM	#27
Tony Corley Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 264 Likes: 42 Liked 61 Times in 25 Posts	Re: Ol' Fart's Firebird Fantasy [QUOTE=oldskool;458884]Wow ! This blows my preconceived ideas out of the water. That site has some great info. One of the main things I got from it that might pertain to a heavy coil spring Stocker is that if you are getting 100% traction without a lot of front end rise, then don't loosen up the front or use 90/10 shocks. What you want is to use all your power for propelling the car forward. If front end rise is not needed for traction, then your ET will be better if all your power is moving the car forward. Also, I read that you want soft springs to help traction. But, this guy says that for a stock suspension coil spring car, you want stiff springs, so that all the weight is used to push the tires into the track. If the springs are soft, then on the initial hit, the body will squat, instead of pushing down on the tires. Makes sense to me. And the part about the '71 Monte with nothing but air shocks: if I remember correctly, that was a heavy body style, very similar to the '69-'77 Pontiac GP. So, that may be a further indication that all these fancy suspension pieces are not needed for a HEAVY, low buck Stocker. Would probably be a good idea to start with stiffer bushings, stronger springs, air bags and stiff shocks--try that and see how it works, before spending a bunch on parts that may not be needed at all. [/QUOTE It worked, but think of how much quicker it might have been using todays suspension technology!! Last edited by Tony Corley; 01-18-2015 at 08:26 PM.