Help needed to set up up a Drag car
 

Let me start by saying I know these cars weren't made to be drag cars, but that’s what I’m slowly turning mine into.

Suspension isn't something I am familiar with, and my knowledge on it is not deep so I’d appreciate any pointers.

I am currently on stock suspension with motor mounts and trans mount, hooking up is mere impossible, and I am even spinning 2nd gear running r888s warmed up( On streets). I will be using a slick/ skinny setup for the strip as i am hoping for 9s by the end of this drag season or next year.

Things I’m looking into are
Coils
Bushings
And disconnecting sway bars and such.

Discuss away.

In before sell car jokes

:popcorn:

Shooting for a 9 second street car is no easy undertaking. I'm sure you're already aware of that. You may want to look into a solid rear axle setup which would involve quite a bit of time and effort. That's in addition to making the power you'll need for a 9 second pass as well as all the safety modifications that are required.

-Seth

10 easy steps for a drag car.

Step 1, remove everything you can, like all of it!!! Down to bare metal.

Step 2, build motor to handle huge boost

Step 3, BOOOOOSSST

Step 4, Clutch and drive line

Step 5, Fat slicks

Step 6, wide body so your slicks don't "poke"

Step 7, Suspension so you can launch better/smother

Step 8, Fix things as you brake them

Step 9, Get fed up with wasting money

Step 10, Sell car

I am very well aware with that ! Take the term street car loosely, hood exit exhaust, no rear interior and a cage aren't the most street-able things, but it still sees the street. I want to give the stock axle setup a shot before considering a solid setup.

:iono:

I would at least go with DSS rear axles. Stock ones are weak, just a heads up

Yup ! I'm way beyond the power of stock axles, and even have a differently geared Diff in there

Haha what are you at for HP right now?? Are you planning on keeping the FA20 or are you open to swaps??

My questions exactly.

If you are spinning 2nd on r888s.... - Your post answered this. Scratch this...

I regret not swapping, but then i would be competing with full on drag cars and bigger teams; i still hope to build a track 1uz or NA LS down the road with a 86 shell.

Im still on the FA, stock trans too. I had 500whp give or take on my stock motor, i currently have a forged internal basic setup motor, and still running the same tune but its slightly detuned. Car is getting a hood exit atm, as my previous exhaust setup was a huge issue ( catted, numerous resonators and mufflers.) After that im hitting the dyno hoping for 700whp or so.

Im pretty sure i do not need any driver mod :burnrubber:

WOW so a hood exit exhaust adds 200whp?? Better not let the guys with civics know that or they will all be doing it... much like the oversized wings they all run now.... cuz you know all that downforce in the rear on a FWD car is a good idea for traction.

what's with all the hate in this thread?

I'm 98% sure his 500whp were with forced induction, not NA. Removing any restriction in exhaust like mentioned mufflers/resonators/cats, adding straight pipe which just happens to be hood exit exhaust might benefit such engine too. Maybe not for +200whp, but who knows.
To me more interesting seems how can that car still be streetable if possible changes to engine/suspension/cage addition and so on for drag purposes would certainly make big red sign here at least if legal side is considered. Are inspection rules State-side that much different?

Are you retarded ? I said I'm going back to the dyno and I stated I'm on and old tune. I assumed you'd be smart enough to realize I'll be adding more boost.

They're just too butt hurt about somebody ruining their amazing "track purposed cars"

haha, I am just having fun with you, I thought the wing part and civics would clue in to the fact I am being sarcastic haha! I am interested in your build though I want to see more drag FRS's running the FA20.

That stick up your bum is extra weight you could be removing. ROFL I kid but come on man post up some pics and vids I'm a bit curious to see how fast it moves out of the gate

This is the only coilover I have seen on the forums that suggest they would be better for drag racing than autocross etc.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...eview+coilover

Other than that I would have thought an alignment that gives you minimal toe and camber when squatting would be a good thing for traction.

I wonder... looks like they use very similar parts to the HKS Hypermax and Skunk2. I wonder which factory in Taiwan is making those for them and where it's located. Taichung or Tainan? ;)

R888's aren't a particularly good drag tire... get a drag radial with softer sidewalls, and run the smallest rim diameter you can to give the tire maximum flex (and grip).

They aren't, not at all but I've had good luck with them on many other cars that had more horsepower, and i was also dailying the car so i needed something more streetable

My new wheel setup is this

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/713/2...a6eed0c7_k.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/661/2...594051fa_k.jpg

Will those slicks even fit under the fender wells? They look to be almost 3 times the width of stock tires...

^^ Which ones do you mean? The really wide ones in the first picture, or the ones standing up in the second picture?

I'm assuming he's running the M/T drag slick that's standing up in the second picture, not the really wide michelins laying down in the first picture.

500 hp give or take how much?? Forged bottom end components and all else stock, what the hell else are you running? You have to be running more than upgraded pistons and rods under boost to almost triple the power output like that.

The Mickey thompsons with skinnes the wheels stacked in the back are my Viper TA track set.

Lol and yes they are huge, 345s

These motors hold boost better than you'd imagine. I had 500whp on my stock block for almost a year and i beat on it daily; only reason it blew up was putting it under constant boost for too long. I was doing a top speed pull and it was under boost for too long, from second all the way to redline in 6th, I clutched in and heard a slight rod sound. I drove it for two more days and after that I tore it apart to find out rod one was slightly bent.

Fancy. Let see that Viper!

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5757/...24746508_k.jpg


Now back to setting up a drag car :D

:wub: So meaty, those Vipers. Like them thick chicks with the big booties. Nicki Minaj lol

From what I've seen, which is not very many, drag oriented suspension you would want something with a good amount of travel and 'give' for those launches to maximize traction in the rear tires. So you'd want to take that into consideration because most of the aftermarket suspension out for this car tend to have the "hellaslamed" market in mind. KW v3 come to mind when you look at what's available off the shelf for our cars. They seem to have plenty of damper stroke compared to many other setups. Another one is Bilstein B16 B14, but you might want to call them for ride height and damper stroke specs as both the KW and bilstein also have their setups designed with some lowering in mind. Both applications are damping adjustable so that will allow you to adjust the damping for a good launch.

Here is a good read for drag applications (mustang specific, but some of the info should apply to all cars)
http://www.dragzine.com/tech-stories...z-motorsports/

Damping and suspension tuning:
http://www.racingjunk.com/news/2014/...ension-tuning/
https://www.afcodynapro.com/file/131...token=L9zcJo0C

That viper hella nice and love the colour too

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk

I'd highly recommend a double adjustable shock with lots of travel. Doesn't need to be too stiff. On the cheaper end of things that means KW V3. Remove the rear bar, you don't need/want it. I'd probably replace all bushings so you can focus on suspension tuning via shocks/springs.

- Andrew

Are there any other off the shelf coilovers that offer decent amount of damper stroke? Most seem to have shorter stroke than factory (3.5" or so in the rear) coupled with firmer springs, obviously.

I like that the v3s are on the cheaper side, I'll call you guys

I suggested those KW's first. Where's my phone call?! :brokenheart: lol j/k

Keep us updated with your build.

Good deals @SmsAlSuwaidi hope all is good my friend

:D ! Thanks, you too

Been supervising things from far for the past year or so, as other priorities popped up, but now im back trying to make this thing faster.:bonk:

The DragZine article is a good read. I'm no drag car expert, but RCE Andrew's comment jives with my thoughts.

Compliant suspension + solid bushings/joints + adjustable arms/links + sway bar delete + bracing

I see 2 modes for the suspension:
1) Launch - Cars have an inherent amount of anti-squat (resistance to compression of the rear suspension, when the car is accelerating).
http://www.pro-touring.com/attachmen...5&d=1322684983

For drag racing, this is bad. You want to dig in and get the most out of your tires. Front-to-rear weight transfer is generally good, until you pop a wheelie or bottom out the suspension. More weight on the rear tires means more potential power is delivered during launch.

Adjustable arms may allow you to dial in some squat. When the suspension is compressed, a little toe-in and camber will help with stability (during launch). Too much camber can reduce the effective section width of the tire, so keep it reasonable (check tire temperature distribution).

Sway bars can be helpful if there's massive torque on launch... but for low/medium-power cars you'll want the wheels to articulate freely. Small sway bars or none.

Bushings can be stiffened. This let's the suspension work it's magic and control the body motions. As others have said, a softer spring is good here. The ideal dampers would have a supple low-speed with a slight bias towards rebound damping (this will jack down under stress and loosen as you move down the strip). Medium and high speed damping should be aggressive enough to settle bumps and shift motions quickly.

2) Acceleration - Once you've transitioned from grip-limited power delivery to engine-limited power delivery, it's important to keep the wheels in contact with the ground and settle any bumps/shifts quickly. You want plenty of travel and neutral geometry. No need for excessive toe-in or camber. This car's geometry shouldn't get twitchy unless your static alignment is too aggressive.

To your main question:
Something like the Bilstein B14 is probably what I would pick (assuming that your wheels aren't crazy wide). The soft, progressive springs and height adjustability should be good for drag. Saving money on coilovers will allow you to spend it on bushings, adjustable arms, and bracing.

If you can catch a deal on KW V3, they have tons of adjustability and will accept a wide range of 2.5" springs. Probably a better choice, if you have the budget.