Adjustable rear ride height/custom

[Speedeuphoria]

Well I still don't have the car on the road but I just got a member ship here so I can post pics. After talking to Chris Still(csracer), I decided to get a better rear setup for my '89 Spirit.

Here is the Spirit w/ 8" 450lb/in rear springs
you can use any rate you like as they are normal 5"ID springs

You could also possibly drill 3 holes in the new top mount and the factory mount to bolt them on

lmk what you think

[Speedeuphoria]

heres more the tires are 235/45/17 for reference
also for reference there is almost no weight in the front of the car. No motor/trans,front clip/hood, nothing in the engine bay, no headlights ect..Well there is not much in the rear either.
1st 2 pics are fully raised(~2.5 inches but can prob go to 3")
the last pics are fully lowered

[Frank]

Nice dude. So whats the front of the car like in terms of spring rates, etc?

[Speedeuphoria]

Well waiting on Koni's, coilover ready, from Cindy to use w/ 350/lb springs that came in today. I have lightened the car quite a bit so it should be a bumpy ride. And I decided to get the 450's in the rear instead of adding the 1" rear bar(for weight savings cause that thing is heavy and also for traction hopefully as I'm going to need it) and Chris has 400frnt/450rear on his Daytona and is working on a similar setup in the rear w/ 550/lb 2.5"ID rears and no swaybar. He told me that his current setup is balanced and his friend has that setup w/ the rear bar and it oversteers but he likes it.

The car has a '91 R/T frnt + rear suspension w/ all poly bushings, a 1+1/8" swaybar and adjustable panhard bar(csracer). I also have the first set of oval rear bushings produced by Johnny. I am also running a 245/45/17 in front to give me a little oversteer.

[iTurbo]

Neat, Grant Racing used to (still?) have something like that, but they were weld-in adjustable perches that went in the bottom. I've been thinking of doing something like this eventually for my SL. I've already coated the entire rear axle assembly with POR-15 so something that welds into the top like yours would be better for me.

[Speedeuphoria]

Originally Posted by iTurbo

Grant Racing used to (still?) have something like that, but they were weld-in adjustable perches that went in the bottom.

I don' think they are in business anymore and this way you don't need custom springs just reg 5"ID springs in whatever rate/length you want

The 3" exhaust still fits

[travis_k]

Where did those spring perches come from?

[Speedeuphoria]

here
http://www.pitstopusa.com/detail.aspx?ID=23984

[Reaper1]

I like the idea, but the odd angle at which the springs are being compressed kinda concerns me. I wonder if there's a way to make the perches more on the same axis as the axle's swing? Also, doe anybvody knwo what happened to Grant Racing for sure? They had some REALLY nice stuff and also had TIII lifters and spring retainers that were HARD to find.

One other thing...I see the brace that was added between the two spring perches, how does that come in relationship to the fuel tank?

[Speedeuphoria]

Originally Posted by Reaper1

I like the idea, but the odd angle at which the springs are being compressed kinda concerns me.

One other thing...I see the brace that was added between the two spring perches, how does that come in relationship to the fuel tank?

Take a look at the factory springs they are curved when compressed do to the mounting angle. Mine are just more pronounced because they are stiffer than the factory 100lbs or whatever they are.

That brace is where the factory brace was that I cut out, so it is 5-6" behind the gas tank, it made a perfect mounting spot for the external fuel pump and filter.EDIT: it was a tight fit for the filler neck but worked

[Aries_Turbo]

when its at max droop with the lowest ride height, can the springs fall out?

Brian

[Speedeuphoria]

These rear ends don't articulate that much so it would be a situation where both rear wheels fall to the bottom of the shocks(like a jump), then you would still have to have some sidways momentum for the springs to want to go a diff direction/speed than the car is moving(in order to evacuate the scene). I dont see much more of a prob then running the factory setup minus the bump stops. I have thought about it and was thinking of taking a tow strap and wraping it around the trailling arm and the rear brace I made to be sure. I will get this pos on the road here shortly and then the testing will begin.



The only real reason to have the rear raised up is for at the track. Other than that it will be as low as I can get it, level w/ the front and w/ the driveshafts in a good position.

[Aries_Turbo]

reason I asked is cause the stockers cant fall out cause the shocks are what defines the max droop travel. i can see this possibly being a little lower than that and having the potential to become dislodged when cresting a hill at high speed. other than that potential issue, looks great.

lemme know how the tests turn out. i might make some custom stuff sometime.

Brian

[Speedeuphoria]

Originally Posted by Aries_Turbo

having the potential to become dislodged when cresting a hill at high speed. Brian

yeah the length of the shocks are the same so the distance the trailing arm can fall is the same. The springs are just shorter possibly causing a prob in the situation that you described. with the trailing arm as far down as the shocks will let it go, the springs are loose. Thats why I was thinking about taking a tow strap and limiting the amount of travel of the trailing arm.

I will let everyone know the results

[Speedeuphoria]

Well since I'm just messing around and reading old posts I thought I would update this.

I have driven the car with no probs(other then its stiff and lots of rattles from the tin can rear end). It handles very well.