My first time at the track I was able to pull a 13.57 run with a terrible 60' time. It was strictly because of wheel hop and the fact that I didn't heat my tires up very well. I am running some old BFG KDW's that I have on some old cobra rims. As of right now I have LCA's, Brackets, a Panhard Bar, and some lowering springs. I am trying to decide which of the following upgrades is best. I figure I might as well finish off the arms and get an adjustableUCA but got to thinking, what about the mount for it? The LCA brackets have two sets of holes, and the arms are in the lower one, which changes the geometry andaids in traction, and I was wondering if the mount is worth it to change the geometry of the UCA? I know CHE makes a mount that has two sets of holesand was thinking about it. The UCA I am going for is from J&M, which comes with bushings to slide into the stock mount to eliminate the bolt play in the mount. I was also thinking about the CHE K Member brace with the torque limiters and if that would be a good upgrade. What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

I would try the UCA next. I have the J&M adjustable LCAs and UCA and have no wheel hop. I helped a friend earlier this year put in the CHE LCAs and UCA (both non-adjustable) and it fixed his problem as well.

It seems sometimes LCAs alone can fix wheel hop. Sometimes it takes both.

The bushings (anti-clunk) you are talking about in the UCA will come with the J&M (as you said). You can also get them separately from J&M or Steeda (maybe others make them too). Some of the manufacturers also make an upgraded mount (heavier duty)for the UCA.

Something you didn't mention was how you corrected the geometry of your pinion angle after you lowered the car. Are your LCAs adjustable?

The CHE K-Member brace won't help your wheel hopping problem but it isworth having for two reasons: a) helps eliminate K-Member flex in cornering and b) limits the engine/transmission movement (torquing over) during load. I have this for my car but haven't put it on yet. I also have Prothane motor mounts already in so I may end up with torque limiting overkill [8D].

13.58 isn't a bad time. What are your other mods?

 

Yeah, I believe the two will be overkill for you. To answer your question, the UCA will be adjustable to correct the pinion angle. However, I dont think I need to fix it as I am on the stock shaft and the seems to be nothing wrong such as vibration or anything like that. The only reason I was curious about the mount was the change in suspension geometry that it offers, but I guess it isn't significant enough to warrant upgrading to it. As far as mods go, I haven't done much. WMS intake with the ram air box, a Canton coolant tank for better cooling, SLP LM axle back, Brenspeed tune, MGW short shifter, and all the suspension mods I posted previously. Next outing to the strip I plan on dropping some weight and powershifting to try and drop a couple tenths.

 

One more thing, the LCA's and the brackets did eliminate a lot of the wheel hop. However, once I hit the track I realized that it only eliminated it on the street. The track showed me that what I had done so far wasn't enough and I needed to do more to cure it, so I started considering an UCA. Guess the adjustable UCA is next.

 

Hi Kevin,

You might want to reconsider your UCA choice. Steeda's Adjustable Comp/Street UCA/UCA Mount system is the best off the shelf UCA systemavailable for both drag racers and road racers period.Certainly Steeda'sAdjustable Comp/Street UCA/UCA Mount Kitis not inexpensive but when considered as awhole system and the advatanges in tuning and performanceSteeda'skithas to offer the Steeda kitismuch cheaper to buy the first time. Oh sure you can no doubt buy something cheaper but for the cost savings of that second installation or the hours it will take you to install the Steeda kityourself the second time around you might just as well have bought it in the first place. So instead of buying a less expensive adjustable poly bushed UCA and UCAmounting bracket only to find that you really want/need the advanatages of the Steeda AdjustableComp/Street UCA/UCA mount Kit buy the Steeda part up front and save the installation time, tuning effort,and basically double the money of upgrading froma lesser UCA and mount.

If you are a hardcore drag racer or runningwith a blower motor withsignificantly over 400rwhpyou might want toconsider using the rod-ended Comp/Streetversion.For ahigh perfromance street car with 400rwhp or lessthe Steeda Adjustable Comp/Street UCA/UCA mount kitwith the 3-piece dual durometer bushings offerplenty of axle control if you have already installed aregular poly bushedLCA or GT500 LCA's AND it's O.E. quiet to boot. The Steeda Comp/Street UCA/UCA mount kit also uses a unique 20% longercontrol arm. Unlike everybody else selling suspensionparts Steeda did a little bit of thinking as usual and figured out that if they built the UCA mount with the adjustment holes in just the right place they could improve more than just the strength of the mount but could alsoofferimproved IC AND reduced wheel hop under top end braking by lengthening the control arm and moving the lower mounting bracket hole as far forward as is practically possible. This means thatyou can most likely set your LCA's one adjustment hole higher(giving you more stability at the top end) and still have about the same rear axlelauch grip. This will pay you in spadesif you drive this car daily asyour car will be much more stable with less oversteer at high speeds or high rollangles.

If you are a road racer or HPDE driver the Steeda Adjustable Comp/Street UCA/UCA mount Kit will work especially well for you. That longer UCA means you get much reducedrearaxle hop under braking for deeper brake points, less pinion angle change and can now move your IC back where it belongs on your lowered car all without therear axle steer issues caused by LCA's that had to be set to a compromised adjustment mounting position to try to findcorner exit grip. Set your LCA's for neutral rear axle steering (parallel to ground or very slightly up toward the rear axle) and move your IC rearward usingSteeda's Adjustable Comp/Street UCA/UCA mount Kit's unique longer UCA andlower forward UCA mounting holes. You willhave a more stable handling car during corner entry AND on corner exit andexit faster under power earlier than withthe stock lengthUCA and mount. Nobody paid any attention to this potential handling and performance advantageexceptSteedaandthey made it happen. Try it you'll like it!

HTH!

 

Hi KLO,

That's because the UCA and mount has more influence over the S197's rear axle than the LCA's do. If you had replaced the UCA and mount first you probably would not be having any wheel hop even on a heavilysprayed track.

HTH!

 

F1Fan

I have received my Steeda 555-4109 UCA and on their web site they show the assembly as using what I think is the rear hole http://www.steeda.com/products/_enla...rd_bushing.phpbut the instructions say to use the 'front' hole.

Is the picture correct?

Also the 555-4109 uses the stock bushing in the axle - is that OK?

 

Hi Sleeper_08,

I think that image showsthe UCA bolted into thestock location. You want the UCA to be as long as possible so the UCA goes in the hole closest to the gas tank which is the other hole. It will be obvious when you pull the stock LCA out and look at the stock mountcontrol arm. The Steeda LCA and hole is about 2" closer toward the front of the car. I used the stock gel bushing because I have to maintain the facade for my wife that this isa regular street car (as "regular" as any of my cars are anyway) so rear end noise and vibration was a concern of mine. The stock gel bushing on the 8.8 pumpkin works well for me but I'm not launching on a prepared drag strip using drag tires. There are good poly bushings and even sphericals you can install in the pumpkin but they are going to be noisier andmay introducesome vibrations into the cabin.

HTH!

 

F1Fan

Thanks - that is exactly the information I was loooking for. The Steeda 555-4109 UCA is one sturdy piece of hardware and should help to keep my 400+ HP under control on the road courses.

 

F1Fan,

Thank you very much for your in depth responses. I see your point about the upper control arm and the mount and how Steeda's design of the arm and mount work in unison. The problem is, by the time I read this response I had already placed the order for the J&M UCA. I believe with just the arm alone, and their anti-clunk bushings, I should reduce my wheel hop significantly and it should cure my problem. I appriciate your assistance on the matter.

The arm should be arriving tomorrow and I will install it, then the second I am going to Moroso to test it out and see if it helped. I have one more question though, i don't know what pressure to put my tires at. When I arrived the first time I put them at 20psi and got wheel spin, then I aired them to 15 psi, and got wheel hop, so I put them at 18 and got a mixture. I think I will put them at 15 next time I go and see how I run. My question is if this is ok for the tire? It' a low profile tire and since it has a reinforced sidewall I figured it was fine. The sidewall did balloon out a little but it seemed ok. Is 15psi ok?