ziperhead

Is there anything I can do to assist my straight line traction by adjusting my Konis?

F1Fan

Hi ziperhead,

If this is for a special, temporary drag strip use to be adjusted back to normal usebefore leaving the track andnot for regular street use you can try this. Withthe Koni Sport dampers being truely single adjustableyou canloosen up the front struts all the way to encourage the front end to lift transfering weight to the rear axle faster. Leave the rear Konis alone unless youwant totry firming up the rear dampers just a littlebitto change/reduce where the wheel hop harmonic isbut this is not theideal way to fix wheel hop.

For that you needgood LCA's and a UCA with poly bushings on both ends for a street car. You can also addrod-ends at the axle but this is prone to giving you noticably increased interior road and tire noise. Additionally rod-ends no matter waht Sam Strano says and no matter how fancy or how specially built will always wear and start to add their own special rattle noises to the mix. What happens is that asthe unsealed(almost all are unprotected) rod-ends get older and the clearances open up between the ball and liner (whichare right down in the middle of a big stream of dirt and grit blasting your rod ends everytime you drive the car) the clearances open up due to stress and bearing contamination and things start to bang around and you getrod-end rattle. Sure for a race car or a garage queen using the highest quality rod-ends work fine but eventhese low mileage cars will need replacement just at a later date thanadaily driver will.

Good luck and keep us posted!

HTH!

ziperhead

Thank F1 fan. I will adjust per your reccomendation. I have no wheel hop btw. I am really struggling where else to go here. I am running stock 235-55-17. I am also considering putting on a set of 255-50 on the rear to help. Of course as soon as I get my traction under control we shall up the KB boost. LOL

Sam Strano

Not sure what I can say when someone is that matter of fact and just knows the are right. Can rod-ends make noise? Sure they can, never denied that or claimed it wasn't true. They also articulate, and good quality ends have much tighter clearances to start with and use teflon liners to lubricate the ball. In short they last much longer and are a lot more quiet than the $5 rattles that a lot of companies use. You can also buy little boots to cover the ends and keep dirt out if you are really ****.

Back to your original question which had nothing to do with anything I said, or rod-end parts.
You want to turn the front shocks full soft for launching for the quickest weight transfer. What you do on the rear won't matter muchand looking at the dyno curves for both Koni and D-spec that's pretty much the case either way. Alternatively, you could unhook you front swaybar (for drag use only) and getyet more weight transfer.

All that said: Your tires suck, and not matter what you do anywhere else the tires are what get the power down to the ground. So I'd recommend starting with what matters most.

ziperhead

Thanks for you feedback Sam. I am thinking Bridgestone RE750 255-50-17.

Sam Strano

It's not the size so much as the type of tire..... Drag tires look the way they do because they are tuned for that use. Rain tires look they way do for their use. Cornering tires for their use. Street tires are just that, street tires and by definition they are a compromise.

I'm not going to say those RE750's suck. They don't, but I also don't know the details here. And as much as some hate to hear this, details matter. If you want the car to hook at a drag strip, you need to get yourself some drag radials. Maybe you change tires for every day, maybe you like to leave lights and stay on them. I don't know, so I can't make a good recommendation. As usually the 'net leaves a lot unanswered or undefined.

Only when I better understand what the needs are can I make a recommendation based on reality. You might well need other parts, but I don't know and can't know. All I know is you want the car to hook better. That's like saying you want more power, or the car to "handle" better. The notion is nice, but doesn't tell me much else about what it really going on, or what's needed.

ziperhead

Thanks all. Looks like I can' have my cake and eat it to. Was really looking for a tire that can hook better on street. If I just roll from a stop and jump on the car and once the boost kicks in, the tires start spinning but not smoking in 1st gear . From a dead stop the mothers hide there kids. Maybe there just isn't any tire for the street at my current power level.

Once again Sam you saved me a few bucks. I will play with my setting on the shocks and see if it helps

I feel pretty good about a solution for the drag strip. Just put on set of drag radials.

Sam Strano

It's harder to hook on the street than a track. No surface prep, more oil and coolant down, maybe bumpy, etc.

Pick your poison. I hear Nitto 555R's, which are drag radials have relatively firm sidewalls. In fact I know some have done track days on them. They are streetable, but of course they aren't going to wear like street tires. You have a lot of power, and no tire. Handling tires tend to be stiffly constructed and that's not great for planting power (see drag slicks as an example). A drag radial is a compromise between a drag slick and a street tire. Get some, mess with them and let's see what happends. I know it'll hook better, then we have to see if wheelhop becomes an issue or not. Then we can see if we need other parts.

F1Fan

Hi zipperhead,

Just how serious are you about launching at the strip? Can you bring a set of mounted drag wheels and tires and put them on the car for trips down the strip or do you have to drive to the strip and run the car as is? On a preppedtrack withslicks you will have wheel hop (unless you have already installed LCA's and/or a UCA)you just don't know it yet because you're on narrow all season street tires and have more power than the tires and street can hold. This will be very different than at the drag strip where you will have plenty of surface grip on the line if the track is well prepped and used regularly.

What else have you done to the car aside from dampers and a KB blower? Springs? LCA's? LCA relocation brackets?UCA? Motor mounts? Shifter mounts? Shifter?

There is a lot to be said for using the right wheels and tireson your blower motor car. Lightweight 16"drag wheels anda wider andtallerdrag slick will make your car stick on the launch. If you have a set of stock springs put them back on the car orleave themon the car and get better wheels and tires. You will need theclearance ofstock height rear springs which offer better IC for drag strip use thansprings with reduced ride height. As Sam mentioned disconnectingthe front anti-roll bar can help your launches at the strip but this obviously requires wrenching at the track which if you can do it can help.

Keep us posted on your results and what worked wellfor you!

HTH!

ziperhead

F1fan
I only go to the strip twice a year so not my priority. Just for fun. I have lowered the car 3/4 all the way around and recentered the rear via the adjustable panhard bar. I have a automatic BTW no other suspension mods. I asked Nitto to reccomend a tire for my 17x8 rims. Suspect they will come back with 245-45R which ar 25.7 diameter and 9.7 inches wide. Time to get the tune altered to compensate for the 5% error on the speedo. If I get hop I will take the suspension to the next step. Lca's etc