What do you THINK? Drag race only!

Discussion in 'Drag Racing' started by bossmav, Mar 30, 2006.

  1. bossmav

    bossmav Drag racing nut

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    Ok we all know that if you soften the backhalf of your leafsprings it will help your traction. (ex. unclamping the back half of your springs)

    What if you cut the backhalf of 3 of the 4 leafs and leave the front half alone say from the mounting plate forwards so you would have 4 leafs between the housing and the mounting plate and only one from the back of the mounting plate to the shackle. Now if my memory serves, Mopar did somthing likes this to thier cars long ago. Showing my age here!

    Of course this is just a idea... might not even be a good one but we all are trying to get quicker with our cars without spending more then we have too.

    Thanks for your time and input.

    Terry
     
  2. ShadowMaster

    ShadowMaster The Bad Guy

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    The old super stock Mopars did use springs like that. I'd cut two of the four and see what happens. Then, if you're feeling brave, clip the third leaf and try again. Testing, testing, testing. Good Luck.
     
  3. igo1090

    igo1090 Member

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    i believe mopar slid the leaves forward so you got added stiffness in the front part of the spring. i have a hunch you would still need some kind or traction control device such as slapper bars. probably simpler to just get the slapper bars or traction bars to begin with. jmho.
     
  4. bossmav

    bossmav Drag racing nut

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    Well I guess I should've stated I already have caltracs. I'm just trying to see if I can improve on my 60 footers.

    ShadowMaster, I like your idea about 1 or 2 at a time, I've even thought about removing the longest single leaf and trying that first.

    I was just hoping that someone else might have already tried this.

    Thanks for your posts.

    Terry
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2006
  5. Maverick Man

    Maverick Man The Original Maverick Man

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    i know what your talking about.. i have a half a leaf added to the front of my springs... mopar like.... but that was before i had the cal tracs... it was ok.

    but now that i have the cal tracks on it i don't know if it is hurting it or helping it. obviously the car wasn't hooking the last time i took it out. however i'm hoping that it was the way the cal tracks were hitting the subframe... thats all solved now so i guess i see when i take it out in a month or two.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2006
  6. riporter

    riporter Member

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    Terry I'd get Stephen Moore to post up his suspension setup...his car hooks harder than any leaf spring setup I've ever seen(y)
     
  7. John A Fasig

    John A Fasig Member

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    I was at a guy's house the other week that has a comet(y) . We were standing in the drive way talking about this and that when I heard a very sweet rumble coming down the road:hmmm: . I turned to look and to my surprise it was a blue maverick:wave: . He must have seen my mav. and or my buddys comet :90: as he passed by the front of the house cause he turned around and came back.:bananaman There is a good dip at the end of the driveway that made the rear end of the maverick bounce up and down as he pulled in:wow: (yep, just like that) I though it was funny:rofl2: . I told him his car bounces alot:huh: .It was still bounceing after he got out.His reply was " thats ok as long as it keeps pulling the front wheel off the ground:yup: .The roads were wet cause it just stoped rainin. Other wise I would have asked for a demonstration then and there. I looked under the back at the leafs and there was only 2 thin ones. He clames to have $10,000 in the 351 under the hood. It sounded VERY healthy. Less is more as far as leafs and drag raceing goes. But don't ask me....I added a leaf and rearched the others 2".:coco: John
     
  8. CometGT1974

    CometGT1974 Gearhead

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    I"d just get a set of mono-leafs and be done with it.....
     
  9. bossmav

    bossmav Drag racing nut

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    Any other year that's exactly what I would do. This year it's a new home so I'm tight on money. (but I'm still going racing)
    Even with a big down payment big houses cost big money so I'm saving all I can, must be why I have so many ebay parts.

    Thanks CometGT1974

    Bossmav
     
  10. bossmav

    bossmav Drag racing nut

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    I'm going to take out the longest spring, that will leave 3.

    I'm not going to change anything else and I'll let everyone know if this works.
    This way if I screwup I can always put it back!

    Terry
     
  11. CometGT1974

    CometGT1974 Gearhead

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    I hear you, i've bought about halft my parts for my new motor and ALL of them came off of ebay, most I got for less than half the cost of new parts. I bought my first house a year ago and it has definitely slowed down the progress on the car.

    But when you do get a little set aside, give calvert racing a call and get some of there split mono-leafs....you will not regret it!!

    Stephen Moore
     
  12. scooper77515

    scooper77515 No current projects.

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    DUDES!!! I just upgraded to new 4-leaf springs, bushings, and shackles, and NOW you tell me that I actually decreased my performance??? :mad:

    Well, at least it doesn't lean anymore.

    Also, my slapper bars only have about 1/2-3/4" clearance. I keep them up really close to the springs. I noticed some of the cars at the track keep them really low with 3-5" clearance. Do I have it bass ackwards?

    Keep in mind my 4-leafs probably don't flex too much to begin with. My current setup has no hop on take off, but will sometimes work the tail end to the left on low RPM burnouts (line lock with mini spool). If I burnout with RPMs at 3000 or higher, it just sits completely still and spins em :evilsmile

    But, I don't have NEAR the HP and torque you guys have, so currently, it is probably a moot point.
     
  13. CometGT1974

    CometGT1974 Gearhead

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    Bossmav, what size tire do you run?
     
  14. bossmav

    bossmav Drag racing nut

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    CometGT1974, I run the standard 28x10.5x15 Mickey's
    I have found that my slicks work much better without the tubes and screws in the wheels.
    I was reading on one of the Mustangs sites about it and it really does help.

    Here is the link to the web page.

    http://www.alternativeauto.com/waterbox/wb_archives/hook1.html

    Scooper77515
    You can take the rear leafsprings clamps off, (leave the front on) this will help your springs work better and it won't do anything to your street ride.
    If you got them from JCW there should be two clamps on each side.

    Bossmav
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2006
  15. ShadowMaster

    ShadowMaster The Bad Guy

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    Bossmav....have you checked out Calvert's monoleaf setup? Don't know what the price is but it looked interesting.

    So don't do low rpm burnouts. :D
     

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