Can a stiff, or non existant rear suspension help with drag on a FWD car?
When I say stiff, I basically mean replace the shock with a steel pipe, fab’ed to bolt up LIKE a shock
Would this help, or hurt, and why?
i wold think it would help it would reduce the weight transfer to the rear…checkout the honda insight drag car articles on sportcompactcarweb.com i know they did some nifty stuff on the reat of the car…but i think they just used really stiff spring strut combo…
good suspension > no suspension
if u did that the suspension would now be absorbed through the body of the car. most likely ripping the strut mounts off the car
:word: you need some give, just ultra stiff springs
w-body guys lift the back end a few inches and make it almost complelty stiff, thier is a kit you can buy for it. It greatly improves 60’. You can also get a similair effect by putting spring blocks in. That will raise the car and make it stiffer.
stiff, but not solid
solid rear suspension can wind up upsetting the traction up front
Lifting the back end would essentially preload the front suspension for traction purposes, right?
Now in doing this, let’s say it’s lifted 1-2" max, would this have any adverse handling effects on daily driving?
On the topic of daily driving and lifted back ends of FWD cars… Could I run a stiffer suspension at the stock height, and run larger sidewall rear tires for the same preload effect, without throwing off my handling to the extent that I’d die?
I was told by someone at Dunn tire NO SHOP would put the “wrong size” tires on your car because it’d effect your handling in such a way, the car would be unsafe to drive. Is this true as well?
In addition to all of this, would a stiffer, or softer FRONT suspension help as well?
What can I expect from motor mounts? I’ve heard mixed opinions, some say better traction, other people say traction is the same, with a much harsher ride.
yea, run a fully adjustable coil over setup and set the springs to stock heigth and the dampning(am i right, someone chime in) to the stiffest setting
intense98rt suspension on his 95(not the blue one) neon is really stiff…handles great, even with it fully lowerd, and hes got dropzone D1 coild overs.
Z24Challenge–stiffer rear shocks will definetly help your E.T’s. I would only put the solid bar in at the track though, it would be way too harsh to ride in on the street. The only suspension would be your rear tires. You really want to hit those 9’s at lancaster don’t you? Try all of these:
Inflate your rear tires rock hard (reduces rolling resistance)
Remove weight (spare tire, jack, stereo equipment, rear seats, etc…)
See if your car has a throttle body coolant line. Most GM cars pump coolant into the TB to prevent it from freezing up when driving in sub-zero weather. If your car has one simply unplug each hose from the TB and use a small piece of pvc pipe, or a fitting to connect the hoses together.
Put a bag of ice on the intake manifold.
Bring it to the track with maybe a quarter tank of gas (weight)
Only run high ocatne gas, and make sure you are running it for a few weeks beforehand.
Get a set of spark plugs one heat range cooler than stock.
Run the gap .05" larger than stock
Just barely stage when you do stage.(gives your car a few inches of momentum befoire it trips the E.T clocks)
Wash and wax your car.
Park your car as close as possible to the street class staging lanes so that when they call your class you’ll be one of the first cars in line (wont heat the motor up)
See you there!
I would say you’d be fine tho just daily driving around with a rear lift of 1-2" … it also has the added benefit of more downforce at high speeds… 
Rear airbags, load-leveler suspension. Solid bar rear will fubar the strut mounts if you can get the car the launch hard, or just repeated passes. Spring wedges work too. Don’t just jam in rubber wedges though, you can snap the spring when you leave the line from uneven pressures. Lower front suspension is good, but to low on a FWD car means your halfshafts and CV’s are under tremendous strain from the angle they sit at.
I’ve seen those lifted rear GTP’s run - killer shyt. they launch pretty hard too.
-T
yeah - i’ve seen pics of some sick GTP in either CC or hot rod and it actually had wheelie bars in the back cause it launched so hard
EDIT: and of course, when i saw it i was like now isn’t that real ultimate rice - but they did serve a purpose, i’ll link the article if i can locate it
I know what you’re talking about, I’ve seen the low-11 second Bonneville with traction bars out back. They lower them hydraulically and plant the drive wheels, which is why they launch so hard, “proactive traction bars.”
Fucking automotive MacGuyvers :tup: 
Good read, I love the idea of adding another shock the the rear to control rear end squat.
Now I just have to figure out how to make it work for my application.