Well, if you want those drag racing times your going to have to compromise the handling. I assume you'll need the rear end soft for hooking up. This creates a problem in the handling that's hard to compensate for, but here's what I suggest.
Still stiffen up the front as have been mentioned. Front suspension is where most of your good handling comes from anyways, and shouldn't effect your drag times too much. Again, just swapping springs doesn't change the arc swing motion, so your current wheels will still fit. Set up the front camber with as much negative camber as you can stomach. -1deg at least, -1.5 is good, -2deg is better. Don't worry about inside tire wear in front from the camber. If your driving it right, you'll where the outsides down first no matter what.
Sway bars. Get an especially stiff rear sway bar. This will help the soft suspension not roll and push the rear out to match the front (avoids understeer/pushing).
Tires/Rims. In the 12's I assume you'll have racing slicks. So for the street get something nice and sticky. 17x8 or 9 is a good size rims because of all the available sport tires. If the truck turns out to be under 3800lbs and you don't haul much you can get away with passenger tires instead of truck tires. Take note the passenger tires will look small in the wheel wells. Low profile in the front to work with the stiffer suspension. Not so low profile in the rear to work against the soft suspension. 50 or 55 series would be a good compromise for front and rear. Ideally I'd go for 45series in front and 60 in the rear, but it might look a little old skool.
Jay W
505/287 Dakota
----- Original Message -----
Hopefully, in the next year I would like to be in the low 12s... I would
like to get it to handle fiarly well, close to or better than an L. This is
all for the 2wd long bed that I am building out of my 4x4, I will be
refinishing the frame this winter and switching the bed and cab early
spring.
TJ
From: "Woodruff, Jason P"
Subject: DML: Re: Need pics/INFO of Lowered Daks
>
> What are you up to?
>
> Wheels and tires usually don't have fitment problems if your just changing
out the springs. Your not changing any geometry, just moving the starting
point.
>
> With patience you can handle better than a Camaro and Mustang, trust me.
>
> Nothing wrong with blocks. Just get ones that won't crack. Swapping in
stiffer leaf springs would be beneficial too.
>
> I can't get much more specific without knowing details.
>
> What truck/engine? Is it the 4x4 longbed in your signature? I don't know
what to do with a 4x4.
>
> Jay W
> 505/287 Dakota
>
> --------------------------------------
> I need pics and info on your guy's lowered dakotas. I want to know what
was
> done, brands used, and most importantly wheel and tire info. I will be
> starting my winter project (swapping frames) very soon and will be getting
> the parts together within the next month or so. I am just doing research
on
> what wheels and tires will fit and look good with a 2/3 and a 4/4 drop. I
> would like to go 4/4 but have not found any one with that setup yet, only
> problem is that Im not sure if the caltrac setup will have enough room
under
> a 4/4 drop. I am looking for the best cornerng ability, understanding of
> course this thing will never be a camaro or mustang.... so from what I
> understand I want to go with springs, not spindles, and hangers, not
> blocks?? What about shocks????? Where should I go for them?
> TJ
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Oct 01 2004 - 11:38:59 EDT