a 1973 Corvette rearend?
- Thread starter Wolf001
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The IRS in those old Vettes is not really all that good. The geometry is not all that good, and you can do better.
a 12 bolt will fit in but you will need to buy new upper control arms, move the spring perches, possibly move the lower control arm points on the axle, plus the wheels will stick out further past the fender than the stockers did. it take alot of work to get to fit, but people have done it.
andrewmp6 said:
Wow. So I guess decades of automotive engineers and race car designers were wrong. By the way, don't confuse NASCAR with real race cars.
On a street car, an IRS is superior to a live axle in many ways. If I could afford to swap in an IRS I would, but I would not use 1963 technology (that suspension dates from then) to do it. There are plenty of IRS setups that are far superior to that which came in a 35-45 year old Corvette. A good example is the 1989-1998 Nissan 240sx/300zx suspension. A bad example is anything with a semi-trailing arm design, a-la Datsun PL510, 200sx, BMW Z-3, etc. One that sticks in my mind that I am uncertain of is the Mk III Toyota Supra. Really beefy, plus it has aluminum control arms and huge brakes. However, I don't know that it has the toe in under turning that some of the better systems had, such as was pioneered in the Porsche 928 in 1977.
The s13 is the worse irs i ever had its a floater which means everything bolts to a cross member then to the car.It did ride better but traction was lacking even with solid mounts for the rear and the rb25det didn't help any .Id take a jag irs over the corvette for 2 reasons its cheaper and its a dana 44 center which will hold 500hp the corvette one 400 is close to the breaking point.The best datsun/nissan made was the old z cars those handled good and took a beating and laughed at you.Joe padavano go to a scca event and see how many cars use a 3 link with a pan hard bar or watts link almost none use a irs unless it came factory.The reason indy f1 champ etc etc use a irs is it saves space since its a mid engine and the halft shafts come out of the transmission kinda like a dodge intrepid is.
I would definately noy see any problem with puttimg an IRS system on a street car. The handling and ride benefits would be really worth it, if it was done right. I would probably not trust it any more than the 7.5 rear end, if it was used for staight up drag racing.
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