Best rear suspension setup for high hp and street driving

[zeth hale]

So I'm looking to invest in a new rear suspension setup in wondering for a drag car I've seen everything from aluminum bushings, rubber and urethane. Also have seen full setup with heim joints. So whats the most livable setup for street strip? Would like the most reliable with relatively low noise

 

[84dragcutlass]

Urethane or UMI has a roto joint setup. You wouldn't want to go with a solid type bushing since it will be noisy and after street driving they will eventually fail. Rubber has more give to It for a better ride but that deflection can also cause inconsistencies while drag racing. Urethane is a good all around bushing, low noise as long as they are greased, and the ride isn't bad. The roto joints I have not driven with, I would say you would be able to feel a little more since they are slightly more of a solid design but it lets the rear suspension articulate without binding

 

[pontiacgp]

I have the UNI Roto joints on the upper and lower rear control arms. I did not notice a difference in the ride between the Roto Joints and polyurethane bushings

 

[motorheadmike]

I have the UNI Roto joints on the upper and lower rear control arms. I did not notice a difference in the ride between the Roto Joints and polyurethane bushings

Same here. Poly/Roto combo in the UCA and LCAs work great on the street. The Hellwig axle mounted swaybar is an excellent addition too.

 

[zeth hale]

Do you guys run adjustable lca's or just adjustable uppers?

 

[307 Regal]

(<--another poly/roto user)
I have adjustable uppers, but I just set them to stock length and haven't touched them in like 4 years. So having never actually played with them I can't say anything for usefulness, but I can say that they're fine for street use.

 

[pontiacgp]

Do you guys run adjustable lca's or just adjustable uppers?

I have adjustable uppers and lowers. The reason I have the Roto Joint on the lowers is because I have a 67 Chevelle rear and the bracket on the axle is closer to the pumpkin than the bracket on the G body. With one request to UMI they modified the lower to install a Roto Joint so I could installed it on my rear end. The only thing UMI charged extra for was the difference in cost of the Roto Joint. For the upper I have the UMI conversion control arm

 

[84dragcutlass]

UMI is a great company, I have all tubular control arms for my Cutlass that I actually just gave my gf for her El Camino. So ill be ordering another full tubular suspension from them with the roto joints this time. Her El Camino is more of a street strip car and my Cutlass is going to be for street and autocross use so I think the roto joints will make a big difference

 

[UMI Sales]

The question that needs to be answered here is how much HP are you putting to the wheels?

Roto-Joints our the answer to guys that want full articulation without the harshness of the spherical rod end.

There's a limit though on how much force you can apply on a roto-joint and not cause damage to the delrin race(s) that the spherical ball rides in if you are constantly launching a car in a straight line application.

We have customers that have stretched the limit on what HP rating we recommend on not using them but as a company the last thing we want is to have failure in our products. I usually tell customers if your faster than a 1.5 60ft you should start thinking about a rod end for the fact you basically have a track car even though it's still street driven. Like previously stated I know we have guys running this fast still on roto-joints and they are holding up.

We run roto's on our 72 LeMans that has a supercharged LS and pound on it at the events we go to and it works flawlessly.

If anybody needs any info feel free to give me a call here at the shop.

Craig

 

[Bar50]

Solid lowers, on both ends.

4° down pinion angle.

Adjustable uppers.

3 way drag shock.


Sub 1.50 60 foot times.

This is where you have to look at triangulation bars, reinforced lower frame brackets, body bushings, and possibly an anti-roll-bar.

*My disclaimer is that this works with slicks and a proper converter.