Change of Heart

[KMac]

Some of you know that i was building my car to be a wheel to wheel track car. After getting slammed in the rear in my porshe 944 last weekend i have decided against making my cutlass into a track car. The problem is i have bought several suspension componenets from sc&c as well as global west (have yet to install them). Since im building the 383 and just got my car painted i decided just to keep it a street and strip car. The problem is i plan on having about 500-550 hp when finished with the engine therefore will the suspension work with for drag racing? The car was gonna drop 2" in the front and 1.5" in the back. Can i get slicks under it nicely with that?

Any suggestions would be great

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, I think most of those pieces are probably going to be just fine. As for slicks with lowering, I don't know as I don't use slicks. So long as the engine has a nice power curve ( not peaky) it should be fine for the street. Just gear it right with not too short a rear axle ratio. Otherwise, it will have too much torque multiplication and be hart to hook with the road race suspension. My car is geared towards handling and the engine is set up for low end torque, so I run 3.23 gears. Even still, the thing is quite a handful on dry pavement. If I ever let someone who is not ready for it drive the car in the rain it would not end well. If it had shorter gears all it would do is make it even more unmanageable and unable to launch.

Now if you plan on setting it up specifically for the dragstrip and only on the street to go to and from the strip, you will need to rethink much of your parts selection as compared to a handling car. The front swaybar is ditched, lighter front springs are usually used and 90/10 front and 50/50 rear shocks are typically used in a RWD drag car. This way, the nose rises fast and transfers weight to the rear end and drops slowly to keep weight on the rear wheels through much of the run. I have never set up a car specifically for drag, but this is the common general stuff you typically read about.

 

[KMac]

Thanks for that man. What i plan for the car is to make it a drive it when i feel like it car. I'll have my honda for gas mileage and drive the cutlass around town and such. I think i'm going to try and mix it evenly between the two setups. I just got a ford 9" for free last weekend but don't know any of the specs on it.

 

[bigdan]

Kmac

I drop my cutlass by 2" too ...I expect to loose a bit on weight transfer but to gain a lot on handling ..youll love the nascar looks it gives ...
your slicks should clear if the wheels offset or backspacing are ok ..
ive reduced the fender lip on mine ....

im going four links at the back ...
Dan

 

[KMac]

Thats the thing i wanted to look of a dropped car, such as track racing, but didnt know how it would do on the strip. What setup are you using? Got any pics?

 

[bigdan]

not yet ...the springs are on already but no front end on car ...engine + transmission out to convert my LT1 ...
but dont worry ill take a lot of pics to build up a tech section on my project
Dan

p.s: it took me a while before i decided to drop the car cause i know it takes away some weight transfer that is inherent with a regular height suspension. but ill drive the car mostly on the street where all those ricers think they own the pavement.... ( I know i had an integra type "R")

 

[KMac]

yeah, i definately want to car to be able to cruise as well. I would still like to keep it a daily driver. My dad's 383 gets about 24 mpg. As for the rear i was gonna go 50/50 and get as best i could with coil overs in the front

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I'd build it as a good all around car if it were mine. G bodies handle surprisingly well for old cars with a suspension design that dates to 1964. If you are trying to build a car you can be happiest with on the street it is a good way to go. Drag oriented suspension is only good in a straight line. I have mine set up for handling and am shocked just how well it stacks up as compared to some of the more modern cars I have driven. It is not the equal of the ITR you had around corners, but it is a car that can be a better mix overall than the ITR due to the larger, more comfortable size and a longer wheelbase that dampens heavy springs better than a shorter one. It also will walk away from the ITR in a straight line. However, I'd love to have the ITR seats ( not to mention fuel economy) in my Cutlass-those things kick *ss!

Oh, and my car is lowered front and rear with Eibach lowering springs. The downside is that you sacrifice caster and with it high speed stability. The cure is offset cross shafts for the upper arms or a switch to the tall spindle arms with offset shafts. Supposedly, they cause a bit of bump steer with the B body spindles, but I don't know yet. I have the Global arms still in box waiting for me to be finished with the body and paint so I can move on to finishing my car's modifications.

 

[bigdan]

I have already put the longer b body spindles + 12 " 1LE camaro rotors on

but with no engine + transmission in car i cant visualize the caster ....at worse ill go with a steering damper ( like my jeep)

My ITR had a 2" dropped suspension too .it had 217hp at the wheels...
quick , sharp handling + fantastic fuel economy ....why do you think that the imports invaded our market ...but i was nostalgic of my old days when ther was only our type of cars ....i decided to build one with improved physics lollllll..... when i tried the cutlass ( totally stock supreme) i was surprise of the potential it had (handling) so the project started in my mind dint stop since that day ....and bonus : the little lady that sold me the car cried when she saw how nice it was now ( new paint job )

Dan

 

[KMac]

like i did autox in my cutlass when i was on stock suspension, and besides from serious body roll and crazy understeer. But after a lil suspension upgrade, i was beasting out there. The stock suspension for me, handled really good and was actually really fun to drive. I even took it on Road Atlanta a few times for fun and it was a blast. In no way was it a race car but it was fun, especially when i passed a few hondas