4wd Suspension Setup questions & ideas

Here's a pretty interesting setup on a skyline.....a bit lighter but sorta the same idea. Looks like it's setup for the back to transfer weight, but the front isn't set to rise at all like a 2wd, it stays pretty level. Notice the big burnout too.

Don't underestimate the importance of a rear wheel drive burnout and a good amount of VHT before you start fiddling with the suspension.

YouTube - Exvitermini skyline r33 record
 
There is a transfer of weight when you launch, the back drops the front wants to rise naturally. If you strap the front end down, you are now taking weight off the front tires at the launch...at least thats what I would think. drag shocks up front that would allow the front to rise quickly and settle back down slowly would let the axle droop and keep planted. maybe im totally off base here, just looking at it from what ive read/seen in the past

Notice the weight transfer in the TS truck as it launches, rear squats, front rises slightly and its gone!

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHsF9ckY-t4&feature=player_embedded[/MEDIA]
 
Could be the dodge front end reacts different than the dmax, we try to tune to reduce the torque as much as possible to avoid the lift and twist. We crank the passanger's side t-bar up a couple of turns from the bottom to help keep the right front tire planted. chain it and set up the QA1 so they very stiff on the rebound seems to work pretty well for us. This was our last pass of the season, losing rail pressure so need more CP power which we are working on. You can see a little weight transfer but not much.

YouTube - Idaho Rob in Max'd out goes 9.80
 
one thing that differs from the dodge to the chevy is if our front end rises with the IFS the tire leans out and takes away alooot of tire surface area . I think a adjustable 4 linked rear with a very tight front rebound is the ticket , i dont like the idea of l;immiters on suspension but in our case you have to pick the lesser evil with the contact patch . I have a few new idea's i am planning to try next year if $$ allows for experimenting:rockwoot:

EDI: fyi the worst 60's i have ever got was with a shock with a very soft rebound .
 
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XLR8R said:
Actually, you don't "lose" any traction - you only choose how to divide it between all 4 corners... don't forget that we're running open front diffs.

Pointless to compare sled-pulling traction issues with drag racing needs... very different. :banghead:



:hehe:
We dial-in the chassis & suspension for weight transfer until the rear tires stop breaking traction before the front does.;)
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Actually, you do lose traction because four tires will get better traction than two tires of the same size. When you transfer too much weight to the back, you unload the front and make the truck break lose. Just an FYI, in a 4wd truck, you can't spin a front tire without spinning one on the back unless you have a transfer case with a differential which no manufacturer has offered in a 3/4 ton or bigger truck since the NP203 full time transfer cases from the 80s.
 
I'd be interested to see how a pulling truck would 60 ft. I bet it would be pretty good cause there'd be weight EVERYWHERE...static and transferred weight.

Just as an aside...what type of 60ft are you looking for? I know Dennis and Buck have been in the 1.30's. Pretty sure the Smith truck has also. Ms.Misery went 1.19, but that's a whole different animal.
 
Here's my 1.49 60ft with stock shocks leaving the line @ 45psi with the front tire hopping off the ground and 20psi in all 4 slicks

[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWcGbk4aWfs[/MEDIA]
 
Nice run, but that is the worst video I've ever seen :poke:

If worked on things all season, now have the truck 60' in the high 1.4's without hitting it too hard and not spinning the tires.
 
thanks for all the op. fellas good stuff, i done several 1.54's 60's but i no we can get much more out of it if setup properly. Id like to be down in the 1.3's. Again thanks for the input keep it coming
 
JQmile said:
I know Dennis and Buck have been in the 1.30's. Pretty sure the Smith truck has also. Ms.Misery went 1.19, but that's a whole different animal.
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Having talked a bunch with Steve Cole who tunes Buck's truck and with Dale Smith at BG a couple of weeks ago, sometimes the best 60 doesn't produce the best ET. That is something to ponder for sure. At these performance levels the suspension is every bit if not more important as the HP made. We are all works in progress.:rockwoot:
 
Yeah Steve said the same thing to me a while back. The 60 would be better, but the 330 would be a few hundredths behind the pass with the worse 60 ft.

I think the diesel crowd would be ahead of the game if we could get track prep like the dragsters do.
 
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