One thing led to another. Build thread.

side by side. Stock control arm vs. chromoly link.

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Caster with rod ends 3 turns out. Any input on what caster is ideal for a 4x4 drag truck?

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That looks good, more the better to an extent. 6 to 6.5 positive is a good starting point. The more caster the more the truck will want to go straight and the more it will load the rear tires if you get out of shape and have to correct.
 
JOESHTRDDSL said:
That looks good, more the better to an extent. 6 to 6.5 positive is a good starting point. The more caster the more the truck will want to go straight and the more it will load the rear tires if you get out of shape and have to correct.
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The balance between front pinion angle and caster is what i'd like to know a little more about. Cory and I agreed that 6* should be a decent starting point. With the adjustment in the rod ends, we'd be able to achieve any factory setting easily, and still be able to go as far as 12* or so if we ever needed to. My truck rolled in with about 3.8* stock.
 
My machine shop mistakenly told me that they had a torque plate for my engine when I talked to them about doing my work. After getting the majority of the machine work done, they called to let me know that they in-fact did not have one, and had no interest in buying one. After I cooled down a little, I decided that i'd bite the bullet and pick one up. Keating Machine had one on the shelf, and when it showed up at my door, all the bad feelings towards my machine shop went away. I was proud to own a chunk of American Iron that I'd probably have the rest of my life. This thing is a gem, and so are the freeze plugs I got from them.

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Nice, beautiful pieces. When I saw the pic I thought you were going to say you decided to build a deck plate engine.
 
Like the links. I'm planning on doing it similarly. I've seen where the rock crawler guys are starting to use aluminum rod for links. I'm curious of the weight difference vs chromoly.
 
TheBigNasty said:
Like the links. I'm planning on doing it similarly. I've seen where the rock crawler guys are starting to use aluminum rod for links. I'm curious of the weight difference vs chromoly.
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What size aluminum links are the off road guys running? I saw some aluminum links at bakersfield, and they weren't light. I'm surprised rock crawlers use them -- it seems like they'd want to start cracking wherever they got nicked. For the 20 lbs the chromo links weigh, i'd find somewhere else to cut weight.



[ame="http://s139.photobucket.com/user/jlibert/media/DIESEL/5DC1C836-4611-412A-A8E4-D7BEA56E64BA_zps5x8mmgfc.jpg.html"]5DC1C836-4611-412A-A8E4-D7BEA56E64BA_zps5x8mmgfc.jpg Photo by jlibert | Photobucket[/ame]
 
There are a lot of them that run them, they use 7075 aluminum. Branik Motorsports builds a lot of them for teams, they also do 300M double splined axle shafts that quite a few diesel guys are using (including me) at a better price than many other vendors.

Here's a link to their aluminum links:

http://www.branikmotorsports.com/longarms.htm

I used to cover a lot of the rock races in the area, and when I asked the teams and the guys at Branik why they went with aluminum links they said the main reason was that they would flex when struck by rocks and such but return to straight unlike steel that would bend and stay bent. I believe they were also lighter, but I am not positive on that... Give them a call and let them know I recommended then, they will take great care of you. Even if not for the links, but for your axle needs.
 
2.078 lbs/ft for 1.5" 6061 aluminum rod

1.769 lbs/ft for 1.5" .120 4130N chromoly.

The pro mods I see all run chromoly links.
 
The 7075 that Branik uses is even heavier than the 6061 with 1.5" weighing 2.142 lbs/ft from what I was able to find so I guess weight savings might not have been a concern... But then again I think in rock racing when they are doing links and such they are using .250 wall tubing rather than .120 so there may be some weight savings for the off road guys after all...

Of course drag racers and street drivers do not see the loads and stresses that the rock racers do so they can use thinner wall tubing without problems, also the links are much shorter again making it more difficult to bend or break them. Plus, being lighter AND stronger than the factory links is great too!!!
 
When in doubt, look to what 260mph door cars run. They have it figured out. I just wish they had some 4x4 pro mods i could look at. Oh well.
 
jlibert said:
When in doubt, look to what 260mph door cars run. They have it figured out. I just wish they had some 4x4 pro mods i could look at. Oh well.
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Look up Bobby on Yellowbullet. Goes by Miss Misery. Or Miss Misery Racing on FB.

He's tried everything including different tire diameters to fight the different roll-out's at speed. I bet he'd be happy to answer any questions. Last I read he had a lot to figure out but he can definitely tell you what not to do.

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