hey all. building a street car (not sure this is the correct board?) out of a modified frame. was convinced to use the straight 50" axle which looking back, i shouldn't have but having now invested several hundred dollars, i'm married to it. the trouble is the 24.5" radius rods stick back too far. can i shorten them up some and what would be the maximum? again, this car is for the street, no racing. i do notice that the custom cars at the shows have quite long radius rods. there in lies my dilemma.
appreciate this site and any help received.
chas
I would think you can make them shorter but you may have to change the mounting locations b/c however the current bars effect the axle movement, it will be more and quicker with shorter bars (with distances travelled being equal). In a street vehicle though, your not getting the suspension movement you are on the racetrack so I would prob shorten as needed and then build mounts so the rods are close to level. Maybe spring it stiff so you only get a couple inches of travel.
dirtfan, i moved the passenger side shock tower and pan hard hookup already. they stuck out 2" or so. designed for going to the left. so moving the rear radius rod mounts will be no problem. appreciate your input.
i was hoping someone would chime in that has shortened the rods. i question whether it will drastically change the handling?
chas
Who's chassis are you using? Is it older then the early 70's and using split wishbones? Most of the old frames had thru bushings for different radius rods. My street car is built on an old Troyer 85 frame and I'm using the short rods not much worry on the street, about caster gain or lose. Radius rods on the rear is another story all together. Hardest part with a straight X is being able to get the Camber right. By the way my avatar is my street car....:-}
i'm using a 94 troyer frame. the radius rods i'd like to shorten are in the front as the motor and transaxle are in the rear. some points brought up so far include keeping the back of the rods wider than where they attatch to the front axle, stiffen the springs.
presently the rods are 24.5 ". any ideas how short they can go? 12" ? ? ? street use only!
troyer49, cool car. what is the length of radius rod you're using?
thanks,
chas