Door Car Tie Down Towing?

I looked at the rear of my door car trying to figure out a good way to limit rear suspension travel while towing. I have straps that go around the diff housing to the floor to keep the back of the car from moving but haven’t figured out how to easily limit the rear suspension travel.

Then I got to wondering about doing this. What if I turned the DA rear shock adjustments to full tight? Would this be a good or bad idea to limit travel instead of tying down suspension somehow? The idea being to limit shock wear while towing.

Weld / fab something on each frame rail near each shock you can hook a 3 or 4" wide ratchet strap, that you then can ratchet down once the front is hooked. That's how I do my Nova. The clickers are expensive and their settings too key an ingredient to abuse like that. Plus the damper will still cycle displacing oil, run warmer long haul w/stiff clicker setting. You don't wanna do it like that sir. Crank it down with a 7,000 lb ratchet strap. Pre-load the spring, it won't cycle much at all.

Mark, you're wasting your time. I've been trailing my race cars for 20 years, tied down from the chassis. I have never tied my cars to limit rear suspension travel while towing, I want my suspension working going down the road in my trailer.

Assume your reason for wanting to do this is because you believe the shocks are heating up going down the road and you're afraid you'll wear them out. A temp gun pointed at your race car's shock body before driving down the road and again when you pit, quickly dispels that myth, rumor and hearsay.

Also, I have never wore out any shock on my cars in 30 years, never had a shock leak oil, never had a shock loose it's charge. Further the shocks on my Firebird are 16 years old, originally installed when it was built in 2004, same as the shocks on my dragster, now 6 years old.

What Ed said !!

Consider an air bladder. It'll eliminate some but not all suspension travel.

Not to sound poetic but, what Ed said.

Bob

OK. Towing 7-12k a year now and good to hear what others recommend, Thanks.

My two cents...
If you have expensive shocks protect your investment. Trailers are shock killers no matter who’s trailer.
The bladders front and rear are a great choice.

Not one of my 3 trailers used over the past 20 years has killed a shock on any of my 3 race cars.

quote:

Originally posted by stk 758 BP!:
My two cents...
If you have expensive shocks protect your investment. Trailers are shock killers no matter who’s trailer.
The bladders front and rear are a great choice.

Shocks wear out, I just put Billsteins on my Duramax 70,000 miles. If I could put 70,000 miles on them never cycling, they'd be like new at 70,000 miles!

How I knew it needed new dampers was a short trip
70 mph you couldn't feel the springs, a longer trip 70 mph you could (bouncy).

That tells me when they warmed up, they lost tolerance - main body expanded. Common sense.

Pro Stock teams take em off towing.

We're digressing by confusing ones experience with tech, when ones experience is relative ones interpretation.

1. No one here racing Pro Stock!

2. Pro stock shocks cost $5,000 EACH!

3. I recently swapped out the OEM shocks on my GMC 3500 Denali just because, no leaks, no issues with ride quality with over 200,000 miles on them and they were replaced with the same OEM shocks.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
1. No one here racing Pro Stock!

2. Pro stock shocks cost $5,000 EACH!

We're digressing by confusing your experience, with tech. When ones experience is relative ones interpretation.

This is the problem discussing subjective topics

However logically speaking, we know for fact, energy from suspension movement is recreated into heat in the oil of the damper (wear & tear).

What we don't know logically speaking, is how many times you've lost due to a worn damper that warmed up and didn't operate as efficiently, as previous rounds (interpretation).

The reason Pro Stock teams take them off, is because taking them off eliminates a variable.

Money doesn't matter Pro Stock, winning does. Eliminating variables is a forerunner of winning at any level drag racing.

"Are you critiquing my tech?"

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
"Are you critiquing my tech?"

Do you really believe the $5000 dollars pro stock teams pay per shock, is the higher value than winning?

I tend to believe they take em off when towing, in order to know what they're putting back on, when they get to the track.

Same thing the OP is proposing to a lessor degree, in order to eliminate a variable.

what I know is this is "Bracket Talk" not Pro Stock Talk!

Try to stay on topic mikey.

quote:

Originally posted by 1320racer:
what I know is this is "Bracket Talk" not Pro Stock Talk!

Try to stay on topic mikey.

The same variables apply, because your intent is performance which is par for the course.

and Bracket Talk too!


Talk about what you know, not what you think you know.

Drag racing is about eliminating variables. You're only kidding yourself when your experience is telling you, you've covered all the variables, while not winning at a high percentage rate per entry.

says the internet forum clown that ain't won anything anywhere except his local duck pond over a decade ago and who hasn't raced in years because he was so traumatized over one round lost when he hit the timing block.

So much for a decent debate with Ed, when Ed runs out of logic, he runs to smear.

Ed, I triggered crisis actors on YB with this photo.