Tube chassis door car will work perfect on a good track. If track goes away, or isn't good car spins. Trying to make it work on all conditions. Have adjusted rear shocks and feel they are were they should be, but still have same issue on iffy track. Was told to jack car up and see how much front tire drops when lifted. Done that and tire doesn't drop at all. The nut on top of the strut is 2.25 turns to the right. Total turns in nut is 3. Does this nut need to be loosened some? Anything else to adjust on strut? Was leaving the line at 4200 dropped down to 3800 did a little better but still not what I would like. Good track car is deadly, iffy track conditions and it's not good.

Who's strut? If strange turning to the right is loosening, so you are not that far from loose to begin with. What is total travel of front strut vs where strut sits when at rest? Also more info on car needed.

If you are saying you do not have any front travel in the struts then adjusting rebound knob is not going to do anything. Does this car have limiters on it? When you jack the car up do the front tires immediately lift off the ground on the first pump.

The stamp on the shock appears to say A.R.T 7-350. It took the jack 3 full pumps to lift tire off ground. First time having to deal with shocks or struts so I’m still trying to figure it out. 4-link Tube chassis door car, big block weighing around 2600-2800lbs. Little bubba tires convertor flash around 6300.

So to determine how much travel you have measure to a point on front bumper or fender with suspension at rest. Jack the front end up until the front tires just loose contact with the ground and measure to that same point again. Subtract the two measurements. This is your front travel.

What kind of rear shocks? Are the rear shocks double or single adjustable. What are they set at?

It is very possible with short travel front struts to have the extension set too loose and the strut tops out too quick and unloads. On a good track the car can get through that transition but on a bad track you can spin or even run into rear tire shake.

It looks like ART uses strange components. If it is a 7 inch 350 lb spring it is probably a 3" stroke strut. If everything is set up correctly you should have approx. 2.5" of travel.

Wouldn't travel be the distance from full extension, to full compression?
Sounds like maybe the front springs are too stiff for that light of a car, IMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by FootbrakeJim:
Wouldn't travel be the distance from full extension, to full compression?
Sounds like maybe the front springs are too stiff for that light of a car, IMHO.

That would be stroke. There is bump travel and extension travel which makes up the total stroke. When dealing with traction issues at the hit we are concerned with extension travel. 350 lbs is probably a bit much. I use 225 lbs springs on a 2600 lb Vega with a SBC. Front end weight is around 1400 lbs.

350 way to much. 225 here on 2500 lb car. ART springs on strange strut most likely is correct. Measure how far out strut is at rest and then watch it as you jack car up. You want it at about 1 to 1.5 inches out, giving you a total of 1.5 to 2 inches of travel upwards.

I’m not certai on car weight that is just a guesstimate. All steel car with big block with concrete. So may weigh more than I think. Car has about 2.25-2.5 travel, measuring when tire is slightly off ground.

Rear shocks are double adjustable Afco shocks. Not the newer model out but a previous model. Rebound is 6 clicks from full stiff, and compression is 12 clicks from full stiff.

That should be plenty of travel. I actually shaved the front shock bump stop down some to get my car a touch lower. This got me closer to 2.75".

Is the car spinning right at the hit or a few feet out?

On bad tracks you can loosen up the rear rebound some to help hit the tire harder.

And you should really scale the car to get a front and rear weight. You may need to adjust your spring rates. If your spring rates are too high you can't store enough energy in the springs to help out at the hit. Lighter springs allow you to crank up the spring adjuster to store energy.

So would you suggest I leave the struts as is, as far as adjustment at this moment. I spoke with Afco and they suggest I send my shocks to get updated to the big gun model. For applications over 1000hp and will give me the chance for more rebound. The guy said I’m close with my shock settings but maybe go 4 from full stiff on rebound, and loosen compression a few clicks. It’s all trial and error.

I think the main reason I’ve ran into these issues is the little bubba tires which have made my car more violent up front. I believe if I put my 33.5 x 17 x 16 tires on I’ll be fine. Car seems to spin shortly after hit from what I can tell from seat.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CTRacing,

I would stiffen the front extension up.