Is anyone setting up a door car with rear steer? If so how much, which direction? Need info on the car, weight, wheel base, suspension type, anti-roll, power level, etc.

Thanks:

Bob

Yes and no. It really depends on a number of factors such as power level and all the related items like converter, stick, gear etc and it also depends on the builder! All chassis are not a like so some need it and some don't. For those that do, 1/8" to 3/8" is what I have seen.

Thanks for the reply Al.

I'm at a 1/4 in order to get the car to handle, anything less and it's drives right. It's not a serious problem but this made it a lot more comfortable to drive and I was able to reduce the amount of pre-load in the four link (which was a problem in the shut down area). The anti-roll bar helped but I still needed some rear steer, that small amount made a world of difference plus it didn't become a problem after the stripe.

Just wondered if anyone else had experience with this, thanks for the reply.

Bob

Mind sharing a little bit about your car, like chassis, weight, wheelbase, HP, etc.?

On a good track my car goes on a rail with 4-link neutral, and ARB neutral. Not a good track that is prepped....it can, and will do almost anything.

Watch Mcamis vid on it ... Good stuff. http://dragrace.academy/rear-steer/?list=413

I watched the Tim McAmis video on rear steer and learned that he used the rear cross member as the reference point to determine the amount of rear steer he is applying. I used a different reference point. I used a 2X3 .060 wall 11 foot long section of box tubing as the alignment tool. I measure from the outer two edges of the rear wheel rim at 3 and 9 o'clock to the C/L of the front spindle. So when I say I have a 1/4 inch of rear steer, my reference point is the front spindle, not the rear cross member (as in the McAmis video). As in the McAmis video, as I moved the housing back on one side it changed the side to side housing alignment in the car. I clamped a 1 X 1 aluminum box tubing to the rotor on each side and measured to the frame on both sides. After I centered the housing in the car I had to go back and check the rear steer alignment a second time since my reference point is the front spindle. This involved several changes back and forth so it was very time consuming.

In the end the length of the four link bars didn't change very much but it gave me future measuring reference points and it was a interesting project.

Power Level and type of car question.

I have a 112 inch W/B, 2100# narrow frame, 2.250 inch off-set engine location Roadster that was originally built to only use a small C.I. big block. Over time the car went from the original 468 to a decent 496, to a pretty good 540 (which started the problem) to a really good 582. That was when the handling issue became a serious problem. From this progression of power levels if you figured out that I just wanted a faster car, you would be right however along with those engine changes came the handling issues. Using rear steer and reducing the pre-load amount made a big difference.

Bob

I do not recall ever seeing a fast Roadster that was not a handful to drive. I imagine that your offset engine adds a new twist as well.

Good luck, and please post progression results....

So this is a crude rudimentary example drawing.

If you're talking high hp (1100 hp plus) this car goes left at the leave.

If you're talking low hp it goes right.

You can adjust this out of a low hp car no ARB, but you can't a high hp car no ARB, unless you install a low hp engine in the frame rails.

I disconnected the ARB while setting the rear steer, once that was done I re-checked the pinion angle (it stayed the same) then the re-centered the housing, then the rear steer AGAIN, then finally re-installed the ARB with two flats on the right link (which did change). This ended being a four day adventure in 100 + degree heat in the garage.

It would have been far less work to build and re-install a simple 468 but not as much fun to drive.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by RPROGAS:
I disconnected the ARB while setting the rear steer, once that was done I re-checked the pinion angle (it stayed the same) then the re-centered the housing, then the rear steer AGAIN, then finally re-installed the ARB with two flats on the right link (which did change). This ended being a four day adventure in 100 + degree heat in the garage.

It would have been far less work to build and re-install a simple 468 but not as much fun to drive.

Bob

The back of the car went right on the burnout before these changes???

It actually went straight during the burn out, but once it left the starting line it went right, and I do mean dead right. At Fontana I started in the left lane and immediately crossed into the right lane (nearly cleaned the tree off) hard enough to just miss hitting the right wall.

My son did a 180 at around 500 foot while in the right lane, it hit the right wall on the drivers side while going backwards. It never crossed into the left lane, this all happened in the right. At that point he was probably up around 122 (guessing), maybe a little faster. It got the left front fender, the left rear fender, the wing and the wheelie bars, killed the front axle, tie rod, drag link, left front tire, rim and the steering box. Three years and $11,000 to fix it (on a jig). I have history with this car.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by RPROGAS:
It actually went straight during the burn out, but once it left the starting line it went right, and I do mean dead right. At Fontana I started in the left lane and immediately crossed into the right lane (nearly cleaned the tree off) hard enough to just miss hitting the right wall.

My son did a 180 at around 500 foot while in the right lane, it hit the right wall on the drivers side while going backwards. It never crossed into the left lane, this all happened in the right. At that point he was probably up around 122 (guessing), maybe a little faster. It got the left front fender, the left rear fender, the wing and the wheelie bars, killed the front axle, tie rod, drag link, left front tire, rim and the steering box. Three years and $11,000 to fix it (on a jig). I have history with this car.

Bob

Oh WoW!

Got it going again, good work!

All the suncoast roadsters I have ever owned wanted all you could throw at it engine wise 9.90 \ 170 plus on a string . Who built it ? Corner weights ? Front suspension ?

Richard Earl (Florida) owns/owned Suncoast Race Cars. Good Cars, several friends (Donnie Petrillo in LA for one) had them, very fast and didn't seem to have any problems with larger engines. The car I have was built for S/G but not with anything bigger than a 468 although several guys did run them with 540's / 565, Dave Slatten from Colorado Springs ran a Davis Roadster for a while.

Pat Martin in Ohio has a really fast Davis , 166 and faster). Pat has been very helpful with suggestions / ideas, can't thank him enough for all the advice. I manage my T/S a bit different to hold the speeds down to the low to mid 160's but I'm certain that Pat's Davis is a bit faster. Perhaps the rear steer may help mine go a little quicker, we shall see. Up till now this has been an interesting car to drive, it will keep your attention.

Bob

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