Question 68 Camaro rear suspension w/ coil overs vs 4 link set up

[charlie27]

Hi, what is the ride and handling difference with 4 link (say ride tech with HQ coil overs) versus leaf spring with say QA1 coil overs?

I have the leaf spring and QA1 set up and it bottoms out and does not seem to be very well controlled.

thanks

[nats68]

If you can, find someone local that has a 4 link and take a ride.
I've got the Ridetech 4 link with Viking coilovers and the ride is great.
The coilovers are set in the middle of their adjustments and the wife doesn't complain about the ride.
It's stiff enough to have fun in the canyons but not uncomfortable to daily drive.

[BMR Sales]

Night & Day!

[F-Body International]

Bottoming out is a sign of having too soft of a spring. This can be a problem with "soft" aftermarket lowering springs. If the car is lowered, you need a higher than stock "rate" to keep the car from bottoming out.

I think there is also confusion on this thread as well.
Having a coil over assembly is applied on link style suspension.
Leaf springs have a separate shock assembly that don't have springs.

You can have a high performance leaf setup if you have double adjustable shocks. Tune it for the street then turn the knobs for the track.

[charlie27]

Thanks for the other feedback. Seems very encouraging.

[99socalfrc]

Bringing this thread up because I'd like to know how these bolt in 4 links do drag racing? I know it is not the best setup for Drag racing, but I'm not going to race it every weekend anyway.

My question for someone who knows would be, for example, can a ridetech system get you down the track as good as say a stock Mustang tri-4 link? I like the adjustability of ride height with the coilovers, I just want to make sure it isn;t going to completely ruin my chances at the drag strip?

[Wall]

Bringing this thread up because I'd like to know how these bolt in 4 links do drag racing? I know it is not the best setup for Drag racing, but I'm not going to race it every weekend anyway.

My question for someone who knows would be, for example, can a ridetech system get you down the track as good as say a stock Mustang tri-4 link? I like the adjustability of ride height with the coilovers, I just want to make sure it isn;t going to completely ruin my chances at the drag strip?

If you want a 4-link for the drag strip you should look at a a parallel 4-bar instead. They are more suited for the drag strip and are adjustable.

http://www.checkeredracing.com/62-67Camaro4.html

[F-Body International]

BMR also makes a torque arm kit. That's something to look into besides the 4 link kits.

Leaf spring cars can be very fast at the drag strip too. You need adjustable shocks and good tires to dial in the car.

[99socalfrc]

Does anyone have experience with the ride tech or chassis works 4link at the strip? My plan is to ditch the leafs in order to mini tub the car. I know one of these bolt in kits may not be perfect, but my experience running something like a 315 sized Hoosier drag radial out back solves a lot of problems.

[F-Body International]

Does anyone have experience with the ride tech or chassis works 4link at the strip? My plan is to ditch the leafs in order to mini tub the car. I know one of these bolt in kits may not be perfect, but my experience running something like a 315 sized Hoosier drag radial out back solves a lot of problems.

You don't have to ditch leaf springs in order to make use of minitubs. DSE makes a minitub kit that utilizes leaf springs. You may want to consider that option...
http://www.detroitspeed.com/1967-1969-F-Body-products/041203-mini-tub-kits.html

Here's a link to the 67-69 F-Body BMR torque arm kits like I mentioned before...
http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&vehicleid=3&maincatid=25&catid=77


I know I'm battling everyone's points/statements on this thread but hopefully I'm helping clear up some confusion here and there.

[99socalfrc]

To use leafs in a mini tub don't you have to move the front mounts? Move the spring perches? Narrow the gas tank? Relocate the shocks? And after you do all that if you don't like the ride height what do you do? Not to mention it's still going to ride like a pickup truck.

My question is a simple one. Since a triangle 4 link is clearly a winner in ride quality and adjustability does anyone have any proof it is junk to drag race with or does everyone just blindly say that?

[F-Body International]

To use leafs in a mini tub don't you have to move the front mounts? Move the spring perches? Narrow the gas tank? Relocate the shocks? And after you do all that if you don't like the ride height what do you do? Not to mention it's still going to ride like a pickup truck.

My question is a simple one. Since a triangle 4 link is clearly a winner in ride quality and adjustability does anyone have any proof it is junk to drag race with or does everyone just blindly say that?

Yes, you need to do all the modifications you mention in order to make use of minitubs. Leaf springs can operate on bearings, adjustable shackles and adjustable shocks as well. The aftermarket also has composite versions of them too. If you don't like leafsprings just because you don't like them then chase down link suspension.

There plenty of people with drag race 4 link suspension to answer your question. It's basically A-Body (Chevelle, GTO, Cutlass, etc) suspension.

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Are you looking for the car to handle like a pro touring car or just ride decent and run down the 1/4 mile?

How fast is the car, or how fast do you want to go in the 1/4 mile will have some factor in the best suspension choice. I've seen leaf spring cars and 4 link cars like A bodies and G bodies running fast times and pulling wheelies all day long, when set up properly they both do quite well in drag racing. FWIW my 74 Nova had 1.63 60' times with the left wheel off the ground off the line, powered by an all motor daily driven sbc, running on stock 5 leaf springs, stock wheel tubs with CE drag shocks, 28x9 slicks and no other traction devices. That was back in the early 90s, today's "Street Legal" racers turn crazy times on factory style suspensions.

For a drag car suspension upgrade, a ladder bar conversion or a parallel 4 link works the best and is the most tuneable but they have serious bind issues while cornering so they're no comparison to a well designed Pro Touring system when it comes to performance handling.

If you want to choose a suspension that allows all around incredible performance, works fine for the occasional 1/4 mile blasts and has with easy installation- between leafs, 4 links, and a Torque arm system like Speedtech's Camaro rear suspension, the Torque Arm allows the most amount of articulation without suspension bind, has real tuning capability, and drives on the street and handles the curves incredibly well. if that interests you, check it out here... Speedtech 1st gen Camaro Parts (http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/category_id=12/mode=cat/cat12.htm)