pro touring setup- HELP NEEDED!!

[hogpowr]

Guys, I've been to a few ultima battery challenges and I've finally decided to get my car ready for it. Its 50% there. But I need help on the "right" setup for my car. I have a 70 challenger. I've already put tremec 5 speed with upgraded syncros in it. I'm running 215 front tires and 335 rear tires. It has 3.90 power lock rearend and a 500HP big block in it. I am running firm feel front sway bar on large road race tortion bars and original leaf spring rear end. The car is all steel. I have a bolted in main hoop and frame connectors. 13" wilwood brakes on drum spindles in the front and cheapo metric GM rear disks. so what should I do and in what order. put car on diet? coil overs on rear? coil over and new front stub/k member up front? I don't want to spend for the sake of spending, but I want to be competitive.



I need advice and help guys. I"m willing to spend $$ to get this done right and I'm comfortable with fabrication work. I'm being serious. I really need good advice on where to spend money next. My guess is... put good rear brakes on, good pads, make sure my front rotors can handle it and put pan hard bar on
rear.. but again I"m guessing.
.....

[J-440]

Well I would upgrade the suspension first. Lose the torsion bars, leafsprings, and the drum brakes. By getting coilovers all around and an aftermarket front end, you can add wider tires front and rear. Also a 4 link is your best bet for a rear suspension. The tubular front end will lighten your car and have more oilpan and header clearance. After that there are more mods you can do but this will give you a start.

[J-440]

Oh, and get those frame connectors and main hoop welded in.

[hogpowr]

frame connector is welded in, I'm already running 4 wheel disk brakes and have tubbed the rear, so I have 335 series rear tires on it now. I love the idea of coil overs no doubt a huge improvement. What about a full hotchkis setup? I can spend $3-4000 and buy everything hotchkis as for the challenger and keep tortion bars & leaf springs or 15k for front and rear coil overs. Is the extra $10-12,000 that noticable?

[benno505]

alot of guys swear by the hotchkis stuff, i run a magnunmforce tube fron tand 4 link rear in my charger, i alsio think j-440 runs the same. i do not know how they compare to the hotchkis stuff. but i love the way mine handles. if you got the power might as well start lightening it up and better suspension/brakes would by my advice too

[Bonehead]

Beautiful challenger!

[no go nova]

I say what ever gets you wider tires on the front. I think the 215 vs 335 is no a close match. the rear tires prob push the fronts while your turning in. Just my guess. Sweet ride tho.

[hogpowr]

to this point I haven't cornered it aggressively, but I assume it will be a push monster. I think I can get a little bit wider tire up front with some backspacing, but not too much more. thanks benno505. I've looked at the magnum force stuff. they are definitely in the running. good to know you are happy with it. did magnum force give you ideas on shock values / spring rates when you bought it?

[sccacuda]

Nice Challenger! I would give Hotchkis a call and discuss your plans. They seem to have really dialed in the E-Body using the stock mounts.

They had a "pro" driver in the car and it ran with all the big dogs on lap times.

That 215 is not going to handle too much braking force up front, so a pad upgrade may just do the trick. You CAN fit a 275 up front with the right back space. Check the Cuda-Challenger forum for specifics on wheel offset.

[DTM Racing]

We just helped a customer with his Cuda that had a tubular front end kit, and unfortunately they have no where near the adjustability of the Hotchkis setup and offer no more room for a larger tire. They actually offer less articulation and adjustment as they try to create space around the coil. After giving the customer a ride in a Full Hotchkis equipped car, he said if he could do it all over again, he'd have gone with the Hotchkis. The level of adjustability and tuning is outstanding. Unfortunately the shop that did the install on his car had welded the link system into the back of the car (which has had it's own set of issues) and so it's pretty unreasonable to go back. You should look in to something in the 275 for a front tire, the 335 rear is quite a bit of steamroller, you may want to look into downsizing it in to a better aspect with the front for more favorable handling.

[LemonTwisted]

I'd take a serious look at the Hotchkis platform first. Complete bolt on and you can be up and going in a weekend. You can also try it out before you buy it by doing a ride along in their E Max Challenger, looks like it'll be at Chryslers at Carlisle in July.

[benno505]

to this point I haven't cornered it aggressively, but I assume it will be a push monster. I think I can get a little bit wider tire up front with some backspacing, but not too much more. thanks benno505. I've looked at the magnum force stuff. they are definitely in the running. good to know you are happy with it. did magnum force give you ideas on shock values / spring rates when you bought it?

they first sent me 450lb front springs and 170 lb rear springs they turned out to be too soft as i am still running a 440(505) wedge with ally heads. so they upped them to 500lb fronts and 200 lb rears.
I just tuned to what felt right for me.

[benno505]

they first sent me 450lb front springs and 170 lb rear springs they turned out to be too soft as i am still running a 440(505) wedge with ally heads. so they upped them to 500lb fronts and 200 lb rears.
I just tuned to what felt right for me.

like previous comments i would look into hotchkis. the tubular kit from magnumforce ahs the most adjustability out of any other kit, but unless you have patience it takes along time to tune it in.

[hogpowr]

thanks guys. Benno505. thanks for shock info. Mine 500 cube big block with aluminum heads as well. I built the car for the "look". but now I really do want the thing to handle. for the price, I'm having a hard time spending a bunch more for coil overs. If someone said, here are all the benefits...... I would consider it. But seems like hotchkis can get me there. Put the car on a serious diet and get right shock / spring rates, it may be every bit as fast as the higher priced setups. all advice is appreciated. thanks guys. keep any other suggestions coming! I would love more pros / cons on hotchkis setup vs full coil over setup.

[hogpowr]

guys. with tortion bar front end. can anyone give me approximate back spacing to get 275 front tires on it. I am running 17" wheels now, but kind of like 18s the more I see them.

[DTM Racing]

Every car is different. I never give folks backspace numbers because if you go buy 1500-2500 worth of front rims and they don't fit, I'd feel pretty bad.

[struck by Lightning]

like previous comments i would look into hotchkis.

+1 on the Hotchkis kit. Also, join your local SCCA and get as much seat time as possible.

[hogpowr]

I think I've decided to do some hotchkis stuff and firm feel. going to stick with tortion bars and leaf springs. but going to have stuff specifically built for track days. any recommendations or ideas on shock weights front and rear and leaf spring pounds I would appreciate it.

[DTM Racing]

Hotchkis Kit is all sorted out for rates and valving.

[Riddler]

I went with Reilly Motorsports AlterKtion front and and Streetlinx rear. Take a look at their setup and see if it'll work for you.

Riddler