Ridetech Strong Arms and Tru Turn with Speedtech Chicane and Guldstrand Mod

[b17brian]

Agreed.....sorta I see that some one says that a new frame is new geometry.....not necessarily...a lot of frames I have looked at simply have a modified mustang two suspension...and the ones that use corvette stuff are pretty cool, but that geometry (in my opinion) was designed to work with with Higher roll steer from and independent rear suspension, or a triangulated 3 link, like the Lateral Dynamics old design, without a higher rear roll steer they push and have slower steering rate, yes you can compensate with heavier rear sway bars and faster rack and pinion ratio, the original factory '67-'69 Camaro/Firebird and '68-'74 Nova and clones were designed with no "camber gain" into its suspension geometry....Fortunately, the stock unequal-length double A-arm front suspensions on these cars can be easily modified to achieve natural camber gain by lowering the upper arms' pivot points.....
You might be wondering how drilling four simple holes could make much difference in how your car handles:

It's all about geometry and even the smallest change to a suspension's geometry can have a profound effect on how a car handles. The roll center is the central point about which a car's body rolls under cornering forces. The amount of body roll depends on the leverage effect between the vehicle's roll center and its center of gravity height. The higher the center of gravity and the lower the roll center, the greater the body roll. On the other hand, if you can lower the center of gravity and raise the roll center, your car will have less body roll and become more stable. You could dial in lots of negative static alignment camber, but that will quickly chew up the inside edges of your tires.



A better way is to generate camber gain by raising the roll center of your car, however, don't raise it too high or you will get excess tire scrub. Like everything in life, you need a balance.

There are three basic ways to gain camber on your front double A-arm suspension.
1) You can shorten the upper control arms
2) install a taller spindle
3) or change the pivot points of your control arms.
In this case, relocating the arms is the cheapest option (since you can't pay less than zero). Using the template designed by Guldstrand (for First Generation Camaros and Firebirds) will let you lower the upper control arm pivot points by .75 inch. This raises the front suspension roll center from below ground level, to a point well above the road. This will reduce the angle of the lower control arms and make them more parallel to the ground, giving you a more favorable camber curve. The new holes will also move the top of the spindle rearward .25 inch from stock. This will create more positive caster, which will make the steering feel more "snappy.

hope that helps

Rod,
That answer made me pull out my chassis engineering book out. One follow up question though. When you say it levels the lower control arm, do you mean the lower ball joint and the lower arm pivot point are level? With the lower arm having such a large curve in it I don't know how else you would make it level.

Do the G mod. I did it last year after talking to Rodney. It changes the feel of the car for the better. I am short on time. But I can give more details tomorrow if you want.

eric1967,
Would love to hear more on your opinion of the G Mod and Tru Turn. Im looking for real world reviews from those already driving their Camaro in that configuration.