How much rear suspension travel??

[skeevay]

I am working on the rear suspension design for my 65 Impala and have a pretty general question. I know there are numerous factors involved, but in general about how much rear suspension...ultimately "wheel" travel should I be shooting for in a street driven car?

[boodlefoof]

I've been toying with the same idea as I conceptualize the rear suspension setup I'll be building for my Datsun 240-Z project. I'm planning on that car being mostly a race car, but that can function on the street... and I'm guessing about 3'' compression, but I really don't know. I'm interested to see what others think.

[Travis B]

I'm not sure if this is what your asking but when set up a car I always use a minimum of 3in of clearance between the rear axle and frame I have seen that used as a general rule by a bunch of people and have never had any problems with it hitting.....not sure if that answers your question or not!

[parsonsj]

A safe design rule of thumb for rear suspension is 3" compression, 2" rebound from static ride height.

jp

[skeevay]

Thanks guys for your help. Just the answers I was looking for. I am in the process of mocking up the rear end, suspension, driveshaft....etc. and wanted to make sure I had adequate travel and clearances.

[BRIAN]

Different shock lengths have different compression and rebound measurements. The basic rule is 2/3 compression of the movement available from the shock at ride height. Know what shock you are using before you start mock up.

Use adjustable lower shock mounts, easier to correct height if you didn't account for weight somewhere.