Speedtech Subframe?

[Norm Peterson]

From a kinematic standpoint, I could see this popping up as deflection in the tie rods lunder load leading to some strange behavior. Wasn't that why GM moved to front steer on 2nd gens? Of course that's recirculating ball vs. rack and pinion, but the basic physics behind the two should be the same, if perhaps to different extents.

It's not really about tierod deflection, and possibly not about resistance to buckling either. I suspect that in most cases developing the tierod buckling load would yank the steering wheel out of your hands.

The move to front steer allows the use of softer control arm bushings, because the compliance steer then becomes an understeer effect rather than oversteer. Basically, you want the cornering load to induce the outboard wheel to steer slightly out of the turn rather than more tightly into it, which requires whichever component is in front - steering linkage or control arm(s) - to have the stiffer mounting.

A rear steer car really needs to either be using rather firm control arm bushings, or relatively soft rack mounting bushings, or possibly both (particularly with the sort of tires available now vs back in the early/mid 1960's). Most FWD cars are rear steer by necessity, and the rack mounting is soft enough that the whole rack visibly moves laterally when the steering wheel is turned with the car stopped and the full car weight is resting on just the tires.




Norm

[killer69]

So i was originally planning on using my stock sub. But now im looking for tire clearance, im interested in this subframe for the amount of tire clearance.

On the site, it says any aftermarket control arm made for the stock sub will work. I have SPC uppers and chris alston coilover lowers with ATS spindles. There arent two types of spindle still, is there? (like the tall one and a gulstrand mod one). Curious to know, with this sub, my uppers and 18x9.5 40et(equals 6.8" b/s) with 285 or 295 would i have clearance issues?


Do other aftermarket racks fit since they would be mounting in the same location? i'm looking at a manual rack.

My rear sub mounts are solid now(fixed), the front 2 on the body still have the loose nuts. Do you think i will have alignment issues?
mounts like this:


Definitly interested due to the amount of mods im about to do to my stock sub without any extra tire gain.

there is no reason the SPC and Alston arms won't fit, they are probably not "Ideal" as we spent alot of time on the arms and sway bar to fit up to a 19x10 with a 7"bs the best fitment is a 18x 9.5 with a 6.5bs and you can fit a 285,295 on a 9.5"rim

there are still 2 spindles the tall and standard height.
as long as your welded in body mount nuts are in the correct location there is still some adjustment available with the aluminum body mounts.

the sub is available with a manual rack also.

the biggest clearance issue you will have is that you will need to run tha factory style sway bar, this is where you will have contact issues. the swaybar that is specific for the subfram has the most clearance but can only be used with the Hi Clearance arms.

[ProTour69Bird]

"• Extra adjustments built into the frame to fine tune your suspension." what kind of adjustments?

What gauge material is the subs construction?

What length coilovers can be used with this sub? gonna run koni 3012's all around

Whats the manual ratio? Did you use any particular companies rack, if so, whose?

On the adjustable SPC's i can turn the forward bend of the arm inward so they look similar to your hi clearance uppers. i was planning on setting up a custom sway bar with splined ends and figure out what style end links will give me the most clearance(similar to art morrison and C5's)

I'm assuming the 6.5bs is based on your spindles, they look like they stick out further than most. Will I still need to run wheel adaptors with my ATS spindle? I have C6 ZR1 wheels, I was planning on using wheel adaptors to correctly place the wheels in the wheel wells. 2" adaptors is what I figured to compensate a 275with 6.8"bs, close but a little shy to make up the bs difference. Now with 295's, probably a little thinner adaptor.

Body mounts were done one side at a time, so 3points were always attached. Should be just fine with the little bit I can fudge around with the solid mounts.

So does getting one of these take as long as the spindles, or are they more readily available and in stock. Glad i'm in washington, could i just pick it up???

thanks Blake

[killer69]

"• Extra adjustments built into the frame to fine tune your suspension." what kind of adjustments?

What gauge material is the subs construction?

What length coilovers can be used with this sub? gonna run koni 3012's all around

Whats the manual ratio? Did you use any particular companies rack, if so, whose?

On the adjustable SPC's i can turn the forward bend of the arm inward so they look similar to your hi clearance uppers. i was planning on setting up a custom sway bar with splined ends and figure out what style end links will give me the most clearance(similar to art morrison and C5's)

I'm assuming the 6.5bs is based on your spindles, they look like they stick out further than most. Will I still need to run wheel adaptors with my ATS spindle? I have C6 ZR1 wheels, I was planning on using wheel adaptors to correctly place the wheels in the wheel wells. 2" adaptors is what I figured to compensate a 275with 6.8"bs, close but a little shy to make up the bs difference. Now with 295's, probably a little thinner adaptor.

Body mounts were done one side at a time, so 3points were always attached. Should be just fine with the little bit I can fudge around with the solid mounts.

So does getting one of these take as long as the spindles, or are they more readily available and in stock. Glad i'm in washington, could i just pick it up???

thanks Blake

The adjustment is in the upper control arm mounting, there is the original location the guildstrand location as well the arm can be "finetuned" between the two locations.. this allows you to fine tune your camber gain.

The material used is all .125 except for some critical areas the upper control arm mounts are 5/16 with 5/16 gussets. the body mounts, front frame horns and lower control arm mounts are 3/16.

The coil overs that come are QA1's 9.5" compressed 12 5/8 extended with a ride height of 10 3/4-11 1/4 using a 1/2 x 1.25 wide upper mount and a T bar lower mount. we now have Ride tech available as well. the qa1's use a 9" spring.

The manual rack is 3 turns lock to lock and has 6" of travel. sorry no actual Ratio it is made by Unisteer

On the arms that should work fine. sway bar ????

The spindles are 6.5lb lighter than a comparable disk brake spindle both fully loaded. The spindles DO NOT change the track width from stock 59.5"

The delivery time on the sub frames is normally 1 2 weeks, We do not keep the manual rack in stock so that would need to be ordered

[rob07002]

I'm very happy with my Speedtech subframe. I can't compare to DSE, Art Mor, or any others, since I haven't driven any others, but the piece is very strong, well made, the steering is firm and very responsive and just an overall very stable and tunable platform. Add the fact that since it uses stock spindles you have many more brake options and not married to vette stuff like some of the other frames. Blake and Co. is great to deal with and their customer service is top notch.

[ProTour69Bird]

The adjustment is in the upper control arm mounting, there is the original location the guildstrand location as well the arm can be "finetuned" between the two locations.. this allows you to fine tune your camber gain. gotcha. i saw it had the gulstrand mod, didnt know you could use stock also.

The material used is all .125 except for some critical areas the upper control arm mounts are 5/16 with 5/16 gussets. the body mounts, front frame horns and lower control arm mounts are 3/16. Awesome, the more and more i examine my frame...... the more and more i want your sub.

The coil overs that come are QA1's 9.5" compressed 12 5/8 extended with a ride height of 10 3/4-11 1/4 using a 1/2 x 1.25 wide upper mount and a T bar lower mount. we now have Ride tech available as well. the qa1's use a 9" spring. Is the upper coilover mount included with the bare Sub? Whats your spring rates? I was gonna start off in the 650-750lb range

The manual rack is 3 turns lock to lock and has 6" of travel. sorry no actual Ratio it is made by Unisteer.

On the arms that should work fine. sway bar ???? I really like my UCA's, no need for shims, completely adjustable, and pretty light weight. Sway bar will be hard to figure out until I have this sub.

The spindles are 6.5lb lighter than a comparable disk brake spindle both fully loaded. The spindles DO NOT change the track width from stock 59.5" Won't the wheel end up to close to the frame rails? I thought that positive offset wheels needed the extra adaptor to push the wheels <OUT>.

Have you ever done any track driving with any test cars? Just wondering, does this sub allow full "steering degree"(i dont know what to call this) with 295's, or are there steering limiters on the lower arms? I'm just thinking of future track driving when i wont need all the "steering degrees" for street driving, how wide a tire could squeeze up front and still turn? track daze would be fun with 305-315's on the front!!!

The delivery time on the sub frames is normally 1 2 weeks, We do not keep the manual rack in stock so that would need to be ordered. Right on, dont you ship out of sumas?

Looks like you got yourself a near future customer.
-Brian

[ProTour69Bird]

"married to vette stuff"???? Match made in heaven! Im starting off with C5 Z06 brakes all around, then upgrading to StopTech's C5 big brake kit in a few years. Love C5's, im fixin to get its IRS and transaxle as a bolt in option on the bird.

[rob07002]

"married to vette stuff"???? Match made in heaven! Im starting off with C5 Z06 brakes all around, then upgrading to StopTech's C5 big brake kit in a few years. Love C5's, im fixin to get its IRS and transaxle as a bolt in option on the bird.

Not everyone wants to run vette brakes. Plus the cost for aftermarket "vette" brake packages as with almost everything for a vette is more expensive compared to it's equal for a different setup. Don't get me wrong, vette stuff is fantastic, but having options is nice too. Also, when C4 and C5 parts become dated, your not stuck with them and can upgrade to the latest and greatest aftermarket equip which won't date your frame.

[killer69]

http://www.speedtechperformance.com/...cat/cat294.htm

Here are about 6 videos of My Nova on the track. placed first on the road course at Run To The Coast. finished 5th at optima

Yes the upper shock mount is included with the Bare subframe.
spring rate for a BB woulf be 650 ls on the street 450 track 500,

you will have to run a wheel spacer for the Corvette wheels, you can fit a 19 x 10 with a 7" BS (with our control arms and sway bar) on a 69 camaro and i know Iron Works has the same wheel on a 67

yes shipping from Sumas

[TheJDMan]

Now I'm confused on the brakes. I had planned to use Z06 brakes. Can I still use Z06 brakes with the Speedtech high clearance subframe or no? If not what brakes does it accept? Sorry if this is a dumb question but the brake choices are a bit confusing and are giving me headaches trying to understand what works and what doesn't.

[John510]

I have a Speed Tech sub. Quality is awesome. I just wish stainless works made a 1 7/8 or 2" header that would fit the subframe. .... hint hint Blake ....

[ProTour69Bird]

Thats a badass nova.

Awesome, that will make fitting coilovers so much easier than what I had planned.

Have you found what the widest tire you could fit is? For Road racing only, autox has a little sharper curves. 295's are biggest streetable tire with a decent turning radius, correct?

Well I think I know everything I wanted to know. Reviews from others are assuring. This sounds exactly like the subframe I need. Thank you blake, for helping answer my Q's.

I'm more than half saved up for this right now, hope I can get it before summer. Even though theres no chance in hell it'll be driving, plan to get it on the GROUND over summer. eeek.

[LM7_67]

how's header fitment? will headers designed for a stock subframe fit? or is it strictly the SW headers?

[killer69]

Now I'm confused on the brakes. I had planned to use Z06 brakes. Can I still use Z06 brakes with the Speedtech high clearance subframe or no? If not what brakes does it accept? Sorry if this is a dumb question but the brake choices are a bit confusing and are giving me headaches trying to understand what works and what doesn't.

There are a couple options, you can use the Z06 brakes either on the stock spindle (with an adaptor we have that also) OR on the AFX spindle (just bolt them on)

[killer69]

I have a Speed Tech sub. Quality is awesome. I just wish stainless works made a 1 7/8 or 2" header that would fit the subframe. .... hint hint Blake ....

we have been talking to Stainless works about this ........................ your using a LS?

[killer69]

Thats a badass nova.

Awesome, that will make fitting coilovers so much easier than what I had planned.

Have you found what the widest tire you could fit is? For Road racing only, autox has a little sharper curves. 295's are biggest streetable tire with a decent turning radius, correct?

Well I think I know everything I wanted to know. Reviews from others are assuring. This sounds exactly like the subframe I need. Thank you blake, for helping answer my Q's.


I'm more than half saved up for this right now, hope I can get it before summer. Even though theres no chance in hell it'll be driving, plan to get it on the GROUND over summer. eeek.

295 will fit but it is tight, i would opt for a 285 or 275 ( all depending on your ride height as well)

[killer69]

how's header fitment? will headers designed for a stock subframe fit? or is it strictly the SW headers?

we have tried a couple different brands, and all the ones we tried needed the 3 joint shaft and some even with that needed a tube changed, THE BEST fit and option is th e stainless works headers. they let you use a 2 joint steering shaft and also give the most ground clearance, we designed them to sit as high in the sub as is possible unlike ALL the headers we tried which were designed prior to lowering springs!!! our BB headers sit 1.8" higher than the hooker super comp headers. small block headers are only 14 below the frame rail

[dj3]

The ls headers drop right in from the top with the Speedtech subframe. Coming from a Big block with supercomp headers to a drop right in was very nice.

[rob07002]

The Stainless Works headers designed for this sub fit great and to Blake's point, they have great ground clearance. 540 BBC with 2" primaries.

Blake, while your on this thread, I want to dial-in a better alignment on the Camaro. What specs do you reccomend?

[killer69]

Rob where do you have the alignment set now?