My 1985 Monte Carlo SS Barney...

[SSLance]

Ever since adding the 0.375" wall tube centerpiece to my front MuscleBar last summer, Barney has had a slightly loose on corner exit symptom because the front to rear lateral load distribution was out of kilter. This trait was amplified when I added 125 ft lbs and 100 hp under the hood over the winter. I have to be super gentle on the throttle on corner exit to keep the rear of the car under me. I now have 2 autocross events and over 100 road course laps at 2 separate tracks under my belt with the new setup and while we tried some band-aids with shock adjustments to help with this condition to get me by (and were somewhat successful), it is very apparent that I need to finally heed Doctor Ron's advice and make another suspension change to cure these ills. He's been after me for a while to make this change and I was hesitant because I didn't want to hurt the on street ride of the car. I have put almost 2,000 miles on the car so far this year...it gets driven... I finally gave in though and ordered the parts a couple of weeks ago. I have spun the car around on course more times in the past 6 months than ever before and in order to continue to get faster, this has to stop.

Enter the cure... Old rear spring on the left, new rear spring on the right. We'll call this Stage 4...




Initial street test drive shows positive improvement, before on a long fast on\off ramp turn...a slight touch of the throttle made the car loose, now I can increase throttle more and it will eventually make the car a bit tight but still very manageable. My parking lot autocross turn test facility had a similar positive result.

The best part is, ride quality really wasn't affected that much. Under normal circumstances it's hard to tell the difference. The only place I really noticed a change was the 1" bump up into the garage that was pretty stiff. Nothing at all that can't be dealt with on a street car, especially if it cures the handling issues.

I am registered for a local SCCA autocross this coming Sunday and I can't wait to try the new setup out at speed on course.



I also acquired these while in Indiana last week.



The stack on the left are leftover 275 Falkens from last year and the stack on the right are some gently used 255 Rival Ss. I begged them off of the Pichettes and the DragonLady GTA so I could see what dropping down in size but up to a Rival did to the car before laying down the cash for a brand new set of smaller Rivals. I'm not sure if I'll mount them up before this Sunday or wait a bit before mounting them up. I'm milking my way through tires for this year and have several more events left in the set of Falkens currently on the car. Not enough to warrant a dismount, then mount up again later though.

Stay tuned, I'll be sure to update with results after the event. I love trying new stuff, especially if I think it'll be much better and I'm pretty sure this will be a huge positive change for the car.

[Streetbu]

What is Ron's thinking on a shorter travel rear suspension? Limit weight transfer to the front?

[SSLance]

An increase in rear roll resistance, which will in turn work the inside rear tire much more as well as the inside front tire.

[analyte]

Very interested in hearing how the new springs work on the AutoX. I'm stiffening up the rear for similar reasons, unloading the inside rear tire.

[Nicks67GTO]

Very interested in hearing how the new springs work on the AutoX. I'm stiffening up the rear for similar reasons, unloading the inside rear tire.

I've had the same issue as well. I'm looking forward to hearing how this all works out

[SSLance]

I think what is happening is the old conventional setups we used on our cars worked okay with the grip level we had at the time. As we got our cars better and as the tires got better, we now have much more grip and with more grip comes more lateral forces on the car. Those increased lateral forces and now overpowering our old setups and something has to give, when the rear roll is more than the our setups can stop, lifting the inside rear tire happens.

This is the course design I'll be testing the new setup on this Sunday, should give me plenty of chances to see how it works under all circumstances. There will be video as well...

[Cobra 498]

Damn, one of these days you might even disconnect that oversize rear bar.

[SSLance]

Damn, one of these days you might even disconnect that oversize rear bar.

Might need to back read just a bit there Bruce...

New smaller rear sway bar installed, and then disconnected... and still struggling to find rear corner exit grip.













I finally followed Doctor Ron's prescription and the car feels fixed now, we'll know for sure on Sunday.

[SSLance]

So, this happened last week.



I am continually honored and flattered by the attention this car seems to get. It is a huge testament to those that have helped me along the way, people like Ron Sutton, Bret Voekel, Ramey Wormer and Ryan Kirkwood, as well as my wife Terri for being so patient with my hobby and my good friend John Parman who never fails to come up with a fabrication solution for my never ending issues that pop up with it. Huge thanks to all of you...

[BmoreKeith]

Saw this while leafing through my new issue this weekend. I was like, "Hey that's SSLance!"
(I don't know you but recognized the car.)

[SSLance]

It has been a while since the last update so here is a little that I have been working on.

For a while now I have been fighting excessive rear brake rotor heat during and after a track session. After some careful diagnosis and help from a few friends, hopefully this will be a big help.

I run the Ford Racing Explorer rear disc brake kit which includes a cast caliper bracket attached to a sheet metal rotor shield that also holds the e-brake internals in place. This shield completely covered the inside face and outer edge of the solid (non-vented) rotor.







A little work with a bandsaw should let some heat escape and some cool air get to the rotors now...



I had the axles out because I was repairing yet the 3rd or 4th burnt out clutch posi in the car. Actually...I was replacing it with this.



Barney now transfers it's power to the rear tires through an Eaton Detroit Locker with some of Ron Sutton's 40# internal springs. I've only driven it a few times since and on very crappy stock size tires...but I can tell already that I am going to like my corner off traction, especially on right hand turns...a TON better.

Speaking of tires...this also has happened...



The stack on the left are an old set of 275 Falkens that I've been running the past few years...the stack on the right is my new set of 275 RE71s. I can't wait to officially join the sticky tire club!!! Hopefully this next week I'll have something to mount those tires on.

[Streetbu]

Hmm, Larry we may need to talk about your old wheels. I thought you were joking!

[SSLance]

I am actually delivering all of my old wheels and tires to STL this morning...they are going to their new home.

[SSLance]

Little teaser pic...

[olds87]

Are thoes Forgeline wheels? If so, nice upgrade.

[SSLance]

Yep... Thanks...



I'm pretty stoked about them.

Tires will get mounted in a couple hours them I'll get some proper pics taken.

[olds87]

What size and back spacing did you go with?

[SSLance]

They basically mimic the BIllet Specialties wheels that I've had for years, except they are 18s instead of 17s. 18x9.5 with a 5.0" backspace on all four. Since they are a 3 piece design, Forgeline specs them as 6" inner hoops and 3" outer hoops. They fit perfectly with the 275/35/18 Bridgestones mounted on them which are about a half in wider in tread width than the Falken 275/40/17s I ran before.

[DoABarrelRoll]

Time for bigger brakes.

[SRD art]

Awesome! The car looks great!

I crave 18s too but have been unsure about the cost to upgrade. I am really interested to hear how performance is affected by the bigger wheels and lower profile tires. As much as you drive and hammer on Barney you'll have great insight on the value of upgrading for those of us still running 17s.