450 left front spring on smack down

[jack06]

Thinking about trying a 450 on the left front the track I race has short tight corners and im a little tight getting in. I'm running a 400 right front.

[TheJet-09]

What are you currently running on the LF? I believe the base-line is a 475/500 on the LF and a 350 on the RF. With you having/needing a stiffer RF than that I'd probably look to adjust elsewhere. Are you by chance steel block/steel head?

[jack06]

What are you currently running on the LF? I believe the base-line is a 475/500 on the LF and a 350 on the RF. With you having/needing a stiffer RF than that I'd probably look to adjust elsewhere. Are you by chance steel block/steel head?Steel motor and have to wight 2450 after the race. Had a 500 on the left front.

[Matt49]

Try a 475 first unless you are REALLY trying to free it up getting in.

[hucktyson]

If you have a 450 and not a 475 you may as well try the 450 and if
It's too much you can always get a 475 then. It mostly changes how hard the car wants to rotate when you lift on entry , if your not getting completely out of the throttle on entry it won't make much difference .

[MachineMasters]

I have been as low as a 450LF and could bottom out the shock under braking on entry.

[hpmaster]

I have been as low as a 450LF and could bottom out the shock under braking on entry.

If you were on a straight 10" 450lb spring I am pretty sure you were in coil bind before you could bottom out a shock.JMHO

[grt74]

we have run as low as a 300 on the lf,remember a shock has a lot to do with a setup like that,what we are starting to see is less and less on the lf because we are trying to keep it down more and more,the reason for such big springs on the lf was it would crash down,with todays setups thats not happening as much anymore,there are other things to find there also,we are testing a bunch with lf setups and have started to see some gains on the stop watch,mostly to me its still an entry spring adjustment

[Garrettshurling]

We run a 400LF all the time. I don't think a 50 lb spring change on the LF is too radical. If your running on at tight cornered race track and we can probably assume your decelerating on entry, that adjustment should do what you want it to do!

[Drop Shock]

400 is pretty stiff on the right front, most guys are running 325 and 300s

[hpmaster]

400 is pretty stiff on the right front, most guys are running 325 and 300s

thread was talking about left front springs

[Drop Shock]

thread was talking about left front springs

Yea but the dude said he was trying to free up entry and said he was 400 rf. It's pretty simple the softer you are on the right front the better your gonna steer.
You just have to find out at what spring rate you start to bottom out at, I know a lot of guys that start out on 300s and go to 250s and 225 as the night goes.

[hucktyson]

Not every car has the roll center far enough to the right to run a 275 or less on the RF. A smack down for one doesn't

[Matt49]

I agree with huck here. Even with the S7 front end (which allows for a softer RF than the old smack front end), 350 is about as low as you can go. We always ran best with a 400 even with the S7 and we got plenty of travel.

The softer spring itself isn't what is allowing for the car to steer better. In fact the old conventional wisdom of "heavy spring gets the weight" would tell us the opposite. What's happening with the softer spring is that you're squatting the RF which is doing two things: 1) lowering the roll center which makes the car steer better and 2) letting the left rear hike up sooner which makes the car steer better because of rear steer.

[hpmaster]

I agree with huck here. Even with the S7 front end (which allows for a softer RF than the old smack front end), 350 is about as low as you can go. We always ran best with a 400 even with the S7 and we got plenty of travel.

The softer spring itself isn't what is allowing for the car to steer better. In fact the old conventional wisdom of "heavy spring gets the weight" would tell us the opposite. What's happening with the softer spring is that you're squatting the RF which is doing two things: 1) lowering the roll center which makes the car steer better and 2) letting the left rear hike up sooner which makes the car steer better because of rear steer.


Not every car has the roll center far enough to the right to run a 275 or less on the RF. A smack down for one doesn't


Our Masters liked the 375 or 400 also. Good info, Matt and Huck

[tin man]

Not every car has the roll center far enough to the right to run a 275 or less on the RF. A smack down for one doesn't

I would have to disagree with that statement. It can be done and it can be successfully done.

[hucktyson]

Tin man his car is way before they raised the cross member , with a 275 or less that car would bottom out something fierce unless your racing on a track that only allows 50 mph entry speeds. Or you have a bump stop or you have a really old school spring that coil binds before the car bottomed out. A Gen x car has the roll center way to the right and the additional clearance to run that soft. But hey springs aren't very expensive so if you really want to try a 225 on the rf of a smack let us all
Know how it works .

[tin man]

Our car is a '10 Smack. Nothing fancy. Raised frame rail. Standard crossmember. Run steel block late model. Have won a 1k race earlier this season at Winchester and set third fastest time at the Steel Block Bandit race at Eastside Sunday and finished fifth in the feature. Run Hagerstown regularly also which isnt exactly a stop and go track. I never said 225. You did.

[hucktyson]

They starting raising the rail in 09. My 08 smack earned its " smack down " nick name with any less than 350 rf

[grt74]

this is completely off subject but if anyone is running a 275 or softer on the rf without doing something else with it and your doing great,put some drive back in it and lap everyone,jmo

[grt74]

Yea but the dude said he was trying to free up entry and said he was 400 rf. It's pretty simple the softer you are on the right front the better your gonna steer.
You just have to find out at what spring rate you start to bottom out at, I know a lot of guys that start out on 300s and go to 250s and 225 as the night goes.

not on entry the car will be tighter on entry(so it doesn't steer better it pushes)
any time you go softer on the rf its going to be tighter in and free off
unless you do more than just a spring change
remember shocks can have an effect too
and I'm talking about just a standard spring setup nothing else

[hpmaster]

this is completely off subject but if anyone is running a 275 or softer on the rf without doing something else with it and your doing great,put some drive back in it and lap everyone,jmo

I haven't met him yet.

[drtrkr244]

not on entry the car will be tighter on entry(so it doesn't steer better it pushes)
any time you go softer on the rf its going to be tighter in and free off
unless you do more than just a spring change
remember shocks can have an effect too
and I'm talking about just a standard spring setup nothing else

I have seen where a softer rf loosened car, on a track that was heavy, and the driver could stay in the gas past the entrance. But, generally a softer rf de-wedges the car, off the gas, and transfers more weight to rr, thus making the car tighter.

[grt74]

I have seen where a softer rf loosened car, on a track that was heavy, and the driver could stay in the gas past the entrance. But, generally a softer rf de-wedges the car, off the gas, and transfers more weight to rr, thus making the car tighter.

like i have said tighter entry,looser exit(or on the gas)
if your at a track where you can stay on the gas on entry,yes if you soften a spring it will free it up but those tracks are very few,i can only think of two

[PushinTheLimit]

Just something I've been thinking about... what happens in theory to a DLM when you go from a 450/350 front spring setup to say a 475/325 front spring setup? I've been considering doing some spring testing eventually to understand what combinations produce better results.

[grt74]

[QUOTE=PushinTheLimit;1842343]Just something I've been thinking about... what happens in theory to a DLM when you go from a 450/350 front spring setup to say a 475/325 front spring setup? I've been considering doing some spring testing eventually to understand what combinations produce better results.[/QUOTE

the car will be free in and tighter off with the 450/350 and the opposite with the 475 and 325