Left rear in front

[Dirtmod13]

New class for our track is making us run our spring and shock in front of the axle on the left rear. How can I get back some of that traction that will be lost

[Matt49]

What type of rear end and suspension cage?
Assuming you are running something that allows for axle wrap under acceleration, you will get better traction clamping your shock mount to the axle tube versus having the shock on the birdcage.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Agree with Matt. Clamp and very soft spring.

[Dirtmod13]

Agree with Matt. Clamp and very soft spring.

Car is an '09 rocket wide blue front. All rocket parts. Was super late model. Has quick change with rocket birdcages. Only change/ rule is all cars must have one coil over shock in front of left rear. Here's the rule.8.1 4-Bar and Z-Link only rear suspensions allowed. Left Rear spring must be mounted on front side of rear end to birdcage.Doesn't say any rule for right spring.

[Matt49]

Car is an '09 rocket wide blue front. All rocket parts. Was super late model. Has quick change with rocket birdcages. Only change/ rule is all cars must have one coil over shock in front of left rear. Here's the rule.8.1 4-Bar and Z-Link only rear suspensions allowed. Left Rear spring must be mounted on front side of rear end to birdcage.Doesn't say any rule for right spring.

Obviously you didn't write the rule so this isn't directed toward you but this is pretty high on the list of dumbest rules ever written. What does that accomplish?
And for what it's worth, the way it is written, you can't even run a spring mount clamped to the axle tube.
Not to get off on a tangent but far too many people writing rule books these days no far too little about racing.

[Matt49]

Out of curiosity, what track is this and what are they calling this class?

[Dirtmod13]

Out of curiosity, what track is this and what are they calling this class?

Track is in Wisconsin. Mississippi thunder speedway. Class is new USRA limited late model. We just moved up from Bmods. From what I've heard, the move to the front on LR was to limit traction and make the older cars able to compete if some one was to buy a brand new chassis.

[RacerX10]

Obviously you didn't write the rule so this isn't directed toward you but this is pretty high on the list of dumbest rules ever written.

I was thinking the same thing

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Obviously you didn't write the rule so this isn't directed toward you but this is pretty high on the list of dumbest rules ever written. What does that accomplish?
And for what it's worth, the way it is written, you can't even run a spring mount clamped to the axle tube.
Not to get off on a tangent but far too many people writing rule books these days no far too little about racing.

It is based on the belief that the spring behind has ruined racing by hooking the cars up too good.

To defeat this rule, run z link. Top bar around 34" long, 15 degrees downhill to the back. Bottom bar in the highest hole for the 4 link deal. Coilover on front of cage. Make sure you have a clevis mount and that the coilover is forward enough to not crash into axle tube. That will give you a similar wheel rate to doing a lr behind deal.

[Matt49]

Track is in Wisconsin. Mississippi thunder speedway. Class is new USRA limited late model. We just moved up from Bmods. From what I've heard, the move to the front on LR was to limit traction and make the older cars able to compete if some one was to buy a brand new chassis.

If that's their reason that's pretty ignorant. Any older car can be made to run with the LR behind with a little fabrication.
Rules that restrict ingenuity never save anybody money.

[let-r-eat]

Another racing rules committee that doesn't realize it takes more than the left rear of a car to make one go.

[TheJet-09]

I'll try to describe a LR set-up I saw on a car at Brownstown around 2000 or so (I don't remember who it was, but if Matt49 was around back then he might). The LR birdcage was two independent pieces, with the outer half having two links mounted to it (normal configuration, running forward) and the inner half having the spring/shock mounted to it, in front. From that inner half was a link mounted to the bottom that ran forward/angled upward to the chassis. When the LR lifts in the corner (and under acceleration), the mounting point (chassis end) of that link also raises, which in turn rotates the bottom of that half of the birdcage up, thereby keeping a load on the spring (or at least diminishing the loss of the spring load when compared to that of the old style birdcage with the spring in front). If it sounds like that would work, I could try drawing a picture to make it clearer. Thoughts?

[Dirtmod13]

I'll try to describe a LR set-up I saw on a car at Brownstown around 2000 or so (I don't remember who it was, but if Matt49 was around back then he might). The LR birdcage was two independent pieces, with the outer half having two links mounted to it (normal configuration, running forward) and the inner half having the spring/shock mounted to it, in front. From that inner half was a link mounted to the bottom that ran forward/angled upward to the chassis. When the LR lifts in the corner (and under acceleration), the mounting point (chassis end) of that link also raises, which in turn rotates the bottom of that half of the birdcage up, thereby keeping a load on the spring (or at least diminishing the loss of the spring load when compared to that of the old style birdcage with the spring in front). If it sounds like that would work, I could try drawing a picture to make it clearer. Thoughts?

That would be cool, send pic to my email, custombuildremod@yahoo.com

[drtrkr244]

That sounds like the TWM cages built for GRT. You could lock the two halves together with the bolt supplied. But you had to drill and tap a bolt into the tube if you ran it "clamped". I knew a local racer that ran this with 150lbs bite and 250lr spring.

[TheJet-09]

Exactly! That's what I just remebered (the style of birdcage). So from the half with the spring mounted to it, you would run a bar forward to the chassis. It would obviously require you to weld another lower link mount to the chassis (inboard of the existing one).