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Old 08-10-2014, 12:44 AM
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Default Ridetech four link vs speed tech torque arm rear suspension

What's your guys thoughts on both ? The pros and cons ? Is the ride tech able to
Run 335 rear tires ? I'm going to be ordering rear suspension soon and I'm not really sure what to get since i have been running lowering leafs for the last 6 years .... Any help would be greatly appreciated
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Old 08-10-2014, 03:12 AM
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I talked with a guy in Portland at the USCA who was running and broke a torque arm. Besides the busted parts he had talked about some other issues with the TA that he didn't like. The biggest thing I remember was the noise and vibration, he hated driving the car after the install because of these two issues.

Nothing wrong with running a good set of leafs and quality shocks. That being said RideTech has a great track record of putting out quality parts that work.

Dan
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:13 AM
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Sounds like the driveline angles may have been off? First I've heard of one breaking. What's hard to know with anyones components is the integrity of the installation.
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:56 AM
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Mike Maier is running a tourqe arm in the 66 coupe and that has a nascar motor, Rob from No Limit is running a torque arm and has a pretty stout LS motor. I've never seen either if them break. I've driven Mikes coupe and it puts the power down pretty hard. Like middle of second gear flat on the floor hard.


Triangulated 4 link, same thing as a chevelle has underneath it.
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Old 08-10-2014, 08:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sieg View Post
Sounds like the driveline angles may have been off? First I've heard of one breaking. What's hard to know with anyones components is the integrity of the installation.



EGG SACK LEE!!


Who knows what the cause was -- and the noise and vibration issues should be the first clue that the install was probably not quite up to snuff. It's amazing what people with jack stands and a MIG welder will do to a car.


To answer the OP question ---- I would think that it all depends.... depends on what you want to do with the car - you budget - future mods... tire sizes that can be used etc. And the best place to find those answers would be with the manufacture directly.

BTW - Mary Pozzi never seemed to have a problem winning a few Auto X's with her old leaf spring car... and I know a few people that would love to be able to keep up with my leaf spring car on a road course... Having said that... I'd switch to a 3 link if it was actually going to gain me some lap time... and that's doubtful and would cost more than it's worth perhaps.

The other thing the OP should do -- is to engage Ron Sutton Race Technologies (meaning agree to pay him) and then have Ron figure out with MATH and RACE SMARTS which one would be suitable for the goal.
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Old 08-10-2014, 09:13 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sieg View Post
Sounds like the driveline angles may have been off? First I've heard of one breaking. What's hard to know with anyones components is the integrity of the installation.

^^^What Sieg said, there are quite a few running the TA setups on here and I haven't heard of that. Most likely it was installed incorrectly?? Remember the TA arm is nothing new, GM has been running it for years!!

As for which setup to go with, both have pros and cons, pros both are proven on the track ALOT, depending on budget that could be a con, the TA setup cost more then the RideTech setup. Packaging is another thing to think about?? Both require some welding skills or you have to have it welded.

If I change out my leafs I think I'm going with the RideTech setup, or I will make my own 4 link Vince???
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Old 08-10-2014, 12:17 PM
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If this is the broken Torque Arm situation that I'm aware of ... there is more involved. The one I'm aware of had rear wheel hop issues going into the corners. Torque arms don't cause that. Just the opposite, as "most" torque arms place the pick up point out 50"+/- ... which will lower the anti-squat % & help reduce wheel hop.

Wheel hop is typically caused by one of these things:
A.
Too soft of rear springs ... insufficient force to hold the rear wheels down.

B. Too soft of shock valving ... insufficient control to hold the rear wheels down.

C. Too stiff of rear springs ... combined with too soft of shock valving ... running over bumps or irregular surfaces.
* Stiff spring impacting bumps causes the hop ... and the shock with too soft of valving can't stop it.

D. Too much anti-squat (too short of an Instant Center) ... causing the car to be loose under braking. Rear wheel hop is the stage just before "loose entry".
* Too much rear brake bias can compound the problem, but doesn't cause wheel hop by itself.

E. Driver down shifting too early and/or letting the clutch out too early (before engine RPM's match the speed of car).

None of those are caused by running a Torque Arm suspension ... but continuous rear wheel hop ... can break almost any rear suspension. So in this case ... if it is the one I'm aware of ... the wheel hop most likely broke the Torque Arm. As most likely, as the Torque Arm was breaking, the hop got worse.



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Old 08-10-2014, 12:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GregWeld View Post
EGG SACK LEE!!


Who knows what the cause was -- and the noise and vibration issues should be the first clue that the install was probably not quite up to snuff. It's amazing what people with jack stands and a MIG welder will do to a car.


To answer the OP question ---- I would think that it all depends.... depends on what you want to do with the car - you budget - future mods... tire sizes that can be used etc. And the best place to find those answers would be with the manufacture directly.

BTW - Mary Pozzi never seemed to have a problem winning a few Auto X's with her old leaf spring car... and I know a few people that would love to be able to keep up with my leaf spring car on a road course... Having said that... I'd switch to a 3 link if it was actually going to gain me some lap time... and that's doubtful and would cost more than it's worth perhaps.

The other thing the OP should do -- is to engage Ron Sutton Race Technologies (meaning agree to pay him) and then have Ron figure out with MATH and RACE SMARTS which one would be suitable for the goal.

The car will see some track time but mostly all street time
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Old 08-10-2014, 12:57 PM
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Ron I'm sure we are talking about the same car. I didn't want to mention the shop name or the company of the TA because I only had part of the information.

So if properly set up, are they silky smooth? No more or less vibration and noise transmitted up under the driver?
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Old 08-10-2014, 01:07 PM
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There's something to be said for long arms IMO.





Back in my dirt track crew days in the early 80's using the long Chevy pickup control arms in the rear was very effective.
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