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Originally Posted by tyoneal
Street/Touring %: up to 50%. Power Tour with a/c!!
Drag Racing: 5-10% Our nearest good Drag Strip is South of Dallas (in Ennis, TX) about 30-40 miles, and I live 20 miles North of Dallas.
RoadRace/Auto-X: probably 20-40% Has a trailer. About 40 miles due east of the Texas Motor Speedway and I think they give lessons and have a inside closed course for us Amatuers. There is a Strong SCCA Group in the DFW area as well as a strong Local Camaro club.
Training: Not sure but throw that in with track time.
Performing Fabrication? Let's assume very little.
Paint Chip Tolerance: - High
Does this help? I certainly don't mind answering these questions publicly, I really appreciate having the advice of you all on this board.
I await you comments.............
Ty O'Neal
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Thanks. That already helps alot. But I'll keep coming up with questions. For now, know that the number one hardest part of building a hot rod is outsourcing labor--usually fabrication and paint. If you will not be doing your own fabrication, you need to find someone you can trust and be prepared to carry the expense. A good fabricator can easily cost $2K to $4K per week. And bad fabricators should not be allowed near your car regardless of price.
Unless you have deep pockets and--more importantly--a fabricator that you trust absolutely, ease of installation and cost of installation should be considered top priorities. Furthermore, radical modifications might not be necessary for what sounds like a street car. You responses to the racing questions sound more like good intentions rather than specific plans. Had you stated, for example, that "you are an SCCA member and you already auto-X the wife's Jetta on a regular basis", I would have a different impression. Your response applies to most of us. Without driver training and experience, I assure you that all of these suspension systems will exceed YOUR capablilities.
Mind you, none of this means that you shouldn't score the latest hardcore parts. It just means that the decision making process should be less intense. Choose parts because you want them--not because you are trying to achieve a specific performance goal. Don't sweat minute performance differences. What you CAN'T do, is choose parts and systems that might prevent or delay project completion.
Let's come up with more questions to try and zero in on suspension systems for your car. These are all questions that I either asked myself or should have asked.
-Would you sacrifice ultimate grip in the name of ride quality?
-Would you push your car to the limit if that meant high risk of an off track experience?
-Do you already have a trustworthy fabricator secured?
-What is his hourly rate?
-What information is your trust based on?
-Where will you be storing and working on your car?
-How important is interior creature comforts other than AC?
-How concerned are you with vehicle ride height? (Do you need your car to be the lowest around, or do you prefer reasonable ground clearance)
-How many hot rod projects have you completed?
-How many hot rod projects have you been actively involved with? (i.e. wrenching on friends' cars, helping them choose parts, driving friends' cars)