Dead Cat 2.0: Jake'sTorque Arm Install

[Payton King]

Was not really thinking I was going to have to do as much work as it took. I am really ready to drive. Taking Thursday and Friday off to get this thing on the road. The problem I have is I just can't seem to put it back the way it was...always reworking or upgrading.

I will report back on the driving impressions. It has been since mid-October since I have driven the car, so this should be a real treat with the new rubber, rear suspension and new shocks on all 4 corners.

[56pickup]

spot on payton!

[Payton King]

It was a thrash getting the car back on the road for RTTH 7. Seems like there is always something. When I took it out for its maiden voyage, I knew right away that something was not right. The shocks were not where close in controlling the springs...I was running 700 lbs front and 550 lbs rear. Good thing about living in Charlotte is there are a lot of race stuff around. Bilstein is here, so I pulled them off and ran them up to have them checked. One was completely out of gas, valving was too light for spring rates. They gave me a pair of safety glasses and I proceeded to get an education on shock design. Mike revalved all 4 shocks on the spot and ran them on the shock dyno, it was quite an afternoon.

Got them back on the car and went down on spring rate to 550 front and 325 rear. It was a night and day difference in the car. I am running them in the middle setting and my 69 rides better than my wife's M3. What a difference the correct shock makes.

I did make RTTH but had only put 5 miles on the car before it hit the parking lot for the autocross school that I had signed up for at the event. I was getting use to the car and was getting faster every run I made. It was a little tight and I had a small mechanical issue the first day. I had Danny Pop make a 2 laps for his feedback. 2nd lap in my car that he has never driven knocked 2 seconds off of my best run. The car is capable, the driver is not.

Fixed the small problem, raised the watts one hole to free the car up and aired the tires down to 28 psi hot for the next day. Again every run I got faster and ended up running 12th out of 86 cars and missed the top 10 by .4x. A little more time getting use to the car and would have like to try some shock settings, I think I could have gotten there.

All in all a completely different car with the torque arm, shocks and new/better tires. My hat is off to Dan and his wonderful fab work and a well thought out rear suspension design from Jake.

[Payton King]

[Rybar]

Looks awesome Payton, looks like it's on it's way to getting dialed in.

[tmadden]

Man it looks super!! Looking at a yellow for mine. Your's is a great inspiration.

[Flash68]

That thing looks so good with those new wheels. Night and day. People always say wheels make or break the car, but sometimes you just have to see it to believe it. Well done.

And did I read you originally had 550 lb rear springs? Wow that is insanely high is it not?

And you're absolutely right .... 98% of the cars on this site need tons more work on the driver, not the car!

[Payton King]

When Jake was racing his 69 he tried a number of different springs at the track. He likes the way 700 lbs front and 500 rear felt the best. Vinnie bought Jake's old car and he is going to Optima runnng 700/500 combo. That set up is really for the big track more than autocross, but it still works well at either. That yellow corvette going to Optima was running a 1200 front 900 rear at VIR this summer. 2 schools of thought, heavy springs lighter bar or vice versa. Ron, with the blue mustang, just got either a 650 or 900 lbs spring for the front of his. Can't remember the exact rate. You will still needs shocks that can contol that high of a rate.

When I go back to a road course, I will run the 700 up front and 450's in the rear because that is what I happen to have sitting in my garage and tune from there. The ride is actually not bad at all with the higher rates, I think you would be suprised of how it rides and the feedback you get.

The only problem I see with the higher rates is I am losing a little bit of rebound travel at ride height. I have heard that most run a short light spring (150lbs) in conjunction with the heavy spring to get ride height correct.

[GrabberGT]

Originally Posted by Payton King

When I go back to a road course, I will run the 700 up front and 450's in the rear because that is what I happen to have sitting in my garage and tune from there. The ride is actually not bad at all with the higher rates, I think you would be suprised of how it rides and the feedback you get.

Is that 350 per side in the front and 225 per side in the rear?

[Payton King]

When I write about rates, that is per coil over/wheel.