Front end gets real flighty under WOT

[JOATMON]

Thanks for the feedback Shaun. I have never cared for the way the 275 fronts tracked on banked pavement. I have near new (less than 500 miles)Mickey Thompson street 275/40's on the front and they track worse that the old worn Sumo's that were on it.
You got me thinking maybe I need more negative camber to get the tires square with the pavement under WOT. The front end REALLY lifts under hard acceleration.
Hmmm

[Injuneer]

I think the "drag" style rear sway bar on the Formula helps keep the car stable. Without it, apply torque, right rear squats. left front comes up, and front end gets "loose".

[SSlowBoat]

I think the "drag" style rear sway bar on the Formula helps keep the car stable. Without it, apply torque, right rear squats. left front comes up, and front end gets "loose".

That could be part of it on the street, at the track it still flexes the rear bar enough to pull the front left higher than the right. valid point i didnt even think about.

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[Injuneer]

Have you tried adjusting the pre-load, using the adjustable end links? Should be able to keep it level. The bar is solid 1-5/16" chrome moly spring steel. The end links are bolted and welded to the subframe at the top. Steve Spohn had me sit in the driver's seat, and tweaked the adjustment. You're pushing a lot more torque than I was. I remember back in the day.... guy named "Joe O". Front tires 2-ft in the air with the front end at about 45-degrees..... insane.

Oddly, I was cleaning out old files from the basement last week and found the time slip from a single stage (~135 shot) pass. Lousy ET (11.162) due to weak launch on the high stall converter, but the 127.67 MPH was decent.

[SSlowBoat]

Have you tried adjusting the pre-load, using the adjustable end links? Should be able to keep it level. The bar is solid 1-5/16" chrome moly spring steel. The end links are bolted and welded to the subframe at the top. Steve Spohn had me sit in the driver's seat, and tweaked the adjustment. You're pushing a lot more torque than I was. I remember back in the day.... guy named "Joe O". Front tires 2-ft in the air with the front end at about 45-degrees..... insane.

Oddly, I was cleaning out old files from the basement last week and found the time slip from a single stage (~135 shot) pass. Lousy ET (11.162) due to weak launch on the high stall converter, but the 127.67 MPH was decent.

yeah i added a quarter turn but after was when i started having the issues with #7/maf backfires.

When i went the 9.90/9.93 passes there was a turbo ls fbody there with stock springs and a stock sway, back passenger side was on the ground on the hit (transbrake launch) and the front left was nearly 3ft in the air, was wild lol

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[JOATMON]

I think the "drag" style rear sway bar on the Formula helps keep the car stable. Without it, apply torque, right rear squats. left front comes up, and front end gets "loose".

Fred, What drag style sway bar did you use? Custom or off the shelf? You knocked a cobweb loose in my head because it made me remember a friend watching a holeshot commenting on how hard mine squats on the right rear and was lifting the left front tire. Maybe a "drag bag" in the right rear spring would be a cheap fix?

[shownomercy]

Mine will noticeably yank front up on rolling hits but other than going plaid, never feels squirrely. I have 275s on all four corners. 26in front, 28in rear.

I have a UMI drag bar, and if you actually like taking turns etc, would highly suggest not going drag bar route.

[Injuneer]

Spohn Performance.

https://www.spohn.net/shop/1993-1997...-Sway-Bar.html

Steve Spohn used my car for measurements. We met on one of the early F-Body bulletin boards. He had a full time job as a welder, was starting to make F-Body suspension and chassis parts as a sideline. He needed to borrow a T56 to do a mock up of a kit to install the T56 in a 3rd Gen. I had a spare, dropped it off in PA where he lived. After that I would help him with photos and measurements on my Formula. Pushed his products on the F-Body boards.

I bought his early design adjustable torque arm. Turned out to be a real dog…. tended to bend. He comped me an upgraded replacement, made a custom front chassis arm mount with DS loop, then upgraded it again with a beefed up custom design arm, with the DS loop moved back because of the Gear Vendors O/D. That's what’s on the car now.

I was supposed to be the “suspension guy” on Baxter’s 9.0-second LT1. When George dropped the LT1 and replaced it with a Gen 1 engine making 1,350 at the flywheel (383ci Dart Iron Eagle, Brodix spread port exhaust 14°? heads, huge Vortech centrifugal S/C) to compete in the PRO Edelbrock series Extreme Street class I just told him to drop it off with Steve Spohn. Steve had gone full time performance suspension parts manufacturer, in a huge, empty Alcoa aluminum factory in central PA. When Steve got done it was a consistent 1.20 (occasional 1.1x) 60-ft. Only thing we changed was adding front suspension limiters - George lived in fear of big wheelstands. Car pulled the front wheels no more than 6” to 8”, sitting dead level.

He ran three events running low 8’s at high 160 mph. But couldn’t compete with the nitrous car in hot weather. Swore he would run nitrous on his next build. A few weeks later he asked me to sell the car, and never built another one.

No such thing as “free advice”….. you have to pay the price of reading my BS ye olde tyme stories.

[Catmaigne]

@JOATMON Are you looking for a street/twisty backroad setup or something more drag oriented? And what springs and shocks are on the front now? You can quell the front end lift by going with higher rate springs and shocks with more rebound up front, but you do sacrifice a little bit of load transfer to the rear tires by not lifting the nose. If it feels like the nose vaults up on the initial hit and then wallows around up there, I would focus on shocks more than springs.

I don't think camber is really going to net you a whole lot in this situation.

My has never really felt floaty with 275s up front, but I have been running streetcar springs (BMRs) for ages.

[JOATMON]

Mine will noticeably yank front up on rolling hits but other than going plaid, never feels squirrely. I have 275s on all four corners. 26in front, 28in rear.

I have a UMI drag bar, and if you actually like taking turns etc, would highly suggest not going drag bar route.

LMAO, I had to look up "going plaid", had no idea what it meant. Warp speed LOL
I do enjoy a bit of road course type driving, problem is, around here the roads are so shitty. Just when you feel comfortable taking some curves at speed , you hit some potholes and nearly lose control. Maybe a compromise between drag and road course suspension.
Nolan