Caltrac adjustments

Suspension Tuning, Troubleshooting, Design and Discussion

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Ron69SS
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 1:30 pm
Location: Portland, OR

#31 Post by Ron69SS » Wed May 31, 2006 12:38 am

This suspension stuff is trickey, and I'm no expert. Been all over the place with my Nova.

Last year I added the bigger engine, and what I had for suspension worked ok, but was inconsistent. It took a great track to make it work.
Over the winter I added a real converter, and thought hitting the tires harder would be tha answer. Wrong, it got worse.

Best 60ft last year was a (before the converter) 1.44, and it did that exactly once....on a good track and a cool night. It varied that night between the 1.44 and 1.50.
Went out the following Sunday expecting to set the world on fire, and it spun every run. 60ft's were between 1.47 and 1.70! Ugh.
I just dealt with that all last season, finally tuned things to be around 1.47 to 1.50.

Well, this year I asked for help. I had bought the Caltracs used from a forum member, and decided to put them on and do whatever it took to get the setup working.

Here is where I ended up:
CalTracs set in the upper hole.
Calvert Split mono rear springs.
QA-1 single adj shocks.
Hoosier 9x30 radial slicks.....not street drag radials.

In the front I added Moroso trick front springs
I loosened the front bushings.
Koni SPA-1 shocks, these have been on the car for a long time.

This wasn't cheap.....but it worked better than I imagined.
60ft times on average improved a tenth.
ET's in the 1/8 improved 1.5 tenths! (I was spinning past the 60 ft clocks before)
ET's in the 1/4 improved nearly 2 tenths.
This was on an unpreped street legal night. Previous bests happened on a preped bracket night track.

I believe the slicks were a big part of the combo, but the suspension lets them work.

On your car, I bet if you did what I did, it would dead hook every time, all year long as long as you keep good tires under it. And, should you want to go faster....you will have the suspension to do it.

Best of luck!

BTW...the Caltrack look better than slappers too! Maybe you can find some used ones like I did?
69 Nova, 498", 9.91 @ 133.63 with 4.10's
10.0's with the 3.73's, sometimes.
9.41 @ 143 with a 150 shot
Pump gas, NA, Driven to and from the strip

csvette3023
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 6:35 pm

#32 Post by csvette3023 » Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:18 am

Very interesting post since I am also a brand new user of the "Calvert" rear system. (Springs & bars) I am curious if any of you have the part numbers for the Camaro and Nova front leaf spring mounts? I looked in a few catologs with no luck.

Sorry I can't offer any input on tuning yet. I've only been out once this year with no good data.

I'm also wondering if there are any other "stick" guys on the forum?

THX---Matt
Matt Beumer
70 B/S 402/375 Nova
N.H.R.A./I.H.R.A.

"STICK STOCKERS ARE WAY COOL!"

Ron69SS
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 1:30 pm
Location: Portland, OR

#33 Post by Ron69SS » Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:59 pm

I have a buddy who runs a D/S Nova. Gary Waldo, and reasonably successful.
I could try to hook you up.
They run CalTrac's as well.

Ron
69 Nova, 498", 9.91 @ 133.63 with 4.10's
10.0's with the 3.73's, sometimes.
9.41 @ 143 with a 150 shot
Pump gas, NA, Driven to and from the strip

csvette3023
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 6:35 pm

#34 Post by csvette3023 » Sat Jun 03, 2006 3:03 pm

Ron, does Gary run a 396/350 combo?--Matt
Matt Beumer
70 B/S 402/375 Nova
N.H.R.A./I.H.R.A.

"STICK STOCKERS ARE WAY COOL!"

Ron69SS
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 1:30 pm
Location: Portland, OR

#35 Post by Ron69SS » Sat Jun 03, 2006 6:18 pm

csvette3023 wrote:Ron, does Gary run a 396/350 combo?--Matt
I believe so, I know it's not a 375 horse engine.

Ron
69 Nova, 498", 9.91 @ 133.63 with 4.10's
10.0's with the 3.73's, sometimes.
9.41 @ 143 with a 150 shot
Pump gas, NA, Driven to and from the strip

csvette3023
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 6:35 pm

#36 Post by csvette3023 » Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:50 am

Ron, you should tell Gary to join the Forum. --Matt
Matt Beumer
70 B/S 402/375 Nova
N.H.R.A./I.H.R.A.

"STICK STOCKERS ARE WAY COOL!"

Ron69SS
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 1:30 pm
Location: Portland, OR

#37 Post by Ron69SS » Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:57 am

csvette3023 wrote:Ron, you should tell Gary to join the Forum. --Matt
Don't hold your breath. His dad and brother do all the work on the car....he just drives it.

Ron
69 Nova, 498", 9.91 @ 133.63 with 4.10's
10.0's with the 3.73's, sometimes.
9.41 @ 143 with a 150 shot
Pump gas, NA, Driven to and from the strip

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