It’s been a while since I wrote a post. And I’m sorry for that, to my loyal readers that have come to the site for the past year since I started this blog. It seems to me the biggest problem people have with their cars is getting the cars to turn well and still get enough traction. Some people I talk to confuse traction with either a tight or a loose race car. To me a balanced race car is one that turns when and where you need it to with the steering wheel. I run into so many people who think that it is totally normal to turn off there right front brake or put excessive amounts of rear brake to get the car into the corner. A good balance to a car is one that responds to steering wheel input without the use of excessive brake biasing.
This video will give insight to common dirt late model left rear 4-link suspension. This basic tech tip guide gives basic knowledge on left rear tuning, thin. Dimensions by Series. Dirt Late Model Suspension Tuning Tips. Integra Double Adjustable Shocks - Integra Double Adjustable Shocks; If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: Shock How-To: Dialing in a Baseline Setup for.
Speedway 204 iRacing Asphalt Late Model Setup for 78° Track Temperature by Michael Johnson 1 week ago Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway 204 NASCAR iRacing Class C Truck Setup for 109° Track Temperature by Nathan Morris. Dirt Late Model Axle Set-Ups-Typical Axle Lengths and diameters for Dirt Late Model Axle setup. Axle wrap will make it more difficult for the tire to break traction on acceleration. IRacing Dirt Late Model Axle Lead Adjustments: Try to keep axle lead as close to zero as possible, especially on bigger, faster tracks. It's a good way to tighten or loosen the car quickly for different track conditions. If you're in the process of building a setup, I recommend keeping it close to zero for more stability and straight line speed.
Slip angle
So let’s dig a little deeper into how a car turns and some ideas to keep you car turning freely around the corner. Turning the tires will start loading a slip angle into the tires. The tire will stretch to a slightly higher angle than that which the car will follow. The way tires are constructed, the tire will actually create more grip as the slip angle is increased, to a certain point, then traction will start to fall off. The real hard part sometimes is creating enough traction to steer the car on turn entry and through the middle while getting the maximum amount of traction on the exit of the turn. It is a nice effect to be able to pull traction into the front with the steering wheel when you need the car to turn then release that traction by unwinding the steering wheel. Many people will try to over compensate for lack of traction off the corner by loading up on the rear percentage. This may work for some drivers in some situations, but most of the time the car will get out of balance and get tight because the right rear tire is stuck too hard, or the car will get excessively loose because of the swinging pendulum of the weight biased towards the rear. The first case is more prevalent on short paper clip style tracks, when braking is done more in a straight line. The latter case is more prevalent on large radius entry turns, where the weight has some time to build some inertia.
Rear percentage
It seems most modifieds and late models run in the vicinity of 54 percent rear and 57 percent rear, depending on the driver, type of rear suspension and the shape of the track. If your car is outside of these percentages, it may be crutched to be fast in one particular part of the track, while severely hurting in another. I have seen many cars win races outside of these parameters, but if you are struggling with a handling problem this is one area I would look at.
Dirt Late Model Setup Sheets
Left side weight
The same holds true for left side weight. Normal parameters are between 53 percent and 56 percent left side weight, depending on much the same criteria; rear suspension configuration, driving style, and track shape and size. A paper clip style track would require a little more left side weight to help the car rotate more rapidly. While a large radius track requires a little less left side weight to get more side bite on the right side tires to keep the car from sliding through the corners. The car needs to stick and turn the radius with the steering wheel, not having to use the pedals to get the car to turn the corner.
Front end settings
Another vital aspect to making your car turn well is simply the front end settings. Most of the time when handling goes away on a car there is something wrong with the front end. If your bumping and banging with cars or pounding the car off the cushion, check you front end settings. A car that looses a bunch of camber in the right front will become tight because that tire won’t have as much traction in it as it once did. Loosing caster on the right front, because of a bent spindle, will also make the car wander or have very little feedback on the wheel. Excessive amounts of “toe out” can more easily be tolerated, than “toe in”. “Toe in” will make the car dartey and uncontrollable. An acceptable starting point for toe is usually 1/4″ to 3/8″ out.
Wedge
Another area to look at if the car is too tight is the amount of wedge being run in the car. Most drivers I know pick up the gas before the apex of the corner and try to rotate the car on the gas through the middle of the corner then on exit. Too much wedge, either static or dynamic will cause the car to push across the center, and the driver may have to lift out of the throttle to turn the car again on the exit of the corner. A huge amount of time will be lost if this happens. Either dropping the right front spring rate down, decreasing static wedge, or changing bar angles in some types of rear suspension, will decrease the amount of static wedge being held in the car.
I was thinking on answering questions as one of my blog posts, so if anyone has and questions they would like answered as a blog post.
Be fast,
Kevin
Related
The following spring/shock combinations are recommendations only. It is the purchaser’s responsibility to order the correct products through their personal racing experience. LANDRUM PERFORMANCE SPRINGS makes no guarantees that these charts will be suitable for each racer’s needs. These set-ups are to provide a reference only. LEGEND:
| Description of Car | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | Dirt Front Spring Asphalt Front Spring | Dirt Front Spring Asphalt Front Spring | RF |
| LR | Dirt Front Spring Asphalt Front Spring | Dirt Front Spring Asphalt Front Spring | RR |
| 3200 - 3400 Lb. Street Stock 72-77 GM/Ford full size | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | 900 1000 | 1000 1200 | RF |
| LR | 250 250 | 200 200 | RR |
| 3200 - 3400 Lb. Street Stock 78-84 GM Metric | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | 1100 1000 | 1300 1200 | RF |
| LR | 225 250 | 200 225 | RR |
This is the setup starting pint
| 3200Lb. Hot Stock 70-81 Camaro Multi-Leaf | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | 1000 900 | 1200 1000 | RF |
| LR | 21-344SPD 21-344SPA | 21-342SPD 21-342SPA | RR |
| 2800Lb. Sportsman Stock Clip/Tube Rear | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | 1000 900 | 1200 1000 | RF |
| LR | 20-240SPD 20-240SPA | 20-231SPD 20-231SPA | RR |
Asphalt Late Model Setup Tips
May use 1 or 2 90/10 Dampening Shocks
Over Rear End to Tighten Car on Corner Entry
| Late Model Dirt 2300lb. Mono Leaf | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | 500 | 550 | RF |
| LR | 175 20-244ML | 150 20-244ML | RR |
| Late Model Dirt 2300Lb. 4-Bar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | 500 | 550 | RF |
| LR | 225 | 200 | RR |
| IMCA Modified 2400lb. Multi-Leaf | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | B/E550 B/E700 | B/E650 B/E800 | RF |
| LR | 200 200 | 175 225 | RR |
| IMCA Modified 2400lb. Mono Leaf | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| LF | B/E650 | B/E550 | RF |
| LR | 200 | 150 | RR |
Hopefully the data contained in these pages was informative. Other helpful hints are available from our technical experts.