After reading over Tim's (awesome) site, I think I may have changed my mind about getting the hotchkis TVS. Instead, I came up with this list of parts:

Roush Leafs and Springs
Hotchkis F/R Sways
Ruslow Panhard
QA1s

How does that sound?
I know the ride will be a little rough, but the way the truck should handle will more then make up for it. Will all of these parts work together? Any input is welcomed and appreciated.

 

Just wandering what make you pick the roush over the hotchkis leafs and springs. I was looking into the full hotchkis setup with QA1s just like tim's.

 

well, i guess the main reason I did it was because the roush leafs and springs lower the car more and to me, the lower the better. another reason is that the roush is geared more for track use, so the overall handleing is probably a LITTLE better. Tim even said on his site that he would have gone with the roush setup if the payload wasnt decreased so much.

 

That would make a great system, awesome for road racing and I bet great on the street. I don't think the roush is the greatest for darg racing, but for everything else it is great. Ask the Pawn, I know Dan loves his.

I am changing my suspension a little, and this is what I will be running.

From Stan
A set of 750 lbs spring rate front springs, aprox 1,5 inch drop from stock.
Also the QA1's I got from him 2 years ago

The rear will use the stock leafs with 2" shackles, and JDM traction bars

And a set of Hotchkis sway bars

With this setup it should give me close to the same handling I have now, but will allow me to remove the front sway bar when I hit the drag strip.

I am getting rid of the Hotchkis springs I am running now. I have their older setup, wich is much stiffer than what they are selling now. The spring rate is around 960 lbs on the older Hotchkis setup.

I have a feeling that my suspension setup is what kept me out of the 10's this past season. We will see this year if that was my problem.

 

hopefully this setup will give me great road and track performance and decent drag stip performance. i would get a setup more geared for the strip if i didnt live so far from it. i think i will benefit more with the handleing setup because most of the time the truck is driven on the street and its always fun to take those on and off ramps a little faster then the little yellow sign says to

Don,
Good luck with your new setup

 

Contact Dan (thepawn). That is his exact setup.

I'm running the Hotchkis springs with the older (stiffer) leaf springs and lately I haven't been liking it to much. I think the rear leafs are a little to stiff for the front spring rates and creates a that feel more bouncy and stiff then firm.

If I had to do over again I would have gotten the Roush springs even though they are little to low for my tests. But for now I'm going to try and get my hands on the slightly softer rear leafs.

 

Joey you are not allowed to do that. Cuz when you do you spin and run into fences.

 

Aint the panhard mostly for people with drop shackles? does it really help if u dont have shackles on?:santa:

 

Unless you swapped to sliders, 4-link or an IRS, you've got shackles. :)

J15 - I love the setup, it handles awesome for a 5000lb brick. :) You will definately feel your ride, so if you were looking to keep it soft, it won't work for you. Make sure you shave/swap out your bumpstops, those 01+ trucks have huge ones. If you can swing it, also get poly-bushings while you're in there. Tires are a big part too, if you don't run some performance rubber, you'll easy oversteer from lack of grip...

I run middle of the pack against M3, Vette and Porsche company autocrossing...seems to work out well. :)

I've cut 2.0 60's with it on my street tires, and I'm not a big drag racer...of course, I'm also way down on the horsepower scale compared to most. :)

The adjustable shocks will help make the track/strip/street life transitions easier, I ride around town with mine on track settings though, I can't help myself. ;)

Daniel

 

Sounds like a good setup. Add to your list urethane bushings and possible a rear C-notch to avoid bottoming out. Next up Big Brakes.

 

thats only when its wet out...


Daniel,

thanks for the input. where can i pick up a set of urethane bushings?

 

They're available lots of places, just look for "Energy Suspension Polyurethane Bushing" kit for an F150.

They are a pain to install though if you're going to attempt it yourself, you definately need a press and possible a torch to remove the old bushings...

http://www.energysuspension.com/
http://www.energysuspensionxd.com/prodlighttrucks.htm

 

Just wondering, which rear springs are better to get with the 1100lb version of stans springs? And which shocks would be best? Does anyone make custom rear springs?

 

I have to agree with Daniel ... The Roush setup is awesome
for the track. I added adjustable end-links for the rear and
poly bushings for the front sway bar. Next up is the sway bars.
I have the RUslow panhard also.

Since "Christine" is a compromise, I think that the QA1's would
help out a bit. The best 60' I have pulled is a 1.72 for the 12.24
@111 1/4.

On track, I run about in the middle of the pack with the Beemers
and the Porches also. They are QUITE amazed to look up, see
the Big Red Ford, and then only see "STRUCK" past the straights.

The race tires I added last year made a terrific difference in the
corning ability (Goodyear Eagle GS / CS slicks).

I can't wait to get all the work done this winter. If you get a
chance to go to a SVTOA on-track event, don't pass it up.

There are a tonne of other HPDE events out there also, so the
opportunity is all over. One of my goals is to run at Sebring this
spring.

The big red brick makes a fine platform with a few tweaks.