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setting up an SN95 rear suspension for road course competition

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Frank.JD.Perez

FJD Performance
314
490
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Pleasanton/Hayward, CA
Hey there! I spent about an hour on your website last night! I love the work you've done on the Stealth Mare.
hahah, right on! appreciate that
 
110
133
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Nashville TN
Awesome! I'll see you there. Are you bringing the GT350 this weekend?
Yup, gotta try out the new GT4 hood vent! Coming out with my new "grassroots race team" - a C7 Grand Sport, a supercharged C5Z, and an MR2. We're planning to build out the Cobra and an MR2 as TT cars and then figure out what W2W class(es) we may want to target. The GT350 will remain a street/HPDE car.
 
152
120
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Greenbrier, TN
Yup, gotta try out the new GT4 hood vent! Coming out with my new "grassroots race team" - a C7 Grand Sport, a supercharged C5Z, and an MR2. We're planning to build out the Cobra and an MR2 as TT cars and then figure out what W2W class(es) we may want to target. The GT350 will remain a street/HPDE car.
Sswweett!! I can’t wait to see how it all comes together.
 
My build thread is here for my SN95, so I won't rehash everything here. I have been happy with everything I have done to it so far.

I have the Fays2 Watts Link and I like it. I don't think it makes too much difference on Watts vs PHB. There are a ton of really fast guys running the MM PHB. I had read that the WL was better at handling fast transitions and keeping the handling the same from one turn to the next. I liked the sound of that. My cousin also has one on his Firebird and he liked it a lot.

That was one of the BEST changes I made. It transformed the handling of the rear. Previously, the car would feel really good, like you were at the limit getting good traction...then all of a sudden, it was spinning, with no driver input change. As was mentioned above, you can go to a torque arm or a Poor Man's 3 Link. I ran the PM3L for a while with one urethane upper and urethane lowers. It is absolutely vital to raise the spring rate. In my thread, I have photos where you can see how much the car was rolling without stiffer springs (I had them ordered, but they hadn't come in yet). No amount of raising the Watts Link would cure that, though it did help it.

The torque arm and MM lower control arms to replace my stretched urethanes made a big difference in the forward traction of the car. I don't think I drove the car with the old engine and the TA, but with the new 635hp 427w, those pieces made a huge difference getting out of the hole. Even on the street, in the rain, with 200tw summer tires, with plenty of power on tap, the car is composed and driveable. I'm a fan.

I think one good, general consensus for an out-of-the-box solution is the MM Max Grip box. That's about $6000 or so with options and pretty much gives you pretty much everything front to rear. Like I said, I'm pretty happy with mine. Some guys build their own TA and PHB, SFCs, etc. I don't have the skills or the time. You will hear a LOT about Maximum Motorsports from us SN95 guys. They make good products at good prices and their technical guy, Jack Hidley, is the master of the SN95 chassis. MM does consult on finding the right spring rate. I have an email chain with 12 LONG emails with him and he's a great help. Full of tech info.

As far as the "beats all" solution, the Griggs SLA is probably the best (in the front, obviously). That also runs about $8000. Sooo, not feasible to install on a 30-year-old car to most of us. Although I am the dummy that spent $15,000 on an engine for a 30-year-old car that I've only driven 400 miles this year, so what do I know about feasability?

99-04 Cobra IRS is an option, but they're getting hard to find and need a decent number of upgrades to really make them good. They may or may not be faster than a well-prepped SRA. A lot depends on the driver and the track. A nice smooth track, maybe equals. A rough track, the IRS may be able to follow better and beat the SRA. A driver can make it go either way.

If you're really into projects, you could look into a decoupled three link like Chris from Guerrilla Motorsports has been building into his racecar. Or go to the S550 IRS like AJ Hartman did on his New Edge. Neither is a quick option, though.
 
152
120
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Greenbrier, TN
My build thread is here for my SN95, so I won't rehash everything here. I have been happy with everything I have done to it so far.

I have the Fays2 Watts Link and I like it. I don't think it makes too much difference on Watts vs PHB. There are a ton of really fast guys running the MM PHB. I had read that the WL was better at handling fast transitions and keeping the handling the same from one turn to the next. I liked the sound of that. My cousin also has one on his Firebird and he liked it a lot.

That was one of the BEST changes I made. It transformed the handling of the rear. Previously, the car would feel really good, like you were at the limit getting good traction...then all of a sudden, it was spinning, with no driver input change. As was mentioned above, you can go to a torque arm or a Poor Man's 3 Link. I ran the PM3L for a while with one urethane upper and urethane lowers. It is absolutely vital to raise the spring rate. In my thread, I have photos where you can see how much the car was rolling without stiffer springs (I had them ordered, but they hadn't come in yet). No amount of raising the Watts Link would cure that, though it did help it.

The torque arm and MM lower control arms to replace my stretched urethanes made a big difference in the forward traction of the car. I don't think I drove the car with the old engine and the TA, but with the new 635hp 427w, those pieces made a huge difference getting out of the hole. Even on the street, in the rain, with 200tw summer tires, with plenty of power on tap, the car is composed and driveable. I'm a fan.

I think one good, general consensus for an out-of-the-box solution is the MM Max Grip box. That's about $6000 or so with options and pretty much gives you pretty much everything front to rear. Like I said, I'm pretty happy with mine. Some guys build their own TA and PHB, SFCs, etc. I don't have the skills or the time. You will hear a LOT about Maximum Motorsports from us SN95 guys. They make good products at good prices and their technical guy, Jack Hidley, is the master of the SN95 chassis. MM does consult on finding the right spring rate. I have an email chain with 12 LONG emails with him and he's a great help. Full of tech info.

As far as the "beats all" solution, the Griggs SLA is probably the best (in the front, obviously). That also runs about $8000. Sooo, not feasible to install on a 30-year-old car to most of us. Although I am the dummy that spent $15,000 on an engine for a 30-year-old car that I've only driven 400 miles this year, so what do I know about feasability?

99-04 Cobra IRS is an option, but they're getting hard to find and need a decent number of upgrades to really make them good. They may or may not be faster than a well-prepped SRA. A lot depends on the driver and the track. A nice smooth track, maybe equals. A rough track, the IRS may be able to follow better and beat the SRA. A driver can make it go either way.

If you're really into projects, you could look into a decoupled three link like Chris from Guerrilla Motorsports has been building into his racecar. Or go to the S550 IRS like AJ Hartman did on his New Edge. Neither is a quick option, though.
Thanks so much for all the info! It’s great to hear first hand experiences.
 

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