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Better grip with a higher back end?

Messages
436
Likes
212
Location
Jackson, MO, USA
#1
I was just thinking about grip recently and how with more power, wheel spin becomes an issue, we just can't put the power down all the time. What got me thinking was watching some drags of various cars, i noticed that rear wheel cars don't necessarily need stiffer suspension since the more the weight shifts to the back, the better the grip will be. FWD is the opposite, the more flat the car stays the more weight stays on the drive tires.

Then the thought came, would raising the rear end a bit higher than the front improve traction? In theory it seems it would, it would lean more of the weight towards the front at all times, and better prevent weight transfer to the rear under hard acceleration. This would of course raise the center of gravity as the rear end is higher but the heaviest part of the car, the front end, is still fairly unchanged in height and center mass might not be affected all that much.

Has anybody thought of this, do you think it would make any difference?
 


Messages
177
Likes
168
Location
Greenville, SC, USA
#3
A car is not like a cup of water, if you tip it to one side, the weight wont move to the lower portion.

LSD, Tires, and Adjustable Dampers is what you seek.
 


Last edited:

Se7eN

Senior Member
Messages
904
Likes
786
Location
San Juan, Puerto Rico
#4
A lot of "Ricers" in my area used to do this a lot. Their 100whp cars would "grip better". Then you go ahead and do it in a more powerful car as the old SRT4 owners used to do to no success. They would even weld solid tubes instead of shocks to avoid weight transfer. In the end it doesn't really work and you end up with a really unsafe car.

Go with good tires or boost by gear or even a good Cobb Traction control tune.

LSD is also a good option, and a traction bar.
 


Messages
21
Likes
50
Location
Tigard, OR, USA
#7
If you do lower the front your cars tendency to rotate will increase. I had a buddy of mine do this at the track this weekend to tune how he wanted the car to handle.
 


PunkST

2000 Post Club
Messages
2,239
Likes
1,413
Location
Menasha
#9
A proper chassis brace that keeps the control arms square. ( or traction bars), sticky tires, and a real limited slip is all you need till you get into the silly HP numbers. At that point youll need to start thinking of making a weight plate to help keep the nose planted.
 




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