ahh, never mind, i was wrong about the front, that makes it even worse though. but if it works it works, ands the only reason i brought up the 4cyl thing is because of advances in technology. my ppoint was you don't need 7.0L's to make 500hp. thats the only point i was making, but if you wanna get gritty about it look at the best engine on the planet....2jzgte. what other engine can make over 1000 wheel hp on a stock block motor from the factory and do it just as reliably as when it cam from the factory. the only point i was tring to make is the fact that american cars now have the same build quality and technology as japanese cars did 10 years ago,

 

That is VERY true. They are still playing catch up in terms of quality. I do love the new LS series of smallblock v8's and they are extremly potent , and lightweight and pretty decent on gas. The modular ford v8 does nothing for me though, it is HEAVY , the best of them is availible only in a car that came with IRS (The 03/04 svt cobra) and was a limited production model. I do agree with bill 100% on the 2jzgte subject , it is a superior powerplant to the smallblock v8's and modular v8's in just about every aspect , the RB26 is very worthy of mentioning as well. Although the new vette combines new/old technology in one package , i think most here can agree that it works very well , the C5 and the new C6 are exceptionally well handling cars. As much as i like modern compact ,efficient,durable japenese engines, not many engines sound as badass as a cammed smallblock chevy/windsor block ford imho (or the bigblocks for that matter), but sound isn't everything.

 

its not that i was sayong the new american cars aren't good, its just the fact that everyone is all about ohh, ahh look what america can do, and the japanese did it 10-15 years ago. putting forged cranks in late 70's and early 80's corolla's and celica's. to me it just seams that the desighn stuff backwards. if the LS1 and all these alluminum small blocks had DOHC's and variable cam timing, ITB's they would be making way more power at the same displacment. not saying you need VTEC or any crap like that, but if toyota can make a 1.6 n/a 4cyl make 170hp and rev to 9k stock why can't america?

 

Not only that, but those motors need RPMs to increase their usable power.

I do agree with you on not needing 7 liters to make 500 hp. You only need 4.6 and a few mild bolt-ons.

One thing I notice is that when the v8 v. 4cyl thing (and import v. domestic) starts up, it always goes into car quality which has NOTHING to do with any of the arguements at hand. I'm an all around car guy, I like them all, but gimme a break on the quality crap. All of the early 90's cars I have had (import and domestic) have all been pretty much crap for interior...it's just the era that they were built in. Plus, if you're just into dedicated track cars (drag, drift, autocross, roadrace), what is the first thing to go? Interior. The end.

 

#1. The Corvette uses leaf springs FRONT and REAR. Actually A leaf spring in front and 1 in back also. But you're totally out of the ballpark for trying to criticize GM on that design. I'm a guy that will rarely defend GM, Like I said before, I personally like Ford better, but there is nothing wrong with a transverse composite leaf spring. It fits neatly underneath the engine and rear tranny, and just has end links like a swaybar, so it's very space effecient.

Ohh noess... F1 cars use torsion bar suspension and so does the F150, F1 cars are so using crap truck tehcnology..... yea, absolutely retarded comparison.

#2. Despite widespread misconception, a solid axle is NOT the best for drag racing. It might be the easiest most thoughless setup, but what are teh chances that the same suspension found on a conestoga wagon would work good for some form of racing..... yup. very little.

The problem is that the driveshaft tries to twist the axle, and the opposite reaction is the car body twisting the other way. The left rear tire plants a lot harder, the left front tire comes off the ground and in a high HP car it's pretty easy to meet Mr. Wall.

The best drag setup would be a double wishbone setup with equal length wishbones at equal angles so there is no camber arc and you set it for zero camber.

There's also a simpler design that has more unsprung weight, but would be easier for the drag guys to dial-in. It's called a DeDion rear suspension. Look it up on google for some pics, but it's basically the solid axle you would see in the back of some FWD vehicles, with a diff mounted to the car's body, and halfshafts connecting the diff to the hubs. It isolates lateral drivetrain torque from the suspension, but you can still set it up as a 4link

Go find some video of the RX7.com drag car form a few years back and watch it run 8's launching straight as an arrow every time, no twist, no drama. it has IRS

#3. Uneven tire wear 'suffered' by IRS cars is from poor setup, just like twist and sideways launches in drag cars. I've crewed a few race teams and at every track we used pyrometers and checked 3 points on the tread width during practice every 10 laps or so. This is to dial in the camber properly. Most drifters have their cars too low for the stock geometry to work properly. Plus they are running way too much baseline camber anyway, but but if they corrected the camber, their camber arc would still be too aggressive for the spring rates (because of the upper control arm angle).

I rocked stock BMW ride height and a single set of tires all day at MiamiSlide1 and at the end of the day I wasn't showing threads anywhere, but I had perfect slicks. But IRS sucks for tire wear??? right...

About the only cool thing about a solid axle is you can go as low as you want and it doesn't change, plus your roll center actually gets higher. (high roll center is good)


-Sean