Originally Posted by FreeThinker
#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
Man, you drift guys just have it all figured out. Why does nearly every drag car, regardless of class, run a solid axle? The only ones that are running IRS are either vettes (which really can't run a solid axle due to their drivetrain layout) and imports? The reason is because very few IRS setups won't get huge camber gains as the suspension cycles. When you get camber gain, you get decreased tire contact patch and thus reduced traction. Couble that with the fact that very few halfshafts will hold up to serious launches (and the ones that may be able to are outrageously expensive) and you get 99% of drag cars running solid axles. Hell, even dragsters (not fuel cars) run a 4 link rear suspension now, but guess what, it still uses a solid axle.
And so what if the solid axle was used on a wagon. If it works for its intended application, then it works. I'm beginning to think Hachi Roku is Japanese for "if its old and American, it sucks".