A couple suspension questions

Hello everyone! I have been reading a ton of you posts Max and I feel like i have learned alot. Just wanted to say thanks for taking you time to answere questions.

On a trianglated 4 link were the bars are parrallel at ride height (both upper and lower bars) there isn't any anti squat. I have never designed a complete rear suspension and was curious on how much anti squat is desired for a pro touring style truck. It is a classic truck. I wish i could get a lower roll center but with my solid axle and possible mounting points i am getting 16" RC. I don't know what my CG is but is 16" RC too high? I am wanting a truck that can handle nice and have a decent acceleration qualitys. Kind of an all around setup. Any tips or comments would be much appreciated.

Josh

Running the rollcenter low on a pickup can be helpfull in transferring weight to the rear when cornering, moving the rollcenter down just takes some ingenuity. Look into the Satchell link... As for anti-squat keep it minimal for an all around driver and spend more time dialing the suspension in with good shocks and possibly an anti-sway bar.

So if this was your ride you would feel comfortable having around 0 anti squat and still be able to have some fun with it? What would be a good target RC for a solid axle? Do you feel i would notice the difference in the RC if it was moved down a couple inches or so? If i never take it to the track will that higher RC play a roll? I am curious on how sensitve some of the rear geometry is. Thanks alot for helping me out!!!!!

There are too many variables in the equation to make any kind of accurate assumption. If you were trying to dial in the truck around a track, I would imagine that lowering the roll center would be noticeable, but for daily driving it would be neglegible.

Depending on how much horsepower you have and how much time you plan on spending trying to make it all work would be the determining factor for anti-squat. You can make more anti-squat by moving the IC back towards the middle of the cabin and make more anti-squat at the price of a less neutral suspension design, which isn't necessarily bad. On a drag car the IC can be as short as 3 feet from the rearend and sometimes even less. If you really want to play with it all, buy Chassisworks Battle cruiser 4-link and play around with anti-squat and IC lengths and run an adjustable pannard bar so you can raise and lower your roll-center.

I am going to say this one more time though... All of this work will be a waste of time if you don't spend the extra money on good shocks. The Bilsteins are less than $100 each and are worth every penny when it comes to a good performing vehicle.

That was the kind of info i was looking for. As for shocks on this project i went with shockwaves. Double convoluted for the front and sleeved style for the rear. I have read some of your posts that mentioned shockwaves and I believe you aren't big on them. Is that because the shocks they use aren't the best or is it the air bags? I believe that the sleeve stlye shockwaves are a little softer so they will allow a little more compression. Thanks alot and this is really helpful!

Josh

The shockwaves are just a poor combination for performance, they work fine for a hotrod that is already on coilovers and you want to bolt in some bags, but if you want performance, pick your pieces individually based on your particular needs.