This month we’ll reflect back to a time just before coronavirus or Covid 19 became household names worldwide. It was mid-March 2020 and just after a long winter of making upgrades to my Camaro (Big Red), I was hoping for an early spring and anticipating driving and racing the car throughout the season. One of the areas of the car I focused on was the front suspension. I went with a 50lb heavier spring that is also 2 ½” longer. If you recall from a past article, I made a wheel / tire change last season. This change resulted in shaving a ton of weight and a much better overall look, but gave me some ride height issues. After adjusting the ride height, I was left with very little front spring. When the car would settle down after a hard launch it would bottom out the (oil pan saving) wheelie skids I fabricated underneath. This resulted in some major negative g-forces, not to mention a light show from the sparks that shot out from under it. I was able to correct that problem last season with some suspension tweaking, but was still left with very little coil compression. After doing much research and talking with a few different companies, the plan was made to install the taller and heavier coil. The increased preload from the taller coil will hopefully transfer a little more weight to the rear at launch. The heavier coil will give me a little more ride height adjustment without encountering coil bind. That is the plan, and I’m happy to say it looks great sitting in my shop. Another cool thing that happened last season – I was invited to attend some indoor car shows and have Big Red be a featured car. As a builder and a chronic gearhead, this was a huge compliment to me. She was well received at all of the events we attended, and I had the time of my life talking to so many people about the build.
…
Read more of this article. Just click on the digital feature below this introduction.
Read more stories like this at www.rpmmag.com
