drag racing with independent rear suspension
– Fabricated 9-inch Ford differential housing offers endless gear ratio options. Watson S550 Mustang IRS Kit includes: Most single-adjustable shocks create changes only in the rebound direction. The two upper control arms are angled outward instead of parallel to the chassis. The whole swap process took just a couple hours in the Watson Racing shop. Watson designed a tubular one that checks in at a scant 43 pounds. >> Shop.watsonracing.com. As torque is applied from the driveshaft to the rear axle, multiple forces begin to leverage the car. The team went to great lengths to ensure there would be no major cutting and welding to install the IRS subframe assembly. Another shot of the brakes mounted to the rear-end center. In addition to the chassis race shop, the company is also a Mustang Racing parts dealer for many product lines offering sales and installation services with dyno tuning. IRS … If you need 11” 5 Lug rotors for the front then use ‘82-’83 Lincoln Continental or ’91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC or Ford Racing … Although it is for off-road racing use only. So the spindle can accept any size wheel without fear of it interfering with the brake caliper. A fourth variation on the coil spring suspension hit parade is the three-link. Because it is solid-mounted to the subframe assembly. Therefore, the team at Watson Racing spent over two full years of drag racing abuse. The classic parallel four-link system is virtually a standard in the faster drag racing classes because of its much wider adjustability. – 100-percent Tubular Chromoly construction is strong and saves weight. The simplest rear suspension kit for coil-sprung cars replace your factory control arms with stronger, stiffer tubular parts. Torque arms can be used successfully in drag race applications, but on cars running quicker than 10s, it's rare to find a third-gen Camaro still sporting its factory torque arm. This creates a triangle that locates the rear axle laterally (side to side) under the car, eliminating the need for a Panhard bar or Watt's link. It should be more accurately called a damper, because the device is designed to dampen or regulate spring motion. direct bolt-on Use two of the smaller-length spacers, one on either side of the shock eye. The Watson Racing engineers and fabricators designed it to be strong. 's don't happen by accident, which means the more power your engine makes, the tougher it will be to manage that power all the way to the ground. As you have probably surmised, this design relies on a single upper control arm mounted on the top of the rear axlehousing. Subframe, Control Arms, Spindles, Adjustable Bump Steer Kit, G-Force Halfshafts, 35-spline axles Watson Racing was full steam ahead bringing this product to the performance and racing market. All GM and Ford leaf springs are symmetrical, centering the rear axle between the front and rear spring eyes. New Independent Rear Suspension Designed For Classic Muscle Cars. Applying this knowledge also requires that you crawl under the car and learn a little about rear suspensions--what they are, how they work, along with a few tuning secrets the good racers use to push their cars quicker and faster. Shopping. DO NOT LET OFF THE GAS. Turn to QA1's drag racing suspension kits for a full-vehicle upgrade that fits your needs. A live-axle rear end setup has the control arms pushing and pulling on the chassis, causing the rear tires to get planted into the ground as the body separates to help achieve that traction. This point can be moved by adjusting the position of either the upper or lower links. Torsion Bar Hardware. Chassis Stiffening Kits. Which is the common size for drag racing applications. Chrysler engineers cheated this deal by moving the axle mount toward the front of the spring. 4-link rear suspension will properly locate the rear … An IRS rear suspension is unique in drag racing. https://www.racingjunk.com/news/drag-race-suspension-tuning There are composite material leaf springs available that do a great job of reducing weight, but they're also more expensive. However, tuning shops and Mustang builders across the country will have to explore ways to make the rear-suspension efficient and durable for some straight line hustling. You're signed out. It's never been easier or cheaper to make power. Put your side mirrors so you can see the rear tires, drive around the water box, back into the water, pull out of the water 2 feet, then do at least a 10 second burn out or until you start to see smoke wisp off the tires. As if that wasn’t a spectacular lineup of services, Watson Racing is also a parts manufacturer for late-model Mustangs, which is where the IRS project fits in. So break out those suspension wrenches, find the pizza delivery guy's number, and follow us under the car. Because the S550 Mustang IRS reduces a significant amount of weight to go fast, safely. Sticky tires are a big part of the plan, but you can bet that the suspensions on these cars have been heavily massaged. Drag racers define this as a softer initial hit. The advantage is the rear suspension is allowed to roll laterally with minimal bind, although a potential downside is that it places the entire upper bar tension into one single mount, which may have to be reinforced when applying serious power to the ground. As with the front shocks, the shock body goes toward the top. When the rear tires on your car move up and down in their normal suspension travel, your rear toe settings change. It regularly competes in many NMRA and NMCA True Street competitions around the country! A harder hit can be generated with a shorter IC length. Performance Trends offers a computer program that simulates the IC position for your car after you input a few rear suspension measurements. In addition, durability and the ability to tune the rear suspension are paramount for this S550 Mustang IRS application. Also, the subframe uses as many factory mounting locations as possible. First of all, leaf springs are designed to bend, but lots of torque tends to deflect the forward portion of the spring into an S shape. This system is most often used in drag cars and requires the addition of a Panhard bar or Watt's link (these will be described later in this story), which limits rear axle lateral movement. The independent rear suspension … Because the triangular four-link upper arms are eliminated, a Panhard bar is required to locate the rear axle laterally under the car. The point where all this force comes together is something called the instant center (IC--see Suspension Simulation sidebar). This design uses two parallel lower control arms located near the outboard ends of the rear axle. Watson Racing, 18703 Dix Toledo Hwy. Mopars are noted for not needing traction bars, and if you study how a Chrysler leaf spring is designed, you understand why. Also, note how the fabricated 9-inch housing bolted to the sub-frame. The springs themselves are heavy, which contributes to the car's unsprung weight. This design allows the front end to extend easily and then stay up to assist weight transfer. For more information on IC tuning, check out the Suspension Simulation sidebar. Not every twist is as it appears. Watson Racing is responsible for building the Cobra Jet race cars for Ford Performance as well as other neat projects like the Boss 302S road racing program. Watson Racing nailed the proper backspacing on the Weld Racing RT-S wheels, of which they didn’t divulge the specs. The subframe serves as the mounting location for a Ford 9-inch rear-end. These are just two simple examples of why it's necessary to tune both ends of the car to optimize traction. Its position is determined by extending the horizontal lines projected by the upper and lower control arms of a four-link rear suspension until these two lines intersect. An IRS rear suspension is unique in drag racing. Consequently, a side note on the Driveshaft Shop half shafts is that these are custom lengths for this application. Where the independent rear suspension shines – and the reason the Mustang finally has one from the factory for 2015 – is in daily-driven applications along with road-racing. Factory four-links do not offer adjustability, but aftermarket add-on components such as the original Lakewood No-Hop bars change the IC by raising the rear upper link position, which shortens the IC. Selecting the right spring is the second most important thing in your suspension setup. Although, the weight savings aren’t the only interesting component to this setup. The Watson Racing S550 Mustang IRS – Independent Rear Suspension was formulated and tested with the 1st “World’s Fastest” Street/Strip – Watson Racing’s 2015 SEMA Car – Mustang S550. Watson Racing is a full-service race shop that has churned out numerous race cars for NMRA, NHRA, NMCA and WC competitors. This violent wheelhop can quickly damage axles, housing mounts, and shock absorbers and even yank the driveshaft out of the transmission. The Watson Racing S550 is also home to a 1,000 HP Ford Performance Racing Supercharged Coyote 5.0L engine combination. Have you ever wondered how those cars with 8-inch tires are able to consistently blast low 9s and make it look effortless? With a longer lever, power is applied to the rear tires over a longer duration. An IRS rear suspension certainly isn’t the end of the world as evident by the Brand-X racers in NMRA’s sister Series. While the Thompson and Royal Pontiac Tempests used a conventional drivetrain and solid rear axle, Pontiac made the radical choice to keep the transaxle and independent rear … Watson Racing S550 Mustang Racing Parts. Watson’s S550 Mustang is seen here on the Watson Racing YouTube Page. The next generation (S550) Mustang is equipped with an independent rear suspension (IRS). Another important variable includes the distance of the IC ahead of the axle centerline. Call our sales team for a quote or any questions you may have: 734.759.0555. Also, this car hasn’t just made a few passes. The drag racing community collectively grumbled as it became official. First off, the system is usually lighter than leaf springs. March 13, 2015 by Muscle Car DiY. – We proudly partnered with G-Force Engineering on the custom 35-spline axles, included with the Watson IRS kit. – Equal-length double A-arm design with adjustable Toe and Camber. https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0802rc-independent-rear-suspension Also, makes center section changes a breeze (9-inch gear set/differential not included). When the driver hits the throttle, the rear suspension separates, planting the rear tires. Your information will be collected and used in accordance with our Privacy Policy. – Highest quality components throughout Aurora Bearing rod ends, HOWE precision ball joints (re-build-able), Wilwood brakes, and G-Force axles, combined with double-shear design and high-strength Chromoly mean this system is intended to last. This slows down the application of load, making it easier on the tires, which improves the 60-foot times. By Randy Bolig October 11, 2018. Adjustable shock absorbers are almost a necessity if you are chasing that optimal 60-foot time. Which was the first fastest street-legal S550 Mustang on the planet, running consistent 8.50’s with over 1000-HP. Let's use a leaf spring Mopar as our tuning example. According to John Phillips, Business Development Manager at Watson Racing, “there is a need for a high-strength option on the S550 platform. The main advantage of factory four-link rear suspensions is that the rear axlehousing is securely located. A pair of Strange Engineering double adjustable rear shocks tasked with controlling the squat at the launch. Sliders and ladder bars are most often found in NHRA Super Stock racing where rules prohibit the use of coilovers. As production cars became wider and lower in the '80s, the classic four-link suspension evolved into the torque arm rear suspension most widely used in the third-generation, '82 to '92 Camaros. Leaf SpringsThe classic leaf spring suspension has been around since the early 1800s with horse-drawn carriages. With a true parallel four-link rear suspension, the links form a right-angle box that allows the rear axle to move from side to side underneath the car. Tap to unmute. The term shock absorber is really a misnomer. A pair of Driveshaft Shop half shafts has been designed specifically for this project. Additionally, the front-end strut adjustments will be an opposite mirror act. Due to help fabricate a spindle short enough to allow the use of 15-inch diameter wheels. Because the coil spring's only job is to support the weight of the vehicle, designers still needed a way to locate the rear axle under the car. Limited slips are used to improve traction, but as you can see, they are merely a Band-Aid on the real problem. While it bolts right into the vehicle without cutting or welding. By using proven chassis modifications and tuning techniques, it is possible to equalize the load onto both rear tires. It is still a coil spring rear suspension, but the upper control arms were replaced with a single long arm that bolts between the nose of the rear axle and the transmission tailshaft. Here is the subframe bolted into Watson Racing’s 2015 Mustang GT project car that debuted at the 2014 SEMA Show. FEATURE VIDEO & STORIES ~ WATSON RACING S550 MUSTANG IRS: Watson Racing S550 Mustang (2015+) performance racing parts: 2015 Ford Mustang: In-Depth with the Team that Made It. Another important step to help control unwanted rear axle movement is to invest in high-quality suspension bushings for the front and rear. ~ For a complete listing of Watson Racing S550 Mustang Racing Parts visit our shop website: shop.watsonracing.com, © 2012-20 All Rights Reserved. Check out the latest: The more expensive but better approach is to choose double-adjustable shocks that can tune compression and rebound separately. Then, merely by changing the pickup points on the simulation, you can visualize where the IC falls and its relationship to the 100 percent antisquat line. Furthermore, the wheels are rated to 2,000 horsepower. The advantage of the ladder bar is that it usually does not require floorpan modifications to fit into the car, needing only a custom crossmember to attach the leading mounts. The first thing the pinion gear tries to do is climb the ring gear. The car hit the drag strip during the Spring Break Shootout 2015. Stiffening the front shock rebound slows the rate of front end rise, eliminating the porpoise action and generating a quicker run. ... I’m not talking about the drag strip, I’m talking about road racing. – Billet aluminum spindles provide incredible strength and light weight. The most popular drag race rear suspension is the ladder bar combined with coilover shocks. Applying big power through a pair of multileaf springs generally creates what is called spring wrapup. Align the lower shock eyes on the bracket of the lower control arms, guide the mount bolt through the eye, and use the large spacer. This allows the chassis tuner the freedom to move the IC vertically and fore/aft in the chassis. Chrysler also placed a small rubber bumper (called a pinion snubber) just above the flat portion of the rear axle pinion area, which limits the amount of vertical pinion travel. Geometrically designed specifically for drag racing which means launching HARD and STRAIGHT. Also, a unique attribute to the Watson Racing IRS is moving the rear brakes inward. Shocks are rated by their resistance to motion in compression (bump) and extension (rebound). The four-link radically expands the number of possible IC positions, since the upper and lower bars can be repositioned independently, offering dozens of possible locations. Additionally testing to prove the durability/effectiveness of the S550 Mustang IRS and offer it to the public. This is defined as the weight not supported by the car's suspension. With 4-link suspension, the two functions of locating the rear axle and supporting the vehicle, are isolated. Factory Coil SpringThe most popular factory rear suspension design for solid rear axle cars is the coil spring system. On a torque arm car, the arm's front pivot point is the IC. Drag Race Rear SuspensionsThe demands of drag racing created a few interesting twists on the factory rear suspension designs. “We had a couple challenges this time that are new; mostly because the car has an independent rear suspension. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. Springs take care of supporting the vehicle — which leaves the links free to deal with locating and articulation.