Rear shock advice needed.
 

Thinking of going from rear Afco 2-way adjustable big guns, to Santhuff's.
9.20, 3050 lb. small block, ladder bar, stick shift bracket car.
Looking for a little more consistent 60 ft. times.
In your opinion is it worth the $1800 investment or would it be better to spend the money elsewhere. Much Thanks, Danny

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Every car I've installed Santhuffs on has shown improvement.
Usually its over lesser shocks than your current AFCOs ,but I have seen improvements over KONIs and AFCOS on some cars including my own , not just in 60' times but on my own Super Gas car a significant improvement down track at transitions and bumps.
The old adage applies ,you get what you pay for .

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Hi Danny - Do you have any data acquisition on the car now? Do you have any information as to what you believe may be causing the inconsistent 60' times? You very well may see improvement with shocks if that's the root cause of the inconsistencies - but you're definitely dealing with quite a few variables with a car like that. I'd hate to tell you that shocks are the best place to spend your money without more information.
- Mike

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

We've seen a 3200# low 9s backhalf stick car go from shelf shocks to Santhuffs a while back. Run the 4 link fairly aggressive and the car works great. Will dip into the 1.20s in 60' if he gets after it in the bellhousing. Lives in the low to mid 1.30s repeating like a dragster.

Low 10/high 9, 3400# all steel stick shift Camaro ate up shelf shocks and we put shelf Big Guns on it. Made the car way better. Also a 4 link deal.

Low 9, ladder bar deal is tough. Get your info, weights, etc and have a set built for that. Someone may be able to rework the Afcos.

Santhuffs have their deal that works well. I've used shocks from Fastshocks that work well. I'm sure the other guys can also dial in a set for your combo. You're going to have to spend money on shocks to make that work.

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

We are dealers for Santhuff Suspension specialties. We usually see improvements on all of the cars we put them on. I’ve never had a person tell me it wasn’t worth the money.
Feel free to call me if you have any specific questions.
717-793-6819

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

We are dealers for Santhuff Suspension specialties. We usually see improvements on all of the cars we put them on. I’ve never had a person tell me it wasn’t worth the money.

With conventional shocks, the valves are made of spring stacks. When a certain pressure is reached within the shock the valves open to let oil flow through holes of a set size. Before this pressure is reached the shock doesn't move. This causes a more violent suspension behavior.

When adjusting this type of shock you are adjusting the pressure it takes for the valving to release. Santhuff valving on the other hand doesn't use spring stacks. Our valves consist of ports only. When the shock is adjusted the port size is changed. This type of valving is speed sensitive, the faster the piston tries to move the more the shock resists. This causes a type of self regulating effect. This type of valving is also smoother and less violent. We try to let the coil spring do it's job of supporting the car and use the shock to control the spring.

Feel free to call me if you have any specific questions.
717-793-6819

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Catman… What are your current 60’ times? Curious as to what your Engine Displacement is? What transmission gear ratio’s and rear end ratio? What tire size? How much variance in your 60’ times? Sorry for the questions. MB

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Gentlemen, I greatly appreciate your time & advise.
Marty I somewhat understand the difference between the Santhuff valving & other manufactures & I like what Tom said about the differences between the down track transitions.
Mike, I feel the ladder bar suspension is a big part of the inconsistent 60 ft. times & was thinking that changing the shocks would help for the time being. It seems like whenever the car doesn't run the dial the 60 ft. is always off. The only data I have is the RacePak with drive shaft & clutch sensors, nothing on the shocks or wheelie bars. Thanks Danny

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

It’s not the ladder bars, both Glidden, Gapp and Dino won a lot of races with ladder bar cars. It’s all about the shocks, rear springs and weight distribution!

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Not sure what the issues with your car are. I race a ladder bar car. I have Santhuff doubles on the front and QA1 singles on the rear. 110 lb spring rate on the rear. I felt that the front shocks were more important than the rear. At some point I will make the switch to the double adjustable shocks on the rear. My car is similar weight but runs low 10's. We typically run on well prepped tracks and my 60 ft times will vary .01-.02 on a typical day. track and air conditions can effect the 60 ft times as well. my car usually has 1.31 60 ft times and has been as fast as 1.29.
I see you race bracket car. My guess is it is more of a track issue than a car issue. Stick cars can also vary on 60 ft times due to clutch adjustment. for your car to be consistent in the 60 ft times it has to dead hook and limit clutch slip

What shocks are you running o the front of the car?

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

It seems like in my class A/H 8.40’s @3200 lbs people go super expensive but I love my Santuffs! I had Yancy rebuild them and put them on his dyno and my car 1.22 on a bad track and 1.18 on a good one damn near everytime with a Pro Trans. I am hoping 1.20 with the G-Force

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

There is a good chance that softening the hit of your existing clutch will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

Grant

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Catman, call Marty Rinehart. He is the man when it comes down to suspension fixes. He helped me out with my shocks and springs, and I can not say enough about the improvements I've seen after working with him. I agree, you get what you pay for. No regrets purchasing the Santhuff shocks and Landrum springs from him. Improved my 60 foot times by 5-7 hundredths (not a misprint) consistently, and now it can carry the front wheels past the 60 foot timer, and then land like it's on a fluffy pillow. No regrets at all spending the money with Marty, I highly recommend him.

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Mike Pearson, In the back of my mine I was a where of the difference between tracks & their way of prepping them, but your comment woke me up & I opened my logbook, got out a pen & calculator & tried to do some averaging & figured my car may not be as bad as I thought. In 48 runs & 6 different tracks the diff. was .069 Low was 1.285 High was 1.354
1 track in 7 runs was .025 diff. Low 1.292 High 1.317 another track in 7 runs was .027 diff. Low 1.312 High 1.339. Looks in line with what your car does.

Car has 2 way adjustable coilover VariShocks on the front, I keep them fairly tight & wheelie bars fairly low to keep front end from coming up to high.

I do believe the car dead hooks, but I may still be off in the clutch area, don't have a real good handle on that yet.

Would like to know more about how you set your ladder bars up. If you don't mind sharing, I know how much time & effort the S/SS guys put into their cars & don't want everything to be public knowledge.

Maurice, Engine is 413 cu.in. alcohol fuel injected sbc. G-Force 2400 trans. Ram single disc. clutch, 9 1/2 in. 4:86 M/W rear, 31.25/12.2W M/T tires, last time on scales 3038 lbs. 1647 frt. 1391 rear. Best run 9.04 1.285 147 mph.

James, I think you will like your G-Force trans. they are very smooth shifting & you will appreciate the service you get from Leanord & Mike Long, I have seen them work on transmissions at the track, not saying that will happen all of the time, but I have seen it on several occasions.

NHRA 1926 thanks for your encouragement to call Marty, I will do that.

Thanks to all of the S/SS guys for helping a bracket racer. Danny

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

Why not have the Afco shocks revalved by Menscer Motorsports ???

Re: Rear shock advice needed.
 

This.

Most of the custom shops I'm aware of use AFCO components. Might be cost effective, depending on how much internals will be replaced.