SS/TC traction combos
 

I've been trying to find info on how people are making their SS/TC get down the track and i'm finding it scattered across the interwebs so i figured we need a thread that has all of the info in one spot... I've also been unable to find out info as to whether or not LSJ and regular cobalts have the same brakes and if the SS/NA was the same brake package as the LSJ.

Below is what info ive found so far, either post in here or pm me and i'll add it to the list.


LNF Brembos
18" SS/TC wheels with Mickey Thompson 25.0/7.0-18 ET Drag Motorcycle Slick
17" SS/NA and IRL wheels with Mickey Thompson 26.0/7.0-17 ET Drag Motorcycle Slick
17" SS/NA and IRL wheels with 225/45R17 BFG Drag Radials

LSJ brakes
16" with 26x10.5r16 https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/5752793-post20.html
15" American Racing Coils w/ shaving of caliper as seen here. https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/5768519-post3.html
15" Verde Protocols with M & H 24 8.5 Dragmaster Slicks https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/5752379-post8.html

PeeWee Sized Footballs in the rear springs. I've seen anywhere from 15psi(cmiller8006) up to 25psi suggested. one thing is for sure. They work and they are cheap.

WSFrazier suggested this airbag kit in place of the footballs as they arent very durable nor easy to access.
Air Lift 60776 - Air Lift 1000 Load Assist Rear Spring Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Radius Rods/Traction Bars
BWoody Performance - BWoody Performance Products
there is also a DIY how-to here on CobaltSS for those who want to make their own.

Limiting Straps/Chains
As info appears...
maybe a shop like ZZP or TTR or MPx can step up to the plate and provide a kit for the cobalt guys... heres what the bigboys run on the fast mustangs and what not... Wolfe Race Craft - Detail

There's also a 245/40?/18 MT Slick (not motorcycle) that can be used on the stock wheels IIRC.


Footballs are a must for any setup, HUGE improvement. Laugh at them all you want, they work!

Roadconetuning pmed me and asked to throw my set up in this thread so here it is.

LSJ brakes I bought off a member here for I think it was 120.00. Yes they do need to be ground down a bit, but it really isnt that much.

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...06/mods005.jpg

The wheel and tire combo, and also you dont need spacers with this set up but I put a 1/4 inch spacer in there to give me a good clearance, but the wheels are american racing coils and were about 90.00 a piece. The tires are 24.5x8.5x15 M and H slicks, these are around 165.00 a piece.

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...0100318_18.jpg

The studs can now be bought at 26.00 for the set of 10 at ZZP, and the spacers can be bought at jegs or summit with the wheels, I think the spacers were 30.00 for the two of them. They are baer brake brand

Total cost for me to do this was right at 600.00. If you throw in some good pads on the lsj brakes it stops just as good as the brembos, and you can sell the brembos, I sold mine for 650.00 shipped, so I made money to do this set up on my car. I also got in on the preseason sale of the slicks over on the srt forums. Hope this helps anyone that is looking to do this.

Also here is what the football looks like in the spring, I know its a hard concept for some to understand lol.

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...20100506_4.jpg

^^^ Good Info

If you have the option, I would definately recommend going with a bias ply slick, even if it's the motorcycle tire.

Also, I got tired of needing to get under the car for the footballs, and them popping on me. So I went ahead and got this:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/AIR-60776/

Put the valve inside the trunk, super easy to put air in and out, and also distributes evenly.

I haven't tried limit straps in the front yet, I want to see how well these air bags do before I do the front end.

I like those right there. May have to try it sometime.

If you really want a nice setup, they have an addon kit with an air compressor that will pump them up for you, and comes with a gauge for the cabin to show PSI on the bags.

Don't even need to manually fill them with the valve :D

Click.

That would be nice, drivin down the road and someone comes up next to you, hit the button and good to go lol. Would work great for roll racing. I was thinking the next thing I am doing is lowering the car.

i am going to the track on friday and i will be trying out the football mod this time to see the difference, can u insert the footballs without taking the rear springs out? so can i just crawl under my car while its on the ground and squish them in there?? also how much should i pump the footballs up?

thanks

Joe

Jack the car up a bit on each side so the wheels dangle a little, deflate the footbals , slide them in to the rear springs, make sure to have the fill valve facing out to where you can get to them. Fill them up a until they looked squished or raise the car up about 3 inches. Thats it.

In for some suggestions

This is how I did it, but I only put about 15psi in the footballs. It only raises the car about an inch when I do it.

I didnt have an airpressre guage, so i just pumped them up untill the literally lifted the car 2-3 inches. I just used commonsence and didnt over inflate them. These have to be the cheapest /easiest susp mod you can do.

This is a great thread.

I remember seeing someone actually bolt a chain to the front suspension as a tie-down. It wasn't permanent, but I guess it worked. I'll try and find it later. Might be a bit excessive, though.

I'm personally going to try the footballs.

What do the footballs do? lock down the suspension?

The chains in the front are to stop the front from extending which would in turn, shift weight to the rear of the car… the footballs are a bandaid to increase the rear spring rate so that once the weight is transferred to the rear it doesn’t squat and further shift more weight. Basically with FWD cars you want o keep the rear rock hard and strap the front end down.

Some of the Honda guys have gone as far as to replace their rear struts with a steel rod but that is too dangerous in my opinon. my buddys DelSol has something like 18k rear springs on the rear and 12k in the front to keep the car stiff, it also has a Full-Race traction bar which is the same idea as the radius rods people are drilling stock a-arms for.

Oddly enough the GM backed cobalt drag car runs/ran a Full-Race traction bar but i've never seen it available on their site nor ever mentioned on here...

Speaking of which I need to add the chains and Radius rods to the original post…

one thing i've seen since i joined last year is that rotated mounts get rid of wheel hop due to axle placement change... does anyone know how much that change is and WHY it gets rid of the hop? I've got Pedders ordered and a set of OTTP stage 1 mounts sitting on a shelf waiting for install to help get rid of bunny rabbit mode... i thought i could bandaid it with MOAR TIRE by throwing NT05's on it but apparently it wasnt enough MOAR...

Inflated footballs make the rear springs stiffer because they cant compress as easily due to the football being in the way. When you accelerate and your car launches, it leans back or tries to, taking pressure off the front wheels allowing for less grip and more slippage. With the balls, it stays level, and weight is still on our drive wheels so you can get quicker 60/ overall times.


I could be 10000% wrong tho, im no expert.


Edit: I got beat to it.

found a pic of cmiller8006 in race mode...

https://i710.photobucket.com/albums/...20100417_1.jpg

Some pictures of the air lift setup:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...510_195525.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...510_195553.jpg
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...510_201824.jpg

WS I think I am going to do that sooner than later, I like it.

surprised as to how loose they LOOK in there, my GTO buddies that have bags in their rear springs basically look like the bag is molded to the inside of the spring.

The suspension is free hanging with 0 weight and springs completely uncompressed. Plus the bags have 0 air in them.

Once the car is on the ground, they are tight, almost too tight. Had to trim bump stop.

Awesome thread. I feel this is sticky worthy.

Here is the limit straps I made a while back to for anyone interested

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...0090603_10.jpg
http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...90603_13-1.jpg