DOES THE HDK SUSPENSION K-MEMBER HANDLE BETTER THAN A T-BAR SUSPENSION?
He has already ran it harder than I would even think of......I'm more of a coffee getter. It was my turn today and the azzhats were out of
How much money did the OP spend on the suspension system?
It is unknown how low the car is, how low matters - roll center
I don't see where the car got any further chassis stiffening with either system
Without it there is large amount of twist in the unibody. With the proper stiffening and a welded k frame there is no dead spot in the middle of the steering -not conjecture just plain old experience. Unfortunately there was no time spent flogging the car on a road course - where the big dogs run. Lap times show results, i have no love for autocross but that is just me. I like driving, feeling, hearing the car bark at the moon under full power for long periods of time and running lap times that old stock looking mopars are not supposed to have. It's intoxicating.
The prices of Denny's kits are published on his website, moparsuspension.com. Spindles and brake kits are left up to the buyer.
The wheel opening of the front fender is 24.5" from the ground. This is an irrelevant point since different tire heights will change the position of the control arms.
I have welded subframe connectors in the car. Unibody twist is relevant with both CoC and torsion bars. While I have not added any additional stiffening to the front of the car, I may at some point. I have not seen any adverse affects from the HDK after 1000 street miles and nearly 50 autocross runs.
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you stating a welded K removes the dead spot in a steering box. My K-member was completely welded and both the steering box and idler arm mounting areas were stiffened with addition gussets. Guess what, the Borgenson box still had a dead spot in the center.
I understand you may think autocorss isn't real racing, plenty of people think the same way. I do challenge you to try it.
What I like about autocross is as follows:
- The course changes every month. I have about 30 minutes to learn the course (by walking it) and decide on the fastest route. It's not only a driver skill, there's mental skill. Anyone can pull up a youtube video of a particular road course and learn the fast line.
- Autocross doesn't beat up my street car as much as a road course would.
- For autocross, I don't have to have a full cage, containment seat, hans device, etc. in my street car.
- I don't have to worry about some other fool on the course running into my street car when I'm on the autocross.
- I pay $45 for a day of autocross. For a single open track day, it's $400+. So basically I can autocross all year for the cost of one open track day.
I have nothing against track driving, I've done it. There's no way I'm putting this
street car on a track to be competitive, that's not what it was built for. I'll do the exact same suspension comparison if you're willing to sponsor me a car and entry fees so I can be a "big dog".
If you aren't familiar with the Optima series, you should look it up. There's plenty of "big dogs" out there destroying an autocross track.
