IndianaOpenWheel.com Sprint Car & Midget Racing Forum





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DAVE BOOS (Offline)
  #1 8/3/15 12:17 PM
So in an effort to try and tighten up the front end of the car to get it to turn a little better exiting corner I moved front axle to the left in the car a 1/2" which seems to have made the back end of the car so loose my kid can barely drive it? With no other changes in the car being made is that possible for that to happen? We are running wingless. 2012 Fab Tech Lightning Sprint. Thanks for any info! Dave
badcoupe (Offline)
  #2 8/3/15 12:30 PM
how many degrees of camber are you running? Back your front end adjustment up a bit. How high do you have the panhard bar upfront?
TQ29m (Online)
  #3 8/3/15 12:52 PM
I guess I'm a bit unusual, I run mine centered, the panhard pretty much level, and only about 4 degrees of camber, just enough that you still have a feel of the track, turns really good I think! Oh, and about 3/8 lead with the RF! Bob

"Being old, isn't half as much fun, as getting there"! Ole Robert I!
Likes: DAD
DAD (Offline)
  #4 8/3/15 3:37 PM
Dave

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Steve-...logy,2823.html

Worth every penny + he has one on Midgets (what you are really running) and He and Jimmy Sills did a video to help tie it all together.

There are a 1000 and 1 ways to skin that cat and they all work your job is to figure out how you want to do it.

Honest Dad himself
Hotshoe65s (Offline)
  #5 8/3/15 5:47 PM
I am not a sprint car expert nor will I claim to be an expert on chassis dynamics, but I think I can help a little here. I think you were on the right track moving the axle. However, instead of shifting it to the left, put it back and just pull the right front forward .5" or so. That lengthens the right side wheelbase relative to the left. Late model and modified guys do the same thing by building it into their frames. It helps the car turn better on entry.
Likes: kcarm92
TQ29m (Online)
  #6 8/3/15 5:51 PM
That's what I said, within an eighth of an inch! Bob

"Being old, isn't half as much fun, as getting there"! Ole Robert I!
Jim Gardner (Offline)
  #7 8/3/15 9:57 PM
You need to align the axle so that the panhard-to-axle bolt is directly above the left side frame rail and leave it there. Moving that around changes the characteristic of the car too much throughout the entire corner. It may alleviate your problem on entry, but cause the car to do something else on exit. Put the bolt connecting the panhard bar to the chassis along the centerline of the axle at ride height (make certain the driver is in the car). Then go to work adjusting the car with bars, shocks, wheel spacing, and ride heights.

Jim Gardner
3 Likes: fish, jjones752, red70racer
DAVE BOOS (Offline)
  #8 8/4/15 10:50 AM
Ok guys I looked at my setup and I have been running about 12 degrees caster, panhard bolt was about 1/2" above center line of axle, I had no lead in car. I moved front axle back to the right were it was at before, dropped panhard bar till it was level with center line of axle, backed off some caster to 10 degrees, put 1/4" of lead in it. So I guess we will see what happens next race day. DAD I do have Steve Smith setup book for mini sprints but its mostly winged setups, we run 1/2 season winged 1/2 wingless. Thanks guys for help!
Jim Gardner (Offline)
  #9 8/4/15 11:45 AM
The caster is killing you. Same thing happened to me, was fighting tight tight tight could never get the car to rotate. Reset my caster to 0 degrees and was junk loose without changing anything else. Found a happy medium at about 4-5*.

With a ton of caster it makes turning the wheel a physical chore. Sprints and midgets run that because they have power steering and it helps transfer weight with steering input. The lightning sprints can't do it unless the driver is the Hulk.

Jim Gardner
Likes: fish
DAD (Offline)
  #10 8/4/15 11:50 AM
Dave

Look a little further He also has one on Midgets also much closer to what you are racing. See if they still have the video also.....Moving the panard bar did more than anything to straighten things out.... I was waiting for some one to tell me how to adjust Camber usually we have to hit something to do that.

Most people worry too much about changing set up when shifting between wing and non wing. More than anything the wing is just a big tie down shock for the left rear and something for the driver to lean against in the turns.


Honest Dad himself
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