Road Course S10

[ZEUS]

Whats the best road course setup for a V8 S10? I was recently given some free track time on a road course recently built near my house and I want to set up my truck just right. I've got a short bed reg cab first gen with about 350hp, 2inch spindles, 3 inch blocks, and zq8 everything. I have plans of installing a blazer gas tank where the spare tire goes and relocating the battery to the bed. rear disc brakes are in the works and I was thinking about converting the rear to a 4 link. Is there anything else I can do to make it better on a road course, is the 4 link worth it? Thanks

[ZEUS]

BTW the track is called harris hill road course and after a hotlap in a GT3 RS, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone in the central Texas area. Prices are way too high but you can run for free in exchange for corner work!

[spacecadet]

There are ways to set an s10 up for a road coarse. According to how 'in-to-it' you plan on getting, you will need some scales. Because you will need to get the wheel weights correct in order to make the truck fast through the turn.

There are many ways of installing different rear suspensions. The key is picking the one that is easy to set up and will allow the vehicle to turn. 4 link parrellel w/panhard bar, 4link triangulated, 3 link.



Space

[ZEUS]

I'm willing to get pretty into making this thing handle. My truck might see a drag strip possibly 1-2 times a year but I wouldn't be surprised if its on this course once a week. I've done a lot of reading through the forums but I still don't know a whole lot about 4 links, the design and installation seems pretty straight forward but what advantages/disadvantages do all the different setups offer?

[stonebreaker]

An excellent primer to get you started is Herb Adams' "Chassis Engineering". You can get it at Amazon.

[Knanthrup]

It's going to take a little bit of work if you want to really go all out on a nice handling setup. Beginning with the front, I'd recommend going with a B-body tall spindle swap that will allow you to run larger 12" brakes. (or swap in some C5 brakes with a little bit of fabrication). In addition to being able to use much better brakes, you get a taller spindle with a shorter upper arm which means better suspension geometry and quicker camber reaction. The down side to this swap is increased bump steer because of the steering link angle, but that can me fixed with a little modification. I'll try to find the link for it.



Here's some info on the b-body spindle swap and the parts:

B-body spindle/brake swap (http://www.vessels-clan.com/jay/truck/brake/front.htm)



Great adjustable upper A-arms for the money:

SC&C Adjustable Tubular Upper Arms (http://www.scandc.com/spcarms.htm)



Alternative methods to upgrading:

Some other good ideas here (http://members.shaw.ca/betterthanyou/suspension.htm)



As for the rear... depends on whether you want to redo the entire thing or work with what you've got. My suggestion either way would be to keep the springs fairly mild/loose and rely on the stiffness of the anti-roll bar. Since our trucks don't have too much weight in the rear, you don't want to stiffen the back too much or it push like a pig. In addition to moving the gas tank, you might look in to a battery relocation kit as well.



That will get you started... do some reading.