Lower 4 corner air suspension with links

TestPilot57 · May 13, 2016

Sorry if this has been discussed before, I tried several searches and came up with nothing. If anyone knows of a thread, a link would be appreciated.

How far have people successfully lowered their trucks with the factory air suspension by modifying the sensor links?

My main interest would be to lower for the strip to reduce drag - how much of a factor would it be? Or would camber changes negate any drag reduction and/or introduce other issues? FWIW my truck is lifted 2" via link swap, and aligned at that height; I would make custom links and change them out at the track.

charonblk07 · May 13, 2016

TestPilot57 said:
Sorry if this has been discussed before, I tried several searches and came up with nothing. If anyone knows of a thread, a link would be appreciated.

How far have people successfully lowered their trucks with the factory air suspension by modifying the sensor links?

My main interest would be to lower for the strip to reduce drag - how much of a factor would it be? Or would camber changes negate any drag reduction and/or introduce other issues? FWIW my truck is lifted 2" via link swap, and aligned at that height; I would make custom links and change them out at the track.

You will not affect the vehicle's drag coefficient enough at the drag strip by lowering it 2/4 to make any significant difference in your ET or mpg unless you are scrounging for every 100th. Your truck is a flying brick whether it's at 20mph or 100mph with 6" or 4" of ground clearance. If you were talking about a 1/2 or full mile run then yes, changes in aero will make a difference, but not on a 1/4 mile.

TestPilot57 · May 14, 2016

Hmmm. Ok. I will probably leave that for last.

Would still be interested to know how low you can go but may just have to experiment with some adjustable links.

Dubstep Shep · May 16, 2016

charonblk07 said:
You will not affect the vehicle's drag coefficient enough at the drag strip by lowering it 2/4 to make any significant difference in your ET or mpg unless you are scrounging for every 100th. Your truck is a flying brick whether it's at 20mph or 100mph with 6" or 4" of ground clearance. If you were talking about a 1/2 or full mile run then yes, changes in aero will make a difference, but not on a 1/4 mile.

I don't know about that...

Maybe Matt will chime in on this, but there was a noticeable difference between how much MPH my truck picked up in the second half of the 1/4 vs. guys with the same mods and a drop. It's minor, but these trucks are pretty consistent with the same mods.

I know my gas mileage dropped a fair amount raising it back up. At least 1-2mpg.

PassivAggressor · May 16, 2016

TestPilot57 said:
Hmmm. Ok. I will probably leave that for last.

Would still be interested to know how low you can go but may just have to experiment with some adjustable links.

I've only seen people lift. I'd be curious to see what you come up with with adjustable links.

TestPilot57 · May 17, 2016

PassivAggressor said:
I've only seen people lift. I'd be curious to see what you come up with with adjustable links.

There's a company that makes them, and I saw one guy that made his own using carburetor linkage ends, threaded rod and lock nuts. All on here somewhere.

Regarding drag, I too have noticed a 1-2 MPG drop after lifting 2". Even if I only lowered it 2" from stock (same as entry/exit mode) that's a 4" difference which seems significant. I know that drag increases greater than linearly, but for the short time you're there, whether it would turn out to be thousandths, hundreds or tenths of difference I would have no idea.

MR.Z06 · May 18, 2016

Thousandths. Weight is a far greater enemy here than aero drag.

Dubstep Shep · May 19, 2016

MR.Z06 said:
Thousandths. Weight is a far greater enemy here than aero drag.

Maybe in the 1/8th mile, but in the 1/4 aero plays a much larger part. Not more than power to weight ratio, but still.

MR.Z06 · May 19, 2016

Well yes over longer distances aero will play a larger factor...That's physics.
However (in this case) taking an extra large **** between runs would net you the same difference in ET's. That's also physics.

Dubstep Shep · May 23, 2016

MR.Z06 said:
Well yes over longer distances aero will play a larger factor...That's physics.
However (in this case) taking an extra large **** between runs would net you the same difference in ET's. That's also physics.

Not exactly... Here's what my best run was in my truck. It was running at stock height, but with the tailgate, pass seat, and spare pulled, so it was sitting a little high. Weight with me in it was 4,775

60' - 1.809
1/8 - 8.071
MPH - 85.61
1/4 - 12.725
MPH - 104.59

Most of the trucks with similar mods to mine plus a drop pick up a bit more MPH between the 1/8 and 1/4. The only difference between the trucks is the height. Everything else, including the mods, weight, conditions when we ran, and what we ran were all similar, except the difference in mph between the 1/4 and the 1/8.

MR.Z06 · May 23, 2016

Ok well I'll just trust your anecdotal non evidence based testimonial then.

So so so many factors could gain you a thousandths or even a hundredth of a second even on back to back runs.

When you show me time-slips with bracket racing level consistency and show that dropping the truck 2 inch gains more than a few hundredths consistently and at stock'ish power levels, then I'll eat my words.
Until then, get off my lawn!

TestPilot57 · May 23, 2016

MR.Z06 said:
Ok well I'll just trust your anecdotal non evidence based testimonial then.

So so so many factors could gain you a thousandths or even a hundredth of a second even on back to back runs.

When you show me time-slips with bracket racing level consistency and show that dropping the truck 2 inch gains more than a few hundredths consistently and at stock'ish power levels, then I'll eat my words.
Until then, get off my lawn!

This is a "Mopar Man" forum, not an "**** retentive PhD in quantum physics, molecular biology and petroleum transfer engineering" forum. Take a googol chill pills and call me in the AM (if you're awake before noon).

MR.Z06 · May 23, 2016

TestPilot57 said:
This is a "Mopar Man" forum, not an "**** retentive PhD in quantum physics, molecular biology and petroleum transfer engineering" forum. Take a googol chill pills and call me in the AM (if you're awake before noon).

What?
Ok well since it's a "Mopar Man" forum I guess that makes it ok to pull miscellaneous BULL $H1T out of your butt and pass it off as fact.
Got it.
Carry on playing with your ass sir and I will hit the "Ignore" button since I can
only guess as to what other nuggets of wisdom you'll pull out of there next.
:flipthebird:

TestPilot57 · May 23, 2016

MR.Z06 said:

For a newbie you have quite the attitude. Maybe this is not the right place for you.

Statcher1 · May 23, 2016

MR.Z06 said:
What?
Ok well since it's a "Mopar Man" forum I guess that makes it ok to pull miscellaneous BULL $H1T out of your butt and pass it off as fact.
Got it.
Carry on playing with your ass sir and I will hit the "Ignore" button since I can
only guess as to what other nuggets of wisdom you'll pull out of there next.

Holy crap. It sure sounds like your going to be fun to have around on the forums.

Sent from the Rocket in my Pocket

Dubstep Shep · May 24, 2016

MR.Z06 said:
Ok well I'll just trust your anecdotal non evidence based testimonial then.

So so so many factors could gain you a thousandths or even a hundredth of a second even on back to back runs.

When you show me time-slips with bracket racing level consistency and show that dropping the truck 2 inch gains more than a few hundredths consistently and at stock'ish power levels, then I'll eat my words.
Until then, get off my lawn!

Maybe you can't read, but we aren't talking about the ET here. We're talking about the MPH.

MR.Z06 · May 24, 2016

Yeah ok. The two are NOT linked at all.
Lowering the truck a couple of inches will help a little bit. Not enough to make much of a difference unless you're looking for those extra minuscule fractions of MPH or ET's.
If you're looking for higher trap speeds AND lower ET's you have to improve the overall drag coefficient. But, even if you manages to get an amazing Cd (which would be difficult to say the least) you still have to consider frontal area, which merely 'lowering the truck' will not reduce.
At this point in the game for the OP the most efficient and cost effective way to have any consistent meaningful impact on either ET or MPH is to add POWER.

In other words you're not going fast enough for aero to matter at this point.
Want to go faster in a brick? Reduce weight or add power or both.
I'm sorry if this angers you.

TestPilot57 · May 24, 2016

MR.Z06 said:
Yeah ok. The two are NOT linked at all.
Lowering the truck a couple of inches will help a little bit. Not enough to make much of a difference unless you're looking for those extra minuscule fractions of MPH or ET's.
If you're looking for higher trap speeds AND lower ET's you have to improve the overall drag coefficient. But, even if you manages to get an amazing Cd (which would be difficult to say the least) you still have to consider frontal area, which merely 'lowering the truck' will not reduce.
At this point in the game for the OP the most efficient and cost effective way to have any consistent meaningful impact on either ET or MPH is to add POWER.

In other words you're not going fast enough for aero to matter at this point.
Want to go faster in a brick? Reduce weight or add power or both.
I'm sorry if this angers you.

Doesn't anger ME at all. You're the one who seems to be in a tiff.

You may be 100% right. But when you come in with no cred and swelled pecs, strutting your stuff like we should bow and scrape, it doesn't come across as anything worth listening to.

Again, I'm not mad, and you may be right.

Tone it down a bit and show us you know what you're talking about, and maybe it will do down like an ice cold one instead of a lead balloon.

Dubstep Shep · May 25, 2016

MR.Z06 said:
Yeah ok. The two are NOT linked at all.
Lowering the truck a couple of inches will help a little bit. Not enough to make much of a difference unless you're looking for those extra minuscule fractions of MPH or ET's.
If you're looking for higher trap speeds AND lower ET's you have to improve the overall drag coefficient. But, even if you manages to get an amazing Cd (which would be difficult to say the least) you still have to consider frontal area, which merely 'lowering the truck' will not reduce.
At this point in the game for the OP the most efficient and cost effective way to have any consistent meaningful impact on either ET or MPH is to add POWER.

In other words you're not going fast enough for aero to matter at this point.
Want to go faster in a brick? Reduce weight or add power or both.
I'm sorry if this angers you.

This statement demonstrates how little you understand about fluid dynamics and air resistance. I'm aware that there's an "equation" that calculates air resistance based on drag coefficient and frontal area, but both of those are established for a completely stock vehicle. They change when you lower it.

Of course lowering the vehicle reduces the air resistance. Why do you think jacked up trucks get such terrible gas mileage compared to lowered trucks? The wheels are less exposed, meaning a lower frontal area and lower drag coefficient. Being lower to the ground means the boundary layer separation is now changed because there is less distance between the underside of the vehicle and the ground.

SilverSurfer15 · May 25, 2016

dubstep... you are arguing with a vette guy lol. Just don't do it....

Lower 4 corner air suspension with links

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