Thread: Suspension travel

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Well im finally back working on a ride after my few year break and im trying to work out the rear end setup. Ive decided to go real simple and do a setup like Brianrupnow did on his last build. The only thing im concerned about at this point is how much is standard room between frame and axle? Most of the pics ive seen looks like they have about 3" of room, not alot of room IMO! I was shooting for 5" myself, does that sound like too much?

Depends on how much movement there is in your suspension.... A lot of coilovers, for example, only have 3" of travel total....

Im pretty early in the build at this point so i guess its kind of a premature question anyway, but i was just curious. From all the pics ive been looking at there does not seem to be a whole lot of room. I have a few sets of coil springs laying around, plus some leaf springs so once i locate the axle and figure out if i wanna use semi eliptical or coils then i guess i should worry about it then.

As Dave said really, you need to decide what type of springing to use, What chassis is it ???

I understand where you guys are going, I guess I was just looking for an opinion more than a technical answer. My fault. I'm more curious as to how much buffer zone do you prefer? After you establish full travel how much room do you like to add in for overloads and bad roads before full bottoming out?

If I had only 3" clearance with anything but coilovers, I would consider that too close, 3" clearance with a 3" or 4" coilover would be fine. With either leaf or coil springs on the rear, I'd do a C notch in the frame to pick up another 1 1/2" of clearance, install a snubber to keep it from bottoming out on some really huge bumps, and call it good...

I like full bottoming out to be on my bump stops.

The heavier the car, the more travel it will need. Light cars, like T buckets, really don't bounce all that far, but a heavier car, like a full bodied 50's car, could travel more. 4 inches isn't a bad number to shoot for IMO, John.

Don

Plus, keep in mind how you're going to use it. Loading up the whole family to a cruise? More loaded weight means more travel needed. If this is your panel truck then you might want more for occasional hauling duties, though you could also have some air bag supplement for those occasions.

Cool, Thanks guys! thats what i was looking for. Ive been looking at alot of pics and stock auto`s as well and 4-5" seems decent. Im not going for scraper on this one! i will have a full10-11" frame to ground clearance.

Bob, i am not doing the panel this time around! it is the 30 sedan im going forward with, while not as heavy as a 50`s cruiser i will have the family crammed in it, plus the random road trip with the wife I.E luggage, chairs, coolers etc! Thats why i decided on the higher frame too, i wanted more floor space inside.