TransAmTONY

What does it take to pull 1.0 g on the skid pad with a 3,400lb lt1 car with driver? Maybe some 900lb/in springs, konis? 315s in back, (can 315 be squeezed in the front?) 35mm sway bar... Has anyone actually pulled 1.0 on the skid pad in an lt1 fbody?
thanks for the input. -Tony

Camaro_Maniac63

I am sure it can be done, by why do you want to pull 1g on the skidpad? Skidpad performance doesn't necessarily translate to real-world performance.
And yes, you can put 11" wheels and 315 tires on the front as well.

NovaScotiaRS

I remember reading an article in Popular Hot Rodding years ago where they installed a bunch of Herb Adams Suspension components on a 3rd gen z28. It pulled something like 1.08g on the skip pad.

As for your questions:
315's will definately help in achiving 1g
315's have been made to fit on the front by at least one person.
However I feel that 275's are enough with the right rubber.
The compond of the tire plays a huge role in the ultimate conering potential
Any weight saving that can be accomplished will help.
As far as suspension and chassis upgrades go anything that you can do will help. For example sway bars and sub frame connectors.

Derek

LT4Firehawk

Decent suspension and good tires should have no trouble getting you there. Here's some numbers for comparison:
stock 4th gen f-body: .85g
base Firehawk (17x9" wheels w/ 275 street tires, 32mm front bar): .89g
Firehawk w/ Bilstein Ultra Suspension & street tires: .91g
I would bet that just about any 4th gen with a decent suspension (SLP Bilstein, Bilsteins and Eibachs, Konis & stock springs, etc) and DOT race tires like the Nitto 555R II would easily exceed 1g on the skidpad. Stick on full race tires and it would probably do well over 1.0g.

As was already pointed out though, skidpad performance doesn't nescessarily translate to better real world performance. What I can tell you, is that my 97 Firehawk with Nitto 555R IIs, was only 4 seconds a lap slower on our local roadcourse than my Z06 was, and was 1 second a lap faster than coupe/vert C5s (even Z51s). Considering that the stock Z06 pulls 1.0g on the skidpad, has an extra 40RWHP, is 300lb lighter and has a significant gearing advantage, I would bet that my Firehawk is definitely capable of pulling 1.0g to be running that close.

bruecksteve

I use 315's all the way around and with Kumho V710's I can hit more than 1g on a skidpad. I also did it last year on my Hoosier A3S03's. You'll need a few suspension mods also!

TransAmTONY

What kind of backspacing do you use on your rims for the front? Do you have any regrets with an 11in rim in the front? How does it look? does it stick out much outside the fenderwells? Thanks.

bruecksteve

I currently use 36mm offset ZR1 replica's. With those, you don't need a spacer. If you're close to the car they stick out a little but not much. You can use 50mm offset with a 1/4" spacer and they work well too. I'm probably going to get some more 50mm just to make it easier to rotate with the rear.

I only use my 11" wheels for racing and wouldn't trade them for anything (ok, maybe a lighter wheel!) but the fit is great and the grip is greater!!

DisturbedZ28

a friend of mine pulled over a g w/ his ls1 powered firehawk...he said the main suspension mod he did was switch the rear setup to coil overs...he also had kuhmo victoracer tires on the too..i dunno if that's any help

shady54

i also remember this. it was a darker red color and had torque thrusts if i remember correct. they might have even been gunmetal with a chrome lip.