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Adjustable Pinion Snubbers?

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 3:34 pm
by RobTwin
Does anyone use/recommend/not recommend/avoid adjustable pinion snubbers?

They were all the rage a few years ago as far as I remember (used to use one on the Satellite), but Stu said something about seeing mention on the F.A.S.T messagboard about pinion snubbers in general not working.
Perhaps now thinking has changed. Perhaps its just with street tyres they don?t work well?
We'd be using it with radial tyres so am think of their effectiveness particularly with that set-up.

Grateful for any thoughts.....

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 3:47 pm
by Alex
I got one, I use it, I like, the car likes it... :shock:

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 4:05 pm
by Jon
gonna try one this year, if i can afford to do any racing that is,
i reckon its the 60 foots that are keeping me in that pesky 12 second zone so its worth a try, dont wanna put bald tyres on, i mean slicks :P

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 4:30 pm
by Dave-R
Are you guys serious???
I wouldn't run without one. Didn't realise there were still people out there even trying to run without one.

Pinion snubber, traction bar, cal-tracs, whatever. You can't get a decent 60ft without something controling axle/spring wind-up. Why? Because wind-up takes weight off the rear wheels and you loose traction.

Mopars have better rear springs than other brands. The axle is mounted closer to the front of the spring than the rear rather than in the middle.

The shorter front section helps prevent wind-up. But it will not cope with a sticky track or slicks.

The adjustable pinion snubber is the cheapest and simplest way of controling the axle and transfering more weight to the rear wheels.

Run on the track with a quarter inch clearance between snubber and floor. But drop it down to give yourself plenty of room for driving on the street.

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 5:55 pm
by Blue
Dave beat me to it! As he says allow plenty of clearance for street driving or you'll end up with a harsh noisey ride and eventually a cracked floorpan, I've seen it happen....

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 6:53 pm
by Kev
Make sure you wind it down BEFORE loading a weekends worth of camping gear into the car :D
Here's my one;
http://store.yahoo.com/chucker54/newpr834adpi.html

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 7:09 pm
by Blue
Any chance of sorting my old one out for Sunday Kev?

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 06 7:18 pm
by Kev
No problamo! 8-)

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 06 7:12 am
by Guy
Thats a bit posh aint it Kev 8-)

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 06 2:22 pm
by TrevD
HMM , less unsprung weight is good YES , i think i will make myself a nice billet one. it will also look good if i run over any chavs down southend safront :D

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 06 4:33 pm
by Blue
Billet would be cool Trev, Urathane for the snubber? Excellent idea!

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 06 6:38 pm
by RobTwin
Thanks for the response chaps.

I've had a look on the Year On forum http://www.yearone.com/forum.asp?fURL=h ... rum_topics
where Stu saw mention of pinion snubbers, and the vast majority use & recommend them, I've only seen one problem mentioned ...

"I have found in my car when the pinion snubber hits the floor it unloads the rear susp. Where is your pinion angle? " One answer came back as " 7 degrees".

I understand that the snubber & the body should be positioned so that they come together as gently/gradually as poss (1/4" as you say Dave), but dont understand where the angle comes in? Been a while since I saw one mounted and can only remember/visualise the height of the snubber being adjusted, and dont see how this affects the pinion angle mentioned :scratch:

I also had this 'advice':
"From what I have decifered off of Moparts, most of the racers have quit using them, they say that if the car is set up with the right springs for the
weight of the car, that it doesn not change their mph or times, so unless your springs are weak, I would not spend the money on the snubber".

If 99% of the Factory Appearing Stock Tire guys use them, I guess that's answered that question. And the quickies are running 11's on stock tires, cant be that bad!

Either way, I reckon it's best to get one and try it out, and let the time slips do the math.

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 06 6:58 pm
by Kev
obviously ultimate pinion angle will be determined by the snubber and the spring unwrap behind the axle. Mine is 4 degrees down, you are looking to have zero with the axle wound up. If you didn't have the snubber and the springs are floppy (technical term) the angle will be able to go over zero and you'll get ramp as the springs load/unload.

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 06 7:00 pm
by TrevD
my thoughts entirely blue, robtwin, do you want to be the first person in the uk (possibly the world) with a billet one?????

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 06 7:19 pm
by Kev