FAQ Topics
- I want to keep my car original looking. What can I do to make it drive better using the original suspension?
- My car wanders around on the highway and I’m constantly correcting with the steering wheel. What can be done to correct this?
- Will replacing rubber bushings with bearings increase road noise and vibration?
- How is Opentracker Racing Products different than the other parts suppliers?
- Do you ship international?
- Why is a roller spring perch better than a stock perch?
- How can the roller perches improve my cars ride quality?
- If roller spring perches are so good why didn’t Ford build them that way?
- What classic cars do your roller spring perches fit?
- How long will it take to receive my roller spring perches?
- What will the roller control arms do for my car?
1. My Car's Suspension
I want to keep my car original looking. What can I do to make it drive better using the original suspension?
Off the showroom floor, the cars drove OK but they were not a corner carver. The stock suspension isn’t a bad system and with just a few upgrades, it can be greatly improved.
There are four basic upgrades that make a big change to how the cars drive. Each of them makes an improvement on their own but when done together, there is a huge change and the cars handle more like a modern car. The four upgrdes are, a larger than stock front sway bar, the roller spring perches, a roller idler arm and the alignment settings.
The larger front sway bar cuts down on the body roll in the turns. Instead of the first quarter turn of the steering wheel being taken up with body roll. With the larger sway bar, the car will stay flat in the turns and when you move the steering wheel, it will turn. The roller perches take away the bind from the stock type perch to give the cars a smoother ride, better grip and more stability under braking. The roller idler arm helps smooth out the steering by removing the bind from the stock type bushing. The roller idler also helps keep the steering geometry in check by not letting the center link move up and down under braking and on rough road conditions. Giving the cars a performance alignment makes them drive more like a newer car. When the cars are aligned to the stock settings, they don’t drive well, and that gets us to our next question.
Will replacing rubber bushings with bearings increase road noise and vibration?
No. As a rule, the more roller parts you put into the car, the smoother it rides. The roller perches, roller control arms and roller idler arms will all give the car a smoother ride by eliminating the bind from the stock bushings. The rod end front pivot of the strut rods will provide more driver feedback to the steering wheel. Anyone who drives with street performance in mind will appreciate the added driver input especially under braking. The cars with the adjustable strut rods are much more stable under braking and have more precise steering. The grease-able pivot points we have for the leaf springs work the same as the roller parts do up front. The free moving pivot points stop the bind from the rubber bushings and let the suspension move as it should, giving a smoother ride.
On the road course, the roller parts allow the cars to get around the track quicker. The cars handle better, ride smoother and have more grip by getting rid of the slop and bind found in the original suspension. On track, this translates into quicker lap times and more driver control over the car. The roller parts keep the geometry in check by providing a pivot point that won’t move under hard cornering or braking.
The roller products we have for the vintage racer also work on a performance driven weekend car or a daily driven street car without making the ride uncomfortable. The roller spring perch was our first product and has proven to be a big improvement over the stock rubber bushing spring perch. The free pivoting of the roller perch lets the suspension move as it should and gives the car a quieter and much smoother ride. The cars drive more like a modern car.
My car wanders around on the highway and I'm constantly correcting with the steering wheel. What can be done to correct this?
If the suspension is in good shape, it could be as simple as changing the alignment settings. Worn parts will cause the cars to wonder and pull so a full safety check should be done first to see if the car needs any repairs. After the front end is determined to be in good shape, a performance alignment will stop the uneasy feeling and jumping around on the highway. The cars didn’t have enough caster angle from the factory and they often had some positive camber ( top of the tire tilted outward )! The performance alignment we recommend are:
0 – camber
2deg to 3deg of positive caster ( 2deg for manual steer, 3deg for power steer )
1/8″ toe in
The camber and caster should be the same on both sides
It sounds simple and it is. Just changing the alignment settings can make a world of difference in how the car drives.
2. Opentracker Racing
How is Opentracker Racing Products different than the other parts suppliers?
We take great pride in providing only the best of what is available for early Mustangs and other Fords and Mercury’s. We source our products from all over the US and are always on the lookout for new products that could improve the quality of what we sell. We don’t sell junk and we don’t sell parts we wouldn’t use on our own cars. Our belief is that if you put quality parts on the car in the beginning, you will get years of service out of those parts and have a reliable car that will be safe to drive, handle great and have a nice ride quality.
Our wish is to be apart of your project, before, during and long after the sale. We believe our customers should get the most out of each dollar spent, the best back for their buck. We want to be part of your project, not just sell you the parts for it.
In the beginning, we work with our customers so the goals for the car and budget for the project can be met. It doesn’t take a lot to get the early Mustangs, Falcons and other early Fords to be safe to drive, handle well and have a smooth ride. It does take a lot if you want to race the car and run up front. We can provide what it takes to do both. Selecting parts that will meet the use and goal for the car, without going overboard, is what we strive for.
During the sale process, we provide quality products at a fair price that are designed to achieve what our customer wants for their car. We send tracking information so you know where your parts are and when you can expect them to be delivered. If there is an issue with shipping of any of our products, we take care of it quickly.
After the sale we are here to provide customer support. We are here to help with both removing any of the old suspension or installing any of our products. We often spend time on the phone or use email to help our customers while they are working on their car. You can send us photos of what’s going on so we can work with you to get the work done quickly and safely. We also work well with shops doing the installation of the suspension if your not doing the work yourself. We are glad to work with them to make sure your happy with the car when you get in the drivers seat and take it for the first test drive. That really is our main goal, for you to be happy with the car and be able to drive it for years to come without any problems.
Opentracker Racing Products is here to provide the best of what is available on the market for our customers. We carry as many US made parts as possible and we believe the US made parts save money in the long run because they last longer than the offshore pieces.
Do you ship international?
Yes, we ship parts all over the world – Please contact us for an International shipping quote, our website does not calculate those rates. We ship by USPS Priority mail international flat rate box. If a part you’re interested in won’t fit in a flat rate box, we check all of the shipping options available and give you the choice of who we use to ship your parts. If you have a particular shipper that you want us to use, just let us know.
3. Roller Spring Perches
Why is a roller spring perch better than a stock perch?
Stock perches have rubber as the bushing material between the perch and the perch-mounting shaft. The rubber does not allow the perch to move freely. The pressure required to move a rubber perch is immense. This reduces responsiveness in the suspension and puts more stress on the shocks. By replacing the rubber with roller bearings the suspension response is greatly improved and shock life is increased. Because roller perches easily pivot, it is much easier to install shocks. Shock mounts lineup easier with the shock tower caps and compressed coil springs will sit level on the roller perch greatly reducing installation effort. The shock bolts are easier to install. Drivers using a high performance shock like Koni adjustable shocks will notice that shock adjustment is easily done without moving the shock from the vehicle because of the reduced side load on the shock.
How can the roller perches improve my cars ride quality?
By removing the bind from the stock rubber perch, the suspension moves as it should and with less bind, the car rides smother. You will notice an immediate change in the way your classic Ford drives and handles. The cars have more grip, more stability under braking and more precise steering. Regardless if you are a casual street driver or vintage auto racer, roller spring perches will improve how your car drives.
If roller spring perches are so good why didn't Ford build them that way?
Well, they did, kind of. Ford’s original spring perch design used on the Falcons in the early 60’s, utilized free rotating bronze bushings. Ford changed to rubber with the Mustang to cut costs. At the time the rubber seemed like a very economic solution, and it was. The downside is that it caused a binding point in the suspension that should have been a free moving pivot. The original Ford Falcon perches are what the vintage racers were using for years to improve the performance of their race cars. They are very hard to find and they do wear quickly. A single or double roller perch is now what you will see on most of the vintage racers.
What classic cars do your roller spring perches fit?
Ford
1964-1973 Mustang
1960-1970 Falcon
1966-1971 Fairlane
1968-1971 Torino
1970-1977 Maverick
Mercury
1960-1974 Comet
1967-1973 Cougar
1968-1971 Montego
Chevy
1962-1967 Chevy II/Nova
How long will it take to receive my roller spring perches?
We have the roller spring perches in stock and can ship them out quickly. We ship by USPS Priority mail 2-3 day service. If by chance there is a delay, we will let you know right away.
4. Control Arms
What will the roller control arms do for my car?
The roller control arms remove the bind from the stock type bushings, freeing up the suspension to move. When there is no binding in the suspension and the only limiting factors are the springs and shocks, the cars ride and handle better. A lot of the newer cars use bind free bushings. When you use roller parts in your classic, it drives more like a newer car.
When the roller arms are used on a drag race car, the car will leave the line quicker and be more consistent because of better and more predictable weight transfer. The rear tires will have more grip and that leads to faster 60 foot times. Some of the racers we work with have reported a full tenth quicker 60 foot time and three tenths quicker in the quarter mile from just changing the stock rubber perches to the roller spring perches.
On the road course, the cars will have more stability under braking and corner entry. The car will have more grip in mid corner and coming off the corner from the lack of bind in the suspension. The quicker the suspension can move with the irregularities in the track surface, the more control the driver has over the car, resulting in quicker lap times.