G-body shuffle

Sep 17, 2016 2 Replies
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I saw this on Wikipaedia: At some point in the platform's lifetime, the term "G-Body Shuffle" became popular in the drag racing community (where the cars were often modified fo r racing) for the vehicle's side-to-side motion of the rear end after takin g off from the starting line. This was due to the car's triangulated four-l ink rear end suspension, which caused uneven torque to the rear wheels unde r strenuous driving.



What is the effect with triangulated 4-link? I would think a panhard rod li ve axle would be worse for the arse end going sideways.


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S

The factory triangulated 4 link systems tend to bind up when used behind a good engine. So you climb on the throttle, the suspension loads up and twists to a point where it binds. Any small loss of traction after that allows it to unload enough that the binding stops and the axle unwraps and shifts around.

The panhard bar does have some axle shift BUT it's very predictable and can actually be used to your advantage if you know how to adjust the weight in the vehicle. If you want to eliminate it the easy solution is a watts link to replace the bar.

G-body and Fords Fox bodies are known for it.

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P

Yes, the Crown Victoria and Falcon were much better. I note Ford is using the Watts link on the new model Everest 4WD. I don't know why other manufacturers don't use it. Patent must have expired in the last century.

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