GForce Engineering fully-fabricated 9” IRS With modified cradle

[Ta2ude]

Hello all I am new to this forum and getting ready to start my drag racing adventure. I have been going to the track for years as a spectator and support for friends but haven’t raced yet. I have a 2019 challenger hellcat redeye widebody that is stock except for a Mishimoto aluminum radiator that I just installed after the second OE radiator started leaking at the bottom corner passenger side. I also have a set of Forgestar 17” beadlocks and 18” front skinnies with 315/50R17 Mikey Thompson ET Street R and 28x6” fronts.
I originally thought I would be fine drag racing this setup but after more research it seems that I am very likely to have either driveshaft, axel or differential issues eventually. Hard launches and wheel hop being the culprit.
I was looking at all the goodies that would help fix this issue, AAD Performance Drag Pak, BMR cradle lockout, differential brace etc and it all started adding up pretty quickly.
By chance, I got in contact with a local racer who is big into the hellcat and pro mod scene and he pretty much assured me I would be snapping axels etc. at the track. He told me he had literally spent thousands and thousands of dollars learning this the hard way. He currently has his hellcat well over 1500hp and is running a solid axel and 4 link set up.
He also told me he had a 2015+Mopar Modified Cradle &complete 9” IRS kit with 3.25 gears, a 4” aluminum drive shaft and the GForce Outlaw axels currently set up with a spool but also has an Eaton Detroit Truetrac that he would sell me for 25 cents on the dollar.
So long story short I am the new owner of this setup and excited to start my journey.
If anyone has any feedback or experience with this suspension set up feel free to fill me in.

 

[Jon-MooredPerformanceLLC]

Man nothing like starting out and going right for it.
I will say your stock redeye axles and driveshaft are pretty tough. I don’t recommend it but I had one customer take both the stock axle and driveshaft into the 8s. I’ve had plenty others in the mid 9 second range with stock axles. I think you’d been ok unless you start pushing it. Really the big thing is the diff brace and driveshaft. Start going much more then 9.5 axles and yes the aad kit definitely helps.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[BULL]

Welcome !

 

[Ta2ude]

Man nothing like starting out and going right for it.
I will say your stock redeye axles and driveshaft are pretty tough. I don’t recommend it but I had one customer take both the stock axle and driveshaft into the 8s. I’ve had plenty others in the mid 9 second range with stock axles. I think you’d been ok unless you start pushing it. Really the big thing is the diff brace and driveshaft. Start going much more then 9.5 axles and yes the aad kit definitely helps.

Welcome to the forum!

I know and it definitely wasn’t my intention to go this route. It took me a couple of years of nagging to even get my wife on board with racing the car as we both enjoy going for a drive in it whenever the season here permits and she didn’t want it to get “wrecked”. I finally wore her down though and one of the big reasons was I told her the car was built from factory to drag race and all we needed was wheels. Lol
That being said I knew a long time ago that this car has tones of horsepower (797) and not enough grip, so my focus was going to be getting this car to hook up before I put any $ into getting more power. I guess power #’s are more sexy than suspension though because it seems like a vast majority of hellcat owners go straight to making more power for some reason rather than get the full advantage of the power they already have.
If I were having to pay full original price for the parts I am getting, I can honestly say I wouldn’t have considered this route, it just wouldn’t have been in my “racing budget”. I would have likely started with a cradle lockout kit from BMR and then looked at the AAD Performance wheel hop eliminator kit or drag pack. Then I would have worried about the driveshaft and probably done that next and then axels etc. and in the end it would have ended up costing more than I am getting the whole 9” IRS and cradle setup for.
So yes you are right, I seem to have jumped right in but through what I consider good luck, I got in contact with the guy that sold me the kit and ultimately the guy who saved me lots of $$ and potential broken parts at the track.
The other bonus is the person I am buying this kit from has been very generous with his time and experience at the track and is more than willing to share his knowledge and help me through my journey.
This is one of the things my wife and I have always enjoyed about the drag racing community, it really does seem like racers like helping other racers whenever they can and you don’t seem to find this in other forms of racing.
I am going to pick up the parts next week and have a tour of my new “mentors” shop so I am currently as excited as a kid before Christmas and itching to get this project started.
Winter is long here and installing this kit will be a good way to burn up some of those long winter days.
When I get the parts and start the process I will be posting photos of my journey or maybe divorce, what ever comes first. lol

 

[BULL]

... I told her the car was built from factory to drag race and all we needed was wheels...

Liars go to hell...


; )

 

[Ta2ude]

Liars go to hell...


; )

I honestly believed what I told her at the time, sort of.
Being in Hell is owning a Redeye and not drag racing it by the way.

 

[BULL]

I honestly believed what I told her at the time, sort of.
Being in Hell is owning a Redeye and not drag racing it by the way.

It wasn't that big of lie. Really, there are plenty of people that are racing essentially stock.

 

[BULL]

I don't drag race mine, but I have taken it to Standing Mile events and road courses.

 

[2ndAmend]

With stock hp, the only thing you need is a DIRS brace:

https://www.getper4mance.com/

 

[Ta2ude]

With stock hp, the only thing you need is a DIRS brace:

https://www.getper4mance.com/

That was my belief for a while as well but it seems like not everyone gets away with that. Once you start hooking up on anything other than stock tires your chance of failure increases exponentially. There is lots of evidence for that all over the internet.
I realize the kit I am getting is overkill for my stock hp of 797 but it gives me lots of room to build on that HP once I dial in the traction and it gives me some piece of mind until then.
For what I had to pay for this kit it was a no brainer IMO, as one failure at the track could easily end up costing me more than the kit did. Also if I ever decide to sell my car, which is unlikely, I can easily put everything back together with the original factory parts.

 

[Linda's Hell Cat]

@Ta2ude Welcome to the forum! My husband didn’t need to ‘lie’ to me—he surprised me with drag racing. The best part was that it wasn’t just his adventure, it was ours. Maybe one day you’ll hand your wife the keys and let her take your Hellcat down the track… you might find she loves the rush as much as you do!

 

[Linda's Hell Cat]

That was my belief for a while as well but it seems like not everyone gets away with that. Once you start hooking up on anything other than stock tires your chance of failure increases exponentially. There is lots of evidence for that all over the internet.
I realize the kit I am getting is overkill for my stock hp of 797 but it gives me lots of room to build on that HP once I dial in the traction and it gives me some piece of mind until then.
For what I had to pay for this kit it was a no brainer IMO, as one failure at the track could easily end up costing me more than the kit did. Also if I ever decide to sell my car, which is unlikely, I can easily put everything back together with the original factory parts.

I agree with both you and @2ndAmend . In a stock Redeye, a diff brace is 1st for exactly what’s needed.

For anyone new to drag racing, I think it’s important to first get to know your stock Hellcat and chase your personal bests—launching, 60 ft, reaction time, and ET. That seat time builds confidence and skill.

Once you start adding more mods and tuning, it makes sense to add more strength. Building the suspension becomes critical—strength and safety should always be the top two priorities when modifying.

My Hellcat runs in the 10’s, which I think is the perfect sweet spot. On race days it’s putting out a little over 900 HP. I can swap my tune and wheels, add the OEM pulley ring size, and run 93 pump gas for daily driving!

I do have to replace my driveshaft, and it was recommended to go with a Redeye driveshaft. That upgrade has been solid advice—strength and reliability matter when you’re pushing this kind of power.


There are some very good deals going on at HHP

(1) HHP's Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals* Are Here! | SRT Hellcat Forum

 

[Ta2ude]

@Ta2ude Welcome to the forum! My husband didn’t need to ‘lie’ to me—he surprised me with drag racing. The best part was that it wasn’t just his adventure, it was ours. Maybe one day you’ll hand your wife the keys and let her take your Hellcat down the track… you might find she loves the rush as much as you do!

Although i feel like I may be getting more out of this than my wife it is definitely meant to be “our adventure “. One of the best things we realized about drag racing , after spending many weekends at the track with our friends, was what a great family event it is. Our daughter and granddaughter have spent a couple of weekends with us at the track already and really enjoyed themselves and hope they will make this a family passion.
We just hope to have fun next season and not breaking stuff while figuring out the car will make a big difference with that.
I have owned this car for about 5 years now and driven it over 20,000km, so I am very familiar with it, it just took me this long to convince the wife to send it down the strip, so that part is new.
Also when she was in her early twenties she and her ex husband owned a super modified and raced for several years at Oswego New York, so she does like racing and knew exactly what we were getting into, lol. So was it really a lie at all ?
I am glad you guys are having fun ! It’s sounds like you are doing pretty much what I hope to.

 

[1971demon]

Although i feel like I may be getting more out of this than my wife it is definitely meant to be “our adventure “. One of the best things we realized about drag racing , after spending many weekends at the track with our friends, was what a great family event it is. Our daughter and granddaughter have spent a couple of weekends with us at the track already and really enjoyed themselves and hope they will make this a family passion.
We just hope to have fun next season and not breaking stuff while figuring out the car will make a big difference with that.
I have owned this car for about 5 years now and driven it over 20,000km, so I am very familiar with it, it just took me this long to convince the wife to send it down the strip, so that part is new.
Also when she was in her early twenties she and her ex husband owned a super modified and raced for several years at Oswego New York, so she does like racing and knew exactly what we were getting into, lol. So was it really a lie at all ?
I am glad you guys are having fun ! It’s sounds like you are doing pretty much what I hope to.

Take this solid advice from a guy happily married over 51 years....IT'S NOT A LIE ...IF YOU BELIEVE IT..feel free to lie to yer wife,,@ least twice a week..