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MUAHAHAHAHHA!

We all have our dark little secrets you know......
But for a price.... ANYTHING can be done for a price

(Insert evil laughter here)

What exactly do you intend to do with this car? What do you want to get out of it?

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Karl Hunter
Hunter Motorsports
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA

 

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secret to Hunter's suspension:

1) skinnies in the front, and slicks in the back

2) parachute for brakes

3) no power steering

4) no front stabilizer bar

5) 90/10 shocks (did I get that right?)

BTW, I'm not trying to flame/mock anyone here... this is a little tongue in cheek thing.. right Hunter?

 

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Thats awesome!

 

AGE: remind me to give you a good swift kick in the NUTS next time I see ya!

To have the kind of handling that my car has means it is not really that nice to drive back and forth to work.

It is really ugly in the wet. Two hands on the wheel are a full time REQUIREMENT regardless of conditions. It is not conductive to good spinal health. It is downright scarry if there are segnificant ruts in the road.

But it gives me WOOD supreme when I want to get really serious in the corners and on freeway on/off ramps. Not to mention when I bolt on the race rubber and go racing

I make these compromeses. Anyone that does not go out to the track (no, not the strip) on the weekend would probably not want to make half the compromises that I have made - not for a daily driver. My car is NOT a daily driver.

My car is really set up for road race radial slicks, - not for street tires. The suspension is too aggressive for the street.

But for someone like yourself - who wants a solid handling street car - you do not need to make nearly as many compromises - and you do not have to spend nearly as much.

First order of business : SHOCKS.
There is NO better place to spend money on the suspension. Period.

After that - you can think about an alignment.
Then maybe a good quality set of urethane bushings.
Then you could address things like springs - and further adjustments to suspension geometry - things like LCA relocation brackets.

The list goes on. It is a working process. But it is really not that hard to have a good handling ThirdGen that is very happy to make weekend trips to the strip.

11s - well thats another matter.
Call me when you reach the low 12s.
The kind of traction you are going to need to run that hard is going to require some ahh --- compromises


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Karl Hunter
Hunter Motorsports
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA

 

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Coil-overs AWAY FROM ME --- EVIL SATAN!!!!!

O.k. o.k. -- I know. Its a drag thing.

For a good handling ThirdGen coil-overs are high up on my list of cardinal sins.

They eat up highly valuable fender space. Space that could be much more effectively used to house BIGGER WHEELS AND TIRES!

I have yet to see a tubular front k-member that is as strong as the factory k-member.

Sorry if I seem to be picking your car apart here - that was not my original intent.

As far as the juicy stuff on my car, well I will tell you what I have for components:

Adjustable sway bars - front and rear
3-point strut tower brace
custom aluminum upper strut mounts with spherical bearings
Koni Sport struts and shocks
Delrin/Aluminum front control arm bushings
Full length frame connectors (Spohn)
full length adjustable torque arm (Spohn)
Adjustable rear trailing arms - rod ends
Adjustable panhard - rod ends
Relocated rear trailing arm mounting points

Thats about it.

Now I know what you're thinking: What about the springs??? How low is it??? What kind of alignment? yada yada yada...

Well, sorry but there are some things about my car that I am not willing to post on a public message board. No offense dude, but we have never actually met - and I do have my competitive advantages to preserve.

Now that I have written the "A$$HOLE" paragraph I will tell you that if we ever did meet - and shoot the shaet about car stuff I could be (and would be) alot more forthcoming. But I have worked WAY too hard on all the finer points of my suspension to just post ALL my secrets on a public message board.

We should have a gathering in Canada sometime - then I could show you a thing or two

Oh by the way, do you have a strut tower brace? (I didn't see it on your list) With the coil-overs you REALLY need one. And for sharp handling on the street (especially with that heavy BigBlock under the hood) you are going to need alot stiffer springs than 200Lb/in - more like 350Lb/in - but of course that will hurt you at the strip. Just some more ideas for you to chew on.

Sorry if I seem like a bit if a jerk in this post - I just hope you can understand where I am coming from.

If you need some advice on what to do with your car - I will try to provide it. I DO want to be helpfull.

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Karl Hunter
Hunter Motorsports
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA

 

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I do have some ideas on the strut tower brace. I can't really tell you - it is more like a picture in my head. I know it can be done. No worrys.

As far as the K-member goes - I have not personally seen the PA racing ones. Being that it is made of Cro-Mo I sure hope they properly heat treated it and stress relieved the welds after it was made. Anyway - that is not the big issue. I am glad to hear that you got the one with O.E. style spring perches. That may come in handy.

While the P.A. Racing k-member is probably very well made, the nature of the design means it cannot be as strong and as durable as the factory k-member. The main member that runs under the engine is just one piece of 2.25" tubing - and even if it is chromoly - there is no way that it is as strong or as rigid as the factory k-member. The weight savings is awsome - no doubt about it. But I have seen similar designs on the "M" cars that literally fell apart when subjected to road race conditions. How did the bushings look in the front control arms? was there an inner metal sleeve and an outer metal shell for the bushing?

As far as the coil-overs go, well I would recommend having a set of drag springs AND a set of street/performance springs. Put the lighter springs in when you go to the strip.

Same goes for the rear. You are gonna need 2 sets of springs. A set of lower stiffer ones for street/performance and a set for the strip.

When you go to buy springs for the front get either Hypercoils or Eibach springs. Don't even bother with any of the other cheezy chromed brands of springs. Ground-Control carries Eibach and there are a handfull of stock car supply places (Stock Car Products, I.O.Port, Coleman) that stock Hypercoils.

You are right about versatility being a must. One other area you are probably going to want to address is the front brakes. That motor you are working on is going to make the car go kinda quick in a BIG hurry It will probably be a bit more than the stock brakes were designed to handle. 1LE stuff at least.

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Karl Hunter
Hunter Motorsports
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA

 

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qwktrip, you should go for a ride with Hunter one day.. everytime that I've sat in his car, I've had the best ride of my life, especially when he slaps on the slicks. Goin' real fast through the 1/4 might be fun for 10-14 seconds... but when you're in the passenger seat with Karl at an event, you begin to realize that 10-14 secs of going straight doesn't even compare. (once again, my apologies to the drag racers.. this is just my opinion).

Hey Karl... with my staff discount, I was quoted $165 for a BFG Comp T/A H rated tire.. 255/50/16. I think that's pretty good, cause my 265 Radial T/As were about $169.

 

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Hey Hunter, when do you expect to be in action again? Is there a race coming up any time this year? I'd drive up just to watch & check out your car.

 

Camaro is in storage for the winter. It usuallu comes off sometime in late september or early october. Nasty weather for that car. But next spring - for sure.

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Karl Hunter
Hunter Motorsports
Vancouver, B.C. CANADA