I am thinking of upgrading my suspension. I want to know what I should start with first. What parts are more important than others. Also, which brands should I go with to get the most bang for my buck.

 

Stiffen your chassis first. Sub Frame Connectors are a must. You can get a Strut Tower Brace too if you'd like but I dont know if you'd feel the difference or have a need for it. Depends on what you want to accomplish with your suspension. Next you might want to fix alot of the suspension parts that have worn out with age. The stock parts are pretty good. A full set of new poly bushings should run about $130. That will really make a difference if your car has alot of miles and nothing has been changed recently. You might also want to look into a front end rebuild kit (Around $300) if your front end has alot of miles. Next you'd probably want to lower the car a little. But its important to have a goal here. The more the change the height of the car, the more you throw the suspension geometry off. Unless done correctly lowering the car could be moving you a little backwards as far as having really good neutral handling. A mild drop with progressive rate springs is the most common choice. Eibach makes a 1" drop kit called the Pro-Kit with progressive rate springs. If you drive your car alot on the street (i.e. daily driver) you definately want progressive rate springs. Then once the car is lowered you will need to fix the geometry. You'll need Lower Control Arm relocation brackets to fix the angle of the LCA's in the rear. They run about $70. These also prevent wheel hop and can help your traction problems. Get the weld in type. For the front you'll need a bumpsteer kit to fix the geometry. Baer sells it for $99. You should also get an adjustable panhard bar to level out the rear of the car once its lowered. Finally the finishing touch would be a nice set of Struts and Shocks. Search the boards to find out the pro's and cons of each setup. This has been discussed alot.

At this point you have much better handling than stock but alot more is possible. You can get aftermarket front tubular suspension pieces (A-Arms or K-Member), you can get an aftermarket Torque Arm, or aftermarket adjustable LCA's. Check out Spohns website because he has alot of good products. Reading and looking might help you decide what you want to do. If you just want mildly better handling than you have now and dont want to go through all the trouble of fixing the geometry, you might just want to do the SFC's, the bushings, replace the springs with stock height higher spring rates, and new struts/shocks. That will retain the correct geometry and make the car feel more stable through the turns. Hope this helps.

 

Oh yeah and I left out the most obvious. Tires. If you have 15" wheels then definately look for a set of 16's or maybe even 17's and some nice wide rubber to keep you connected with the ground. If you have 16's already, a new set of good tires can make a big difference. But how it handles and feels will depend on the size tire you get.

 

Thanks for the info. Now I know where to start. I've been shopping around and reading some of the boards and I recognized some of the parts you named. By the way, how important is the geometry of the car. Is it hard maintain? Also, I'll be getting some 17x9 ROH Snypers. All I need is tires. Thanks again CrazyHawaiin.

 

No prob man. Always like to help a fellow 3rd genner. I would say the level of importance as far as maintaining the geometry of the suspension is pretty high, but it really depends on how hard you push the car. when I say the 'geometry of the suspension' I'm saying the way the suspension is tuned. Your geometry affects how the car handles in a turn. The two main things that can happen when you take a turn is oversteer, where the back end of the car starts to slide, or understeer when the front end plows. The perfect setup is to have a car with neutral handling characteristics. You dont want the car to have understeer or oversteer. You want it neutral so your movements as a driver can control what the car does. The stock suspension from the factory came with a pretty good neutral handling car. As you change things you can throw that 'neutral handling' off and the car can be 'tuned' to perform either of the above on its own. Its not good when you're going fast. Once you correct the geometry of a lowered car, then your good to go. You wont need to adjust it again unless you change the ride height (changing springs for example). Just remember that how much you change the height of the car will affect how much you might notice these effects. If you do a mild drop then you're probably fine for daily driving. If you do a medium drop then you might want to think about it if you push it hard. Those of us going all out race (slammed) and pushing it to the limit really need to think about it.

So how important it is to maintain a good neutral handling suspension setup really depends on how you drive. If you take it to the track and push it then it can be very important. If you do spirited driving on the street it might be important depending on how hard you push it and how much you lowered it. If you drive like a grandma (I'm sure you dont) then it probably wont matter. I say take it out after you lower it and see how it feels. If you feel unstable then I recommend correcting the geometry.

 

:hail: :hail: :hail: to the suspension knowledge of the hawaiin,,, you helped me out alot in answering his questions...

 

If there was ever a "Hawaiian G()d OF Oversteer" it would certainly be you. Keep on driften

P.s. Can you fedex me a big box of Manapua? Every time I passed a Texaco on the islands I had to stop in for one!

 

Haha!! Yeah sure bro! PM me your details. I'll get you as much manapua as you want hehhe!!

Glad I could help you 1986CamaroSC. I appreciate the comments mista FreaknGoodTme but I must really give respect to Revlimit as far as being 'the g()d of oversteer.' The guy is crazy! Riding with him has taught me valuable lessons that would have taken me months to figgure out on my own. I read about it, study theory, and try on my own when I can ... but he's out there practicing it in real life all the time. When you ride with Revlimit, you better hold on with both hands. Hehehhe!!