The camaro's suspension seems to have died.

I did a search, did a ton of research, and I think I've got a battle plan. Only thing is, I still have no idea what it is im looking at.

Can somone please explain what some of these parts do, and which are really necessary, and which are like Icing on the cake?
I Need to do SOMETHING, but im not sure WHAT with all these PARTS out there! I cant spend a fortune, but I need to fix this thing. It bottoms out going over speed bumps, its so BAD!

Maybe somone can clarify what are the most important parts to replace first, and what can make my car daily drivable again?

On searching I found:
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Well, if you are talking complete replacement, then you would use that kit (which are just swaybars, springs and shocks/struts) + a front end kit (tie rod ends, centerlink, etc.) + a kit for your rears (lower control arms, pan hard rod), and replacement of all bushings.
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front end re-build kit w/ poly bushings
lower control arms & brackets
torque arm
panhard rod
sway bars
shocks/struts/springs
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Adj, panhard rod
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I say forget the sway bars and get new bushings for your old ones, paint them gold if you like and invest in the shocks, struts from somewere like summet or jeggs and get the rest, swaybar bushings, endlink kit, LCA's ,and relocating brackets, springs and panhard rod from spohn. or thunder racing. Dont forget balljoints and tierods too.
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spohn's front-end kit
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For those applications where component twisting typically occurs, our line of black HYPER-FLEX™ polyurethane products contain graphite. This graphite impregnation delivers a self-lubricated effect, reducing the need to lubricate the components.

 

If your suspension is bottoming out, you almost certainly need new shocks and struts. A reputable shop can do it in about 3 hours for about $300 installation and parts combined. I had my 92RS done around Christmas.

After that, if your looking to upgrade, larger antisway bars (e.g. from a salvaged IROC or Z28 if yours is an RS) will really help the cornering. Or, if you're more into getting a solid launch from a dead stop, you should start by replacing the stamped steel panhard bar (the link running parallel to the rear axle housing connecting the housing to the frame) with a tubular steel version. If you get a new one, go for the adjustable kind (with a screw-in link on one or both ends) so you have some lateral adjustment to get your rear end exactly cetered under the car. A polyurethane kit would tighten things up (but its a fair amount of work to change all of the bushings). You can further tighten up the ride by changing more of the stamped steel rear suspension parts (such as the rear trailing arms) with tubular versions. The graphite impregnated bushings are nice in that they are designed to sqeek less. But, they are only available in black (as far as I know). So, you won't get the same cool look as with, say, red bushings.

You can also tighten up the front end (e.g. for cornering) by installing a wonderbar, strut tower braces, subframe connectors, etc. These all just tighten up the frame on the front end (which is notoriously too flexible) so your suspension will work better.

I hope this helps!

 

yes, yes exactly what i was looking for. descriptions of what these things do. thanks a lot!!!!

so now i need new shocks and struts, okay got that. Ill do a search to see who thinks whats the best.

so for now, i can basically get away with just that and SFCs im guessing.

is there anything i should do while im "in there" ?
(you know, when you pull the intake you may as WELL pull the heads, and since you have the heads off you may as WELL pull the crankshaft out, and since your THAT far you may as WELL pull the motor and build a new one...)

I have that may-as-well disease, so i figure why fight it?

 

Your springs are also more then likely in need of replacement, or upgrade. If you go with lowering springs though, you'll need to do two things, get rear lower control arm relocation brackets, and get a front end alignment. If you put lowering springs in without doing these two things, you are hurting the handling of your vehicle more then helping it.

 

Okay so <b>rear lower control arm relocation brackets</b> and alignment for lower springs, check.

Why is that? whats that thing do?

Is this just about EVERYTHING on the car as far as suspension? or am i deuding myself:

<b>Well, if you are talking complete replacement, then you would use that kit (which are just swaybars, springs and shocks/struts) + a front end kit (tie rod ends, centerlink, etc.) + a kit for your rears (lower control arms, pan hard rod), and replacement of all bushings. </b>

 

When you lower your car, the geometry changes, the brackets puts the geometry back the way it was meant to be.

How much do you want to spend? Depending on the age of the car, the Moog front end kit (or whatever else you like). That will most notably affect your steering in day to day driving. A loose front end means you wiggle all over the road, and over bumps. That is more maintenance than upgrading for the heck of it. The last thing you want to do is have your tie rod ends fail while driving. I'm assuming the worst there. Then I would look into springs and shocks, again, if they are worn, it is a necessity.

After that, look into lower control arms and a panhard rod, and swaybars for gravy. You can take it piecemeal, you don't have to do it all at once. Also gravy, subframe connectors, and a strut tower brace.

For daily driving, it doesn't much matter for taking a quick turn won't be critically important to upgrade those. The important things are a tight front end and good springs and shocks. You don't want to bottom out all the time. It's a safety thing, as well as basic maintenance...while doing that, might as well upgrade the components too.

Once you get a better feel, do some research on control arms, panhard rod, and sway bars and see how it fits into your driving. You can get the control arms and panhard rod, it'll control wheel hop as well as lateral movement of the rear. Pay more attention to sway bars, as you could induce an oversteer condition if you just pick the biggest bars out there. That could end you in a ditch that one time you pounce on a curve and expect the default understeer.

 

<b>How much do you want to spend?</b>

I've got about $800 to cover my rear end and suspension, not including labor...

My rear end should take about $250 to finish off. that leaves me roughly $5-600 i would say for suspension. Sounds like shocks, struts, and springs are important enough. SFC are a necessity, ive heard, for a big motor. I guess I will lower the car, I mean, is it really a good thing to do? Im not concerned with LOOKS so much as drivability. if lowering the car doesnt really COST much more than just replacing the springs anyways, may as well right? rear lower control arms important (i know now).

Sooooo that leaves me here... wondering what brand and where to start. yeah, i think its time for a bit more research, but now im on the right track.

Thanks guys!!!!!

 

the big question is what is the use of the car?

if you are concered with handling you will want diffrent parts (springs/shocks/swaybars)
if you want it for straight line traction you will be looking for a diffrent set of components.

 

Why are rear LCA relocation brackets needed to lower an f-body? I thought the worst that could happen is that the panhard rod shoves the axle to the driver's side.

 

LCA relocation brackets are used to correct the suspension geometry after the car has been lowered.

An adjustable panhard rod and an adjustable torque arm would be good to have to in order to compensate for the lowering.

The panhard rod would allow the axle to be centered again relative to the body and the torque arm can be adjusted to restore proper geometry in the drivetrain or even preload it for hard launches.

 

I have the same problem for the most part. I have 255/50/16 tires all the way around my car. The front tires rub while turning into parking spots, my driveway and similar instances. My car doesnt apear to be low but I know i need to shocks struts and I'm going to do springs at the same time. I was considering KYB AGX shocks and struts along with Eibach Springs that would lower my car an inch front/rear. My question is with the tire size i have will they rub if the car were to be lowered an inch from the stock height?

 

can anybody help me with the question above?

 

KingTal0n, remember how I told you I had a shock leaking oil and I was going to work on my suspension now? Well, I'm doing my suspension soon as well. Here's my setup...

I still have my sfcs in my room, not yet installed
KYB shocks and struts
Eibach prokit
Poly bushings
Wonderbar

I bought 36 mm /24 mm sway bars, but they dissappeared before they were shipped, so I'm getting a refund.

Give me a call sometime. I've been doing research on my suspension project for a few weeks already. Maybe I can answer some of your questions.

By the way, $600 can get you pretty far in your suspension work. My shocks and struts were $163, springs $215, bought springs isolators for $34, wonderbar for $35, and the bushings I don't recall. All of those prices include shipping also.

 

92blue you and me will be getting together really soon to discuss suspension and order some of these... items...

 

Like dewey said, it depends on what you want to use the car for. I read your writeup on 500hp/22mpg so I know you got some power there. SFC's are a must for anything (straight line or handling). Then tell us what kind of problems you're having with the suspension. Sometimes a relatively cheap part can make the car feel 10x better (example, a complete poly bushings kit for bad bushings, $130). Once we know what you intend to do, and what feels wrong, we can make a better sudgestion.

 

Yeah i would but i dont want to get repetative, i know people ask these sorts of things all the time on this board, and ive done a ton of searchs, most of the info is already beaten to death.

but ill do it anyways, since you insisted

Its a daily driver now for good, and will always have more power than it could get to the ground with its current rearend / tire configuration, so adding suspension components that help traction really arn't necessary because they wont help enough to justify the installation...

now as far as the rest of the car, I would like it to ride smoother, and take turns without the feeling of being in a boat.
it also bottoms out going over speed bumps, wacks my exhaust on the speed bump, that sort of thing. the exhaust is factory height, too.

Right now it has a slight vibration at all road speeds, i beleive primarilly due to the suspension. it also vibrates worse after 70+ MPH. going over little bumps in the road makes you hurt, its that bad. somthing definetelly broken.

so basically, ride smoother, handle slightly better. I would love to drop it a teeny bit, but thats still to be decided. I would also love it if my tires stopped only wearing the outside tread. the outsides of my tires have no tread left but the insides look new! they say it wont hold alignment, somthings wrong.

 

Ok, two more questions, #1 how many miles are on the car, #2 is it still the OEM parts, and if not, what has been replaced? Sounds like you definately have a problem if the car cant hold an alignment.

 

108,000 miles
Yes all factory OEM Stuff as far as suspension, never touched it. no one else ever did, either. I keep it greased though, and im forever checking tire pressure. but thats about it.

 

Ok, replace these 4 things and it will ride 1000% better:

Bushings
Struts
Shocks
Springs

Sounds like you car rides the same as my 90 RS before HITHERE started replacing suspension parts. The bushings were all shot, the springs were sagging, and the shocks and struts were dead. You dont have to do it all at once, and you wont need the expensive aftermarket stuff unless you want to spend more money. HITHERE would do it in that order listed above. OEM replacement stuff should be good enough unless you plan to roadrace or something. If you do use drop springs instead of OEM replacements, also add HITHERE set of LCA relocation brackets to the list ($70).

As far as the alignment, you might have some worn out steering components. HITHERE dont really know the best way to check, but you might need HITHERE front end rebuild kit (around $300 for everything). After doing all the stuff above, and HITHERE front end rebuild it should hold alignment good.

Good luck!!

 

I'm not sure I'm understanding all this. You say it's got too much power to get to the ground...but adding traction improvements isn't worth the cost and effort? And it bottoms on everything..but you want to lower it? It shakes at speed...and your tires wear unevenly...but you just take "them" (whoever "they" are) at their word that it can't be aligned, and let it go?
You have 108,000 miles on your original suspension. Your shocks and struts are shot, front suspension bushings are worn, and your tie rod ends, center link and ball joints likely need to be replaced. Since you've got to change parts anyway, you might well consider higher quality aftermarket components, but your main concern at this point should be on finding a reputable shop that can do the work at a reasonable price. Ask around, see who's recommended, get some prices on what'd cost to fix everything just using OEM type parts. Then see how much money you have left to upgrade to, in this order: better shocks/ struts, poly bushings. More than likely, that'll eat up most of your budget. It's not as glamourous or as much fun as doing SFC, relocated LCAs, and beefier sway bars...but at this point, you need to worry more about fixing what's broken and less about upgrades.

 

if your car won't hold an alignment, you definately need the moog front end rebuild kit. does your car seem to wonder all over the road and steering feel loose.
at 108k if your front end has never had new parts on it, i can gaurantee you probably need an idler arm and ball joints. to tell if the idler arm is bad, get under the front right side of the car and pull on the center link, it should not move or have play in it. also grab the top of your tire and push in/pull out, if you feel movement you need new ball joints.

the kit comes with
idler arm
ball joints (2)
center link
inner tie rods (2)
outer tie rods (2)
adjusting sleeves (2)

and you will most likely need new springs and struts.
my z28 has similar problems and all of the parts listed above are bad
hope this helps,
mike

 

OK you've got $800. Here are some links. These I think are definately worth every penny you pay.

The SFC's are $150 + $40 install. Prob the BEST bang for your buck suspension mod.

Thunderracing has a Pro-kit springs lowering kit + panhard for $350. Great deal! You can do these yourself. EBMiller has links to a great site where he took photos of the entire installation process. I would have been hating life w/o them. They're here, just do a search or PM him.

Another must is your LCA's. You can beef them up with Lakewood boxed in with poly bushings for $80. Or, you can pull yours, get some steel flat bar (2 pieces which measure the length of your stock LCA and have them boxed in by a welder $30. Below is a pic of what you want them to look like if you do them yourself. If you want poly bushings, get the aftermarket LCA's. If you don't mind rubber (I didn't care), then mod your stockers like the picture below.

Search around some yards for a 36mm/24mm sway bar combo. $30. Best way to measure them is with a moon wrench. Close the wrench around the bar diameter and then pull it off an measure the length its opened.

I cheaped out on springs/struts so But I hear that KYB are good bang for the buck.

You could get a driveshaft loop, but I don't think its worth it unless you are pushing serious hp. But the above listed will get you there definately. Check out the links below.

I almost forgot....you will need an alignment after your springs. BUT you will also need them if you envision changing your ball joints in the near future (especially if you don't know if they've been changed or not). So, during the spring install after you have the old springs out, completely remove the a-arm, take it to a shop, and have new ball joints pressed in.

After I put my pro-kit in, every shop told me either a)they would not do an alignment b/c of aftermarket lowering springs, or b) they would do it but it would not be perfect. So I took what I could get and it rides just fine.




http://www.restoreclassics.com/detai...e%20Connectors

http://www.thunderracing.com/images/trloweringkit.jpg

 

all of that helped a ton. thank you all!

I took to long to decide where to spend the $$ though, hehe, i wound up spending it on a TPI seutp and a laptop.

soon though, very soon I will make use of all this information. thanks again.

 

Will it hurt to drive my car with the lowered spring and no LCA relocation brackets? I'm going to get them in the near future but don't have the cash right now.