Alright so far this is what I got for my suspension upgrade and I wanted to make sure that I am not missing anything that you guys might think about replacing.

-Strut Tower Brace (installed)
-Polly Trans Mount (installed)
-Lakewood Polly LCA's (installed)
-KYB Gas-A-just shocks/GR2 Struts (installed)
-16x8 Rims w/ Kumho ECSTA Supra 712's (installed)

-Eibach Pro Kit (not installed) - lowering it 1.25 inches.
-LCA Relocation Brackets (Not installed)
-Spohn Adj. Panhard bar (not installed)
-Spohn SFC's (not installed)
-Spohn Sway Bars (not installed)
-Spohn Torque arm w/ no loop and spherical rod ends (not installed)

Everything is Chrom Molly expect for the Lakewood LCA's.
The car has 116,000 miles on it but is in very good condition and stored in the winter.

Am I missing anything or should this be about it for my upgrade. The "Installed" stuff is obviously stuff thats already installed on my 91 Firebird but the "Not Installed" stuff is the rest of the stuff I just bought, sitting in my room, some people call "The Part Store" and is waiting to go on. Am I missing anything or do you think this will just about do it for my suspension? I will move onto brakes probably next year but just my suspension for this summer will do. Thanks.

 

Things I could recommend:

Full poly bushings kit
Aftermarket Wonderbar/Brace

But thats about it for a street setup. You got it all covered.

 

You can add the Kenny Brown lower body brace to thelist too.

 

One last thing, for the truly handling-obsessed: Alston style and Spohn style SFCs are completely different, and can be used together on some cars. Have a look at it if you're interested. I'm considering this myself.

 

i think you've got it covered eric, still slow but she'll handle all the heavy pot-holes around town.

 

caster/camber plates, bump steer kit, and...roll cage. O_o haha...nice set up though man. Welcome to the world of the crappy "race" ride haha

 

Do you have any more info like links and pics? This interests me because I installed Spohn Tubular SFC's and my GTA still fells not near as stiff as I'd like...

 

LoL, where is that little smiley giving the middle fingers when ya need him?
But if my mom and dad would pay for my crate engine then I would have one too.

 

eight...no, twelve point cage.

-B

 

What is a "wonderbar/brace"? And what is its purpose? Located where on the car? -89IRO

 

it's ok, don't feel so bad.......i'll be sure to park it long enough for you to see my tail lights.

 

LoL. Gee thanks. :sillylol:

 

the wonderbar is like a strut tower brace that goes at the "bottom" of the front suspension. it's also kind of like front subframe connectors. it goes between the bolts that hold the sway bar bushings.

it will tighten up the steering of the car, and otherwsie stregthen the entire front subframe.

-B

 

O.K., I know exacty what you are talking about. So as long as I've got it, there isn't a need to waste money for an after-market one, right? -89IRO

 

right...from what i have learned about them, if you have a factory one, there isnt any point to an aftermarket one.

-B

 

Sounds good to me. I'm doing mine about the same way. Got,
Installed:
Stock wonderbar
Spohn Panhard bar
Not installed:
Spohn LCA's and relocation brackets
Spohn Torque arm
Eibach Pro kit
KYB GR-2 shocks and struts
PST front end rebuild kit
Baer bumpsteer (a.k.a. tracker) kit
Getting ready to order:
Inner tie rod ends, center link and idler arm from PST b/c these don't come with the kit.
Spohn sub frames
And when it comes out, Spohn STB.

 

paul_huryk



do you have any pictures, or info of where/how the kenny brown lower casis brace installs? thanks

 

Well I got a lot done since the last time I posted.

Eibach Lowering Springs - IN
Spohn Sway Bars - IN
Spohn SFC's - IN
Spohn Panhard bar - IN


I decided not to go with the relocation brackets since the car only got dropped maybe 1 inch-1.25 inches. And I just have to get my torque arm and I will be all finished with the suspension. Thing handles awesome and I am just getting it alighned today with -1 caster, +4.0 camber and 0 toe. Now I just need to find one more AutoX event before winter hits here in Michigan to test it out. I will post pictures of the new look when I get a chance. Biggest bitch was getting those front springs on and taking out the ole ball joints. Things were in there good! I replaced the ball joints with some new ones from autozone and at the alighnment they are repacking my wheel bearings for me since I haven't had time lately to do it myself. Pisses me off though cause for 50 bucks in parts I could have reinstalled my own wheel bearings. But atleast everything will feel great.

 

nice upgrades man. one question though... after all these upgrades how does the car feel? i want to upgrade my suspension too, but i dont wanna be bouncing around in my seat from every bump in the road...im looking for a tight suspension thats good for cornering/handling, braking and hooking up good.

 

Ahhhh.. I think you got those backwards.... -1* CAMBER and +4* CASTER sounds more like it.... +4* camber would make you drive around on the very outer edge of the tire contact patch.... which means poopy handling and even poopier looks.

The relocation brackets are a good idea even on a stock height car if it is going to hook up and launch hard or come out of corners hard. They change the geometry of the LCAs to better plant the rear under acceleration. If you don't want to mess with welding you can get the BMR bolt in ones.... They can be welded too though.....

 

Tell ya the truth, I haven't really pushed the new suspension with the springs to its limits yet. I did without the springs though and I like it a lot. Its not bouncy and it handles very well. Of course, ur gonna feel more bumps but with adjustable struts and shocks like the AGX's or Koni's, I am sure that can be eliminated. I have gas-a-just shocks and GR2 struts and its not bad at all.

 

LoL, yes. I had those backwards, thanks bud. -1 Camber, +4 caster and 0 Toe.

As for the relocation brackets, we threw them on my buddies 94 Z28 after we redid his whole suspension and the ride actually got worse. We tried moving the lca's to the middle bolt but it still wasn't as good as the handling was before. SO I am kinda leary on welding something on like that which might hurt handling but help launching. I understand, this might not be the case for everyone but from the cars I have worked on, it hurt it but those cars were only lowered 1 inch or so. So maybe thats it?

 

eric do you have a wonder bar.....?

also i just put a strut tower brace on mine to finish my suspension and it made a world of difference.

 

Wonder bar definatly a must as a precautionary measure. Go with Spohn or Global West forget Kenny Brown, too much money. Strut mounts can come later. Thinking of adding these myself soon, the new ones that Spohn now offers

 

I don't know what happened with the LCA relocation brackets that you have dealt with, but they have nothing to do with any change in anything but the geometry of the angles involved in the LCAs. They cannot possibly affect the cornering ability or ride harshness of the car. All they do is make the force of the rear axle pushing the car forward (transmitted to the car by the LCA) also push the axle down under acceleration versus up or not down as hard if the axle mounting point of the LCA is level or even above the body mounting point of the LCA. The reason most say they are a must with a lowered car is that the act of lowering the vehicle will often make the axle mounting point of the LCA end up above the body mounting point (since you are dropping the body down onto the suspension farther) which will actually UNLOAD the rear suspension under acceleration creating perfect conditions for mad wheel hop.

Myself and most of my friends are more road race oriented and we all installed them to aid in traction accelerating through corners. My car isn't as wild as some of the ones my friends have so I didn't notice a huge difference (I did notice a big difference in normal street driving and the little drag racing I have done), but some of the guys I know are pushing lots of power and have noticed much better traction accelerating through corners.

The other thing to keep in mind is the arc of travel of the LCA itself and how much more bind will be introduced when you swing the LCA farther from being level. A slight downward angle of the LCA coming from the body of the car is ideal but you can play with that with most of the brackets on the market I have seen.

 

i too had the relocation lca brackets and it was a waste of money....until i really lowered the car.

as far as the wonder bar....why not use gm's. works great and you can get it dirt cheap. although i don't know what the companies you mentioned charge.

 

Well, I am replacing everything on mine when it comes back from the body shop. Here's my list:

Suspension Build
TDS Wonderbar
TDS SFC's
36mm/24mm Sway bars
Eibach pro kit
STB - Hotchkiss
1le End links
GR2 Shocks and struts
PST front end rebuild kit including Inner tie rod ends, center link and idler arm
Spohn LCA relo brackets
Spohn LCA's
Spohn Panhard
Poly Engine Mounts
Poly Transmission mount
Driveshaft loop

I am looking for the ultimate toruing car. Awesome ride, but able to plant the power when need be. Think of a Sport cadillac on crack.

 

Go TDS for the wonderbar, you'll be glad you did. A much sturdier brace with a better design, and you can get it in like four different powdercoat finishes....

 

i don't know....4 bucks from the junkyard for my gm version and 10 dollars to powder coat. it works quite well for me! eric let me know if you need one and i'll help you out.

 

There has been much confusion on the KB part, the KB Lower Chassis Brace for $100 is NOT the same thing as a wonderbar. The KB mounts right in front of the tranny.

 

LoL. Hook a brotha up!

 

After all that work, do an "on-car wheel balance" The front wheels will be balanced with the rotor assy and will be great for no vibes.

 

I noticed an improvement in launching out of corners after getting my weld-in LCA relocation brackets put on, and no decrease in handling. Just thought I'd share.

-AJ