In the Feb 2004 mag of Chevy High Performance there is a 7 page article on how to add all new suspension parts to a 3rd gen, from springs to shocks to torque arms, etc. It is GREAT and wicked informative.

Definately pick it up!

 

how about you scan it and email it to me?

i'm serious

 

Hmm, that's a lot of scanning! Maybe if I get bored lol...


I'll see what I can do tomorrow.

 

Aaron: I read the article too. I've been a CHP subscriber for many years. I also have an IROC like you, and they were doing the conversion to an RS. The only part I couldn't figure out is why they only achieved .8 g's. A stock IROC tested back in 1987 achieved .88!!! with our stock suspension. I put Hotchkis front and rear springs in mine but stayed with the GM IROC struts and shocks. Lowered the car 2" and made it handle even better than stock. I'm not a road racer, but I like to push my car thru turns just below the point where it breaks traction. It's amazing how fast IROCS can go thru turns and not loose traction.

 

I second that. I have the Hotchkis strut tower brace, Hotchkis panhard rod, Energy Suspension torque arm mount, and tranny mount. I can take an off ramp at 60 with no problem! It seems to glue to the road really well; only a few times has it begun to slide out.

Were the lowering springs worth the $?

 

The front and rear springs weren't that much money, and I instantly noticed a much better, stiffer ride. I don't have the Hotchkis strut tower brace and Hotchkis panhard rod, but I did install all new Energy Suspension front end kit.
Aaron: I am 56 years old and have owned many cars in my life, and my IROC has set all my world records in longitivity. I've never owned or heard about any car living as long as my IROC. After 220,000 miles I finally needed to rebuild the front end suspension. In that amount of miles the front end NEVER got out of adjustment or alignment, a world record!!! At 239,000 miles I took the "still running good" L98 out. The rest of the car is still original (700R4, rearend etc.). And it is not because I am easy on the car!!!!
I don't care what anybody says, the proof is evident to me, the 3rd gens are one of the best cars ever built.

 

<wipes a tear from his eye> That was seriously beautiful! I definately agree with that. I have 192000 miles, all original drivetrain, and still kicking! The last owner bought her at around 80k, and drag raced it till I bout it at 170k!!

 

Yeah I was shocked to see a Third gen on the cover! It was great when they said the Camaro ran what an 03' SVT Cobra ran through the one course! I planned on doing all of those mods next spring and almost started a thread asking if anyone had done the whole setup at one time. I already have the 17x9.5's and BFG's now all I need is about $2000 worth of parts. Damn where the hell is Santa when you need him!

 

If you notice in the photo where they say they rolled the front lip you can see on the tire where it was shaved by the fender a bit. Ask me how I know.

 

I can't believe they did'nt weld in some sfc's.

 

Trust me, I know about tires getting shaved from the inner lip there! I got a nice L shape where the tread meets the sidewall

 

After I read the article, I was grinning big time. Note the sig.

JamesC

 

they were waiting for a new set of SFC's from Edelbrock I belive. Supposed to be a new item so they said they would do a test on it later.

 

I am very unhappy with the results they poste - only .80g? an RS can beat that on 15" tires...

Like others mentioned, they skipped a lot of other parts too - subframes especially.

I have an old article from the late 80's with a 1987 TA that had the springs, shocks/struts, and sway bars replaced - it ran .997g on RE71 16" rubber - the CHP should have at least equaled that. What a pity.

 

i am pretty sure all of our cars were higher than that stock, i know the F41 RS cars were in the .92g range stock.

 

I read the article, and copied it for my files/future reference. Like someone said from above, they need to install the subframe connectors on this car. They talk about the lack of full frame on the F-body, but don't connect it up. Should be one of the first mods anyone does to it. Yea I know they were waiting for the Edelbrock units to come out....but there several other brands out there.

I was also disappointed with their test results. Also, they didn't break out the cost of each item they added. Something about 3k$ total in susp parts. I think we could do better than that!! CHP has a habit of not giving out the costs of the parts/work they perform.

I am runing SPOHN real LCAs, panhard bar and the lowering mounts. My SFCs are SSM i believe. I would like to get the adjustable torque arm next, then maybe some nice adjustable Koni shocks.

PS I really like Jmiller's story from above!

 

That was a sad excuse for a third gen suspension upgrade, really pathetic actually. They missed the first upgrade they should have done - SFC's. The didn't get relocating brackets. They used the bulky edelbrock control arms ( i wonder how much unsprung weight they add? They didn't mention anything about alignment. The sportline's seem to be more of a style statement than a performance spring. I would have loved if they got some moog's and cut them down, while posting the number of coilsthey cut. Lastly they decided to go with tokico hp's???? why not illuminas or koni's, for christ sake they are in california!! not new york or new jersey. The numbers sum it up. to think what they spent on bigger rubber and wheels!!

 

That whole article was a crock. My ***... did anybody see the pic of the shocks they took out? They wouldn't even stay up on their own, yet when they kept the stock wheels/tires, their skidpad numbers went DOWN after the new suspension. What that tells me is that there was something SERIOUSLY wrong with that car. The only thing that helped it get .8 was the bigger rubber. That car was pathetic.

In 85, every magazine that tested the 85 IROC got .90 skidpad numbers with Goodyear Gatorback tires! The same car with those Eibach springs and modern rubber should easily pull .90 or even higher with an otherwise stock suspension. Even with the smaller sway bars, that RS should have been able to pull nearly .90 with the big rubber and the eibach springs.

I think the first thing they should have done was gone through the entire suspension and replaced any worn items. I have to guess that the front suspension on that car is completely shot.

 

I think they should have run differant tires, dont get me wrong BFG makes a good tire but most are soft. I personally run Yokohama Decibels (275/40/17) they have awsome treadwear. I have tested a few differant tires, BFG's included, Toyos, cooper cobra.... nothing can touch the performnece of the Decibals. Just my .02 cents.

 

.

 

Soft tires grip better. Hard tires offer better tread wear.