Im getting an 5.0 5 speed t top car....i want to fully re do the suspsion...i want this car to handel the best a 3erd gen can...im also gonna swap in a 350 tpi...if that mjatters. what parts should i use?

 

do you have any idea what you want to do with the car? what the application is, that would make a differance in the parts you use.

 

Well what i really wanna do is corner. I mean im not auto crossing it or anything. Just brisk rumps tro the street. Before this my car had an IRS set up (it was non GM) and it toke corners like a dream it was also about 4,250 wlbs with out driver. so i tault a lighter F body could handle the dame being its so much lighter. Only thing is the live axel...Just wanted to know what was the best? and i wanna avoid twisting the frame with th e t tops and all. im not worried about ride quality at all. This is not a daily driver

 

there are ALOT of options, and some of them like spring rates and sway bars will come down to driver preference. the suspension as a whole is a system, and everything in the system has to work together. to get the 'best' handling you are probably going to want to make some customer parts, since the rear roll height of our cars is higher than the rear, a PHB relocation setup would be nice, to lower the rear roll height. unbalanced engineering makes one for 4th gens, you could probably use them, but would need their PHB, and the roll height it diffrent, so you would want to calculate yours and figure out he proper length to drop it.

basicly you are going to want to trim weight, get good springs, great shocks/sturts, and then eleminate weak points in the geomitry and parts. it is quite the process, some people here have remarkable cars, and are still tuning their suspensions. but like any car, sticky tires will go a LONG ways to making it handle great.

 

here's what I did and it was unbelievable:

1984 Trans Am, stock sway bars 1.25" front, 3/4" rear

Upgraded the stock 15x7" rims to stock IROC 16x8" rims w/245/50/16 Khumo Ecsta tires.

PST front end rebuild kit (urethane bushings, ball joints and tie rods)

Hotchkis rear end stabilizer kit (LCAs and pan-rod, bushings included)

KYB GR-2 gas struts and shocks (affordable, very tight...I also put four of these on my '89 corolla daily driver)

KYB strut mounts

GM rubber spring cushions (to prevent squeeking)

Eibach Pro-Kit (1.25" drop, no special alighnment needed)

sway bar bushings for the rear.


I had sucky traction because I hadn't installed rear LCA relocation brackets, but it was fun breaking loose in 1st,2nd and 3rd.

I didn't get around to finding a wonder bar, strut tower brace and frame connectors. I also had plans for a roll cage, but I never got around to any of that.

I also had replaced my entire power steering system, center link and inner tie rods, the rest was tight so I left it alone. The one thing I really wanted was that 2.25 ratio steering gearbox, hard to find and expensive to buy new.

I'm not as fussy as some of these guys here, I was quite impressed. I could not get my car to wipe out.

I never got to do a direct comparison between the T/A and my 3KGT, but for a solid axle RWD car it did very well.

I don't remember going through any twisties at 110mph with the T/A but that's when I almost wiped out in the Mitsu....that's an adrenaline rush I won't ever forget! .....Just let of the gas and don't make any sudden movements....I can feel my heart in my throat right now...

 

you can start with the basics, SFC's, a strut tower brace and a wonderbar. All the stock rear suspension pieces are garbage and need to be replaced. Several manufacturers sell tubular pieces with poly bushings, take your pick of them, they're all about the same.

From there, a nice beefy adjustable torque arm is a nice addition. Lowering springs help, but get relocation brackets for the rear lcas. Koni makes some great adjustable shocks and struts, look into those as well. Thridgen swaybars are pretty beefy to begin with, some poly end links are nice though. The front end, you'll wanna at least put new poly bushings in. I'm not sure what the availability of tubular A arms is, but they help quite a bit as well.

If you wanna go farther than that, your looking at custom spring rates and bigger swaybars. The whole thing starts getting really complicated at this point.

Once your done, go have fun out cornering go-karts (just don't forget that your stock brakes still suck)

Eric

 

had to go back and remind him so he wouldnt run over any gokarters eh zupmanZ28? lmao. (hit edit instead of quote next time )






best things to start with, is a solid base... wonderbar and STB stiffen up the cornering feel.... SFCs are a must have that keeps the car from flexing.

after thoes inital mods, you have a choice... rebuild the front suspension, then get a performance orented alignment, or get a alignment now...

with the exception of tires and strut/shocks, the alignment made the biggest diff in my car...

good tip though.... remove the strut mounting plate and elongate all the holes so you can have the ability to adjust in more camber and caster... then go by the "Hard Street Use" settings given here: https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/faq/thirdgen.shtml
(once the page loads, hit Ctrl+F and search for "camber")
big big. diff.
im on the stops with my car since i cant adjust it quite to where i want it... but its very very close...

stiffen the car.. rebuild whats sloppy, and get the alignment... then start upgrading... athough you'll probly be happy with it cornering wise at that point.... to make it amazing you start getting into aftermarket shocks and struts, spohns sway bars, and your choice of rear suspension parts.