Hey all,
I am looking at doing some upgrades this spring and thought i would post here requesting any thoughts, ideas, and advice on the parts and process.

Car: 1991 Camaro RS
L03 305 V8 5 speed with 7.5 10 Bolt rear with 3.08 gears
Borla Exhaust, CPU Upgrade, Open Air Element, 17” SLP Wheels
Car usage is a 50-50 split between city and highway driving

Goals:
1. Increase traction and decrease launch time.
2. Add frame support to reduce flexing and overall stress.
3. Improve handling, especially during corning and getting sideways

Upgrades:
1. Convert rearend to a Limited Slip Posi rearend.
2. Upgrade Gears.
3. Add SubFrame Connectors. *Will go with Spohn $240
4. Upgrade Lower Control Arm and Panhard Rod. *Will go with Hotchkis rear suspension kit HSS-1801R $399
5. Upgrade front and Rear Sway Bars.
6. Add front Strut Brace. *Will go with Edelbrock EDL-5227 $129
7. Upgrade Shocks, Struts and Coils *most likey KYB

New:
1. replace the torque arm bushing with an Energy Suspension bushing
2. replace front lower A-arm bushings with an Energy Suspension bushing
3. update end links and center links with Energy Suspension bushings

Questions:
1 and 2: I will be having a shop do the Posi and and gears at the same time and is the main upgrade. As I do drive often at highway speeds, I was thinking of 3.55 gears. cost looks to be around $900 here in MN.
3. will have these installed with 1 and 2.
4. Should Relocation brackets be used even though the car wont be lowered for a few years?
4a. Will the UMI brackets work with the hotchkis LCAs?
6. Do these fit ok with a 14x3 air element installed?
7. most likey a couple years off.

All. Any particular brands I should avoid?
All. anything i am missing?

Thanks for all the excellent info that have already been posted on these boards! It has been a great source of info on figuring out what to do.

Tallion

 

#3) I have Kenny Brown subframe connectors and they are GREAT, but I can't recommend them because the company is out of business. It is not critical what subframe connectors you use, but they MUST be welded in.
4) Get Hotchkis rear suspension kit which is Panhard rod and lower control arms. You also need to replace the torque arm bushing with an Energy Suspension bushing. Pay particular attention to you old bushing before ordering new. With the posi, subframe connectors, and rear suspension kit your car will hook in a straight line.
5) No need to replace the sway bars if you have stock front and rear sway bars. You do need to replace the end links and center links with Energy Suspension bushings. Measure the end links with a tape measure and the sway bar diameter with ESs free tool.
6) The only front strut brace I know of that will work with that big an air cleaner is Edelbrock PN 5227.
7) KYB AGX full adjustable shocks and Eibach pro springs. With all these mods and good tires on your 17X8 SLP wheels your Camaro will handle like it is on rails.
One thing you did not mention is replacing the front lower A-arm bushings. Again Energy Suspension.

 

few more tips; you'll have a hell of a time finding 3.55 gears I think... 3.42 would work for ya though.

LCA's are cheap, and if someone is going to weld in your subframes, getting the lcas at the same time cuts cost even more. I'd go for it, they help even non-lowered cars. (a few people disagree on this *cough Mark cough*, but more often then not they are well liked...)

if I was in your shoes I wouldn't go with crazy good suspension pieces (like AGX shocks) if you still have a mostly stock L03. Perhaps gas-a-just and GR2s would be good enough, and stiff moog springs, save ya a bunch of cash, and it'll still handle quite well.

 

LCA RELOCATION BRACKETS!!!!!

 

agxs definetly arent 'crazy good' theyre capable and usable and for the price for a full set, theyre not worth it(GR2s on the other hand id probably say go for it), for comparison though to konis(my personal benchmark for whats good is konis and billstiens) spend the extra money and buy a set of those brands....

 

I paid $120 for each front strut and $90 each rear shock in Jan. 2005. The KYB AGX is fully adjustable. To me they are as good as the Koni. I have never had the KYB AGX and Koni on the same vehicle, but I have had the Koni on another vehicle. I have never owned a pair of Bliestin's. Also you might want to check out Year One's Next Generation catalog. They have a lot of suspension parts, great for comparision shopping and I think it is free, if not you can always check them out online.

 

both the 3.42 and 3.73 gears would work but right down the middle would be even best. will discuss with the shop on that one.

So the current sway bars should be fine as long as I replace the end links and center links then?

I am still doing a lot of research on this stuff. Figuring on early May to start on the upgrades.

 

Do I Need the adjustable Lower control arms and adjustable panhard rod? I am looking at going with UMI for both.

 

you don't necessarily need the adjustable lower control arms unless you need to set pinion angle...which you probably won't need to do.

if your lowering the car, you should get the adjustable panhard rod.

 

KYB's and Koni's are in different categories in my opinion. But hey if you got a deal on KYB's I say run them. I would recommend getting the SFC's and Struts/Shocks done first, thats gonna make the biggest difference in my opinion. After that I would do the springs and bushings, then the rest of the stuff you listed. If the posi and gears is gonna be that much you might want to consider just buying a posi 3.23 OEM rearend w/ disk brakes and swapping it in. If you were lucky you could even find one of the 3.4x posi rearends out of the manual cars. Probably going to cost hundreds less than the quote you got and be just as much fun. Guess it depends on if you want 0 mile new stuff or used higher mile stuff. I've personally gone the cheaper route with the higher mile OEM rearends and had no problems so far (cross fingers). I say save the $$, buy cheaper used OEM w/ good options, and spend that extra money you saved on a shift kit and trans cooler for that 700R4. Shift kit really makes a difference as far as how the car drives. Much more fun!!

 

I thought the adjustable lower control arms allow you to set the thrust angle, and the pinion angle is adjusted by an adjustable torque arm. ???

 

I think I will go with the Adjustable PHB and Arms. It sounds like if I want to do more changes done the road, it would be best to have them.

Wont be making the decision on struts until next year. As I understand it, they go KYB to Koni to Bilstein for cost and quality or preference.

I haven't had much luck in finding a used posi rear in my area and the thought of having to deal with having to make sure it was good and rebuilding it and not getting sold a piece of crap isn't something i want to do. The $900 price is for all the parts and the install. I dont have the skills, tools, or the garage to do that kind of work.

 

maybe that's it. don't take my word as the bible on that! lol! but i would think that the thrust angle and the pinion angle would change all the same...

 

I stayed away from the axle because it is not part of this forum, but you keep talking about it. I have torn mine up 3 times in 2 years. I do a lot of track days road racing. Richmind gears only. I have destroyed a set of GM and a set of USGear both in one race. You MUST go to a good posi. I am using an Auburn Pro and have had no trouble. There are other good posi's. Don't spend your money on hardened axles. I have used my OE GM thorough out, no trouble. Get an aluminum rear supporting cover. I have a TA Preformance, but there are other good ones. Use premium petrolem gear oil, Castrol or Slick 50 are probably the best. Themkin bearing and races only, no substitute. Don't forget the additive, use GM only.A RayTech pinion space is cheap($15) and may help.
A GM 7 5/8" 10 bolt is weak. You will eventually tear yours up if you have enough horsepower. When you do, don't keep rebuilting like me. Go to a GM 12 bolt or Ford 9".

 

It was almost 50-50 on which forum to post in and ended up going with this one. Most of the rear end stuff will depend on what the shop offers but it is nice to have some info on what are quality parts. Will follow up once I get some data from a few shops. The car is 150hp at the wheels now and will see some minor engine upgrades but with only 50k miles on it, the engine wont be going anywhere for awhile.

 

I haven't seen this mentioned yet but a Wonderbar (TDS or another supplier) or equivalent steering brace makes a world of difference in handling. Cheap at $50 and 10 minutes to install.