I've been reading through the posts and looking on various webpages, and i can see most of the differences. But there seems to be something different from my 1986 Z28 and my dads 1986 IROC Z28. His car has always handled better, it deals with bumps and jolts better, and the front end has always been lower.
I have been trying to turn my car into an IROC but there seems to be some things missing. I bought some IROC front springs from Oreillys and they are STIFF as hell, they really curbed the brake dive i had with the worn Z28 springs. You cant really push down the car in the front, unless you sit on it. The front end has actually been RAISED, and the car sits higher in the front now. I have KYB's all around, GR2s in the front and Gas-a-just in the back. I thought by putting IROC springs in the rear that the car would level off, but its still too high in the front. Is there something about the A-arms in the IROC's that make the front end sit lower? The sway bars on both cars are the same in the front and about the same in the rear. When i hit a rocky road, this thing jostles around terribly and ackwardly. On a clean stretch it will dust most cars on curves at high speeds.

I need some input from authentic IROC owners in the know and anyone with good knowledge about these camaros to get this info out. Anything is important, from bushings to hard parts.

Things i know about:
-Stiffer front and rear springs
-Wonderbar
-Higher effort steering box
-Lower .5" stance in the front
-Bigger sway bars

Modifications ive done:
-Fabricated Wonderbar
-IROC front and rear springs
-IROC wheels

Thanks

 

On the subject of the front end sitting up high... Did you index the springs properly? If not, it'll ride high.

 

Irocs had a quicker steering box ratio. They are TIGHT, i mean a lot more noticeable then my '92 z28 steering box.

 

Your springs aren't indexed right or you don't have the upper part of the coils placed in the upper spring bucket right, you'll have to reinstall them to get it right...read through this:

Yahoo! Photos - taramiller72's Photos - 88 Camaro Rebuild

I'm sure I'll miss something but the Iroc package had the following:

quick ratio steering box, larger sway bars depending on suspension package, badges, stripes, and wheels; TPIs depending on year, and some other stuff:

(Wikipedia.org)

1985
In 1985 Chevrolet introduced a new Camaro model—the famous IROC-Z, named after the popular competition International Race of Champions. IROC-Z Camaro featured upgraded suspension, special decal package and Tuned Port Injection system taken from the Corvette. Third generation Camaros also had a suspension system that was more capable in corners than the previous generation. The Camaro IROC-Z was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1985. The 305 was the only engine to receive the Tuned Port Injection considering the L98 350 was not available until 1987.

Ed

 

You said you bought iroc front springs not the rear? If so ur rear are prolly more sagged then the new front springs so it actually is higher in the front. You may already have the springs indexed correctly.

 

Evilcartman
Um index the springs?? What does that mean? We dropped the ball joint, supported the A-arms on jacks, took off the top nut on the struts and lowered the arms carefully. We didnt use a spring compressor, we just stuck the springs in the pocket and tried to get them to sit right and then jacked them up which in turn compressed the spring. (Dangerous)

Ed
You are the man! I need to get my spindles tapped and im putting those LS1 brakes on. OOPS i think we missed an important step. I have to sit the tail end of the spring between those two holes?? My springs look like yours, they are not flat on the ends. Thanks for the pictures. My A-arm bushings are shot, so i bought another set of A-arms and Delco bushings and im thinking of having the A-arms braced/boxed before having the bushings pressed in.

Stevo,
I just recently put IROC springs in the rear as well. Although at Oreillys they said that the IROC springs and the Z28 springs are the same, which i doubt. Do you have to index the rears as well?

Thanks everyone for your input!

 

I've probably taken about 100 or so camaros and firebirsd apart, and the suspention between a Z-28 and a IROC are pretty much identical, it matters more of what year and what suspention package it was ordered with than weather it was a IROC or a Z-28, the only main diffrance between the 2 while they were simultainously produced ('85 and '86 IIRC) were the name and a a little bit of trim, after that the IROC took over for the Z-28 until their licence for the name ran out.

 

84 Z-28 350,
Thanks thats just the answer i was looking for!