Hey guys I have a 1990 GTA with the WS6 suspension package... so what would you suggest for the best way of improving the handling? are there any specific struts or springs I can look for? any special polyurethane bushings or aftermarket torsion bars?

-Also.. does anybody have "Strut tower braces" on their cars and does it make a difference?

Thanks a lot guys.. much appreciated.

 

i'm gonna assume all ur shocks and springs are all original, and 16 years old.... last year i replaced all my springs and shocks/struts in my 88 rs, with a tockico package i got on ebay for about $420, big difference , and i noticed that all my old struts and shocks were completly dead, i would push them in and they just stay there, no bueno, you probaly already have big sway bars, but if you don't go out and get some 36/24 mm bars at the boneyard, best 40 bucks i ever spent, plus i got my wonderbar for free cause the bushings were still holding it onto the bar

 

A search will provide a ton of suspension info. 1988 is right, I think. I'd go struts and shocks first, then, not as a mod but as a necessary part of firming up your ride, SFC's and Wonderbar. After that there are enough choices to make your head swim.

JamesC

 

New poly bushings all around are easy to do, and relatively cheap. That's my favorite mod right there.
SFC's should be obvious, that's like night and day right there.

Everyone always says how "tight" my car feels, like a race car. I'm using pretty normal moog 5664 front springs, cc635's in the rear, and KYB shocks all around. And of course, poly everywhere. Stock sway bars.

Wow, 383 TT?? I'm gonna have to watch out for that rocket!
ps. I like your sig

 

Thanks for the replies. I did search, multiple times and I couldn't find anything useful.

Big thanks on the KYB/MOOG set up or the Tokico.. doesnt anybody have any experience in which is better? ... and where do I go to get these 36mm bars? Thanks guys... much appreciated.

 

theres a good chance you already have the 36mm bar, but you can find them, in the junkyard on irocs/ transams, i got mine from the junkyard for $18 bucks with the wonder bar too, off an 88-90 iroc, can't remeber,...., but you can find them on ebay for like $100 i think, plus it was lighter than the original 30mmm bar i had on there, but much firmer, i would also check the parts for sale forum on this site as as well.

new poly bushings in the front a-arms, and tubular panhard/lower control arms, with poly bushings or "spherical rod ends" in the rear would also make a big difference. the factory panhard/control arms with old rubber bushing flex alot and give a loose unpretictable feeling,

as for wich is better about the shocks/struts, i've only had the tockicos on, and am very pleased, but the kyb's seem to be very popular on here, any new shock is going to be better than the worn out ones you have right now

heres a link which talks about whick cars got what bars
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/faq-...=sway+bar+size

 

So far you have been given good suggestions. Here is what I have found with my car. Koni shocks there is no substitute for handling. Your sway bars should be 36/24 already so if you will be street driving the car all the time you will want something like700# front and 125# rear which is fairly close to the stock WS6 springs. Wonder bar is the best 50 you will spend. I have a stb and noticed very little difference. A good rear diff makes a big difference at corner exit, mine is a torsen t2r which is widely considered to be the best choice for cornering with a 10 bolt. rod ended phb is nice but not in the top 5 list of things to do. I have not tried LCA or relocation brackets due to autocross class rules but I would like to. I would put brake pads and tires high on the list. If you are not racing you can significantly improve your braking just by pad selection and making sure the stock system is working well. I like Hawk HP+ brake pads lots of dust though. Tires are not really a you get what you pay for item. I am using Falken Azenis (245 45 17) and they are amazing for a street tire and only 125 delivered to your door. My top 5 list considering where your car should be with WS6 parts already. Koni yellows, wonder bar, tires, brake refressher, and a rear diff.

 

Yea, I agree with the above, but recomend KONIs. They are about the best you can do, out of the box. Pricey, but worth it, IMO.

Tires should be up there on the list, too. The stickier the better. I had BFGoodwrench g-Force Sports. Loved them. Had to get a less sticky tire (Bridgestone Potenza G 009) due to the life of the BFGs. These aren't as sticky, but are decent and have a 40,000 mile warranty. If this isn't your daily, I'd say some Z-Rated AA Traction tires. But, they tend not to last very long.

SFCs is a big yes. I haven't gotten mine yet and am still ticked that I didn't this summer.

For brake pads, I'm running Hawks HPS and love them. Good stopping power, and they seem that they are going to last a while. Had them around a year.

And, yes, to the wonder bar as well. They make a huge difference in hard cornering. Mine really surprised me when I installed it. Big band for the buck. Just make sure to take all the wrenches out of the suspension before driving off...eheh.

 

I'd really do SFC's first. Then poly bushings everywhere. That'll make the car feel about as rigid as you can get without a cage. It's SOLID. I'd take ya for a spin if it wasn't all snowy and crappy out...

The only one you can't really do yourself easily, is the front and rear LCA's. I got the guys at EGB manufacturing in Cochrane to press them in for me, for $20.

KYB struts aren't stocked everywhere, but parts source can get them from their warehouse for $107per for the fronts I think, I got 'em from best buy high performance (center str and 20th ave). Shocks I think I got off summit. Even after air shipping, and $ conversion, it was cheaper. I think $40 per (in USD), about $120 for the pair, $CA, in my hands. Easy to swap too.

So those are about what you'd pay for KYB. Look into the others. Tokico's aren't easy to find, (and more$) and Koni's are hugely more $. Depends on what you're willing to spend on those.

 

Can't do bushings yourself? I did mine on my car and on my bros Z. you can and its not that hard to do.

oh and for using poly bushings it is a good upgrade but i went with rubber and my bro went with poly and you really cant tell much difference exept under REALLY hard driving. if you have the original bushings even new rubber replacements will be a HUGE improvement. they even helped the smoothness of the ride.

 

I did all the bushings but the LCA's. I gave up, and got the guy to press them in for me.
Front control arms, I haven't done yet. How did you do them yourself? Rent a ball joint press and use that?

 

I don't normally jump in on threads, but I though I would share my experiences. A WS6 should have the big sway bars already. I think the front springs are 600#/in and the rears are 175#/in (i'm guessing off of memory since I don't have my design book here at work.) Koni struts, even the single adjustables, are hard, harder and rock solid in ride firmness. You don't need heavier spring rates. Bushings, polyurethane or delrin (I don't know if anyone sells these as kits, but are much more comfortable than monoballs and spherical rod ends everywhere).

Like people were saying here, sub frame connectors(welded in) are a good starting point. Mine were Southside Machine, who I think is now out of business. Complete front end rebuild, and a better pan hard rod on the rear. The factory one works, but a solid thin wall tube with rod ends is better.

A really good alignment and DOT legal sport tires (Toyo RA1s, etc) will really show whither you need to improve your driving skills or more suspension upgrades. I use to run this combo at streets of willow and in autocross and the car had more in it than I did. I guess I am saying I needed to improve my lap times to be more consistant than running 'better' suspension. Tires will make a HUGE difference in how the car handles. A common error (IMO) is that people want to run stiffer springs. It gets to a point where the tires are not in contact with the road/track during the bumps (usually the most critical time you want full tire contact).

Cheers.

 

yep like already said, shocks/springs and bushings...sub frame connects...

those are the main three places to start. i like my tokico adjustable shocks.. 5 way adjustability to dial in that ride/handling. cant beat that. setup soft for daily driving or drag strip use, or stiff as can be for road racing/handling.

 

1. Tires 2. Koni/Bilstien struts 3. Agressive Alignment

 

the setup i used to have was eibach sportline springs, suspension techniques sway bars, monroe sensatrack shocks and struts, poly bushings, LCA's, panhard, T/A, strut brace, subframe connectors, rollcage(10pt w/o door bars) and stock s-10 extreme wheels and tires (16x8's w/ 235/55-16 goodyear eagles). the best handling car i ever rode in. absolutely no body roll. probably could have used bigger wheels and tires but it worked good for stock.

 

My setup and this is on a WS6 Formula:
Southside Machine subframe connectors (no longer produced from what I've been told)
Energy Suspension polyurethane everywhere
Stock 36mm/24mm sway bars with poly bushings and endlinks
Eibach Sportline springs
Tokico Illumina 5 way adjustable struts and shocks
IROC wonderbar
Spohn adjustable torque arm, adjustable panhard bar, LCAs and relocater brackets
Edelbrock 3 point strut tower brace
BFGoodrich G Force KDWs on 17" TT2s
The car's ride is solid and believe it or not quite comfortable. Turn the wheel and she moves right now. Very precise feel and very little if any body roll. Car doesn't bounce from being too stiff and doesn't rattle your teeth.

 

With the spring rates and amount of lowering the Sportlines give you, you might want to upgrade to something better in the way of shocks/struts. Those shocks/struts are made to run with factory spring rates and ride height.
I had them on my car, then I put on the Pro-Kit. About 8-9 months later, they were dead. In serious need of replacing because of little to no rebound or compression resistance. With some KYBs or Tokicos (or KONIs, Bilsteins preferably) the car would handle much better. I would go with 245/50R16s for tires. Just a bit more grip.
Just trying to help you out from personal experience.

 

How i did it was a unbolted and removed them from the car(DUH!) :P then i cut a piece of pipe the same thickness as the area between the two sections of sheet metal and then cut about a 1/3 of it out to allow it to go around the existing bushing so i wouldnt smash the LCA, then i just beat the crap out of the old bushing till it came out. took about 2 good swings with my 2lb mini sledge to do the trick.

Next step was to get a piece of All thread ,some nuts ,washers and a 2 peices of pipe about 2" long, not shure about the size of pipe but big enough to rest on the metal flange made into the one side of the bushing and clear the other side as it come through. Just thighten the heck out of it till its in and there ya go.

Only took me 3 hours to do including fabbing the tools and figuring out just how to do it.

oh another thing only remove 1 LCA at a time. I took one off and started on the other and as soon as the bolt was half out the car tryed to shove the LCA i was working on forwards really hard. Had to have my dad push the car forwards while i shoved the axle back with my foot to get it back in.

on the A-arms i did much the same only i didnt use the allthread instead i used a very large shop vice. the hard part is getting the old bushings out the new ones going in is not that hard.