In my never ending quest for knowledge i have come up short in suspension areas. I've been through Spohn and many other sites looking at "suspension upgrades". I would prefer to build a 4-link and back half my car, but i don't know if that would be complete overkill. When i build an engine to push 450-500hp and more torque than that to the wheels. How well can a trailing arm/torque arm setup hold up? I have a factory torque arm which I assume is basically garbage, and other parts I was planning on replacing anyway w/ the build. But my major question is, how much of an improvement are the suspension upgrades are people seeing without engine/trans mods. For example, if i switch to coil overs, how much time should I pick up? upgrading the torque arm? I understand handling is different than acceleration, but how do get the best of both worlds? I plan on cage too. just curious, thanks in advance.

 

Well I can't give you any times, but I can tell you that re-doing your suspension will help your overall times rather than a ragged out 20 year old suspension. You'd want to get some lower control arm relocation brackets, these will help you by arching your control arms more to help get the power to the ground. Good tires will help you catch that power and hook up. Upgrading all of your bushings would be another good thing to do because most are old and cracked and broken and will not help you handle anything.

I'm not sure if a aftermarket torque arm will neccessarily help your times, Some will say that it will, some will say it doesn't matter, take it for what it is. I think maybe an adjustable one will probably help just because you can angle it a bit more to aim toward the ground.

A set of subframe connectors will help stiffen up your car and make it act like it was on a set of rails. Definately a needed upgrade on our cars, even moreso if you have t-tops. Along with these I'd get new springs, struts, and shocks. Doing this all around will give you a much better control over your car and make it more sturdy.

Hope I helped, I am sure I missed out on some stuff so if anybody wants to add on please do so.

 

No, they correct an issue that occurs when lowering your vehicle. They may also improve a stock vehicle, but they correct the angle the LCA sits at in reference to the ground. That angle is important in how your car will handle. There is a long post about those relocation brackets somewhere that describes the exact science of it.


djwimbo, you are on the right track by studying these boards. Maybe somebody else will come in to enlighten you.(And Legal Disaster)

 

I would also invest in a strut tower brace. It ties the front end together and makes the car a lot stiffer around twisties.

 

Your stock suspension will work for 400 - 500 hp... and then some. There are plenty of guys running stock suspension set up with tons of power.

The key is to set it up correctly. When I installed my LS1...I just about tripled my horsepower and torque over the 305, maybe more. I decided to re-do my suspension because it was old and worn out and I wnated the car to be tighter.

LCA relocation brackets are really only needed when you lower the car in my opinion. Im lowered 1" and I have a set to install. If you go back and look at your lower control arms, and your panhard bar, you will notice its all made from fairly thing stamped steel. You can litterally twist those parts in your bare hands. Not that you car really tries to twist them that much..but still. Also...all your bushings, while each one of them individually might not be THAT bad...all those little worn out problems will translate into sloppy handling and ill tempered road manners.

My recipe was as follows...and my car handles better than it ever has, much better than a stock 4th gen, the ride is nicer, and its actually quieter now.

Tubular lower control arms with poly bushings. Adjustable panhard bar with poly bushings. All bushings in the front suspension, as well as the sway bar end links are poly. I have an eibach pro-kit installed. Bilsteins front and back with new solid strut mounts for the front. I installed a new steering box, and replaced all of the front end parts including all the tie rods, drag link, idler arm, and ball joints. They were all worn out badly. I installed a wonder bar while I was at it..as well as some solid tie rod adjusters. The last thing on my list was a tubular adjustable torque arm. Pretty much had to go with that for the swap...plus I can change my pinion angle easily.

Thats about it in a nutshell as far as handling and ride went. Expensive...yes. Worth it...definetly. It really made the car a pleasure to drive. Handling is so good its scary. I still havent found its cornering limits yet..where as before they were easy to find even though the car would handle ok.

Point is...You can do a lot and rebuild the entire suspension. Or you can do the more important stuff first and slowly upgrade everything or atleast replace everythign that is worn out. Things that will make the biggest impact will be steering parts (ball joints and tie rods), and bushings. That is a big step to tightening things up.

If you need anymore help Im sure you can get it here. Lots of great info. Just ask!

Justin

 

IMO, pushing 450-500 horse you will want to atleast remove the tq arm mount from the trans and put it on a solid mount. I would think that much power would really cause havoc on the stock design.


As for getting better times down the track, thats not my goal so I havent really studied that. But plenty on here have.

Are you having any problems at the moment? Wheel hop, tire spin, wants to jerk to one side, etc?

 

Good point Dale... My torque arm came with the conversion crossmember so it was already attached to the member... Didnt even think of that.

Justin

 

I'm not currently having problems. well other than I totalled my car a week ago and am dealing with the insurance company now. I understand the point of stiffening everything. such as, strut tower brace, SFC's and what not. I'm doing research before the build, I DO NOT want to waste money. Unless I know it'll need replacement or upgraded. I'm not planning on lowering the car or relocating LCA's. I was mostly curious what everybody was bragging about with replacement suspension parts w/o major upgrades to the drivetrain. wieght reduction - tubular k-member, control arms, torque arm, etc. I understand the ET benefit portion, I was curious if someone had ONLY done suspension mods to a vehicle and left it stock.

Does anybody know links that may help me?

I hadn't considered making a solid mount for the torque arm yet. I like the idea, is it a pivot(bolt) or still a bushing like what i have on the side of my trans?

Any recommendations on alignment specs for handling or drag? I'm a complete novice when it comes to alignments.

I was also told that a GM 10 bolt won't hold the power i'm looking to get. If I upgrade to a 12 bolt or a 9" would it be worth setting up a different style suspension in the rear? If so, what?

 

after you get a new car...

I suggest a good set of tire to improve the performance of a stock engine and stock chassis.

Tires are the most important aspect. All suspension mods exist only to help the tire stay planted to the road. It really is that simple.

When you can no longer hook the tires that you have choosen to run and can not upgrade due to rules or space issues fit; Then invest in suspension to get the tire to work again.

Don't wast money on what you don't need.