I am concidering doing a complete upgrade to my cars suspension. I want to know what you guys have used, what worked, what didn't, brands that hold up and any that didn't and did you notice real improvements to the car. So far the car has Edelbrock torque arm, a 383 stroker making over 400HP. I want to hear about any that you have personally tried.
The car is going to be driven daily, rain or shine, and street raced constantly. I want bolt in parts, I'm no welder, and I'm not looking to have to adjust anything for different applications.I want it to launch good, corner good, drive good and most of all be very durable! Imagine buying a new sportscar, that is an all around good performer, that's kinda what I'm trying to do, get new sportscar ability from my 3rd gen. I don't want parts that are delicate or brake under stress. Here are a list of the upgrades. Anybody used these parts? What brands are good? What no so good? Whats not worth the money? Have you used one or more of these? Let me know what you thought.
PLEASE ONLY FIRST HAND ADVISE WANTED.

1. A-ARMS- are they worth the cost? Whats the pros and cons?

2. CASTER CAMBER PLATES- what do they do? LOL

3. CROSSMEMBERS

4. K-MEMBERS

5. LOWER CONTROL ARMS

6. LOWER CONTROL ARM RELOCATION BRACKETS

7. PANHARD BARS

8. SHOCKS and SPRINGS

9. SPINDLES

10. STRUT TOWERS and STEERING BRACES

11. SUBFRAME CONECTORS

12. SWAY BARS

13. SWAY BAR END LINKS

14. TORQUE ARMS

Thanks for any advise you can give.

 

The main purpose of aftermarket A-arms is to reduce weight. LCA's are a good thing to upgrade, I just boxed up my stock ones. For 400+ hp, SFC's will probably universally be recommended. A tubular panhard bar is nice, they're easy to make, but also cheap to buy. Spindles probably don't need to be replaced unless they are damaged or broken, or if you want to lower your car with drop spindles. I'd recommend all poly suspension bushings, that will be one of the largest improvements.

 

brands, UMI performance, Spohn, BMR, racecraft are all common ones here and are far superior to edelcrock, that torque arm is a joke IMHO.

Im a big fan on UMI. BMR makes good stuff, so does Spohn, but their a-arms and k-member are off, and cause issues that im unsure if they have been resolved.

1. a-arms, nice eye candy and shave a few pounds, thats about it. cost about 400 bux, dont buy spohns.
Not a real priority to buy. I have UMI's arms, love them, but im a suspension *****. Stock ones with new poly bushings would be fine.

2. camber caster plates, the allow greater adjustment of the front alignment. A good thing to have if you wan to tune the car for better handling, and the stock mounts are probably wasted anyway. Spohn makes good ones, and Hotpart.com also has some really nice pieces.
I had hotparts, which were quite nice, now i have spohns because im using coil-overs.
I would put the mounts on the list, just research them first before you buy.

3.crossmembers, i assume trans crossmembers? No point buying just a crossmember, unless its part of a crossmember mounted torque arm setup. these setups are far superior to the factory design, like the edelcrock arm, which has the arm on the trans tail shaft. This design mounts the arm on the crossmember and off of the trans eliminating possible damage to the trans.
I have a UMI crossmember mounted arm, its awesome.

4. k-member, they make a lot of extra room for large exhaust, Long tube headers, and they shave weight. Not really needed unless you are using large diameter long tube headers in a drag orientated car. Im still using stock, im waiting for UMI to make a k-member.

5.lower control arms. The stock arms flex and the bushings are probably shot by now. A good set of tubular arms are a good idea. Getting ones with a rod end on one side will allow for adjustment and less suspension bind.

I have custom offset Spohn LCA's, but also have a set of UMI's on the shelf, no problem with either. Put them on the list.

6.LCARB's, a must for lowered cars, weld in ones are the only way to go. they help with traction on launch on non lowered cars too. Another good idea to put on the list. my rear came with the installed, but you can get good ones from UMI or Spohn.

7. panhard bars, same as the LCA, the stock one is weak and flexes too much. an adjustable one is a very good idea to help center the rear is you lower the car.
I have a UMI one. Put it on the list

8.Shocks springs, what do you want to know?

9.Spindles, the only aftermarket are drop spindles, Racecraft, they keep steering geometry correct if you lower the front of the car alot without using a bumpsteer kit. I have stock ones, i have no need for anything else.

10. Strut tower bar, a good aid to tighten up the front end of the car, the fitment depends on you engine, edelbrock makes some good ones, UMI makes a TPI version, hotchkis makes one, and some other people do.

I have one, a modified edelbrock one, i would recommend one, the brand is your decision.


11.subframe connectors. A absolute must for every 3rd gen, they should be your first mod, have the welded in, you can still buy a bolt in set, just make sure to have a shop weld them in so they work properly.
I have Alstons connectors, welded in. DO THIS FIRST!!!

Steering brace, "wonder bar" originally a band-aid for a weak subframe, they have kinda turned into a performance piece. I would recommend them if you are running larger that stock wheels and wider tires up front. I have one from UMI that i modified to an adjustable piece.

12.Sway bars, again what are you looking to get out of them? They control body roll. Generally, larger bars in balanced sets help handling. If the car is used on the street, keep them and upgrade to the common 36mm front, 24mm rear bars, they seem to work well for most people.
Im using a 36mm front and a 19mm rear.

13.torque arms. Ones that are mounted on the crossmember are stronger that the ones that mount on the trans tailshaft. the also for the most part decrease ground clearance a little, and can be an issue if you plan to run long tube headers.
Im using one from UMI, but many people make them in different designs and styles. If you are happy with your edelbrock one and want to keep it thats fine. If you start making some higher HP numbers, i would suggest getting a crossmember mounted one.

Not on your list, but Tires are a large factor on how the car preforms. The car can have all the best parts and a billion horse power, but with crappy tires, it will all be to waste.

-Phil

 

Thanks for the info so far. These pieces that your recomending, have you used them yourself? What is the deal with the K-Member? You said their off? Do they not fit well? Or are they easily damaged?

I'm not planning to lower the car. My idea is to keep it looking as stock as possible from the outside. I have 16 irock rims with BFG tires, stock size in front and just a hair larger drag radials in back. I won't go back to dragradials again. They do help with off the line traction, but I don't like the way they look or corner. I was thinking about 17 torq thrust rims, but with a little taller side wall tire than what you'd see on a tuner. I had 18s with the low side wall and there was ZERO traction off the line.

I was hoping to not use very much "adjustable" parts. I kinda wanted something that will get the job done without me having to tinker with adjustable pieces.

Keep the personal experiences coming guys. I appreciate it.

 

If you do get adjustable parts, you can use the original parts as a template to match them to, while they are out of the car. Just adjust the adjustable suspension components mountung points (torque arm, panhard bar, etc) to line up with the mounting points on the original part, and you know they're adjusted correctly. Then, if you ever do need or want the adjustability, you don't need new suspension components. That's my $.02.

Anyways, if you do decide not to go with adjustable parts, you'll save some money.

 

//<86TA>\\ pretty much answered all your questions on the good and bad of the parts and what companies to go with... it seems you just want/need more first hand experience.

1. A-ARMS- are they worth the cost? Whats the pros and cons?
no experiance with them and probably never will... I just can't justify spending about $400 to save like 10 pounds. Plus, I'm all for function over form.

2. CASTER CAMBER PLATES- what do they do? LOL
I have the hotpart strut mounts and they are wonderful. No complaints at all. More then enough adjustment.

3. CROSSMEMBERS
I still have the stock piece and probably will for a while because I wont get an upgraded one until I get a torque arm which wont be anytime soon because my car doesn't make enough power for me to fear breaking the tail shaft on the tranny. The flexing of this and the torque arm at my power level (stock 305 TPI) is negligible anyway.

4. K-MEMBERS
once again, no experience and probably never will have any... the $/pound doesn't seems worth it, and I don't ever plan on going with long tube headers so clearance will never be an issue.

5. LOWER CONTROL ARMS
I have UMI tubular rod/poly ended units. they are great, no complaints. I noticed a little more traction.

6. LOWER CONTROL ARM RELOCATION BRACKETS
I have yet to install mine... mostly because I can't make up my mind on what rear end to stick with.

7. PANHARD BARS
this is also UMI rod/poly tubular bar on my car. Looks good and no complaints. The rear seemsed to stick to the ground better when taking fast turns.

8. SHOCKS and SPRINGS
I went with the eibach pro-kit springs (they say it lowers and inch but my ride height went up) and koni yellows. The yellows are a gift from god! They are adjustable so you can fine tune how you want the car to handle. I wish the front springs of the pro-kits were stiffer but I am big into autocross so they may be perfect for you.

9. SPINDLES
I say don't bother unless yours are messed up, but in that case you probably have bigger things to worry about.

10. STRUT TOWERS and STEERING BRACES
I have the Edelbrock STB that I will be installing in the spring so I guess I can't really comment on that. My car came stock with a wonder bar so I can't really comment on that either. I say go with a 3pt STB simply because they are way better at stiffening up the front of the car. (based on what I read, and I've read a lot)

11. SUBFRAME CONECTORS
I bought the Spohn SFC which will also be installed in the spring... I can't wait

12. SWAY BARS
I have the 36mm/24mm setup but plan on dropping the rear down to 21 in the spring. I have way too much oversteer with the 24 so I am hoping the 21 will be just right for my driving style. I say don't bother with aftermarket bars since stock GM bars are so much cheaper ($30 vs $150) and still very easy to get.

13. SWAY BAR END LINKS
poly for the swaybar bushings and endlinks will make a big differnce. do it.

14. TORQUE ARMS
*see my comment under crossmember*

Some parts should be adjustable whether you like it or not. Besides, if you get the adjustable stuff from UMI, they have it set to the stock length right out of the box. (not sure about other companies)

I'm also partial to UMI because of their 10-15% group purchases they sometimes have. That and they are a little cheaper to begin with and their quality is just as good if not better.

Mike

 

Looks like people have hit the nail on the head. Although, you will want to move shocks and tires to the top of the mods list. This is where everything comes together in suspension- tires touch the ground and the shocks control the suspension. You can put everything else on the car, but run crap shocks and crap tires, you've done a fine job of wasting a bunch of money.

For the SFCs, find someone who you'll trust to weld on your car to install these. Bolt ins, IMO, are a bad idea on a car that's driven aggressively.

You can build your own LCAs and PHBs, but hotpart.com's pieces pretty much eliminated the money reasoning behind it. I built mine cheap due to some good deals from Herron Performance. Click my sig pic to see what I mean (it's a link to my CarDomain).

On the adjustable parts, I say get everything you can adjustable. The deeper you get into the game, the happier you'll be. I want to get a set of Ground Control weight jacks. It allows you to adjust the ride height while leaving the suspension in it's stock arrangment or perminatly altering anything.

With the aftermarket K-member and cross-member, I'm planning a LS1 (or 2 or 3 lol)/T56 so I will eventually have an aftermarket crossmember/torque arm because of that. Also, the adjustable torque arm will allow you to tune for better grip under braking/throttle. I also want to get an aftermarket K-member with the LS1 for clearance around the headers, AC, and the additional weight savings. Probably A-arms to match. But that's way in the future. Between the fiber-glass hood I have, the all aluminum LS_, the tubular front end, and the planned battery relocation, I'll shave a good portion of weight off the front which is always a really good thing. Figure ~35 lbs for the battery, ~80lbs from the engine weight, another say 20-30 from the K-member/control arms, then however much I've lost from the hood.... just cut 100-150 lbs.

 

[quote=blp226;3999470]Thanks for the info so far. These pieces that your recomending, have you used them yourself? What is the deal with the K-Member? You said their off? Do they not fit well? Or are they easily damaged?

I was hoping to not use very much "adjustable" parts. I kinda wanted something that will get the job done without me having to tinker with adjustable pieces.

/quote]

All the parts that i recommend, i have on the car. The only parts i dont have on the list are an aftermarket k-member, and thats just because i havent found one that i like, and aftermark spindles, because i have no use for them.

As for the one that i said was "off", many people here complained that the Spohn k-member and a-arms lowered the car, moved the wheels back a little causing rubbing and interference with the steering linkage hitting the new k-member.

Adjustable parts are your friend. Most if not all of them come from the factory preset to the original length, so no issues there. I would still recommend getting the parts adjustable, ie, lowercontrol arms, panhard, torque arm is a must in adjustable, and the wonderbar is optional is adjustable.

 

Ground control weight jacks? Thats a new one to me. What does something like that cost? Where do you get them? I haven't seen anything like that while searching the web.

 

I think you guys have convinced me on the adjustable pieces! Your right, even if I don't want to fiddle with stuff right now I might later. Thanks.

Whats the deal with these jacks?

 

here is a link the the weight jacks... http://www.ground-control-store.com/...tion.php/II=20

They will run you $459. That's only $200 more then something like the Eibach Pro-kit and you can get any spring rate you want during you initial purchase of the weight jacks. Swapping in a different front spring will only cost you $50 per spring, but I think changing the rears is like $100 per spring. In other words, talk to them to figure out your desired spring rate so you don't have to mess with it in the future.

Mike

 

Thats cool, thanks man.

 

You probably don't need to spend that much on weight jacks, I got mine for free, but your best option would probably be something from speedway or summit. The Ground Control system looks really nice, but it's really expensive.
I guess 'you get what you pay for', but it seems like your mostly paying for looks for that system.

 

Actually, if you know where to look, you can get the CHEAP....like really, really cheap lol. I plan to find two or three front sets and maybe two rears when I get mine.
He's right about that kit being expensive. You can do it for less, but you have to know what parts to buy and have to do some fabrication.

 

this is a good thread, thanks for sharing all the info!

why would you recommend weld in ones to be the only way to go in the case of LCARBs?

 

the bolt ins can shift over time and the bolt holes enlarge and the LCARB becomes loose.

 

Great post.

This should be a sticky.


D.

 

For those stressed/worried about having to find someone to weld in subframe connectors, rest assured that most muffler shops that cater to the performance crowd are usually quite familiar with subframe connectors.

You will DEFINITELY want someone intalling them who's has some experience, due to the amount of flex our uni-bodied cars have endured by prior owners. I paid way less than a Benjamin for my welding bill. With T-Top cars, I was probably about 40k miles to late, but it still made a wonderful difference.

You should beg rides in fixed up Camaros every opportunity you can get. That free test ride by your 'butt dyno' will be your best evaluation of parts than if we sent you a 2000 page book of every part and experience we all have ever managed to have...... Nitro