Mike-88CamaroTBI

1988 Camaro Sport Coupe LO3 V8(170HP), 700R4

In the handling department GM gave me

30mm front sway bar
18mm rear sway bar
6XW : SPRING, COMPUTER SELECTED, FRONT, LEFT HAND
7XW : SPRING, COMPUTER SELECTED, FRONT, RIGHT HAND
8UX : SPRING, COMPUTER SELECTED, REAR, LEFT HAND
9UX : SPRING, COMPUTER SELECTED, REAR, RIGHT HAND

The springs are like riding on jell-o. Even with good shocks.

What should I do to get some handling?

I would need a whole new say bar setup for this wouldn't I?

How about the springs? I do not want lower.
I scrape speed bumps already.

I was ready to stiffen up the rear with all new take offs from a 01 Z28 from SLP. Others have warned me though of the dangers of having an unbalanced setup.
Sometimes I don't think they realize that a jell-o setup is dangerous also.

Oh well. Can you give me some good guidance here
?

Aaron87SC

I have the same setup for sway bars as you do, although my springs are pretty stiff. Why is the rear bar so puny? I'd like to replace that with something beefier, but what do you mean exactly when you say "unbalanced setup"?

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1987 Camaro Sport Coupe LG4
700R4 with 2.73 open rear
Hypertech chip, 180* stat
L69 Dual snorkel air cleaner with K&N air filter
CK rods with B hanger
Hooker catback
Pioneer DEH-P4000, Pioneer speakers front/back

Tas

did you order the 1988 WS6 or IROC parts? it doesn't seem like it.

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-Tas
'89 Formula WS-6

305, TBI, auto, 14x3 chrome flat based open element with K&N, Milodon 160* thermo, functional Formula hood, cross-flow Flowmaster, '99z28 rear pipes and tips....

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Mike-88CamaroTBI

Aaron
The idea is that if we cause the rear end to yaw ata different rate than the front end, then we will cause the front end to understeer and the rear to come around ... in other words "spin out".

The idea behind suspensionm is that the front and rear sway bar sizes are calibrated with the front and rear springs ratios so as to rpovide a presictable road holding ability in hard cornering.

If we change one end's sway bar and not the other, or change one end's springs without the other we will amke the car's rear and front to not act in harmony with each other and will therefore find ourselves with a car with unpredictable road holding capabilities.

Tas
Thanks, you turkey. I didn't buy the car new but was old enough to have done so. In those years my wife went nuts anytime I went near a Camaro because I would always get that crazy V8 straight drive ponycar glint in my eye. She still can't stand Camaro's, but i slid it in under the inexpensive third car guise.

But really, how much more would it have cost GM to have given every V8 camaro a nice tight suspension, instead of coming up with WS6, etc. Good greif. You see I believe if you want a ride like a Cadillac then get a Cad. If you only care about sporty image and don't want handling get a Mustang.

But people buying Camaro's wanted a sporty car that would outhandle a Mustang.

Say for example ... What if GM had instead made the minimum V8 sway bar set the 34mm hollow, 22 mm rear pair, and given us all the heavier NNL or NNN rear springs and appropriate fronts.



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1988 Camaro Sport Coupe305TBI-4spdAOD-2.73open in "bought stock" condition. That'll change if it stays around here much longer mike.davis@firstunion.com

Tas

turkey

82camaro

My old 82 didn't come with a rear sway bar, or even any provisions for a rear sway bar.

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82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

Jza

It would have cost them a lot, because then just like now, a good percentage of F-body drivers are women who don't really care about superb handling, just their tender butts. You should remember GM caters to more than just car enthusiasts.

And to answer your questions, you won't "need" a new sway bar setup with new springs, but it would definitely make things better.

2) Lowering the car won't cause you to scrape more on speed bumps. Try stiffer shocks, first. Most of the scrape people get comes from the air dam scraping due to the car not rising as fast as the tires over the bump (due to soggy springs/shocks/struts). Same with the back end when they clear the bump.

In your case, the first thing I would do is throw on some nice stuff shocks//struts..

George

Further to the tender butts and costs reference.

I recall something about GM being concerned over demographics which indicated that half of the people who bought 3rd-gen f-bodys were women and a lot of them thought that the cars were too low to the ground and therefore difficult to get in and out of while wearing a dress.

I wonder if that accounts for the higher profile of the 4th-gens. I read on a post somewhere that a properly dialed in 3rd-gen will handle better than a 4th-gen notwithstanding a 50hp difference.

As for car companies and manufacturing costs - remember that Ford was too cheap to pay $11.00 per unit to equip 1970s Pintos with safe gas tanks. Their financial advisors told them that it would be cheaper to pay the law-suits resulting from people burned because of gas tanks exploding when the said Pintos were rear ended.

Do 4th-gens have cup holders??

scooter

iTrader: (11)

4th gens do have cup holders, well Firebirds do anyway.

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If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy
88 GTA Notchback with 91 gfx and ROH Snypers
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