T/Atime

this spring im focusing my attention on the suspension.
Is the eibach pro kit a good option? i dont want it too low but i would like to see less wheel gap between tires and fenders. id like my car to sit level or a bit higher in the rear in relation to the front.

at the same time ill be installing shocks, what is the best option for a car that will be driving on the street only on nice days. koni?

does anyone know if my car came with a wonderbar from factory? my car pulls all over the road on uneven surfaces. this make driving a chore.

is it possible to upgrade my suspension in stages? or will i need panhard bar and lca relocation brackets.

T/Atime

forgot to mention im also looking into sfc too! hope this is a good start to my car holding the road a bit better.

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

It didn't. Only IROC's.

JamesC

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Pro Kit/Koni are a well known and respected combination. Many here run that.

LCA relocation brackets? I don't think they're necessary for a modest drop like the Pro Kit.

PHB is a good idea. It can wait though. It is fairly cheap.

I think every car could stand a Wonderbar.

the solitaire

I would personally advise to start with SFC's and wonderbar, then take it from there.
Step by step is ok, considering it's a street driven car.

Panhard bar and replacements for the LCA's would be a nice addition. For a street driven car there is not much use in relocation brackets when going for such a mild drop

T/Atime

this is good news to me, car drives all over the place and i cant use a stb. so an iroc one should be about 50bucks and will bolt right up??

The Wonderbar probably won't cure the wandering.

Yes, the Wonderbar will bolt up.

JamesC

T/Atime

this year funds might be a bit tight. so will see if i notice the car is breaking loose more. the last modification i did was gears and a bit of tuning. car spins with little effort as is.

T/Atime

does anyone know the difference between koni vs kyb. havent decided yet. same with frame connectors too spohn vs comp engineering??

DJP87Z28

COST....I have the KYB struts & shocks and the Spohn SFC's. They work for me.

88WS-6

I'm picking my car up today. I had koni yellows put on all 4 corners, the eibach pro kit installed, spohn spherical strut mounts put in, new front LCA bushings, UMI double adjustable panhard bar, and I got 4 BFG g-force supersport a/s tires. I can't wait to drive her and I'll let you know how it is. Should be night and day.

Many people on here have said that konis make a huge difference and I plan to auto-x, so I went that route. KYB will be much better than stock, but definitely not as good as koni. You get what you pay for there. I also researched a lot and even for a 1" drop, the rear will still need to be centered with a new panhard bar. Get adjustable now so you can buy a good product once and not have to replace it. If you can afford LCAs (again get adjustable) and/or LCARBS then do that because every suspension piece on our cars should be replaced anyway. I'm doing that eventually, but because LCAs are more for launch, I went with better front strut mounts for better handling. Hope this helps.

~Matt

T/Atime

great info, good luck with your mods. ive been thinking about the LCAs for this year. i figure whats one more item on the list to bring it all together nice. i wasnt too sure the difference between ride/ quality with koni yellow and kyb adjustable. if i went adjustible would i even need to play around with it for a fair weather car that might only see a drag strip twice a year? im sure theres only a small difference in price. i was looking at hawks and dont see a price for koni, just kyb. i still need to figure out a vendor for my list of parts.... tires too.

87350IROC

iTrader: (2)

Koni's are 25% off right now everywhere. Now would be the time to buy. Best mod I have done to my car.

T/Atime

hope there still for sale for the next three weeks. ive decided i want koni's all around.

the solitaire

I can understand that. I decided to go with a set of yellow Koni shocks as well, as the KYB shocks appear to be nice, but a T/A driver ina different forum confirmed he definately preferred the Konis after he switched from KYB to Koni yellows. I actually think a wonderbar or similar brace could do a lot for your wandering, but there might be other issues to attend to before it´ll be completely gone

T/Atime

i agree! the steering box could use an adjustment and ill be doing an inspection on the rest of the front end. this is the most important on my list. the cars wondering must be addressed. its a safety issue and take alittle fun away from the experience behind the wheel. there is some play in the steering. i want to take my buddys gta for a spin to see how it drives. this spring its going to feel like a new car, but its gonna take some healthy pay checks first, lol.

DJP87Z28

I would suggest the Spohn front end kit, this wouuld correct you play & wandering problems. It would tighten up the front end up like a new car.

88WS-6

Got to drive my car yesterday and it is awesome. The Koni shocks and struts are great and the ride height is also nice. The stock springs were so worn out that is sits a little higher than before, but I still like it. The car is very very tight and I did a bunch of mods at once, but it is night and day. I have no more rattles and squeaks at all.

T/Atime

can you post some pics so i can check out the ride height! its been a long winter i need visual stimulation, lol.

T/Atime

when i launch hard of the line i sometimes experience the rear end of the car shifting to the right. can this be corrected with adjustible lca?

T/Atime

looks like ill be buying my parts next week off a local shop. ive have prices and money to back it but those konis are soooo expensive. $850

is it possible to save some cash by using kyb or bilstein, or should i just suck it up and buy the konis. i was looking at hawks and looks like bilstein and konis are about the same price.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Shox.com has Konis for $630 shipped (in the US). Do you have a US address you can go pick them up at? I'm originally from BC, so I know all about the exchange rate and GST/PST once it gets there. But $850 still sounds a bit expensive.

T/Atime

ive installed my steering components, balljoint, bushings, links, konis all around, with the pro kit. just wondering if 27 3/4" sounds a bit high for a pro kit. the car sits the same as before. supper level which tells me i must have something right.

has anyone experienced this same height, sorry i just dont have time to search im going back to the shop to finish my car today.

also i cant seem to get the torque arm back over the axle its like it needs to be streached over the rear end to fit.

T/Atime

suspension is complete

new parts:
inner tie rods
outer tie rods
lower ball joints
center link
sway bar bushings front and rear
sway bar links front and rear
koni yellows
eibach pro kit
umi wonderbar
custom sfc

i drove the car from the alignment shop to the car wash and it feels nice and stiff. i have the shocks/ struts set on #2 in all four corners. tomorrow im getting firestone wide ovals 245/50/16 put on my 16x8 refinished wheels. the car feels very stable and much safer. thanks for all the help guys!!

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

I believe 27 1/2" is OE ride height. My Moog fronts have the car below 27.

JamesC

T/Atime

im looking to purchase some lcrb and panhard bar, what brand? im thinking umi

The Project

iTrader: (6)

They make really quality stuff.

T/Atime

whats the advantage of double adjustible? i like the idea of on car adjustible.

also the bolt in lcarb are ok or should i go with weld in. from what i understand the weld in is for a aftermarket non original rear end, eg. 12bolt or ford 9'' right?

UMI Sales

Hey T/Atime.

Double adjustable PHB allows on-car adjustment without pulling a bolt each time you want to make a change. For a street driven car not seeing a bunch of different combinations, single adjustable works fine. Really it's just a matter of convenience and both work great.

Weld-in vs bolt-in relocation brackets are a similar situation. Weld-ins of course are in forever and are ultra stable, no bolts can come loose. Bolt-ins are just that, and are a good option for customers wanting to do their own mods and not have to go to a weld shop. We have guys running bolt-ins on 11 second cars and those who weld-in on 15 second cars. Also, some customers choose bolt-in just in case they want to remove them to swap to a different rear end housing, etc. As long as you keep the bolts tight as with any suspension component, even stock stuff, they're fine. And yes, wel-ins work great on aftermarket as quite often those are put in by fabricators and shops who have the means to weld them in.

You may be asking about this stuff at just the right time as we're hosting a Thanksgiving-through-Cyber Monday sale later this week. Our website will have all the details.

And Mr The Project, many thanks for the kind words!

ramey

88WS-6

Sorry that I'm almost a year late to this question, but some ride height pics are below. Sounds like you got some great parts for your WS-6 also.


Ride height:








And a shot of my UMI double adjustable PHB and Pro-Kit spring:




Strut Mount:



And my suspension mods list:
Koni Yellow shocks/struts
Spohn spherical strut mounts
UMI double adjustable PHB
Eibach Pro-Kit
BFG G-Force Super Sport A/S 245/50/R16


~Matt

L695speed

Hmmm, like the stance, guess I made a good move going with the Pro Kit. You selling that car Matt? Not that I have the money or the place for another car. And yes, same guy from NJFBOA.

88WS-6

Unfortunately, yes. I'm planning to fix it, but if someone offers my asking price in the mean time, I'll take it. It's a shame too because the car is solid. No rust anywhere, just needs a motor.

~Matt

T/Atime

this spring 2012 im working on lcarb, and adjustible panhard bar from umi. so whats next?

heres my list:

pro kit
koni yellows
umi wonder bar
custom sfc
lcarb
adj panhard bar
(new front alignment, center link, inner and outer tierod ends, lower ball joints, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings. i still have stock sway bars, and all the parts have been replaced with moog.
245//50/16 firestone firehawk on cross lace wheels.

i still have stock lca, torque arm, no strut tower brace due to hsr.
at what point will i benifit from new lca and or torque arm??? the car loses traction with street tires very easy.

car still is running approx 260 at the wheels with 373s on my 10bolt. there will be a 383 in the next few years.

L695speed

Koni Yellows I believe are on sale til the end of May. I'd go there next. They normally run over 800, on sale they're 650.

wretched737

Do LCAs now, custom SFC are more work than they are worth, buy ones from UMI, build a custom strut tower brace instead

88WS-6

If you're looking for traction then I would look into LCAs and maybe even the relocation brackets.

UMI Sales

Good morning.

Thanks for including UMI in your project.

LCARB's and LCA's will help reduce wheel hop and optimize forward traction.

A torque arm upgrade will get the T/A off the transmission and help the car dig and launch instead of just flexing the stock torque arm.

And I agree with a few others above, put the best shock you can on the car. Makes a big difference.

ramey

T/Atime

oops my list is what is installed on the car already. ive ordered lcarb and panhard bar.

T/Atime

this is from 2011 but the project continues. i might reset the front end to 1 or 0 in hopes the front lifts, in turn giving the car better weight transfer.

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

Unfortunately though, UMI sells a Double Adjustable that still requires a bolt to be removed, because the locking nut on one end is "inside" the mount, preventing you from getting a wrench on it to loosen the nut. So you hafta remove the mounting bolt, drop the APHB, break the nut loose, put the APHB back up, put the mount bolt back in....Adjust it, then do all that over again to lock the locking nut back into place! So it ISN'T exactly on-car adjustable like you expect it to be.
http://www.umiperformance.com/catalo...roducts_id=112

88WS-6

Go with the torque arm then.

Also, get some sort of posi for your 10 bolt or if you have it already, get it rebuilt with new cones. These cars are old and no matter how many miles are on them, they need attention.

T/Atime

haha, thats not on car adjustment at all then. this is a non issue for me. once it is set there will be no need to tweak it. just looking for quality is all.

T/Atime

about the 10bolt, i had a ring and pinion swap and rear end inspection about 6000kms. the car still leaves 2 black stripes so i have no intention of replacing just for the posi at this moment. i dont put too much faith in the ole' 10bolt rear end.

which torque arm are you running? is your car stock height?

88WS-6

My GTA has the stock torque arm and Eibach Pro-kit springs. Probably 1-1.5 inches lower than stock.

T/Atime

ill report back with my results after i install the next few parts. the car might handle great for a street car at this point, with no need to add torque arm and lca's. if not theres always next spring. it is what it is.

88WS-6

I auto-crossed my GTA with those mods last year and the car was really good. Steering was tight and the car was on rails. Last July I bought a brand new Suzuki and my GTA felt tighter and handled better.

Don't read into that as the Suzuki being inferior. The Suzuki has a .93 skidpad and I do well auto-crossing it now.

T/Atime

adjusted the front struts this eve from 2 to 1 and seems to run nicer. the rear is still on 2. id like to adjust the rear to 1 and have the option to run the front at 0-1.

koni makes a great product!

88WS-6

Amen to that

T/Atime

question about the best way to adjust my panhard bar.

my plan of attack
first would be to measure the tire space from the wheel well, (just to see how off center it is).
then remove the old 1 and adjust the new 1 shorter then the stock stamped one. then i guess just trial and error with the cars suspension loaded and settled??

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

Start by adjusting the new close to it then use the 2 bolts to hold the 2 PHBs together (take old off the car, set them side by side on the floor/table). I am not saying to nut & bolt them together, but rather to use the 2 bolts (no nuts) to locate them. Ensure that both bolts slide easily in & out both ends at the same time. That will get it very close.

Then after it is on the car, take a long string & tie a washer to each end to hang over the hatch dangling both washers on each side at the same time. This will allow you to measure the distance from the string to the wheel on both sides at the same time. Then adjust it until you get it right and your done!

T/Atime

great methods! exactly what i was hoping for, cheers!