I know jack **** about suspension. What would be the first thing I would want to upgrade on my 92, front and rear. I don't want to lower her, just start making a smoother ride and put power more efficiently to the ground. Tired of my creaks and groans going into driveways, etc. What would be the cheapest/easiest thing to start with on my suspension? Thanks a million guys.

 

some koni yellow shocks/struts will give you the smoother ride

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/KON-30-1265SPT/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/KON-8741-1030SPT/

 

My personal opinion (not to be taken as gospel)-

Prior to ANY suspension changes, identify and fix ALL problems with pivots and joints FIRST, such as:

• Ball joints
• Tie rod ends
• Pitman arms
• Idler arms
• Strut mounts
• Steering joints
• Sway bar links and bushings

If your struts and shocks need to be replaced (leaking or really weak/bouncy), replace them. If they are even reasonably good, hold off one step.

Now, replace the main suspension bushings if you haven't already. I'm partial to poly, but new rubber may be preferable in the rear LCAs. I'm considering going to Del-sphere in the rear.

Once that's done, struts are next. Go with the best you can afford. In fact, go a notch better than that. The better struts will control suspension motion better, AND more consistently for a longer time.

(Personal note: two things I never skimp on are struts and brakes. Both can make all the difference in the world, and can also help you keep the car from becoming a really expensive pile of recently-replaced parts.)

Next, get a REAL alignment. There may be those that argue this, but if you spend most of your time alone, sit in the car while they do it. If they don't want you to, that's a good sign to go somewhere else. I'm sure you can find specs on here somewhere, but on a "daily driver" I'd go on the high end for caster (as much positive as you can get within spec and adjustment and stay EVEN side to side), a little negative on the camber up front, and I maybe SLIGHT total toe-in.

Those things are not the cheapest to do (just bought a Moog idler arm to the tune of $70 and I get wholesale), but they are worthwhile. The creaks and groans are *probably* coming from overly worn pivots in various places. Once you firm everything up, you might be surprised at how well the car does. Oh, and if you decide to take any kind of break in the process, get it aligned. If you're going to keep swapping stuff, chunk it out, but don't try to evaluate changes without at least a rudimentary alignment.

That's probably a LOT more than you wanted, but that's my thoughts.

 

Subframe commectors will help with the creaks and groans when the chassis flexes over driveways. Made the biiggest difference on my car.

 

For general info you might peruse the suspension stickies.

JamesC

 

i always forget about those yeah dude check those out and let us know if you have further questions

 

I checked out the suspension boards. Its a foreign language to me.

 

what questions do you have after reading?

 

What is a suspension bushing? What are subframe connectors? What are stuts? Basically, the only thing I know are shocks.

 

For a full explanation of suspension parts as well as pics, please peruse the stickies at the top of the page.

JamesC