sportcoupe-z28

Hi im 17 and im building a z28 clone out of a sport coupe, i dont have alot of money but i feel suspension is vital to making my dream car. What is the best setup i can have for the lowest price? i want a lower stance 1-2'' and better handling. I have a 355 mated to a 5 spd being put in so idk if id need a differnt setup for the front considering its more weight. so yeah basically want sporty suspension, i wanna eliminate alot of the body roll aswell, any incite helps thanks!

peterc005

New bushings.

Buy some second hand IROC sway bars.

soarestransam

Aftermarket lower controls arms for the rear founders performance are great an are in low budget race guru's like us once u put them in an floor it ull def feel a difference no wheel hop Like the stock stamped steel ones do

soarestransam

Replace springs, front an rear moog springs are excellent an for the price u cant go wrong

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

If you want an IROC, sell the other car, and buy an IROC.

Cheeeeeeeper to buy a whole one than to try to part one together.

midnightfirews6

iTrader: (1)

^^ True, if you're going for an exact clone. But if he already has a built engine and a 5 speed going into it and if he just wants it to perform like an IROC he's already a good ways there
OP, you want
-IROC/ WS6 sway bars
-Front end rebuild- all new bushings, ball joints, steering parts, steering box rebuild/ replace/ adjustment
-Best shocks you can afford. KONI yellows are generally accepted as the best the average thirdgenner would want, but Tokico and KYB are cheaper and for the money they're pretty good. Strut mounts are a good idea since the stock ones are crap, you could forgo these if yours are in good shape but if they aren't then they are a must.
-Subframe connectors and wonderbar- SFC's should weld in, any of the companies' Wonder bars are just as good as the other so it's down to which of the site sponsors you want to support

All thirdgens that aren't 100% original sub 50k mile cars really should have the above as a base for handling purposes. Then to drop it there are a lot of methods, on your budget some drop in or cut springs. You'll have to do research and look at other members' cars to figure out how low they went and figure out what you want from the car to decide on spring rates. The Eibach Pro Kit has decent spring rates for cruising and mild back road playing and a 1" or so drop and isn't too expensive, but you may want the car to be stiffer or lower if you want it to really handle or stand out, respectively. For that you'll either be stuck with cutting MOOG springs (cheap) or going to Ground Control weight jacks or Spohn coilovers (pricey, but you get adjustment).

wretched737

^ he hit it pretty spot on, id recommend subframe connectors, LCA, and panhard bar (adj if lowering). Those should be your starters, than look into springs/sways/shocks and general bushing replacement

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Then buy an IROC without an engine & trans.

EVEN CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPER than trying to clone one at parts prices.

sportcoupe-z28

those are some usefull answers, my plan is to have suspension under $1000(w/out labor) im gonna be paying a good experienced friend to install everything. So now that i gave a budget, does that change your answers?

Btw i dont think u guys tht are telling me to buy and iroc understand that i have a perfect condition sport coupe and a complete z28 parts car, so yeah im not buying an iroc

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Not really.

If you sell all that other crap, you'll probably be able to get MORE than it would cost to buy an IROC with no engine & trans. In other words, the world at large WILL PAY YOU to give you an IROC.

Then prepare to spend more cloning an IROC, than an IROC costs; and in the end, you still won't have an IROC.

Best way to get the thing you want it is ..... to get the thing you want.

SDTransAM

iTrader: (5)

I just did Intrax springs ( cut the rears 2.25 coils so it was almost level ) and a Founders adjustable panhard bar, and wow, I am damn impressed what just that did. It is a totally different car in the corners now. Handles amazing compared to what it was.

IMO the Panhard bar was alot of how it changed, that factory one is a Joke.

I got them for a score, and Know that sub-frame connectors should have been first, but that's just how the cookie crumbled for me.

Drkhrse89

iTrader: (1)

If you want to replicate an IROC $1000 is not going to get you that far, unless you do some major shopping. You WILL HAVE TO, not want to, rebuild the steering stuff. That is going to run you $250-300 for just that. Adjustable PHB and LCA, Founders brand since it is least expensive, $225. That is half your budget and you haven't even gotten into sway bars, IROCs are huge (mine is 34 solid in front and 21 in rear). Granted you will be able to find these used. If you have a yard near you, you could get them for $50 for the pair. Make sure you get the mounts and bushings as well. If you want SFC, you should get the weld-ins since the bolts-ins will just get loose over time. That is going to set you back another $250. There is 3/4 of your budget. I would get a wonderbar, new it is going to cost you around $60. That leaves you with $100ish left over. You haven't even gotten into caster/camber plates, struts/shocks, bushings, etc.

Not looking to derail your plans, just being honest. I have an IROC and am looking to make it handle like a pro-touring car. I would look over your car completely and see what it NEEDS. Then go out and purchase the fun stuff. If any of the bushings are cracked replace them and if you are planning on replacing parts associated with the bushings, buy them at the same time. It is pointless to do stuff twice. I.E. sway bar bushings are shot, get the IROC/WS6 sway bars at the same time. A-Arm bushings are shot, do all of the steering stuff, struts, caster/camber plates, and brakes. You will need an alignment done after the steering stuff, so put all of the parts on and get the alignment once. Good luck with what ever you do.

SCCAjunkie

Bushings $110 (get the ES kit)
Ball Joints $60 or so for both
Idler arm $70? (get Moog!!)
Cut stock springs $0 (unless you need to buy better springs, then add $120 for Moog)
Adjustable Panhard $90
Koni struts $800
Used Swaybars $100
Swaybar bushings and rear endlinks $40

This get's you in the door for about $1300... Oh, and personally, I'd skip the aftermarket rear LCAs for now. They can easily be added on later, and the Energy Suspension kit has the bushings for the stock arms...

You could get KYB AGX shocks/struts for about $475, and that would put you in under your goal.

While I agree with sofa that just getting what you want is the better way to go, I'd also say that no matter what car you have you'll want to do most of the above work, so factor that in as well. If you can find an IROC or Z28 with it already done, that's the cheapest way to go...

Don't forget to factor in another $150 for an alignment. No way to do all this and not do that also (at least, not if you want good results).

I've done the above to my current car, and am still working on tuning, but it's great (I went the Koni route, though mine were sort of used- but they used to be mine on another car...). Next "upgrade" for me will be a Wonderbar and SFCs. I'm making my own, and that's still $150 in materials and a BUTTLOAD of time and effort. Buying parts and putting them in would run about $300 for the equivalent.

If you follow the above recipe, I think you'll be *ecstatic* with the results, at least as far as the suspension is concerned.

wretched737

Heres some new ideas knowing your current budget.

1. Get subframe connectors, have them welded in by a shop
2. you can box your LCAs
3. than get adjustable PHB
4. Koni shocks, i have the KYB adjustable and IMO not worth the money
5. now you look into all new bushings/ball joints/various steering components and getting those IROC sways

Boxing your LCAs can save you some nice coin, just get new bushings for them

also replacing LCAs and PHB along with a lot of the **** you wanna do can be done by yourself without paying your friend, if hes a friend he should give you a hand doing it for free so you can learn a lot of valuable information

T/Atime

if your on a tight budget i would suggest building your car in stages. $1000 you will have to leave out a few items. your front end is by far the most important.

once you inspect your car you can determine what it needs and what can wait.
this list imo is the order in which i feel is most important

front end
shocks
tires
sfc
springs
sway bars/ bushings
adj panhard bar
the list goes on.....

last year i spent over $3000 with tires. did most of the work with my buddy. koni yellows with the pro kit are among some of the best mods ive ever done. i couldnt afford this part till owning the car for 10years, so i just drove it as is untill i could do it right.