FINALLY - Got the car back together again today from most of the winter projects. Unfortunately, the exhaust didn't go as planned, and I still have some parts and minor tuning to do, but I now have Eibach Sportlines all around, Bilstein shocks and J&M Caster/Camber plates.

Just got back from Goodyear and had the front end alignment done....I totally guessed at where the new plates should go just so I could drive it there, and it turned out I was pretty darn close just by eyeballing them! Only the plate on the passenger side had to be adjusted. The driver's side was dead-on! I couldn't do that again if I tried!

The suspension has seriously dropped though....almost too much for my taste, but it's too late to turn back now. Below are the before and after pics:

Before:


And After:

I know the pics really don't show a lot, but believe me, there's a huge difference....the front end is way lower. I think the rear might have dropped maybe 1/2 to an inch at least. These Bilsteins are a lot stiffer than the cheap Gabriels I took off the car, I can hardly push the front down to compress it any. Should handle like it's on rails.

So what ya think??

 

I think that's about the perfect height. Looking really good!

 

I agree, I think that is a good height. I'm sure you will get used to it.

 

Looks 100 times better!
Great as is now.

 

That is a very very nice looking car and I am sorry but I like the first picture.

 

That's Nice!!

 

Looks great. Wait till it settles after a few days.

 

LOOKS AWESOME!!!!

 

Thanks guys....and for those that don't like it, I understand totally. I'm old school myself, but after I put the new 17" wheels/tires on it, it looked too high for even me....

And I'm kinda hoping it doesn't "settle" any more after a few days..lol

 

looks much better in the second pic! much much better!


Finally that wheel gap is gone no more 4x4. So we'll see you saturday? Mine won't be running but it'll be stuck like glue to a trailer again. Just not enough hours in a day with starting a new business to mess with the car, even though I've been trying.

 

Looks great, Perfect ride height in my opinion.

 

Nice car,very sharp.

 

I should be there...but it's gonna cost me. Had to get someone to take my duty for the day. Just glad he was willing to do it. I've literally only put like 10 miles on it since I got it back together.

But it seems to run OK, although the Demon seems to be loading up a bit when it's idling - with ALL vacuum hoses actually connected....

Just gotta do a little more "shakedown" driving to get a warm fuzzy that it'll make it there with no issues. I DO NOT want to break down anywhere.

And....4x4 ?!?! That's kinda harsh!

Too bad we won't get to hear that LSX of yours roar on the trailer!

And hey jbenge....good luck on the COTM!! You deserve it!

 

Looks great! The new stance is much improved. The monster truck stance was the only thing I didn't like about your car

 

What wheels and tires are those?

Looks killer...

 

looks great !

low thirdgens look the best!

 

we can mess with the carb at the show if you like Wait until you see the stance of mine if you think yours is low at the moment.

 

MB "Old School" 17x9.5" Rears, 17x8" fronts....Thx

 

lowerrrrrr looks great though!

 

Looked good before and even better now. Very sweet car man.

 

Very nice Camaro!

 

Looks great! Any more pics?

 

Very nice ride height.. and ofcourse beautiful car. How low is that (center of fender to ground?)

 

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

Ya know, I never took my fender-to-ground measurements...I did take my before, and it's on another thread here that I started:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...could-use.html

Guess I need to fill that in!! lol Unfortunately, my BRAND new, less than 200 miles on them, Nitto 555R DS rear drag radial is now FLAT. I noticed it the morning after Thirdgenfest.

I took it to Goodyear, and since the puncture goes into the center bonding strip, it's UNREPAIRABLE.
I ordered another one, and I'm supposed to get it on Wednesday.

I suppose I'll get the "after" height measurement once I have the car back on the ground...

 

did you buy the warranty on the tire so at least it would be covered? that's why i like buying tires from discount tire, but not sure they even cover drag radials, otherwise maybe i can show them 100 miles on bald tires and ask for new ones

 

Looks good!

 

Yeah, I got everything at Discount Tires.....I was never even offered a warranty when I got them, but they took care of me anyways...I posted it up on the "Vendor Review Board".

 

A note for everyone considering lowering your ride....even though the stance is much improved, I'm beginning to discover a few downfalls. I guess there's a comprimise to everything.

I noticed a squeeking coming from the rear, and I've discovered that it's coming from the e-brake cables (yeah mine actually worked) - they're now rubbing on top of my UMI torque arm (which sits into the DS tunnel deeper since it's lowered) ALSO (and more importantly) - one of the e-brake cables as it crosses over my 4th gen aluminum drive shaft is now rubbing on the drive shaft itself, and beginning to cut a 1 inch wide groove into it...

No, it's nothing deep, just on the surface, but I'd really rather not have it continue to do any more "in-place machining" , so I need to figure out either how to re-angle both the cable support brackets (and I'm not sure if that'll even work). Meanwhile, I may have to loosen my e brake cable adjustment up drastically (making it useless) so I can at least keep the cables from gouging into the TQ arm and DS...not a great thing for sure.

And to add to the issues - since I'm running a much bigger robust rear end (like mine in true life lol) - a Moser 9"....the area it used to "tap" occasionally is now closer to that area to begin with. SO - it's definately going to be/is a bigger issue now. This issue is probably 9" rear specific, and I don't believe it would be any issue with the stocker rear.

I'm certain I can use a BFH for the rear hitting the floorboard issue, and just make more clearance. The E-brake cables will be a much bigger project though...If I can run them at all....

EDIT: Oh, and I should mention...I really didn't need any adjustable pan hard bar as far as I can tell since the rear seemed to stay perfectly centered....but LCARBS will be a MUST now since my lower control arm angle changed.

 

Dude. That looks awesome! I'd love to come out and see THAT in my driveway every morning.

 

The moser rear will clearance itself, leave it be. Same with the torque arm if needed.

As for the parking cables, ib don't think the tunnel brackets come off, should be held on with the rear seat belt bolts and spot welds. If you can re-angle them with a BFH, that should work, but you may not be able to do that without the floor pan moving first.

Maybe looy into moving the clips and hangers at thevery end of the tunnel, almost on the back seat area. That may allow you to pull the cable up and to the otside and keep it off the DS.

 

Awesome looking ride man!

 

You're right - the tunnel brackets don't come off and they're part of the rear seat belt hold down as you said. I just tried to bend the part upward that holds the rear cable on each side, hoping that I could get enough upward "angle" for the cables to clear - no dice. For now, I had to disable my rear E-brake on both sides until I can figure out where I need to weld up some type of loops or something to re-direct the cables. Guess I won't be drifting...lol

My Moser rear - the TQ arm and mount had already "clearanced" itself when I had the stocker springs on...now it's got a lot more "clearancing" to do. Almost to the point I might need to assist the process.

-And thanks a lot guys for the compliments...I've been tinkering with this thing for more than a few years....

 

Confused1,
How do you like the ride of the sportlines? Some say that the sportlines are too soft and designed to use the bump stops causing them to be unstable at times. Others love them so I'm not sure what to think. I've been debating which springs I want to get for my 91(Pro-Kit, Sportlines, Hotchis...or I may even just cut the stock ones). I want my car low enough it looks good but not so low it scrapes on everything and I want it to handle well.

 

jbenge -
I've heard the same "bump stop" thing...never seen anything official in writing from the manufacturer on that one. I'd venture to say about any springs will "use the bump stop" if it's low enough. Heck, I've seen people remove them all together. IMO it has a lot more to do with the shocks than the springs as I have not contacted the bump stops yet, and I'm not a small guy...these Bilsteins are pretty darn tight.

Now, if I put two other people in the car....yeah I bet I'd hit them - and my TQ arm would hit, etc..

I've been amazed so far that I've not hit or scraped anything...I thought for sure I would hit every time I went in/out of my driveway...but I don't (I take it easy though)....but the shop has a lot of fun getting it on a drive-on rack, mostly due to the exhaust -and getting my low profile hydralic jack under the front is a lot of fun now. I have to bend my lower air dam to get the jack under it.

All that being said - do I think the Sportlines are soft? - Nope. Not at all. Does my car handle better? -Yes, definately...as good as it can with DR's on the rear so I can't push it hard. I think if I had the same Nitto Extremes on the rear that I have on front, it'd be like riding on rails compared to what it was.

BUT - (there's always a "but") - be prepared for other issues as I eluded to in my previous post...

 

That's a very nice looking camaro!

 

Hey thanks 92_RS_Camaro!! And it's your first post too...I feel honored!...and welcome to the board!

 

Ha ha...I was at a local yolkle car show today, and my car was called two things that it never was before..."sick" and "wicked".....that's good, right?? lol