Stewie

I've got a 1992 Firebird with a 5 speed manual and a 3.1 engine. It's my daily driver. I don't have a garage or driveway. I can only fix it in good weather, on weekends, and out on the street. And, I'm old, slow, out of shape, and tired. Plus, on really hot humid days, I work on it a half hour, then go into my air conditioned house for a half hour or so to cool down (again, remember the old and slow part). Progress is slow, but so is my money so I am slowly making improvements.

One weekend, I installed a wonder bar and 36 mm front sway bar. It greatly increased the front end handling around curves. But, with the stock 17 mm rear sway bar, the rear end was real squirrely. In hard corners, the rear kept trying to pass the front. Just a little scary.

Last weekend, it wasn't raining and I finally had time to pull the new 23 mm rear sway bar out of the wrapper and bolt it in place.

After finishing the job, I took it for an aggressive test drive. WOW!!! I mean WOW!!! Huge difference in handling and stability. The front goes around sharp curves exactly where I point it and the rear end grips the road and follows. I tried some 90 degree corners faster than a sane person ought to and felt completely in control (well, almost). It has always been a fun car to drive, but is even funner now.

Actually, I'm somewhat surprised because I don't yet have performance struts/shocks. But, I've got fairly new Gabriele front and Monroe rear. I know, the Monroes suck. However, I found the sway bars on sale (Spohn front, TDS rear, BMR wonder bar) for much less than the cost of adjustable struts/shocks.

It is hard for me to believe that better struts/shocks will make the same improvement in handling as the sway bars. But, as soon as I get enough cash, I'm eager to find out. I also need to get some better rubber than the Kumhos that are on it. I'm thinking the Michelin HydroEdge with Green X will have sufficient wet and dry gripping for a daily driver. There is a lot of rain in Virginia where I live.

Just thought I'd share my experience (and excitement) after installing beefier sway bars. For my car, the 36 mm/23 mm combination seems to be the right set up for good handling with my current struts/shocks. I can't wait to watch a Mustang try to keep up with me through a sharp, winding, mountain road.

fasteddi

iTrader: (2)

Awsome. I agree on the fact that the V6 handling is great, even when somewhat stock suspention like mine. Being that the engine is pushed back a tad twards the middle of the car, the shear weight, and less tq/Hp(so the tires dont go crazy when you accel in a turn) The V6's are just fun to drive and are hard to shake.

Start adding preformance then youll see that the car is squirly in the turns if accelerating.

Congrats on the mods though. I bet its a blast to take down a winding road.

Edwardgp

Hey Stewie meet another one that is old and slow, which would be myself. I keep plugging along and should have my beast on the road soon. I hope my reaction times haven't slowed to much, I don't want to shake hands with a tree. Wanted to let you know you have company out here and good luck with your projects.

cooltc2004

iTrader: (4)

Just wondering if you had to do anything when you installed the wonder bar. My lower radiator hose is in the way of me installing a factory one.

Stewie

Edwardgp, Yeah. My reaction time is much slower than in my 30's (and 40's & 50's). My brain processes slower, too. Even though I sometimes drive more aggressively, I try to to leave a little margin so I am not too close to the edge of losing control. With the sway bar mods I can corner faster and have a good margin of safety if I need to step on the brakes after hitting what I thought was the apex.

Stewie

I know that some of the V8 guys have that problem, but it was not an issue for me. However, I did have to push the radiator hose up out of the way until I got the wonder and sway bars installed. The V8 guys cut a chunk out of the wonder bar and weld a piece to the ends of the cuts that go below the hose. Some also just use longer bolts and add some washers to space the wonder bar below the hose.

One thing I had to do was enlarge the bolt holes on my BMR wonder bar because they did not match up with the frame (too narrow). I don't know if it was a flaw in the bar or if the body was a little tweaked. However, I'm finding that even with quality after market parts, I often have to modify something. I've also come to depend on my electric disk cutter to get rid of rust frozen nuts, etc.

Also, I could have use an extra set of hands holding up the heavy sway bar and lining it up with the holes in the wonder bar and body. Got a couple of lumps on my head when the sway bar slipped out of my hands. Finally used some bricks and wood blocks to halfass keep stuff in place while bolting up everything.

project89

iTrader: (1)

if u want good shocks and struts hop on this deal before they are all gone

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...ico-shock.html

Stewie

Good advice. I ordered some Tokico shocks which are supposed to arrive Monday. Now, if I can just make what's left of my money last until the end of the month.

project89

iTrader: (1)

did u orde rone of those packages? the rear springs will work just fine, but u may have to cut the fronts or it may ride a lil high with the v6

Stewie

I salivated over the great deals on those links. And, I wrestled with myself long and hard. Finally, came to the conclusion that I'm not ever going to be a good enough driver to need or use the fine tuning of adjustable shocks/struts. I'm not going to do autocross or any other competitive racing. I also decided I did not want too stiff a ride. In addition to the old part, I'm also a sissy and want a fairly comfortable ride - including air conditioning (no AC delete for me).

So, I went with the Tokico "Blue," HP series. But I enjoyed my fantasies of being an Ayrton Senna or Jackie Stewart for a while as I gazed at the Tokico spring shocks and the Illuminas. I really hate it on those rare occasions when I am overcome with a fit of practicality and reality.

camarosrock1989

iTrader: (1)

I like enjoying the good info!

project89

iTrader: (1)

i had blistiens all the way around when i scraped my 1le car i put all the 1le specific parts on my rs.

evetually i swaped out the rears for ce enginering 3 way adjustable drag shocks while the ride is a ll harsh the car handles very well with them . and if i adjust them the other way i can turn the car into a drift machine.