Tomsbird

I'm looking to replace the whole suspension under my 87 Pontiac Trans Am, front to rear. what are some good set up's you guys, or girls, might be using?
-I'm looking for something that will take everyday street abuse and on Friday and Saturday nights perform on the track, and with that being said I need help.

morrow

what kind of track?

Dakota W.

Poly bushings up front and rubber bushings in the back, bigger front sway bar, adjustable shocks/struts, lowering springs, subframe connectors, tubular K-member and control arms.

Tomsbird

road course. I'm not one for straight lines

Drkhrse89

iTrader: (1)

It really depends on your budget and how far you want to go. From a suspension standpoint here are several things that can and should eventually be done if you are serious about road courses.

Please note, this is just my educated opinion. I am by no means an expert, but have been around these cars long enough to know a thing or two. Also these are in no particular order. For a road course you are going to get the best bang for your buck from getting good tires. I would look at steering next and then onto the shocks, struts, and weight jacks. Tubular k-member and a-arms are not really needed, especially with this being a street car first. They are OK at saving weight and allowing you to have more space around the engine, but not much else.

Rear setup
Adj. lower control arms with hiem joints
Adj. panhard bar with hiem joints
Panhard bar relocation kit (unless you are hardcore and then go with a Watts link)
Rear sway bar end links (end links need to be shorter due to car being lower.)
Rear sway bar bushings
If your car has a really tiny rear sway bar upgrade the sway bar. Get a used one they are just as good and cheap. You could probably buy 2 or 3 sizes for the price of one aftermarket one and figure out what is best for you.
Koni yellow shocks
Weight jack kit (this will include the front setup as well)
Adj. torque arm
Subframe connectors
Mount the torque arm on the trans crossmember not on the tail shaft

Front suspension
Del-a-rin bushings in factory a-arms
Extended ball joint
Koni yellow struts
Rebuild front steering
Adj. caster camber plates
Strut tower brace
Front sway bar end links (end links need to be shorter due to car being lower.)
Front sway bar bushings
Good quality alignment
Really good quality tires

I am almost completely done with all of these and I absolutely love the way my car handles and it is not a very harsh ride at all.

paul_huryk

From experience, I will tell you that the two most important items in your suspension are the tires and the shocks (or struts & shocks for the 3rd gens).

By swapping out a set of stock struts/shocks for Koni Yellows and also moving up to a 275-40-17 tire in an aggressive summer only pattern you just changed the whole handling capability of the car (assuming everything else is OEM new level or above).

Tomsbird

thank you gentlemen. this was all plenty of food for thought.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

100% agree. Good struts and shocks like the Koni Yellows mentioned above are about 80% of the suspension improvement. Everything else combined is the other 20%. I wouldn't buy a single suspension mod until after I had good struts/shocks and tires.

Alice89

iTrader: (6)

I have a similar experience with my Koni's. Made the car amazingly better to drive. Expect a firm ride though with any nice shocks/struts, You will feel every road imperfection. (Still rides nice though)

Unless your steering is already excellent, make sure you replace everything in your steering with above oem products. Getting rid of your steering slack (If you have any) is a massive improvement.

Dakota W.

Saving weight is only the icing on the cake. Taking weight off the front helps balance the overall weight from front tire to rear tire, since the front is heaviest.

Drkhrse89

iTrader: (1)

Why wouldn't you just move the battery to the trunk? That is going to be about the extent of your weight savings from the k-member and a-arms. Also you will be able to take all the saved money and put it towards something more worthwhile, like tires.

Weight savings is true to a certain extent. But for me, and I would assume most others on this site, my car is a street car first and foremost. The k-member and a-arms are built with that in mind. They can take plenty of abuse due to the way they were produced. I am not trying to take anything away from the aftermarket companies, they build great stuff. Welds can and have gone bad, a cast piece like factory will not have the welds go bad, because there are none.

If you are really concerned about weight, get a forged wheel, aluminum hub, aluminum 2 piece rotor, Wilwood ultralite calipers and lower your unsprung weight. You will see a ton more benefit from that than you would from the k-member and a-arm.

Dakota W.

Like I said before, the reason for doing it is to balance the car, not save weight, saving weight is just an added benefit.

Drkhrse89

iTrader: (1)

Sorry for not typing in weight balancing. I would have thought you would have gathered I was talking about the balance of weight when I said move the battery to the back. Since there would be zero weight savings, if anything you are adding weight due to the extra cable and cut off switch you should be running.

I just don't want people thinking that is a must do on our cars. When you break down all modifications and their added benefit, that should really be last, unless you need the room.