Hey this well be by first post, I just recently bought a 91 rs. I am looking for what upgrades I should start with, but I can't find a unanimous answer. I have iroc z rear shocks, but other than that my car is bone stock. I am looking to spend around $900 on everything (including wheels and tires) I know that doesn't give me much to work with and obviously I will have to find almost everything used. Basically, where should I start wheels and tires, sfc's, sway bars?...

 

I would get the tires first if you need them, then spend whatever you have left on a tuneup and new brakes if needed. hate to say it but I dont think you will get much more then that. tires alone will probably run you around 500-600. if she runs well and the brakes are good I think you can get a set of sfl's for around 200-300 but I dont know.

 

Welcome! First off, get the car on a lift and prioritize. SAFETY is the first thing to start with; replace what is visibly worn. Next, if the tires are bad, get the best ones that will accommodate how you will drive the car. Next, get shocks and struts - again based on your realistic driving. Example: people will tell you that Koni yellows are excellent - which they are - but that will eat your budget if you buy and have them installed. I'm fortunate to have play money, but my reality is that my car is only driven twice a week on average for short distances. So, when I upgrade, I'll probably go with a lesser set or I'll have my Bilsteins rebuilt.

It's easy to be tempted by the great equipment you'll see on your fellow members cars but you can't lose sight of who's actually driving the car, how it will be driven as well as how often it will be driven.

 

First thing should be, fix whatever is wore out / broke / used up / not doing its job / etc.

Virtually ANY stock springs for these cars are wore out and used up and sagging and useless, unless the car has been up on blocks its entire life supported by the frame with the suspension unloaded. Doesn't matter what trim level car they came out of. There are basically NO "good used" those.

Sway bars are a different matter: those don't really wear out. If you can get those off of one of the top performance line cars (IROC, Formula, GTA, etc.) that's a good thing. Make sure they're reasonably well matched, otherwise they exaggerate potentially dangerous poor handling conditions. Too much rear bar in relation to the front tends to make the car "loose" (oversteer), such that it will tend to spin out if you turn too tight and especially if you hit the brakes at the same time. A good combo is the factory 36mm/22mm or 36mm/24mm sets. Remember though, sway bar stiffness increases as the CUBE of the change in diameter; which is to say, a LITTLE goes A LONG WAY. Don't for example just stick a 24 bar on the rear if the front is some one of the weenie sizes like the 28 or 30 that came on some of the older 6-cyl cars.

New steering linkage (center link, tie rods, & idler arm) is CHEEEEEP and makes A HUGE difference in most of these cars, as it's a relatively rapid wear item. Almost certainly some or all of it is used up.

Sway bar bushings and end links are the same way. HUGE bang for the buck even to replace perfectly good stock rubber ones with poly. You can get em from some of the board sponsors, Summit/Jeg's, or even hanging in the "performance" aisle at AZ.

SFCs should have been on these cars from the factory; should be the very first "mod". A "wonder bar" is a nice little spiff, on a properly working car it's a "just barely noticeable" improvement, nothing radical; but every little bit helps.

Get the best tires and shocks you can afford. $900 isn't really enough for that. I'd suggest getting the best tires you can afford, on wheels AT LEAST 17"; and save up some more for shocks. Obviously you won't be able to get either of those things "used" that are any good, any more than you'll be able to find "used" gasoline that's any good, although it's conceivable you might find something on this site's classifieds that somebody bought and didn't use or the like.

 

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm going to buy wheels and tires first and then shocks later. Can I post a link to a site, I have a question about wheel fitment?

 

Here's something you can fix right here at this site and it will help us help you.

Simply go to USER CP
then
EDIT YOUR DETAILS
then fill in the last 4 lines at the bottom of the page.
Car =
Engine =
Transmission =
Axle/Gears =

That's it......

Thank You

 

Thanks, I completely forgot to edit my profile. I'm thinking about getting nitto 555's, 275/40 in the rear and 255/40 up front. I will put these on http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/pr...-Set-of-4.html the 9.5" version with 1.5" spacers all around. Will this setup work? Also from what I've read the nitto's handle ok in the rain, but since it always rains here should I be looking at something different?

 

If you plan on doing any autoX or road racing i would get the 275's all the way around, especially if you get 4 9.5" wide wheels. there are a lot of tire choices in 275/40r17. if you get 18x9.5 you'll want 275/35R18. If your not sure about Nitto, check tirerack.com. search by size and read the reviews.

Have you seen this thread yet? https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/whee...eels-post.html

 

Before you go out and spend 900$ on wheels and tires, we first need to know what you plan on doing with the car. Is this your daily driver? summer car what? if you hae a tight budget I would say keep the wheels you have and get some used tires. I know I said it used tires, fact is I work at a junkyard that sells used tires and we only put tires on the shelf that are brand new or have about 85% of their life left. You can get a set of 4, sometimes its difficult but if you can shop around at other used auto part yards you can get pretty lucky. This can save you a lot of money that you can use elsewhere.

New shocks and struts should be your first priority, you can get okay KYB's for 40 apiece which is fairly cheap. There are a lot of cheap parts you can replace that need to be replaced in the first place, Ball Joints, End links, wheel bearings could be repacked.

Weight your options and decide what you need to change, and let us know what your plans are for the car that way we can help you make the right decision. Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the advice, this car is my daily driver so I'm not too concerned with getting great wheels. I know that this has been asked multiple times already, but what would be my cheapest wheel that looks OK. I have 16" moderns on right now and I hate them. I want to stay around 17-18" diameter, 8-9"ish width, and run 255/35-40 all around. My budget is close non-existent ($800 for wheels and tires,) what would be my best option?