mcinerneyc2

Greetings everyone, I am currently rebuilding my '82 z28. I am looking into doing a full suspension upgrade that is made for the street....The current scope of parts I am looking to replace/integrate are:

Front Struts
Rear Shocks
Panhard Bar
SwayBars Front and Rear
Springs Front and Rear
Lower Control Arms
Torque Arm
And Sub Frame connectors

Currently the car has a 350 Small Block, Borg & Warner T5 (definitely next to go), and Borg & Warner 9 BOLT rear end. In the distant future I could see myself loosing both the trans and the rear but as of now it is not in the near future.

My questions to you all keeping in mind that this is going to be a street machine only, should I purchase the Hotchkis TVS and purchase the additional parts, or would you recommend piecing together my own kit via Spohn, etc. I know there are differences in price, however what I am really looking for is a solid road upgrade that will increase handling, is not a pain to install or setup once in the car, and parts that will play nice together and come complete (like the kits do as they are all made by one source and engineered to work well together)...I have read as many previous posts as I could find, but it appeared to be that most of them were geared towards the track, so I thought I would ask.

The other question I have is will the sway bars available via Sphon and Hotchkis work with my 9 Bolt rear-end

Thank you in advance

Zach/90\irocZ

iTrader: (6)

Just go to junk yard and get biggest sway bar from like a iroc assuming your staying around same spring rate or higher to save money there same bars aftermarket offers

Don't forget adjustable camber plates founders have some decent priced ones

Shock / struts are a must either Koni, blisten or kyb agx for a budget

Also good tires well help also

Springs you can get a pro kit for best handling
SFC are good but not priority will stiffen chassis but if they don't for in to budget can be bought later

But your on track priority would be shocks struts tires and spring and all required bushings also is a must

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Hotchkis are expensive compared to the other companies. I don't see any reason why either. Piece the parts together with Moog parts and you'll save money.

Struts/Shocks: Spend the most you can afford here. This is where the performance and comfort come into play. I like Koni. I'd buy them separately if it's too expensive to do all 4 corners at the same time.

Panhard: I like the Del-sphere (Spohn) or Roto-joint (UMI) setups. There is some debate about going with the Del-sphere/Roto-joint on one end and poly on the other end. Or going Del-Sphere/Roto-joint on both sides. Personally I'd recommend the Del-Sphere/Roto-joint on both sides if for no other reason to get away from having to grease a squeaky poly joint.

Swaybars: I'd change these last. Top Down Solutions has the best greasable poly connections for Swaybars.

Springs: I like the Moog 5662/5665 combo for front/rear. They're cheap. They're stock height. They will help reduce the amount of scraping over bumps and hills. Pro-Kit if you want lowered. But Pro Kit are expensive. The performance gain from springs is overrated for a street car. Spend that money on the struts and shocks instead.

Lower Control Arms: Del-sphere or Roto-Joint on both sides. LCA's take too much movement to deal with poly connections.

Torque Arm: Save this for last. Some say the aftermarket ones make a huge difference in handling. Others find little difference for the tighter feel. They're expensive and heavy.

Subframe connectors. Spohn is my preferred outer style. The rounded edges make jacking the car a snap. Altons are nice for central style. Combine both styles if you want. But the majority of your gain comes from putting either style on. Adding a 2nd pair is just icing. For the cost involved, I'd just go with the Spohn setup and call it a day.

Zach/90\irocZ

iTrader: (6)

There not that bad price wise, and you can find them being sold on the classifieds

Scraping on the ground isn't that bad also I've scrape on stock height car , pro kit only lowers 1"

But strut/shock update your worn out bushings and get good tires and stock replacement springs like mentioned above or lowering springs to replace worn out / sagging springs at a minimum you notice a big difference

No matter what you do if you got crappy tires handling Will suck as the tires won't be able to handle the extra grib your thirdgen is Capable of

I also highly suggest getting a wheel size of atleast 9.5 widewith 275s all around makes major handling improvement

I agree with Reid that springs are overrated to increase handling, but not so much when original springs are worn and shocks are worn or shot and lose ability to hold weight of car etc but I'm bias to lowered look lol

plum92_camaro

And a wonderbar!!!

I agree with what zac and reid are saying. Hotchkis is WAY overpriced for our cars. Barely even an upgrade.

Zach/90\irocZ

iTrader: (6)

Junk yard can get wonder bar and sway bars for dirt cheap

paul_huryk

The two biggest improvements to handling you can make (assuming your suspension is factory stock and new) would be a set of adjustable struts and shocks (konis for example) and a set of 275-40-17 or larger tires. These two items alone (with the right settings on the konis) will bring the car up 2 or 3 levels in handling and control.

And you can do more as others have said to eliminate suspension deflection (control arms, panhard rod), stiffen the chassis (subframes and STB), and also fix design flaws (TQ arm).

There are tradeoffs to many parts, but the ability to work together and improve handling is the key.

mcinerneyc2

Thank you everyone for your responses....I am infact replacing a mostly stock suspension....The front springs/struts, and perhaps sway bar had been replaced at some point but there are little to no identifying characteristics on what had been upgraded...

I was thinking about going with:
Bilstein Struts/Shocks all around
Moog Springs all around
Spohn LCA's
Adjustable Spohn Panhard bar
Sphon Sway bars
and a new torque arm and Sphon Subframe connectors once the powertrain is back in the car

GCrites80s

They spend a ton on advertising, especially in the generalist magazines such as Hot Rod.

rb89gta

I am new to this, so don't crucify me first time out lol
I am in the gathering stage for my build, I really like what I have seen and heard about UMI rr k-member . the question is, will I have clearance issues with it and a dry sump pump?

I H8 WWD

iTrader: (5)

Hey Reid. Rather than start another thread.

I've heard the 93-02 Rear 8242-1006SP1 double adjustable work with our cars. But the fronts for the 93-02 do not work, and ours are still single and am unsure if we/you know of a size that is double adjustable for the front of our cars. Or, will there be a day not so far away when we can purchase legit Double Adjustable shocks/struts for our 82-92 cars? I'm making future plans now, as I want this done before I put her away for the winter.

I searched and found double adjustable for the rears, but the search found me nothing for an alternative for the fronts. Can we verify the rears posted above work correctly with our cars?

rb89gta

Aje sells a coilover strut setup for the front .
don't know if it's what your looking for, I believe they're intended for drag racing though that has never stopped me

I H8 WWD

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for that, but I'm looking to stick to the shock/spring setup, just fully upgraded. Weight Jacks and drop spindles are also in the mix. That and, I'd like to match. Also for resale should the time come. People just love Koni.

rb89gta

No problem! hey that's why I really like this forum! There is so much that has become available for our cars it's really impossible to remember it all, let alone know about every single new part that comes available! But, because everyone on here has some input / experience with so many different products ... the info we share can help each other make sound decisions on what parts we buy all the way to how we apply them in conjunction with other parts.

S.O.T.I.

This is so true! I have been searching (yes, I know how to search) for days for the best info on how to set up the suspension on my Sport.

I need shocks/struts bad. My car bounces like a stripper trying to make rent. I'm reading everything I can on here and trying to make sense of it all. I *almost bought the Hotchkis TVS, but a few posts here have made me rethink that. My car is a base model. Not a Z or IROC. I don't want to feel every pebble I run over, but I don't want to sway like a boat when I take it through some twisties either.
The search continues...

Kennerz

[Just a FYI - if you decide to get the pro-kit springs - don't run an isolater in the rear. I ran the factory isolaters in the rear and it felt squirrely at best. Did the hose mod, got rid of the pro-kit "rake" and started to handle like I expected. I'm running bilstien HD's and it's really pretty good. Doesn't have the dampening of a koni, but handles and rides well overall.

Also just put on founders poly joint LCA's and relo brackets, tightened up the rear substancially and launches a lot better on the middle setting. Car handles pretty agressive, but not to rough.

The best advice so far IMHO was to get the best shocks you can afford and the best 275 rubber you can afford on a light wheel. Everything else is secondary outside of maintenence (replacing 25 yr old suspension).

People will disagree, but I felt a strut tower brace and sub frame connectors made a very notieable difference, also running spohn strut mounts and a wonderbar. These cars have too much flex in the chassis, so anything to stiffen them you are ahead IMHO. Also if you do LCA's don't use solid poly bushings. I personally have experienced snap oversteer with them, and immediately removed them. A rubber bushing is fine, or of course you can use the roto-spherical-whatever. Car felt more solid with a poly trans mount too.

A healthy steering box adds to feel over a worn unit. Replacing the rag joint with something more solid is a good idea too. Try to understand what you need and don't need.

One of the simplest and most over looked things is if things are installed correctly/torqued/greased/aligned/just plain set up right. makes a difference in overall feel for sure. plus poorly installed aftermarket stuff is dangerous.

Robbie_S

So I ordered a TVS kit this morning. And tonight I was browsing threads for the engine I want to swap in. Figured I'd run through the suspension threads. Glad I did. I canceled my order and took your advice. I ended up getting vastly better parts, and added lower control arms, for $150 less than the TVS kit. Thank you for your post. Hopefully you saved me from being unsatisfied with my purchase.