I've been waiting since I bought my '89 IROC Vert three weeks ago to see what to do first. Clearly, my suspension needs work - new struts and shocks are going to be mandatory REAL soon, so I might as well upgrade the whole thing as my first project.

PS - I don't want lower.

I need suggestions on the best bang for a high buck. The car is an L03 with 2.73s, so I need a great ride, great cornering, and excellent cruising. I'm thinking of spending around $1000.

Here's my list, but I need either good manufacturers for each part or I need a good manufacturer who sells the entire kit in one shot.

1) Front struts
2) Front coils
3) Rear shocks
4) Rear coils
5) New lower control arms
6) 3-point strut tower brace
7) Rear sway bar (mine's rusted solid)
8) Wonderbar (necessary)?
9) Panhard bar (necessary)?

Thanks for the help.

 

while mine isn't a convertible; this will work just as well if not better.

here's my list, the best of the best and it should fit in your budget.

eibach pro-kit
bilstein shocks and struts
1-le sway bars w/energy suspension
southwest concepts (mac) sbfc's
kenny brown lca's
kenny brown 2 way adjustable panhard

i'm currently working on replacing all the front suspension bushings in the control arms an such as well as the worn an rusted steering pieces.

 

You are good up until 7. You should also not be afraid of lowerring springs. I have eibach's (1.25 lower) and they are the same hieght as the stock pieces, almost. With the kyb agx djustables it never botoms out, unlike the worn out stock shocks and struts.
shocks and struts are great on aolder car, the lower control arms and pan hard rod took a lot of slop out of my car. A good front suspension check would tell ou what the most iportant things are though. It's easy to do, too.

 

With the key words "great ride" and "excellent cruising" I'd have to go with the KYBs. The Bilstiens and Konis are great but I think it's more than '89 IROC Vert is looking for. Besides with the $$ he'll save he can buy some very neccesary things he'll surely run into like ball joints, tie rod end, sway bar endlinks, etc.

 

This can be a bit tricky actually...how many miles are on your car? If it's really high, then I suggest putting in a new front end kit, but the installation on this sort of thing can be expensive. Also, most would suggest Polygraphite bushings from either P-S-T or Energy Suspension, but your ride might be more rough than necessary, but it will outlast your car. If you don't need bushings, and nothing on your suspension is broken, then here are my picks....(by the way, since you have an 89' IROC, you should already have a wonderbar)......

1.)Spohn's Sub Frame Connector $200
2.)Spohn's Lower Control Arms $105
3.)Spohn's LCA Relocation Brackets $65
4.)Spohn's Panhard Bar $85
5.)KYB GR-2 struts and Gas-a-Just shocks $150
6.)Edelbrock's Strut Tower Brace $130

TOTAL= $735 + tax,shipping, installation

With the left over money, I would suggest working on the drivetrain next....

 

what would you consider high miles for suspension compontents?my 87 IROC has 110,000 miles on them and i want really good handleing as well. I have another car for a daily driver so it doesnt bother me to do it right the first time.

mike

 

What makes Spohn so good? I see a lot of recommendations for thier products, but I've never heard of them.

The car has 66k miles on it, but I intend on keeping it for many, many years (+20). Slowly, I want to redo everything and make it as close to new as possible.

Thanks, guys, for the assistance. I do need steering components at some point, but suspension is first on my list due to its dire need.

 

Eibachs Pro-kit is wounderful. You said that you didn't want lower but that is hard to get the Pro-kit only lowered my car 1 inch all the way around. I also used KYB's GR2 struts and shocks

 

I agree with Gator_Z28, Put in some effective and affordable KYB GR2s for that smooth ride but don't be scared off of performance springs. The least drop springs from Eibach or Hotchkis will help your total handling control without the harshness of poly everything and stiff racing shocks. And they'll definitely shrink that huge unsightly fender-to-tire gap.

 

BTW after a full front end rebuild, I found that the origin of my teeth-rattlin' ride was simply a-arm bushings.....and stuck sway bar endlinks......and dry ball joints! Oh well, live and learn.

 

Dont forget an alignment. How are your front tires wearing now?? Are the outside edges almost gone (inside edges)?? Ill bet $ you need at least a new idler arm. The alignment alone will make a world of difference, if its way off.

 

What do you guys think of those Edelbrock IAS shocks and struts. In terms of performance and comfort, they seem really good. Granted they're more expensive than KYBs but they apparently have two circuits: a stiff one for handling and a soft one for bumpy roads. Retail: about $280.

 

I wanted to try the IAS shocks too but they don't have any for third gens.

 

Really? No Edelbrock shocks for 3rd gen F-bodies and yet they have some for CarCraft's 79 Malibu!? That's really wierd! I didn't think to check for my application, but it didn't even occur to me that they wouldn't have any for such a popular platform. Oh, well, so the KYBs are good huh? I wish I could afford the AGXs. ~Chris

 

I recommend Spohn's parts.

Here's what I'm running:

1) Jamex Sport Springs (no longer available in US)
2) Spohn adjustable poly/rod end LCA's
3) Spohn adjustable poly Panhard Bar
3) Spohn adjustable poly torque arm
4) Spohn SFC's (waiting to go on car)
5) Spohn LCA relocation brackets
6) Energy Suspension poly bushings
7) KYB G2 struts and rear shocks
8) Factory WS6 sway bars
9) GM wonder bar
10) Hotchkis Strut Tower Brace
11) Hotchkis Tie Rod Adjusters

My car rides fairly smooth and handles VERY well. Next up I need to replace the idler arm and center link, and plan to install a set of Baer Bump Steer Eliminators to replace the tie rod ends.

 

Just a heads up about those Edelbrock shocks. I've heard that they work exactly opposite of what they are supposed to from someone who has them on a C4 vette. At slow speed the shocks are pretty stiff and at higher speed they get all cushy (caddy style). I wouldn't recommend them just from the reviews I've seen.

 

Now that would suck!

 

yo bret how bout snappin a shot of those sfc's and posting them for a lil' looksee. Thanks

 

Whats the deal about the KYB Gas-Adjusts vs. the GR2s. The Gas-Adjusts are about twice the price (still only like $30) but are they really better? Are the GR2s stiffer and the Gas-Adjs cushy? Which do you guys prefer (those that have either)?

 

set of ground control coil overs
I think about 400 a set
but you get to choose your own spring rates for the car, and have the way to now adjust how high the car sits as you please.

for shocks
go with kyb agx for a good street ride that will still handle nice
go with koni yellow if you want a really tight car

 

Edelbrock now has shocks for the 3rd gen. Look in the new Jegs and summit.

and I've never heard anything but RAVE reviews about them.

 

Thanks, I'll check out my new catalogs cy. The Edelbrock, Summit, and Jegs websites haven't been updated yet.