I have an 89 TransAm TBI...I would like to make my car handle better especially around turns, because it really goes on one side, and i want to prevent that...which shocks, struts, and springs should i go with I DO NOT WANT TO LOWER THE CAR, I like it where it is, plus these damn speed bumbs around here are so high, my exhaust hits it. I'm thinking about getting Spohn Tubular SFCs and the Edelbrock 3 point STB...good choice? What should I do suspension wise...I'm not looking to race , just keeping it from going all over the road, and getting rid of ALL THE DAMN NOISE...p.s. I'm not really familiar with suspension on cars so try to keep it basic thank you

 

ws6 or iroc springs.

shocks/struts , pick your posion, the good ones are all in the 400-600 price range, koni, tokico, bilstein, ect.

SFC's are probably the best mod you can do, but if you ever do want to run auto-x, you will be in a high class because of them, so keep that in mind. spohns are ok, the alstons are very nice, along with kenny brown, and a few others.

also, before you go to far into modding it, my best advice is to fix what is worn out. so do a front end rebuild. if you are swapping springs, that is the perect time, get new a-arm bushings, ball joints, ect.

 

what other things would be required to do a front end re-build, you said etc...but what else?

 

a-arm bushings
ball joints
tie rods (inner and outer, and sleeves)
idler arm
sway bar endlinks
sway bar bushings

you shouldn't have to replace the centerlink, it isn't a wear item, but if it is bent at all you will need a new one.

while you have it apart, especialy if doing springs, you should also do wheel bearings, both inner and outer.

also, ball joints, and arm bushing need to be pressed in and out, so you if you don't have access to press, you need to plan a time to get them pressed. you should also check the condition of your upper strut mounts, and consider new ones.

you alingment will also be WAY off after doing that, so figure an aligment in before you drive your car (other than to the alignment shop)

 

Centerlink is a wear item. It has one joint that connects to the pitman arm that wears out--fairly often. The pitman arm cannot wear out--no joints on it. Fix all the broken/worn suspension parts, toss some new ws6 springs on it with new performance shocks/struts. Measure your sway bars. Upgrade them if you don't have the front 36mm bar and add the new bushings. Subframe connectors will help a bunch--I would do that first. Good tires. Performance alignment--don't use the stock specs:
Camber -.5
Caster +4.5 left +5 right
toe +1/16 inch

Oh, and replace the stock steering wheel with a good aftermarket one. It's hard to believe how much better my Camaro drives with a 'good' steering wheel. 13 inch Grant Formula GT. I have some pics on my site(seems to be down right now).

 

where can i get the WS6 springs from-these won't lower my car will they? What type of performance shocks/struts should I use? What would you recommend I use as for the SFC? Also which company should I use to get all these parts from that Dewey316 mentioned...

like these:
a-arm bushings
ball joints
tie rods (inner and outer, and sleeves)
idler arm
sway bar endlinks
sway bar bushings

Are these like universal parts, or should I buy them from somewhere....I dont want my mechanic to use his dealer, i'd much rather buy the parts on my own, that they're good, and I'll just have my mechanic put them on.

 

sounds like ur suspension is worn out. u might want to start with replacing all the bushings with poly ones. get some kyb gr-2 front struts and gas adjust rear shocks, these will work fine. also since it sounds like the suspension is worn its probably sitting lower then normal anyway, so get an eibach pro kit, it only lowers then car an 1" anyway and u should be set. a wonder bar might help u out to.

 

WS6 springs from GM. If it was me, I would lower it. Like he said above you are already sagging some. KYB's are good for fairly cheap(depends on how much you want to spend). SFC's all do the same thing--personal preference on the brand(I made mine)

 

back to the topic....

you can get the front end rebuilds from many place, you can order a whole kit from Energy Suspension, PST, Pro-thane, Spohn.

or you can peice together a kit like i did. i got ES A-arm bushings from summit, but if you are willing to spend the money, i recomend the del-a-lum bushings from Global-West, they are far and away the best a-arm bushing you can buy.

i got solid tie rod sleves and jam nuts from coleman racing (only $20, you pay upwards of $70 to get hotchis or Edelbrock)

Idler arm and ball joints from Napa (the Napa Chassis line, it is their high end stuff) and tie rods i also got from napa but got their MRC line, witch is Moog.

as for the springs/shocks thing, the WS6 are good springs, they are what i am running. the IROC springs are a higher rate than the ws6, if you are looking to go that route.

shocks is alot of opinion, everyone is going to recomend what they bought. but remeber, you get what you pay for with shocks/struts. koni is of course the best (well short of full blown race valved shocks, such as GC, carrera, double adjustable bilsteins ect.), kyb is on the lower end.

 

dewey, which tie rod sleves and jam nuts did u get from coleman, i'm browsing around on the website now and i dont know which one to choose, do you possibly have a model # i could use for the two? also for the ball joints from napa, is that only for the front suspension, b/c on the website it has 2 categories, ball joints & ball joints for the front suspension...which one do i choose the regular or oversized?

 

okay everyone...here is what i have so far...

A-Arm Bushings: Del-A-Lum from Global West Part # 1022
Ball Joints: NAPA # NCP2601130
Idle Arm: NAPA #NCP2683635
Struts: KYB GR-2 Front Struts Summit #KYB-236001
Shocks: KYB GR-2 Rear Gas Shocks Summit #KYB-343211
Springs: WS6 (where can I get them?)

I also need info on where to get these...

Tie Rods: ?
Sway Bar Endlinks: ?
Sway Bar Bushings: ?
Upper Strut Mounts: ?

Also, how many of each Item do I need 2? This is all front end right, except the shocks right?

Thank you so much for all your help everyone.

 

you shoudl get the regular, not oversized, there is only one set of ball joints on our car.

the colemans i got were 4" x 5/8 you could go a little long, like 4.5" x 5/8 though, and probably be better off. i also got 2 RH and 2 LH 5/8" jam nuts.

 

how many of the tie rods do i need

1 Inner
1 Outer
1 Sleeve

or is it 2 of each?

 

Tie rods.

2 inner, 2 outer and 2 sleeves.

If you haven't already, you might consider replacing the center link and the upper strut bearing plates (strut mounts). I replace my upper strut mounts yesterday. After 16 years the bearings were dried out and grinding.

 

yes, you need 2 of each. i actualy PM'd him a list of everything needed, and part #'s for it all. **Edit** i didn't keep that msg in my sent items. hopefully 1989TransAm will copy and paste the list of parts, and part numbers.


for referance, this is what it looks like



and i agree with the replacing strut mounts, i of course replaced mine with the HMS mounts i had laying arond.

 

this is a very informative post! I think my front end might be in need of a rebuild... I was told when I had my car in for inspection that my idler arm was loose... Would replacing my idler arm take care of this concern? what is the cost of all of these parts roughly? Thanks in advance!!

 

Try out this link, it has more precise part numbers and where to get them for almost everything on the front end. I am in the process of doing all of this and hope to get a completely different car when its done. Good luck, Efrain https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...highlight=NAPA