swoody

After running a full drag-race suspension for some time, I have recently decided to go the opposite route. I want to setup my suspension to get better handling and a better feel. My car currently has the stock SS suspension, with BMR boxed SFC's welded on. I don't have much to spend right now, but I want to get the best return for my money. Would swapping out to all poly bushings give me a noticeable difference? Would new shocks/struts make the most difference? Also, I don't want anything adjustable, I just want to be able to put something on the car, and have it go. I had way too many adjustable parts on my drag-race setup, and it was always nerve-wracking wondering if I had everything setup properly. Any advice/tips would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!
Woody

7camaro7

iTrader: (15)

stranoparts.com or call him from the number from his site. Everytime I change a bushing to poly, I love it. Only way to go for performance and comfort. You can do a handling suspension with few adjustable parts like maybe 2 and still be happy Hit my Fquick and check out my mods. My car handles way better(even though I'm not done) than it used to. I suggest you skip the panhard bar and go straight to a watts link... That is the only part I partially regret buying for my car.

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

A quality alignment. $75

I would suggest
-0.8* camber
+5.0* caster and zero toe


Good front brakes. $250

Wagner rotors from O'Reilly's have a lifetime guarantee.
Carbotech XP 8s
Valvoline SynPower brake fluid flush


Seat time with a locally sanctioned AX or DE event.


Then start "doing" things once you get the hang of it all. These cars are pretty awesome out of the box.

7camaro7

iTrader: (15)

is that a street alignment for even wear or strictly performance?

swoody

Sorry guys, I should have mentioned, I'm not looking to do any auto-x'ing or anything like that. I'm just looking for this thing to have a better feel on the road. Thus I'd rather keep a good street alignment. Also I don't drive recklessly, or in a hazardous manner, so I don't think I'd really get any use out of upgraded brakes from the stock ones, so spending $250 for them wouldn't be an option for me. Thanks for the ideas though, keep them coming

Also, I know Strano is the way to go, but again, I'm trying to keep costs down quite a bit, and I won't be able to afford a nice set of shocks/springs/chromoly parts. I'm just looking to do some small things to make a bit of a difference. Possible a new set of shocks/struts at the most, if that's where the biggest gain is to be had.

2000Z28M6

iTrader: (13)

the suspension will feel tighter and respond better by replacing shocks and springs. Then go from there....if you find you need less body roll for slaloms or sweepers - swaybars, good summer tires or r-compound (if you get serious) - never underestimate how much grip lies in tires alone.

the rear will benefit from bushing upgrades and or a rod end PHB. Even though you arent going to autox, I recommend you try it out after a few mods to test and tune the suspension. This is the only real way to find out where you need to work next. You would never be able to fully test the suspension on the street.

swoody

So shocks and springs would make the most difference from a stock setup? I take it Strano is also the way to go?

Would shocks alone make a nice difference? I'm on stock ones right now. Also, what parts of the SS suspension are different from the Z28 suspension? Are the springs different? I'm just kind of curious about what is beefier already when compared to the Z28.

JD_AMG

Shocks made the biggest difference by a long shot out of the shock/spring/swaybars for me, but these are not some cheap over the counter autozone replacements, these are performance shocks with great valving. You are not going to get worthwhile shocks without spending a little money. With that said I would much rather have my car with just konis on otherwise stock suspension than having both springs and swaybars but with stock shocks. If you are looking to make the car more stable, controllable, balanced, and ride better, better shocks are what you need.

You can search for this, the SS has a bigger (32mm vs 30mm) front swaybar, 17x9" (17/40/275) wheels/tires and optional bilstien shocks.

transwiz

iTrader: (26)

I would also rather have a stock suspension with only Koni shocks if it came down to it.That will be the most noticeable thing you can do to the car.That's what I have on my t/a.Call Sam Strano and ask him what he thinks.He is the man to talk to.
_________________________
2000 t/a ws6 with lots of mods

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Works great in both applications. A "stock" alignment will wear the outer edge of the tire.

JamRWS6

Same here for now. Konis made the biggest difference of anything I've done to my car, just simply adding those has increased the handling limits and stability of the car....not to mention the ride quality benefits over crappy pavement.

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (1)

I didnt aim for an auto-x setup either for my SS, but I did want something better handling that would no break the bank. As of right now my suspension stuff consists of...
- UMI SFCs
- UMI LCAs (non adj)
- UMI Panhard Rod (non adj)
- BMR TQ Arm (non adj)
- BMR FRONT Drop Springs (only front, I kept the rear stockers, this is why nothing is adjustable back there, to me the car sits and feels awesome like this)
- OTC Monroe Sensatracks in the rear (yes, Mickey Mouse shocks, but they sure were an upgrade from the original Bilsteins with 90k on them, and for the price you can't beat them, I dont track the car often at all, it's my DD and they work perfectly fine)

I still have the original Bilstens in the front, but really they feel just fine for my purposes. I will eventually dish out the $ for a full Bilstein Sport-tuned set, but with these mods, Im in no hurry!

I'd say that besides the SFCs (which you already have), the next thing TO ME that made the biggest improvement in handling and ride were the BMR front springs. It didnt go sky high with normal acceleration, it didnt squat for breaking. They are also much lighter than the stockers so going over bumps was much more controlled.

The upgrades in the rear of my car made a world of difference as far as eliminating the jarring when hitting an imperfection on the road around a turn. The car just stays planted over them now. Also traction off the line has improved significantly with them.

You cant go wrong. GM's engineering into the suspension of these cars suck (stamped steel for most of these parts... I could flex the OE panhard rod BY HAND! imagine with a 3500lb car during acceleration!). Anything you do, you WILL feel an immediate improvement.

Arctic2002ss

The 2 most noticeable differences on my car were the SFCs, which you already have, and the Bilstein HD shocks. I also had my alignment done close to what Mitch suggested and it really does go down the road better. The main difference with the SS, unless you have additional SLP stuff, is the front 32mm sway bar.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Ahhh... ok. You seem to think that I'm going to tell you that you require lots of expensive parts, and I'm not sure why. As a point of fact, I have more variety of brands and prices than most anyone else on shocks, springs, swaybars---I can give you options and not all of them are expensive.

JamRWS6

The engineering sucks for what? Racing?

The panhard doesn't support a lateral load on itself but rather a transverse load. If you can flex it how it is mounted in the car you are probably the strongest mf'er on the planet. The rubber bushings are what will flex w/ lateral movement of the car. It gets old saying "GMs engineering sucks" blah blah blah. They had a job to do of compromising ride quality and performance. Its funny how so many are OK w/ the banging and clanging of aftermarket parts but would rip GM a new one if their new F-body banged and clanged. There are trade-offs w/ everything.

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (1)

I apologize, I was quick to make a generalization. Let me be more specific-

Compared to other manufacturers of cars I've dealt with, General Motors (at least as it related to the f-body) had cost-cutting as a priority in plenty of aspects in these cars (and of course their engineers had to do what they could with the resources given to them for said project, but I really dont think that simply boxing these rear suspension pieces would have added much cost to manufacture, and yet it makes such a big difference in the rear end's handling dynamics). As for the flexing the panhard rod, I just grabbed each end and twisted it lol. Granted this is not the piece's intended range of motion but it just shows how weak it is.

JamRWS6

Compared to what? Let's be fair and compare to vehicles in the same price range during the same build years. I just think this is silly. For the intended use boxing these components would have only added weight and cost. Most components now are cast aluminum pieces from many manufacturers (including GM).

Regardless, stamped piece questions aside the biggest benefit the OP can get is going to be is shocks...whether that be bilsteins or spending more $$ for Konis.

swoody

Thank you very much everybody!! There has been some really great suggestions here, and I'm getting a feel for what's really going to make a difference

Thanks for coming by, Sam
Rereading everything now, I think I must have misread 7camaro7's first comment. I thought he meant to call you up to pick up a full suspension - not just for your advice. That was my mistake. I do frequent your website, so I do know what a selection you have, and I know that you also have very reasonable prices. I wasn't inferring that you had high prices, but I thought what he was suggesting was going to be out of my price range. Like I said, reading what he posted again cleared everything up.

So.... now that I have you here... Can you lend any advice/tips for someone looking to spend no more than say.... $500 on a basically stock SS to get the best return for the money?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

$500? Going to be a set of shocks and depending on which you pick maybe something else kind like a PHB or STB.... Or you can just start with the shocks and see the difference they make.

swoody

Thanks for the advice Sam!

Would you recommend your Bilstein/Strano HD set, your Tokico HP Set, or is there something else you would recommend? Again, I'm looking for a set without any kind of adjusters.

Thanks for your input