Scoobie

iTrader: (8)

Hi guys, a few months back i bought a 99 1le Z28. Come to find out a lot of the goodies are missing. Im trying to stiffen the car up a bit and get the missing parts but wanted to ask some advice. First i will give you more insight.

The Car has only 15K miles on it. Its driven 4 times a week mostly on the highway. I like taking corners but will probably only once a year take it to an SCCA type event. It dynoed 370 RWHP and 363 TQ after a Cam Package and LT install. I will drag race it now and then too.

Heres what it has/missing

First, it has a stock sway bar, not a 1LE unit up front. I have not ordered a 1lE unit yet because i wanted to know if i should go with the BMR or another unit.

Second, the Front springs are black, but the shocks are stock Decarbons(orange in color)
The Rear springs are Orange, but it has Koni' SA shocks.
Which one of these springs are the 1LE's ?

Lastly the car makes a pop noise when making a left hand turn. I looked underneathe and everything appears normal but the passenger side Koni shock i can wiggle just a tad. It doesnt move but maybe 1/16th of an inch. I dont know if this is my problem. But the other shock is very firm and wont even move by shaking it so i thought i might be on to the problem. I also have not replaced the Lower Control arms. I know they are supposed to be upgraded but i wanted to know how good they are compared to something out on the market for what i intend to do with the car. The only thing i did notice positive is that is has a BMR panhard bar on it. I have also ordered a set of the Boxed BMR Sub Frame Connectors. Im trying to set the car up best of both worlds ( why i bought the 1LE ) and would love to hear what you think i should do to get there.
Thanks guys

Scott

SSixspeed

Check out this thread for info on the BMR panhard...
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...light=BMR+crap

I have a 2002 1LE. I wouldn't even consider selling it as a 1LE, if I had taken the important stuff off (sway bars/springs/shocks).

What part number is on the springs?

For your stated purpose, I would think the 1LE front lower control arms are fine. I use (abuse) them autocrossing and open tracking. No issues.
The rears gotta go though.. I had bad axle hop with the stock rear LCA's. Poly/poly boxed LCA's made the axle hop go away, but introduced snap oversteer. I now have LG rod/rod LCA's. Very nice.

Chuck, can you clear up what is/is not on the 99 1LE (bars, springs, etc)?

1LEThumper

It should have 32/21mm bars on it front/rear. If it was me I would probaby just see if I could find a used bar, or try to get a dealer to cut ya a deal at wholesale price on one. Check out GMPartsdirect.com. LG also has a sale going on right now as well might not be a bad idea. I have yet to see a need for a bigger bar than what the 1LE comes with....maybe for AutoXing but I don't do that so I dunno about that.

It should of had Koni's on it. Dad's '99 SS 1LE car has them on it. Only the '93-'95 cars had DeCarbon's on it. And all GM springs are black so my guess is those rear ones are not factory springs. Both dad's and my '94 have (had) black springs on them.

If its popping on you, and someone has messed around with the front shocks/springs on the car I would suspect the front upper bushing on the shock that causes it a lot of times. Also since it has new rear springs, see if the isolators are on top of the springs in the rear. Make sure everything is tight. As far as your lower front control arms....they are pretty darn good, but all the 1LE cars had were just tougher bushings. If i was going to replace them it would be with LG lowers....but then again....ya don't have to right this second. As for rear suspension....(hear it comes again) the alum race double rod end LCA's and panhard rod from LG are top notch, and completely quiet and it removes weight off the car at the same time. I haven't seen anything else out there that compares to them, and I've had a few different sets on the car. Any subframe is going to help the car out. I still personally like the Kenny Brown ones. Only draw back being is sometimes they play havoc if you want to do some kind of custom dual exhaust and they do take up a bit of room and are not the lightest things in the world. I still don't like the SLP ones and do not think its worth the added weight they add over the KBDD's but some will probably dissagree with me. All of the others are just side rails, making it better but it does nothing for tieing in both sides of the car. LG does make some with a large lower X brace that is pretty nice as well.

Scoobie

iTrader: (8)

Hmmm, the rear springs are definetly orange in color. Yet the ride height is high, so its not a set of lowering springs. I have decided to do the following, and would love to hear what you suggest.
I am going to
1. Get a 1LE sway bar from Stealth Performance. Theyve been good to me and are sponsors. That will atleast complete the sway bar set up on the car.
2. Get all new springs and shocks. I have 2 sets of mismatched springs and 2 Konis and 2 Decarbons. If the Koni SA's are the shock i should stick with then please let me know as i will only need 2 for the front. I am not sure however what is a good spring to match them up with. I like the idea of the BMR springs because of the 1" drop and price.
3. Look into the LG motorsports lower control arms and other suspension parts. Ive bought from them before when i used to live in N. Texas.

And my request, is to hear how i should set the car up for the best in handling without ruining drag racing. Thanks for all your suggestions and help.
Scoobs