jason1384

iTrader: (1)

I am interested in upgrading my suspension little by little. I am pretty much a newbie when it comes to this and was wondering were a good place to start was. Also if someone can tell me what each suspension component does, such as sub frame connectors and what the bar that you place in the engine bay is called and how it affects handeling.

chipabba

You must ask yourself the primary purpose of your ride. Straight line or road race? There are several stickys that deal directly with your questions but here's a brief rundown:

Subframe connectors brace the underside of the frame to stiffen it or reduce flex. Many have reported noticable improvement in ride stiffness, others argue that it simply transfers the stress of hard cornering on other components of the suspension and frame. If your car is powerful enough to lift the front tires off the ground when launching then you might need 'em! I don't know 'cause I dont have one.

The shock tower brace, well, braces the shock towers as a single unit. I noticed this mod the most as I hit bumps or imperfections in the road while cornering. A good and simple first mod in my opinion.

The best bang for the buck however might be a set of good shocks valved specific to your springs followed by heavier/thicker sway bars matched for each other front and back.

Things get a little complicated with the addition of lowering springs, lower control arms, panhard bar and torque arm. Search is your friend. Also, don't forget that all these mods are only as good as the tires/wheels you run.

My best advise is to read the other posts similar to your question and talk to someone like Sam Strano Sr/Jr. or Lou G.

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Don't get the cart before the horse.

Upgrading your suspension without truly understanding what problems you are attempting to address is where a fool and his money part. Too many confuse "different" with "better".

In stock trim, you have a helluva lot of car undeneath you. Learn how to drive it ... I mean really drive it, to point of where you are pounding the wheel screaming "Faster, faster, you fool, you fool."

THEN and ONLY then, figure out what is causing you to lose time and address the issues ONE AT A TIME.

GrimReaper

iTrader: (33)

+1 for learning to harness the power

jason1384

iTrader: (1)

Well i basically want my car to have as much more better noticable handleing that what it does now, i knowfor the first thing my car needs new rear shocks. I dont necessarily want to tune my suspension to racing because I hardly race and I just want it to have better handeling and dont want to end up buying parts that I dont really need. So i guess the first question is what type of shocks should i get (nothing too fancy or expensive)?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Ask yourself what *specifically* you don't like about the car. Everyone wants the car to handle "better", the problem is you need to define what is bad first. Mitch is correct when he says different isn't necessarily better. It can be, it can also be worse, as many have found out.

I suspect, based on general experience you find the car to be unstable. It kind of wanders around, won't take a good solid set, and also probably rides like crap--particularly the rear skipping like it has no suspension on sharper bumps. Those are shock items, which is why I always want to begin there. Which shocks and what other parts (if any) you need, or want can't be determined without a phone conversation....