will01

Performing some research on various suspension setups for unrestricted road racing. Looking to see if anyone has installed a c6 irs on a 02 f-body.

I know I can keep the stock set-up and get some decent handling, but the research seems to indicate IRS yields better results. Forgot to mention, my wife really likes the camaro so upgrading to a vette is out of the question…

Does this sound right or did I hit my head too hard while I was under the car yesterday? LOL

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Black02SLPSS

iTrader: (5)

Here is a link to someone who put a c4 irs under an fbody. https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...ght=f-body+IRS I believe a c5 and c6 setup would be out of the question without some serious fab work due to the transmission sitting in the rear of the car rather than bolted to the engine. However where there is a will theres a way and i hope you have the cash to pay, because it would be really expensive and time consuming working all the bugs out imo.

will01

Thanks again, great reading and seems like a lot of time spent building and tuning.

Killer_Bluebird

iTrader: (23)

Yeah by the time you are done you should have just bough the corvette.

LT1-DAN

There are quite a few guys that road race with a solid rear, and have great results.

zlover129

iTrader: (10)

yea, the C4 IRS doesn't require a tube rear...the C5 and C6 transaxles will

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Yeah I can imagine that would be pretty tough as the corvette has the transmission in the rear and actually has that special driveshaft thing between the engine and the transmission

will01

Thank you for the input - so in your opinion, what would it take to make the live axle set-up handle like a c6 z06? Is it possible?

JD_AMG

Get the car to weight 3000lbs, and have 50/50 weight distribution. Possibly a cage for stiffening the chassis properly, and definitly some major suspension work. Sticky tires, and don't forget brakes....
A used Z06 would be cheaper...
You can start with this and go from there:
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...ID=0&ModelID=7
Ill tell this though, you won't be disappointed with the handling after this kit...

will01

Thanks - I totally agree with the corvette angle; but I am a married man and my wife and i have had huge fights over swapping the 4th gen for a vette (it is an 02 convert and can seat her and my daughter, which is the basis for her arguement). So getting the corvette is out of the question for now. But the good news is she likes it when i modify the car!

Great recommendation for Sam's products - I though they worked well but did not know it was capable making that much of a difference.

Seems like the live axle may not be such an anchor afterall. Thanks again!

Black02SLPSS

iTrader: (5)

Nah its really not as bad as you think. I have his HP4 package and i havnt been able to find the outer limit yet. I did get it to slide once but i think that was due to the crappy tires i have on it rather than hitting the limit of the suspension. In fact i would almost say that you could probably go toe to toe with a stock c5. But being that i have never driven one kinda makes that a bold statement.

JD_AMG

You need to get control of that wife of yours!
haha jk jk...
You could also consider a CTS-V, those are plain out sick and handle on rails!

You just gotta take into consideration all the engineering that has gone into the C6 Z06 compared to our cars. Aerodynamics, chassis layout, lightweight wishbone suspension, etc etc. It would take a lot to get the same feel and control you get from that kind of layout.

Yes, there is a huge difference. As Im sure you've read the biggest problem is the stock shocks, changing those for something like Konis is a major difference in itself.

Foxxtron

iTrader: (1)

Actually, it's more of a "anchor aweigh" than a "properly stowed anchor", but all silly analogies aside, the biggest penalty with the live axle on the F-body is the fact that it's a lot of unsprung weight (hence my slightly inaccurate anchor analogy), and that unsprung weight can combine with poorly valved dampers (shocks) for really messy handling and bad ride comfort. Don't get me wrong, I definitely like a properly designed IRS, however there are many IRS's that use expensive designs and still don't perform much better than some live axle designs.

It's interesting that the IRS endeavour has been explored many times with the 4th Gen F-body, but most of the solutions are costly and still don't address the real problems with the 4th Gen handling and comfort, which brings this statement right back to the most effective improvement that these cars need, good dampers.

Good dampers are the place to start with if it's concerning handling in this car. The next step would be swaybars, then maybe springs if you need so. Like the previous posters have mentioned, these areas are great places to start. I don't remember what LCA's you have in the rear, but if you plan to keep the stock ones for the moment, then you'll need some new "solid rubber" bushings for them. Also, if you opt to lower the car, you'll need to consider a new PHB with at least one rod-end in it.

If you plan to get into some sort of unlimited class, then you might want to take a peek at this website: www.frrax.com. There's also been some discussion about extensive modifications on there (many of these for the serious competitor in mind).

will01

Excellent, just joined Frrax yesterday! Will search the threads to find the extensive mods they have discussed.

Thanks again for your input!!

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

That CTS-V is way too heavy to outhandle even the fbody. When the car is 500+ lbs over the fbody then it kinda ruins the whole great feel and suspension thing.

Overall your going to have a pretty hard time to match the handling of a c5, c6, or even a c4 no matter what you do. Don't sweat it though. The fbody in stock form has a lot of potential for improvement in suspension as most know. But on an autox course, the vette is just at a different level than an fbody. The vette is SS competitive which is basically the highest of stock classes while the fbody is good in FS. Quite a big handicap difference applies.

dailydriver

+ million to all of the above suggestions, and I'll add;

Get a Torsen T2R diff (IF you still can??) or an Auburn 'Racer's Diff'.
With the above suspension recommendations, sticky tires, good brakes you'll be that much closer to a Vette in the handling dept. (well a stock C5 at least).

JD_AMG

Have you ever driven a CTS-V?
Stock for stock that would leave an fbody in the dust (although thats not really saying much...) And I'd have to drive one again (drove it before I had any suspension mods) but I think it would be a good race between a Koni/strano swaybars fbody and a stock CTS-V in the corners. Those things have ridiculously good balance and composure.

Im not trying calling you out on either of these quotes, so please don't take offense but have you driven a C4?
My buddies dad has a '92 (im pretty sure its a base model, not a Z51) and my car currently out handles it, thats for sure. You can feel that the C4 is lighter, but the suspension actually feels kinda sloppy, and "relaxed" in comparison to my setup. I'm sure a Z51 model would be a different story though...

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

Sounds like your dad's C4 isn't well setup. My C4 handles significantly better than my LS1 f-body, and I'm still running OE springs (Z51 springs). The C4 has better front and rear geometry, better weight distribution, and lower overall weight. C4's have won numerous SS (when they were in SS) and AS (current class) national championships. A C4 IS faster around an AX course (in fact, AS is faster than ESP by just a bit, ie: a stock C4 is faster than an ESP prepped f-body). http://www.scca-chicago.com/solo/indexes/rtp2008.html


Back on topic, though, I really don't see the point of swapping IRS into an f-body. The stock rear suspension isn't bad, and it can be made to work better.

JD_AMG

*friends dad. Like I said, its stock, non-Z51 suspension.
What is done to your fbody?

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

It's an FS car, so Strano 35mm front bar and Konis, stock otherwise.

An ESP setup would handle better than the current setup, but I think we all knew that. My point was this: even in ESP trim, an AS C4 is STILL faster around an AX course (if just barely). I'm not saying a setup f-body can't handle, but I DO say that a C4 will handle better.