Impala SS Bilstein BMR ZZ GXP Suspension Upgrades Done!
08-16-2011, 05:50 AM
#1
Impala SS Bilstein BMR ZZ GXP Suspension Upgrades Done! Here is an outline of my suspension and brake upgrades on my 2008 Impala SS. The car is rock solid after the upgrades and handles terrific! Very responsive! I did these upgrades in late 2009 and the parts have about 40,000+ miles on them at the time of this post. To the best of my knowledge everything is holding up great. The ride is FIRM! Probably a bit too firm for the liking of some. I don’t commute in this car, so it’s no big deal. At least now the rest of the car is up to snuff with the powerful engine. Scroll down for pictures of all the goods. Enjoy!
Parts Installed:
ZZ Performance Front control arms $500.00
Bilstein Struts P/N: F4-VE3-F315-H0 Front P/N: F4-VE3-F316-H0 Rear $900.00
(Bilsteins are worth every penny!) (Tire Rack)
Eibach springs P/N: 38108.140 (eBay) $250.00
BMR Rear suspension arms $550.00
Addco rear sway bar P/N 639 (eBay) $150.00
Moog K6662 Rear sway bar end links (Amazon) $ 50.00
Energy Suspension front sway bar bushings 9.5167R (Amazon) $ 20.00
Gran Prix GXP Brakes (Used, Morad) $550.00
4 Raybestos GXP brake rotors $200.00
Ceramic Pads (front and Rear) $100.00
Don Rome Strut tower braces $175.00
Billet wheel spacers $275.00
Total: (yikes!) $3,720.00
Improvements noticed:
Lift and squat under hard acceleration greatly reduced.
Steering response greatly improved
Traction improved.
Torque steer effects reduced.
Dive under hard braking reduced.
“See sawing” (car rocking side to side under hard acceleration while passing) greatly reduced.
Tire wear notably improved.
Just all around more responsive and fun to drive.
Downsides:
Very firm ride. (Not bone jarring, but all luxury feel is pretty much gone)
Polyurethane bushings need to be greased frequently or they get squeaky.
Front Suspension Images:
Parts Installed:
ZZ Performance Front control arms $500.00
Bilstein Struts P/N: F4-VE3-F315-H0 Front P/N: F4-VE3-F316-H0 Rear $900.00
(Bilsteins are worth every penny!) (Tire Rack)
Eibach springs P/N: 38108.140 (eBay) $250.00
BMR Rear suspension arms $550.00
Addco rear sway bar P/N 639 (eBay) $150.00
Moog K6662 Rear sway bar end links (Amazon) $ 50.00
Energy Suspension front sway bar bushings 9.5167R (Amazon) $ 20.00
Gran Prix GXP Brakes (Used, Morad) $550.00
4 Raybestos GXP brake rotors $200.00
Ceramic Pads (front and Rear) $100.00
Don Rome Strut tower braces $175.00
Billet wheel spacers $275.00
Total: (yikes!) $3,720.00
Improvements noticed:
Lift and squat under hard acceleration greatly reduced.
Steering response greatly improved
Traction improved.
Torque steer effects reduced.
Dive under hard braking reduced.
“See sawing” (car rocking side to side under hard acceleration while passing) greatly reduced.
Tire wear notably improved.
Just all around more responsive and fun to drive.
Downsides:
Very firm ride. (Not bone jarring, but all luxury feel is pretty much gone)
Polyurethane bushings need to be greased frequently or they get squeaky.
Front Suspension Images:
08-16-2011, 10:18 AM
#7
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Lawrencevile, GA
Posts: 1,467
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
thats great when you first posted pictures of your suspension I was wondering how you liked everything. How do you like the rotors and warping or anything?
Trending Topics
08-16-2011, 07:48 PM
#11
Hawkins04 - When I'm in the mood to drive hard the car shines with all the undercar mods. A blast! However when I just want to cruise, it would be nice to flip a switch and have it ride like a Buick. Guess I'm getting old. 
LoL. Regarding the brakes, after nearly 2 years of use the rotors are starting to show some wear and if I lay into the brakes hard from high speed I will notice some pulse in the brake pedal till the rotors cool off. Seems like the pads outlast the rotors in this application. At least that's my experience.
GXP25 - I never thought about it, but I can see how some in the GXP camp might see defiling GXP calipers like I did could be viewed as sacrilege. LoL.
LoL. Regarding the brakes, after nearly 2 years of use the rotors are starting to show some wear and if I lay into the brakes hard from high speed I will notice some pulse in the brake pedal till the rotors cool off. Seems like the pads outlast the rotors in this application. At least that's my experience.GXP25 - I never thought about it, but I can see how some in the GXP camp might see defiling GXP calipers like I did could be viewed as sacrilege. LoL.
08-17-2011, 10:11 PM
#12
Staging Lane
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Carol Stream, IL
Posts: 85
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Very nice. Got any side shots to show the drop? I bet that thing's a blast to drive! I'd love to do all that to my GXP. I've always wondered if I could get it to handle like my VW lol.
08-17-2011, 10:42 PM
#13
On The Tree
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Origionally-Winnipeg Manitoba, Currently-Fort McMurray Alberta
Posts: 122
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Regarding the brakes, after nearly 2 years of use the rotors are starting to show some wear and if I lay into the brakes hard from high speed I will notice some pulse in the brake pedal till the rotors cool off. Seems like the pads outlast the rotors in this application. At least that's my experience.
the article said you have to get your disks resurfaced or use metallic pads to get rid of that resin.. not sure how true it is, but heres the write up if anyone's interested.
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...rakedisk.shtml
08-18-2011, 04:10 AM
#14
A few exterior shots Here are a few exterior shots. Car has about a 1 inch drop and the wheels are spaced out about 1 inch. This gives the car a pretty good stance. lunchbox_89 - I agree the pads may not have been bedded in correctly. Also, they've always squealed like crazy under normal braking as well. Makes riding with the windows down unpleasant. Tried the anti squeal goo on the back of the pads. Didn't work. Just got brembo rotors from brakemotive. Having them cryo treated and will put them on this fall. Will definitely do a proper bed in this time around.
08-18-2011, 04:51 AM
#15
Here are a few exterior shots. Car has about a 1 inch drop and the wheels are spaced out about 1 inch. This gives the car a pretty good stance. lunchbox_89 - I agree the pads may not have been bedded in correctly. Also, they've always squealed like crazy under normal braking as well. Makes riding with the windows down unpleasant. Tried the anti squeal goo on the back of the pads. Didn't work. Just got brembo rotors from brakemotive. Having them cryo treated and will put them on this fall. Will definitely do a proper bed in this time around.
08-18-2011, 07:25 AM
#16
Staging Lane
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm insanely jealous as I was looking to do EVERY upgrade you have (except for brakes, of course..).. Obviously, $$ is my main hurdle, lol.. Your ups are extremely cool in my books.. Screw a soft, comfy ride! And I bet you quarter ET's will see an improvement as well.. I'm assuming all these mods help put out another 30% of the power you lose to the ground and should hook better, too.. All you need now is some fancy rims with some GAPS between the spokes so you can show off all the purdddyyy
08-20-2011, 10:25 AM
#17
Launching!
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Bury St Edmunds, England
Posts: 223
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nice work bro,
The GXP's have the goods.
Where did you get those spacers from? Are the Impala's wheels 18x8's or 18x7's? I want to put those spacers on the back of my GXP cuz the wheels are 18x7 and i want to fit a 255/45/18.
Thanks
Greg
The GXP's have the goods.
Where did you get those spacers from? Are the Impala's wheels 18x8's or 18x7's? I want to put those spacers on the back of my GXP cuz the wheels are 18x7 and i want to fit a 255/45/18.
Thanks
Greg
