Okay, Pretty much got this years Winter projects done so I need to start planning (dreaming) about what's next. I thought I should attack the Chassis & Suspension next.

Goals for Car: No changes yet still just a weekend street car for fun. I do think I will eventually do some drag racing with the car, I guess I would say Mark's car would be a mentor car.

Here is what done so far: Eibach pro-kit, BMR Strut Tower Brace, Lakewood DSL, and I believe I have some Bilsteins coming.

Here is what I am looking at:

SFC BMR Tubular (like how they tuck up)
Torque Arm Adj or Non Adj (big difference in price)
Torque Arm relocation kit (should I do this car has been lowered & is on 18")
Tubular control arms w/ poly bushings
Panhard rod

1. What should I do if I just plan on leaving it a weekend driver.
2. What should I do if plan to race?
3. Do nothing save for proper rear end
4. Do nothing save for proper clutch

BTW performance mods so far are 4:11, Hot Cam, Headers, LS6 Intake, Ported T.B., Lid. M-6

What's next????

 

A Blower!!

 

Well first thing you have to do steave is decide on what you wan to do with it, I mean for shure what you want to do with it.

1. For example, if you go with the lowering springs they will hurt you at the drag strip. I think for a better idea i would go ahead and by a setup of coil overs, they will be more expensive but will alow you to adjuste. I would go adjustable on as much suspension as you can, that way down the road you can set the car up for more traction. It will also let you control how stright the car launches. This is the one area i wish i would have concentrated on when i started moding mine. Now i am doing things twice and it is costing me more money. Be smart make a plan and stick to it. Also remember this If you are going to grag it it takes alot heaveir duty items, that will hurt street ride, And they would suck to drive road course. I guess what i am trying to say is you need to pick what kind of racing you want to do and buy that style suspension, or you will run into the same all road racers run into at the drag strip=-=-=-NO WEIGHT TRANSFER=NO TRACTION

2. The rearend is a good idea if you ever plan on putting sticky tires on it or adding alot more power. By sticky tires i mean slicks not nitto's

3. Clutch see number three. I also think this is probely one of the first things i would do, but their is a compramise, clutch that will hold launches, doea not act to frendly on the street.

 

Honestly, if your are not going to race the car it is made to do a burn out here or there or an occasional race.

-Clutch...wait till yours goes, you don't race.
-Rear...You have the gears you want and again for the street I think they are fine.
-SFC's...great make a huge difference.

The rest I can not give an honest opinion.

What about more looks.

 

Like Jason said, figure out what you want to do (primarily anyway) & build a platform that suits that. I look at Boyce, Jason (Sardog) or Ryan, & Todd as leaders in their fields for a specific goal. Drag racing is my main goal, but I want it all. So I will never be anywhere close to any of them in their field. But I CAN go do other things with my car that maybe some of them cannot. But we all made that initial choice.

You are now at that point. I see your car as a COOL daily driver / show car that has power to dust the ocassional Cobra that happens along. And I always thought you were headed towards the Todd end of the spectrum. It's never too late to decide, but it does get more expensive as Jason said.

That being said, here are my opinions:

Since your car is lowered, relocation brackets for the Lower Control Arms + and adj Torque Arm are a must for any serious drag racing. but not really needed for street use. What they do is help control wheel hop & put the differential at the right angle to improve power transfer. I would upgrade the rear end for drag racing, and the clutch.

If you want to do any serious road racing, then you need adj ends (hyme joints) on almost all of the suspensions parts. LCAs, TA, Pan Hard Bar. And for sure the adj LG coil over shocks like Boyce runs. But for what you do with the car now, the Bilsteins you are getting will be fine. They are a good all-around shock. My HALs on the other hand are made for drag racing. And you'll need a clutch.

Now if you want to really kick *** at shows, I would go with a blower or a turbo. Both can really look sharp if you spend the time & money. MUCH nicer than any race car motor IMO. And both will give you a ton of power too. But if showing is your goal, the power end will suffer. It's WAY too expensive & time consuming to do both.

***** in your court Steve. Pick a path & then someone will be able to help you.

 

First goal is to keep the car forever, hopefully it will never be done.

I do enjoy the show end but would and I have driven a few times and really enjoyed it.

If I want to race I do need to do a proper rear end & Clutch set up. I don't have the budget to do that this year and I prefer not to race till I can afford to break it. So I was thinking this year of upgrading some parts.

So what I've read so far is: SFC are a no brainer do it, the Bilesteins are an upgrade from what I have. Then add LCA & relocation brackets, then Torque arm??? and if the goal is long term go for the adjustable parts??? For as little as the car gets driven I don't ride quality is an issue.

Or Sardog am I all wrong should I quit being a ***** bring it the track now and try to break it.

 

Your not a ***** steve, Just not as all out as i am, which i wish I wasn't some times, like i am already broke and haven't even been paid yet

Sfc are a good starting point, as for the tubular ones yes they will give you more ground clearnce but sacrifice a little steangth, but for your plans they should be alright.

Tourge arm, if i were you i would spring for the one that does not mount to the transmission, just to save the possibilty of breakage down the road, as i said befor go for the right parts the first time so your not like me replacing suspension parts evry time you go to the track

relocation bracket are a good call to, just buy the bolt in ones So when you get a new rearend you can swap them i would also add at the same time some billingsly lower control arms, they are badass, and fully adj.

Your clutch will be fine as long as you don't put sticky tires on it. As soon as i went to a nitto with my hotcam thats when that z06 said Same thing goes for the rearend, but with a little more tire.

These are my takes on what you need to do for drag racing, as mark said depends on what you want to do. Next time we are at the track you should run that thing just to get a feal for it and see if it is something you want to do. You will also get a good baseline time.

 

I think you're kinda on the same path I am. I like keeping the car clean and all but at the same time I like using the car. So what I am doing is I'm getting the "basic" internals now, after having done a bunch of other bolt-ons and suspension/chassi mods. (1LE stuff, lowering, etc...)

SFCs are a great add on, you should do it sooner than later. And the boxed ones don't hang low at all. My car is lowered and I have no issues. That was just one time that I think the SFC hit the asphalt when I was doing 20mph on a residential area and didn't see a hump followed by a depression getting closer - I was trying to find an address

Other than that, I am happy with the combo so far, it's a nice daily driver (a little stiffer and noisier due to the Konis and teflon joint adjustable panhard bar) but all in all I can't complain.

 

Didn't you say you were going to go to open headers?

 

Definately get SFCs, make the car feel so much more rigid. I have the BMR boxed ones on mine. I lost very little ground clearance, and they are definately not the lowest point. You should check out my car next time we go to a meet or something. I'm not really sure if the boxed ones really do give a noticable amount of strength over tubular, but I think they look cool if you kneel down lol. Do you get wheelhop now? Definately get relocation brackets if you don't have them already. If you have any wheelhop after relocation brackets, then would probably be the time to determine if you need an adjustable torque arm.

 

OK, all kidding aside, yes the SFC are a no brainer. "Do it! Do it now!"

I have the BMR adjustible Panhard bar and it did correct the placement of my stock rear end. It is dead center now, before it was off by about half an inch from the factory.

I have the Bilstiens and Eibach pro kit. The combiniation REALLY improves cornering, but it is a lot stiffer than the stock set up and takes a bit to get used to.

I have the BMR LCAs and bolt on relocation brackets. They do a good job in correcting the stance of the car and put your rear wheels back where they are supposed to be. It is not a gimmick.

If you want to try driving my car around the block or something to get a feel for the combination, let me know. I will be off work at 8 tonight if you want to hook up and we could meet at Redmond Town Center or someplace.

206.334.6697

 

Howard thanks for the offer I may call you.

Like I said thinking about the future and wanted to get opinions about what to work on next. When Ellis answered Todd's question a while back about the proper way to lower a car it got my to thinking I just changed out the springs and went about my merry way. This winter I noticed that my Jounce bumpers were rubbing. When I went to grind them down the drivers side needed more work than the Passenger side which now I know my rear end is not aligned correctly.

 

An adj panhard bar would cure that problem Steve. I recommend NOT buying a BMR if you plan to race. Get a Hotchkis or LG or ____ that won't break. For LCAs & brackets, BMR is fine. As for SFCs, it's the only thing from SLP I like. They're strong, look nice, install easily, and tuck tight (hang down about 1", well above the y-pipe). Well, I guess I also like the SLP adj torque arm.

If you are thinking mostly drag race, get a 25mm (1") rear sway bar. For road racing get a 35mm front bar. I have the back, and am getting the front soon. Your new shocks will do both. And order some poly bushings at the same time.

When I put the car up on jack stands in a couple weeks to install the EradiSpeeds, I'll call you & you can come look at my stuff to get an idea. I warn you tho, Todd took one look & orderd ALL of it. (for the looks of course! LOL)

 

UMI makes a nice adjustable rod-end panhard... that's what I bought, and the quality of the piece is great, especially since it's also pretty cost effective.

It has the rod end at the axle, and a poly bushing at the frame... I'd take a picture of it on my car, but I'm embarrassed with you show guys around...

 

Mark those rotors are going to look nice.

Yeah when you get ready to do that I'll come over check out your parts I could even help you (drop some wrenches on you).

 

Nothig wrong wiht the bmr. I havent broken that peice yet. Actully not alot of stress on it when you launch, If you are raod racing though i would go with one of the other brands.

 

Yeah another opinion on the BMR adjustable PHR.. I have this and am not very satisfied with it, it just does not seem very strong, and I do not like the center adjuster thing, feels flimsy.

 

No crap, I took one look and was like "um that is very sweet looking!" Then went out and bought all BMR silver powder coated parts! Mark has a nice undercarriage, I could not keep up by buying a 12 bolt.

I love the SLP SFC's. Serious metal down there.

 

Exactly. The ends have ripped out of more than one on road race cars. Probably be fine for drag racing / street only.

 

I have had my BMR adjustible PH bar for about a year now and just recently had it examined CLOSELY by the guy who did my rear end. I was afraid it was not holding up because of all these rumors about this particular bar. But he said there was nothing wrong with it and it was still sitting tightly at dead center. This made me feel really good about the bar considering I like to corner the car at high velocities.