Best Suspension set up for
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From: Apollo Beach, Florida
Best Suspension set up for I plan on doing the Nurburgring in Germany maybe this summer or next summer depending on when my car gets finished. What is the best suspension to have on the 4th gen f-body LS1 cars? I currently have what ever SLP put on their 1LE optioned car. But it rides kinda rough and tends to skip out on tight bouncy turns. Also what tires are you guys running? I currently have BFG KD's on it. But they suck if the road is wet. Whats a good all around tire.
On The Tree
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From: Houston
I am about to start my Camaro Road Racer Build(1996 V6 Rolling Chassis) and I can tell you what I plan on doing from the research I found. Some of these things are going to require extensive fab. but you can get the idea. For the front suspension do EVERYTHING (Tubular K-member, Upper/Lower A-Arms, Sway Bar/Endlinks, and although quite expensive if you can afford them do Coil-Overs) The Nurburgring as I am sure you know has A LOT of undulations(compressions etc.) so having the ability to change the spring rate and height of your car will be very important. I would do subframe connectors and ultimately a 4-link suspension for the rear w/ new panhard bar. I saw someone with an aftermarket 4-link on the forum recently but I did not remember much about it so try doing a search if you are interested. Your safety is the most important factor in this equation. Remember that 4th gen F-bodies are simply a cheap chassis with a great motor. Install a simple bolt-in roll cage if possible. With all of that said...what it ultimately boils down to on any road course in any car is BRAKES BRAKES BRAKES!!! If you plan on doing well over 100 mph on the Ring...make damn sure your brakes can handle it before you invest in anything else. As for tires, Nitto has released a new line of street-legal road course tires...you might look into those.
Just remember that you could drive a C6.R into a corner at 180mph on a set of the donuts you have as your spare tire, but if you don't have a decent set of brakes on that car...safety first my man
Just remember that you could drive a C6.R into a corner at 180mph on a set of the donuts you have as your spare tire, but if you don't have a decent set of brakes on that car...safety first my man
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From: Apollo Beach, Florida
I was thinking of just upgrading to the eradispeed rotors since 75% time is normal street driving and the rest is garage time. I just want to have the best handling that I can get and pointers etc. I am going to install a wolfe cage in the car its part of the recipe. I also have SLP SFC on the car already. So you mentioned coil overs is that like the ground control set up? THanks for the response!
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From: Miami
Get in touch with Sam Strano on the board.
Here's what I learned from research:
Dampers: Koni SA or DA
Springs: Hotchkis
Roll bars: Strano proprietary
LCA's: You can get adjustable with spherical rod end on one end, bushing on the other (see Spohn or UMI). Ask around for LCA choice. People have different preferences.
Panhard Rod: Get one.
Tq. Arm: SLP adjustable (see what degree the RR guys are dialing in for pinion angle).
Tires:try these for a good all around tire...Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 which is good in the wet and can sutain heat cycling.
Get good pads: Hawk HT-10 up front, Blue in back (or comparable).
Fluid: Motul RBF 600 or ATE Superblue bled day before lapping.
Rotors: Run what you have or spend on some floating rotor if there's availability for our cars if you wish to spend money on this item.
Very important! Brake ducting to cool your front rotor and hub.
Alignment.
Here's what I learned from research:
Dampers: Koni SA or DA
Springs: Hotchkis
Roll bars: Strano proprietary
LCA's: You can get adjustable with spherical rod end on one end, bushing on the other (see Spohn or UMI). Ask around for LCA choice. People have different preferences.
Panhard Rod: Get one.
Tq. Arm: SLP adjustable (see what degree the RR guys are dialing in for pinion angle).
Tires:try these for a good all around tire...Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 which is good in the wet and can sutain heat cycling.
Get good pads: Hawk HT-10 up front, Blue in back (or comparable).
Fluid: Motul RBF 600 or ATE Superblue bled day before lapping.
Rotors: Run what you have or spend on some floating rotor if there's availability for our cars if you wish to spend money on this item.
Very important! Brake ducting to cool your front rotor and hub.
Alignment.
Originally Posted by BLKKNIGHTWS.6
from the research I found ...
For the front suspension ...
Tubular K-member
UMI has supposedly built a unit to handle the loading the front end will see under this kind of torture. It's still young on the market ...
And why are you using a V6 to start with? Lot's of V-8 cars out there for $500 or less. I bought a 96Z from a guy in Houston about 6 months ago.
Bolt in roll bars typically attach in the passenger foot well and either the rear fender well or the flat behind the rear seat. That is the thinnest parts of the uni-body. Not much protection.
We weld in the bars on 120 in/sq base plates on the base where rear seat mounts and just behind the rear shocks. All these points are multiple, sandwiched layers of metal. Much stronger base.
Originally Posted by hawaiiboysz
I plan on doing the Nurburgring in Germany maybe this summer or next summer depending on when my car gets finished. What is the best suspension to have on the 4th gen f-body LS1 cars? I currently have what ever SLP put on their 1LE optioned car. But it rides kinda rough and tends to skip out on tight bouncy turns. Also what tires are you guys running? I currently have BFG KD's on it. But they suck if the road is wet. Whats a good all around tire.
Try softening the shocks up first since they are adjustable in both compression and rebound. Listen to Mitch on the rollbar and K member. Eradispeeds are not for track use; get replacement OEM style rotors, real front brake pads (call Larry at Carbotech eng.), real brake fluid (Castrol SRF), and real power steering fluid. Your OEM cooler should keep the PS cool, but puts that heat into the cooling system.
Next thing I would replace is the panhard bar with an aluminum dual rod end PHB. Better tires will help. The Nitto NT01's look great on paper. After that it gets serious.
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I've read about other tubular K members failing on DD and Auto-x cars. UMI builds nices stuff, but I still plan on holding off, and let people abuse them a while to make sure they are real world prooven.
I personally think stock K and A-arms are decent from the factory. On a street tire car, I do not think the gains would justify the expense.
As for tires that work in wet, you really need to compromise ultimate performance (like I did). The NITTO 555s I have perform well at the track, and fine in the rain (although not so great in the cold-even when the road is dry). This is to be expected of a high performance tire. I think my lap times would b better w a lower treadware tire, but you cannot have it all. I'll am willing to give up some track prowless for not being afraid should my wife get caught in the rain w it.
Things that "need" change IMHO--Shocks(Koni SAs)-Panhard Bar(single adjustable w rod ends)-Sway bars(Strano Bars)-Alignment(NOT stock)-and a brake upgrade.
I haven't done the brakes yet-but I will soon. Cannot speak from experience, but I would say at least a high quality pad w quality rotors, or a C5 upgrade if you like.
Oh, and check out http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/
It has some serious handling tech. I love LS1Tech, but its mostly DDs and drag racers. Most the handling guys here are also posting on FRRAX...again-very serious tech there! In fact I mostly read there, beacuse I am humbled by the knowledge there!
I personally think stock K and A-arms are decent from the factory. On a street tire car, I do not think the gains would justify the expense.
As for tires that work in wet, you really need to compromise ultimate performance (like I did). The NITTO 555s I have perform well at the track, and fine in the rain (although not so great in the cold-even when the road is dry). This is to be expected of a high performance tire. I think my lap times would b better w a lower treadware tire, but you cannot have it all. I'll am willing to give up some track prowless for not being afraid should my wife get caught in the rain w it.
Things that "need" change IMHO--Shocks(Koni SAs)-Panhard Bar(single adjustable w rod ends)-Sway bars(Strano Bars)-Alignment(NOT stock)-and a brake upgrade.
I haven't done the brakes yet-but I will soon. Cannot speak from experience, but I would say at least a high quality pad w quality rotors, or a C5 upgrade if you like.
Oh, and check out http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/
It has some serious handling tech. I love LS1Tech, but its mostly DDs and drag racers. Most the handling guys here are also posting on FRRAX...again-very serious tech there! In fact I mostly read there, beacuse I am humbled by the knowledge there!
Last edited by subtlez28; Jan 13, 2007 at 08:37 PM.
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From: Apollo Beach, Florida
I did wipe down the konis and noticed a little dust collected on them on the wet spots. What kind of process do you have to go thru to get them rebuilt by koni? Also I have a aluminum rod ended PHB that I never installed yet. The konis are on full soft I check it because the ride was a little stiff but I guess since it was full soft that is how it rides.
Will different springs help? Or should I just keep the ones that are in there on I think they are eibachs Im sure I seen it on the the springs.
Will different springs help? Or should I just keep the ones that are in there on I think they are eibachs Im sure I seen it on the the springs.
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From: Apollo Beach, Florida
http://www.koni.com/_cars/frame.html
Seems like I dont qualify. So Does it mean that I am better off getting new shocks to replace the ones I have?
Seems like I dont qualify. So Does it mean that I am better off getting new shocks to replace the ones I have?
I know the rebuild is not free, I had to pay.... Your call one new shocks or not. I am very happy with the suspension on the T/A.
http://chuckb.1le.net
http://chuckb.1le.net
Teching In
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Originally Posted by BLKKNIGHTWS.6
...what it ultimately boils down to on any road course in any car is BRAKES BRAKES BRAKES!!!
Just remember that you could drive a C6.R into a corner at 180mph on a set of the donuts you have as your spare tire, but if you don't have a decent set of brakes on that car...safety first my man
Just remember that you could drive a C6.R into a corner at 180mph on a set of the donuts you have as your spare tire, but if you don't have a decent set of brakes on that car...safety first my man
