SLP Bilstein/Eibach install at UMI
05-23-2012, 11:12 AM
#1
SLP Bilstein/Eibach install at UMI Because I’m obstinate by nature, I chose to go a route less traveled. No, this doesn’t mean taking back roads to get to UMI (however, I did average 26mpg on the trip). It means going with an affordable option to tighten my car up. This is where the SLP-spec Bilstein/Eibach combo comes into play. Because I understand many will disagree, I’ll address my logic after my install synopsis. Whether one agrees with me or not doesn’t matter – it’s my perception, and my feelings. Oh, and did I mention I’m obstinate? 
The car is 2002 Camaro SS #7146, M6, no ASR. I picked it up in February after a long 4th gen hiatus. It was stock (sans a Flowmaster weld-in) with 65k miles. It currently has 67k miles. While many mods have been done to LS1 4th gens the past 15 years, I’m treating this like the clean slate that it is. Putting effort and thought into the direction I am taking it, and documenting the process along the way. If anyone is interested, take a look at my fquick page at www.fquick.com/demonspeed for all the details.
So, what does UMI Performance have to do with any of this? I’ve known Ryan since middle school, and I’ve known Jerry for nearly a decade (if anyone had seen Jerry’s white SS at any shows, I sold it to him!). Little did they know that when they said “get some new springs/shocks, bring the car out, and let’s put them on” that this install would turn into a frustrating afternoon.
While Jerry may be one of most entertaining people I’ve met, when it comes to working in the shop, he is absolutely no-nonsense. I can assure anyone who calls into UMI for tech support, that you will get the “utmost” (see what I did there, Ryan) in help from Jerry. Jerry explained everything that was going on during the install like a professional – so much so that I almost forgot I was paying him with a case of beer! If anyone is a difficult “customer” to please, Ryan and Jerry will tell you that I take the cake with my extraordinarily high expectations.
Here is Jerry pulling stuff apart:
What a mess which awaits those who’ve never done this install before:
A bit of love from an angle grinder with a wire wheel (I hit them with some rust preventer black paint afterward):
While I was messing with the a-arms, Jerry was attempting to remove the factory strut mounts. If you take notice to the rusty mess above, you can imagine what the mounts looked like. Jerry was able to get the passenger strut shaft/bolt out (after an hour of “finesse”, but the driver side was seized to the strut mount (even with only 65k miles). This is when a couple hour job just received an additional 5 hours. Of course, no one has strut mounts in stock (and UMI has no reason to have them since they don’t do installs), so we were in a bit of a dilemma. Fortunately, UMI is a full machine shop, so Ryan and Jerry were able to “engineer” a solution to get me back on the road.
With that said, the newest 4th gen is ten years old. Do yourself a favor and have new strut mounts just in case. Had we had them, we would have saved, as I mentioned, 5 hours. Monroe, Moog, KYB, and a host of other off-brands make them ($65 is the cheapest I found for the pair), but the likelihood that your local parts place has them in stock is slim. For posterity, the GM part numbers are 22146933 (driver) and 22146934 (passenger). To save a significant amount of money, go with the ACDelco part numbers 501-148 (driver) and 501-149 (passenger); they’re about $55 a piece on Amazon versus $200 list on the GM part numbers (for parts like this, I prefer OE over aftermarket, but that’s just me). Personally, five hours of my time is worth the $110 I would have spent to have them ready to slap on – your opinion may vary.
Here we are all buttoned back together with new endlinks; Jerry had is way with the factory ones with a cutoff wheel (those are Brakemotive rotors and pads - $165 for all four corners can’t be beat for passing state inspection!):
Topped it off with a strut brace (who will be the first “expert” to debate this mod?):
We planned several other pieces, but because the strut mounts ruined our time, we’re working on the logistics of the other parts. I’ll do a write up on those as well.
Here’s a before:
And after (sorry for the lighting; it was late):
As one can see, it has the traditional SLP spring rake – that is, the look of the rear being lower. This is something I expected, and do not mind. For me, it’s function over form (which I’ll explain further). It’s about an inch lower all around.
I’ve never driven a 4th gen with upgraded springs/shocks, so my opinions are only of comparing the SLP combo to that of the stock setup in this ’02 SS with 65k miles, my ’01 Z28 with 90k miles, and my ’00 SS with 14k miles. As one can tell, I’ve had a variety of miles/age to experience the factory stuff – just nothing aftermarket.
First and foremost, there is no more “floaty” feeling. It is completely composed and responsive. The ride is not harsh by any means, but it’s firmer than stock. This is exactly what I was going for. While I’ve not yet pushed it really hard in the turns, I can already tell that my tires are the weak link (Uniroyal all-seasons that the previous owner put on before I bought it; sufficient with the deCarbons, but not any more). I’m really looking forward to getting UMI’s sway bars on to see how flat this thing stays, especially with some good tires.
For those who are scoffing, my priorities are probably not unlike many of you in that I want a car that rips at the track (the straight one), pulls hard on the highway, and is just fine through everything else. I’m going to venture to guess from how things play out in this section that while many would like to prepare their cars to compete at a road course, most won’t ever see the action that their vehicles are capable of. Even if they do, they will not have the ability to get the most of out their setup due to their limited seat time in such an environment.
There is also this significant emphasis on having the “right” combination of springs and shocks for the “best” performance. With that theory in mind, I asked myself “why would I get springs that give me the look, and just run shocks that “work,” yet aren’t for the springs (or, springs that aren’t spec’d for the shocks). I’m not interested in spending close to a grand on “the” combo that is touted as the “best,” and I wasn’t going to go with the “best” springs and the “sufficient” shocks.
Aside from saving several hundred in parts (my money tree is not yet in bloom), the SLP Bilstein/Eibach combo was literally engineered to work in unison (it was a Y2Y option from SLP, after all). In my opinion, I made no compromise going with this setup as I was honest with myself regarding my goals for the car. Not saying that anyone else who buys the “best” combo is fooling themselves; rather, I’m saying that if anyone is on the fence, they just need to be realistic. To be honest, I will be making it to a road course; however, if I make it to the track formally known as BeaveRun just once a year, I’ll be lucky – even if it is only 20 miles from my house.
I’ll update with any thoughts or feelings as I get more time behind the wheel. Tons of thanks to Ryan and Jerry at UMI. If anyone will be at Carlisle for the GM Nationals, look for my car in the show field. Thanks for reading!
The car is 2002 Camaro SS #7146, M6, no ASR. I picked it up in February after a long 4th gen hiatus. It was stock (sans a Flowmaster weld-in) with 65k miles. It currently has 67k miles. While many mods have been done to LS1 4th gens the past 15 years, I’m treating this like the clean slate that it is. Putting effort and thought into the direction I am taking it, and documenting the process along the way. If anyone is interested, take a look at my fquick page at www.fquick.com/demonspeed for all the details.
So, what does UMI Performance have to do with any of this? I’ve known Ryan since middle school, and I’ve known Jerry for nearly a decade (if anyone had seen Jerry’s white SS at any shows, I sold it to him!). Little did they know that when they said “get some new springs/shocks, bring the car out, and let’s put them on” that this install would turn into a frustrating afternoon.
While Jerry may be one of most entertaining people I’ve met, when it comes to working in the shop, he is absolutely no-nonsense. I can assure anyone who calls into UMI for tech support, that you will get the “utmost” (see what I did there, Ryan) in help from Jerry. Jerry explained everything that was going on during the install like a professional – so much so that I almost forgot I was paying him with a case of beer! If anyone is a difficult “customer” to please, Ryan and Jerry will tell you that I take the cake with my extraordinarily high expectations.
Here is Jerry pulling stuff apart:
What a mess which awaits those who’ve never done this install before:
A bit of love from an angle grinder with a wire wheel (I hit them with some rust preventer black paint afterward):
While I was messing with the a-arms, Jerry was attempting to remove the factory strut mounts. If you take notice to the rusty mess above, you can imagine what the mounts looked like. Jerry was able to get the passenger strut shaft/bolt out (after an hour of “finesse”, but the driver side was seized to the strut mount (even with only 65k miles). This is when a couple hour job just received an additional 5 hours. Of course, no one has strut mounts in stock (and UMI has no reason to have them since they don’t do installs), so we were in a bit of a dilemma. Fortunately, UMI is a full machine shop, so Ryan and Jerry were able to “engineer” a solution to get me back on the road.
With that said, the newest 4th gen is ten years old. Do yourself a favor and have new strut mounts just in case. Had we had them, we would have saved, as I mentioned, 5 hours. Monroe, Moog, KYB, and a host of other off-brands make them ($65 is the cheapest I found for the pair), but the likelihood that your local parts place has them in stock is slim. For posterity, the GM part numbers are 22146933 (driver) and 22146934 (passenger). To save a significant amount of money, go with the ACDelco part numbers 501-148 (driver) and 501-149 (passenger); they’re about $55 a piece on Amazon versus $200 list on the GM part numbers (for parts like this, I prefer OE over aftermarket, but that’s just me). Personally, five hours of my time is worth the $110 I would have spent to have them ready to slap on – your opinion may vary.
Here we are all buttoned back together with new endlinks; Jerry had is way with the factory ones with a cutoff wheel (those are Brakemotive rotors and pads - $165 for all four corners can’t be beat for passing state inspection!):
Topped it off with a strut brace (who will be the first “expert” to debate this mod?):
We planned several other pieces, but because the strut mounts ruined our time, we’re working on the logistics of the other parts. I’ll do a write up on those as well.
Here’s a before:
And after (sorry for the lighting; it was late):
As one can see, it has the traditional SLP spring rake – that is, the look of the rear being lower. This is something I expected, and do not mind. For me, it’s function over form (which I’ll explain further). It’s about an inch lower all around.
I’ve never driven a 4th gen with upgraded springs/shocks, so my opinions are only of comparing the SLP combo to that of the stock setup in this ’02 SS with 65k miles, my ’01 Z28 with 90k miles, and my ’00 SS with 14k miles. As one can tell, I’ve had a variety of miles/age to experience the factory stuff – just nothing aftermarket.
First and foremost, there is no more “floaty” feeling. It is completely composed and responsive. The ride is not harsh by any means, but it’s firmer than stock. This is exactly what I was going for. While I’ve not yet pushed it really hard in the turns, I can already tell that my tires are the weak link (Uniroyal all-seasons that the previous owner put on before I bought it; sufficient with the deCarbons, but not any more). I’m really looking forward to getting UMI’s sway bars on to see how flat this thing stays, especially with some good tires.
For those who are scoffing, my priorities are probably not unlike many of you in that I want a car that rips at the track (the straight one), pulls hard on the highway, and is just fine through everything else. I’m going to venture to guess from how things play out in this section that while many would like to prepare their cars to compete at a road course, most won’t ever see the action that their vehicles are capable of. Even if they do, they will not have the ability to get the most of out their setup due to their limited seat time in such an environment.
There is also this significant emphasis on having the “right” combination of springs and shocks for the “best” performance. With that theory in mind, I asked myself “why would I get springs that give me the look, and just run shocks that “work,” yet aren’t for the springs (or, springs that aren’t spec’d for the shocks). I’m not interested in spending close to a grand on “the” combo that is touted as the “best,” and I wasn’t going to go with the “best” springs and the “sufficient” shocks.
Aside from saving several hundred in parts (my money tree is not yet in bloom), the SLP Bilstein/Eibach combo was literally engineered to work in unison (it was a Y2Y option from SLP, after all). In my opinion, I made no compromise going with this setup as I was honest with myself regarding my goals for the car. Not saying that anyone else who buys the “best” combo is fooling themselves; rather, I’m saying that if anyone is on the fence, they just need to be realistic. To be honest, I will be making it to a road course; however, if I make it to the track formally known as BeaveRun just once a year, I’ll be lucky – even if it is only 20 miles from my house.
I’ll update with any thoughts or feelings as I get more time behind the wheel. Tons of thanks to Ryan and Jerry at UMI. If anyone will be at Carlisle for the GM Nationals, look for my car in the show field. Thanks for reading!
05-23-2012, 06:54 PM
#3
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Nice write-up.
I've been strongly considering this spring shock combo. I think it would make a great daily driver setup. The only thing that has held me back is what I've heard that the SLP eibach rear springs have a tendency to sag. If I go this route I'll probably use a half inch rear spacer to negate the rear spring sag.
BTW, where does one get a money tree?
I could really use one of those.
I've been strongly considering this spring shock combo. I think it would make a great daily driver setup. The only thing that has held me back is what I've heard that the SLP eibach rear springs have a tendency to sag. If I go this route I'll probably use a half inch rear spacer to negate the rear spring sag.
BTW, where does one get a money tree?
I could really use one of those.
05-23-2012, 07:12 PM
#4
I'm not so sure the rear springs sag; rather, they level the car. This makes it appear as though the rear sits lower than the front - which would cause one to say they sag. Just look at the after picture along the bottom of the car -- there is no rake. The only thing that causes the perception of "sag" is how the wheel wells are cut.
05-23-2012, 07:53 PM
#6
I wanted to do a write-up on this combo, not just to give a shout out to UMI, but to show that it's alright to buck the trend with other parts that work.
Last edited by demonspeed; 05-23-2012 at 08:59 PM.
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05-23-2012, 09:28 PM
#11
Just because I've been around for a decade doesn't mean I have any more money to play with - no C6Z for me! 
In all honesty, I was never able to build the car I wanted "back in the day." I picked this car up as a blank canvas for my Bob Ross "happy little trees" mod brush, and for less than the investment of a V6 5th gen, I hope to have a great, all-around LS1 car.
In all honesty, I was never able to build the car I wanted "back in the day." I picked this car up as a blank canvas for my Bob Ross "happy little trees" mod brush, and for less than the investment of a V6 5th gen, I hope to have a great, all-around LS1 car.
05-23-2012, 09:47 PM
#13
It felt like a sedan with a big engine - which is essentially what it was. Just like with the 4th gens, though, I never had any experience with a modified GTO (Pedders or whatnot). However, I wasn't interesting in spending the massive amounts of money that supposedly was needed to correct the suspension. I wanted to go fast instead
05-28-2012, 04:01 PM
#19
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I'm not so sure the rear springs sag; rather, they level the car. This makes it appear as though the rear sits lower than the front - which would cause one to say they sag. Just look at the after picture along the bottom of the car -- there is no rake. The only thing that causes the perception of "sag" is how the wheel wells are cut.
05-28-2012, 04:11 PM
#20
I'm not sure why cars are styled that way. It looks awful to me.