calgary_z28

Seriously debating removing my tubular non adjustable poly UMI rear lca's as well as my 2 point bolt in sub frame connectors. I drive my 98 Z28 365 days a year and it's making me hate the car with how rough the ride is. Even with stock springs on new Bilsteins! Anyone ever end up in this situation? I kept the stock rear lca's. The ride is so punishing especially over the terrible frost heaved roads we have here. I don't drag race besides the odd stop light battle and am willing to sacrifice some flex for a more livable ride quality. Bump stops are intact.

Thoughts from anyone who's gone back to stock rear lca's/removed SFC's? I don't recall the ride being this terrible even with the decarbons before I added the poly rear lcas and SFC's.

thechef

iTrader: (13)

start with the frame connectors and see if you can like the ride after that

Majestic9C1

iTrader: (19)

you can always go back to the stock LCA's and use some Moog 1LE bushings in them.

ssjason232

iTrader: (14)

Save up $500 and buy a daily driver. It will be the best thing you ever did.

These cars are so much more enjoyable when you don't have to suffer thought them as a DD.

Subframes prob won't make the ride less harsh. Your best bet is soft sidewall tires. Conti extreme contacts are fairly comfy. Also, konis are they way to go, you can dial in the firmness. But get a dd

SMOKNSS

iTrader: (3)

This^^^^

I have been saying this since I bought my first F-body while I was in college(2006). Performance oriented cars are not for the faint of heart to be driven every day. I have always told the people I know just like the guy above said.... if you want to see how much you love having your F-body/Mustang/Corvette whatever, buy a DD. I have enjoyed all of my F-bodies but if I had to drive them every day I would probably sell it in favor of something nice and comfy.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

I'd put the stock LCAs back on maybe clean them up and give them a fresh coat of paint and new bushings if needed. IMO, regular poly bushings SUCK when used on the lca's, when used for anything more than driving in a straight line over a perfectly smooth road. They just don't allow the lca's to twist(left or right) enough to avoid a bind free movement. I also really doubt that the SFC
are part of the issue.

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

Poly bushings when properly lubricated and not over tightened don't bind. A 3500 lb car can articulate a poly bushing no problem.

Engineers design a soft ride into a vehicle. When you remove rubber and add something else it changes the feel.

FormulaJoe

iTrader: (5)

I instantly noticed how much stiffer my car was when I did my SFCs... Just pulling out of my driveway which is a slight slope. That was when I had the drag racers mentality. Going for handling and comfort in my car now. The SFCs are coming out before the cars back on the road. Literally the only reason I would like to keep them is the ease of jacking the car up lol.

Poly in both the front and back of the LCA definitely causes bind.... The rear LCA doesn't just move up and down lol. When the body is rolling in a turn, the poly bushing is binding. And yes, anything other then stock with the rear LCAs will cause a more harsh ride.
Rubber for comfort, rod ends for handling performance. A poly/rod set up works fine because the rod end still allows articulation and the poly soaks up a little more of the jolt when compared to rod/rod.

Like you said you don't drag your car so the answer is obvious.... Put some new moog rear LCA bushings in or rock whatever bushings are in the stockers if they look good and take your SFCs out and you'll be happy.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

show me a running driving reasonably reliable enough to be a daily driver for 500 bucks and your argument may make sense, hell most cars at the 1k mark need motors or are missing at least 1 gear from the transmission.

calgary_z28

^Well to be honest, I was never able to get enough clearance to get a torque wrench in when I did the rear lca install. So I just tightened them up as best I could with a socket wrench..the joys of working on jackstands! I found that if I left them on the loose side I'd get more clunking and noise. I've also never been able to get grease into them using the zerk fittings. Not sure why that is.

Beater is on the list for next year. I just want it to feel closer to how it did before I started modding it. It's rare to hit freshly paved road were it's actually worth having the stiffer chassis.

Maybe I'm getting old or just burnt out on having a car that punishes me over every road imperfection. I will miss having the SFC's as jacking points though!! My stock rear lca's were in great shape when I yanked them out. Sure glad that I kept them.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

This is me. I noticed how harsh the SFC's (UMI boxed two points) made the car ride as soon as I had them welded in. They helped at the track, but I rarely go anymore. I have also considered cutting them out, but the ease of jacking when changing out snow tires, drag radials, etc. has led me to keep them.

I swapped out my BMR tubular poly/poly LCA's and replaced them with stockers and Moog ILE bushings while chasing down squeaks. I haven't noticed any difference in comfort or performance on the street or on the track.

The harsh ride had really been getting to me also lately, so my latest tactic has been to run 16" wheels again with soft sidewall Altimax HP grand touring tires on the front, and TOYO drag radials on the rear. This has helped a great deal, but to really get it good, the SFC's would have to go.

calgary_z28

So replacing the poly/poly LCA's with stockers didn't make a noticeable difference to you? Well, hopefully between removing the LCA's & SFC's it will start to feel less like a spine puncher again.

I didn't notice much of an improvement running my 16" stockers with winter 225 tires with my current setup.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I did notice it going from my 275/40/17's to the 225 Blizzaks. That's what made me decide to go back to 16's and soft sidewall tires.

I bought my A4 car with the poly LCA's on it and I never noticed any more harshness than with my other cars with stockers, nor when I replaced them on this car with stockers. Bilstein shocks in the rear also.

I will emphasize how stunned I was at the increase in harshness after the SFC's. It was like every pebble on road was faithfully transmitted into the cabin. Installing Bilsteins helped, but the harshness is still there. The SFC's did prevent a recurrence of creasing in my right q-panel from launching, which is why I had them installed.

calgary_z28

^Thanks. I've heard that once you upgrade the struts, you really don't need to run SFC's for a bolt on car. I think one of the dimples I have on my right quarter panel is from launching, if so the SFC's didn't prevent that from happening as the car was bone stock and mint when I bought it. Guess there is only one way to find out though.

Tolley's94z28

iTrader: (4)

I bought a 1993 Dodge Dakota regular cab 2wd 5-speed w/ 175k for $1000. All gears work perfectly and clutch is in good shape. Paint is a bit rough though. Other than that, there isn't much wrong with it.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Never thought I would totally disagree with UMI, but whatever you're smoking, please pass it this way since it must be really good! Regular poly bushing used on 93-02 Camaro/Firebird rear LCAs is just a bad choice!
We'll just have to agree, to disagree on this.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Another factor that plays a huge role is cold weather. Suspension stiffens, creaks and rattles materialize out of nowhere, even my exhaust turns loud and raspy. My car starts to become intolerable. Now that it's in the 60's & 70's most of the time, all of this goes away and the car rides and sounds good again - with due credit to soft tires.

If it's still cold up there, it's probably keeping you in a world of f-body hurt.

BrntWS6

iTrader: (7)

I cut my SFCs out and it made a huge improvement in ride quality. They are overrated if you ask me.

calgary_z28

Very true! It's around 35 F here right now, my tires feel more or less like hockey pucks. Completely cold even after driving home from work. I figured that a big part of the stiff ride was the cold. But even when it was in the 60's/70's this past week, the ride was still super stiff and clunky.

I think my rear lca's are binding severely which is locking up the rear suspension and turning it into an ox cart. I've never been able to get
grease into the zerk fittings, even with the bolts loosened. That's surely part of the problem. But from what I'm reading on here, poly/poly is a recipe for a stiff ride and bind regardless.

Step one will be to swap my poly/poly rear lcas back to the stock lcas with rubber bushings.

If that doesn't make the ride more livable, step two will be to take the SFC's off.

calgary_z28

I noticed the added stiffness going over my first speed bump at an angle post install. But this was also with the stock junk decarbon's. Now that I have the SLP Bilsteins on stock springs, I should have a much smoother ride

I'm thinking the cons out way the pros so far. I have a dimple in my passenger quarter that appeared post SFC install..explain that. Isn't installing SFC's supposed to prevent that from happening? I've never run drag radials or been to the strip with this car either.