HappySalesman

iTrader: (3)

Had a little bit of money come in. Have around 800 to play with.

I was thinking of either swapping my ****ty springs and stock shocks for the koni str.ts and strano springs, and then probably going an LCA w/ relo bracket (maybe some subframe connectors or a tower brace too). That would put me a little over my budget with the sfcs, but not terribly far.

Or I was going to get new rotors, pads, and stainless brake lines (as well as rebuild the calipers). This would put me at roughly 500-ish, and I could put the other 300 towards something else (maybe get at least the springs replaced)

Thoughts?

WS6FEARLS1

How much brake life do you have left? If they're about due might as well do the brakes. Otherwise get your use out of them and replace them when you actually need to.

HappySalesman

iTrader: (3)

The pads themselves I believe are about 3 years old, and thats with one year being spent hopping between dealership lots. The rotors... well I'm not sure. They've got a pretty sizeable lip on the outer edge where the pads have worn the rotor down.

All I can say is that the brakes do work right now. Due to the idiocy of other drivers I have done a few stops at a relatively high speed (60+) and been able to kick on the low trac light (and stop successfully) though I'm not sure that's an accurate way to gauge how much life is left in the brakes lol.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

If your brakes are in bad shape, I think those should be done, you could go with brakemotive gear and save some coin.

But the vote from my heart is for the shocks and springs. Skip the LCAs and relo brackets for now in favor of all new moog bushings and ball joints up front and stuff some moog bushings in the stock rear LCAs.

JD_AMG

How many miles are on your car? Im asking because you mentioned rebuilding the calipers, why do you think that needs to be done?
Either way go with whatever needs to be replaced first. If you really don't like your brakes then replace them first. If you think your rotors are ok you can buy some decent pads and that will make a big difference if the pads you have on there now are crappy.
For suspension I would do the shocks before all else unless you really hate the lowering springs you are on now, but if you do hate them, part of that is probably because you are on stock shocks. As said above you can skip the relocation brackets and the rear LCAs, STB and SFCs. I would save money over those parts and buy either even better shocks (Koni SAs) or buy some good swaybars if you want to further improve handling.

M4N14C

iTrader: (3)

If you have some meat left on the pads and your rotors aren't warped I'd say go for shocks and springs first. However,

Brakemotive rotors, pads - $150
Founders braided lines - $150

You can upgrade your brakes pretty cheaply if that's the route you want to go.

HappySalesman

iTrader: (3)

The car has 165k on it. And I'd had a few brake issues lately that kind of came out of nowhere (and left just as suddenly) that led me to believe one of the calipers was sticking to a slider pin. I figured if I'm replacing those, a caliper rebuild kit is pretty cheap and my idea snowballed from there lol.

Only reason I don't like the springs is they're ebay springs and the rates are all ****ed up lol. like 450/250 for a 1.5" drop I think.

And I was looking into the LCAs/relo brackets due to the wheel hop I'm getting if I get on it in 1st. I know wheel hop can murder the 10-bolt and I'm trying to get that to last as long as I can. Considering the brackets and rcas are only 130 together from founders I think it's an upgrade I could stomach pretty well lol.

SteveC

If there is a "lip" on the outer edge of your rotors, they are over half gone.

I would do the brakes first, for your life depends on them, then start saving for the suspension.

JMHO

BrittleSpeed

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you have some issues with the brakes....you need to focus on that first imho

JD_AMG

[QUOTE=HappySalesman;19240953]The car has 165k on it. And I'd had a few brake issues lately that kind of came out of nowhere (and left just as suddenly) that led me to believe one of the calipers was sticking to a slider pin. I figured if I'm replacing those, a caliper rebuild kit is pretty cheap and my idea snowballed from there lol.
[/quote[
Yeah might be time for a rebuild...
Do you still have your stock springs? Throw those on there for now if you can.

That may end up fixing itself with better springs/shocks. You are on a very goofy setup with those spring rates + stock shocks.
For the time being have you tried playing with tire pressure?

HappySalesman

iTrader: (3)

I keep tire pressure at about 30psi. When I got them installed and mounted they were at something like 35, but that seemed way too high.

I figure I'll just throw the damn stock springs back on for now, do the brakes and live with the 4x4 look for a bit. At least I'll be able to drive into and out of parking lots without scraping the air dam lol.

HappySalesman

iTrader: (3)

So I ordered a brakemotive kit off ebay, should be here on Friday. I figured I'd hold off on the braided lines (since the car is just street driven) but I'll give them a good inspection when I do the calipers/pads/rotors.

I might get the strano springs with the money I saved on the brakes and get some Koni sports once I save up enough.

bad_408_vert

iTrader: (6)

If the braking system checks out , you could get strano springs and koni strt shocks.

I recently put on koni strt shocks and BMR springs on my vert and it rides solid.
Car had 146k miles on body/suspension.

Edit - link to shocks/springs

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=90&ModelID=7

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

You'll be happy with the brakemotive stuff especially if you're on the street primarily. Awesome bang for your buck.

Chris Paveglio

iTrader: (2)

Consensus seems to be that SS brake lines do nothing for brake feel or performance. If you have cracks in the lines and are going to replace them, maybe SS lines then if the price isn't too high. But when I put SS lines on I felt no difference whatsoever.
Koni Sport = good! You'll be pleased if you do any cornering.

HappySalesman

iTrader: (3)

On occasion I like to take it out on the back roads. Especially when the weather is nice like it's starting to be. One of the reasons I was leaning more towards the suspension over brakes. I just wish those sports weren't so damn expensive...

JimMueller

iTrader: (9)

Assuming there aren't any safety issues to address first, I always recommend getting the suspension setup first... the tires are the only thing which interact with the road surface, and dialing in the suspension for your application will only make everything else work better in the long run.

lsx55

Do both. Konis on lower perch in front, heater hose mod in back, plenty low for casual street. Also good pads and rotors with stainless lines, no need to blow money on a big brake kit just yet..