flyboy129

So, I am a proud new owner of a 2000 T/A WS6 to replace my totalled 99 T/A.

First mod was these: http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=p...400&superpro=0
Bolt on will suffice for me.

Next mod will be shocks. I am looking at these:http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=p...508&superpro=0
Or thesehttp://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=21&ModelID=8
Which would be the one you would go with for my goal (see bottom of post).

Am only interested in springs that are better handling without lowering the vehicle. My driveway entrance mandates this as does not having to worry about those blasted parking spot curbs. Stock ride height just clears, so if anyone has a recommendation that fits, I'm ears.

After those, I am interested in panhard/lower control arms. Is chrome moly really necessary? If standard DOM and rolled steel will work, this looks like a decent combo:http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=p...347&superpro=0

Next would be sway bars. I know too big on the rear will cause the rear end to slide out. What combo seems to work the best? 35mm front and keep the 19, or go to a 22 for the rear? If so, this is what I'm considering: http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...=129&ModelID=8

I'm shooting for a fun street machine that has solid cornering capabilities (no auto cross stuff No super expensive race stuff, just curvy road fun).

Thanks for your time

M4N14C

iTrader: (3)

Have you installed these yet? What are your impressions? I've been on the fence about a nice set of SFC but don't know if the additional weight is worth it.

Koni Yellows are a great shock but for the price the SRT.T's are hard to beat. Since you don't plan on tracking this car I think the SRT.T's will be fine as you probably won't need the adjustability that the Yellows provide.

Not many options out there that won't lower your car.

For handling the stock panhard/LCA's are fine. You're better off spending your money elseware such as on a good differential, brake pads/rotors...etc

I'm running Strano's 35mm/22mm hollow setup and imo it's perfectly balanced on the street as well on the track. Dramatically reduces body roll and car is very neutral. Also as a note you should try and run a square setup i.e. you're tire sizes should be the same in the front AND back. These cars were designed for that so not doing so will make the car understeer or oversteer depending on the different sizes you run.

Darth Cypher

I've been happy with the Koni STR.Ts and Strano springs so far.

Corvett z07

iTrader: (2)

I think you've got a good plan and some good advice too. But I would switch up or "recommend" some different pointers too.

I'd first make a budget and not go all out on upgrading all at once, but you've already got your upgrades into sections so I think you're good there Try out an upgrade right after you put it on and push the car to its limits, it'll help you get a feel at how it changed the feel and limits of the setup at each upgrade.

Aftermarket options are pretty limited to these cars, other than minor changes like chromoly vs DOM steel or Rubber vs poly vs rod-ended. Springs and shocks are fairly limited too, but that doesn't mean that what's available is trash. Most everything is better than stock.

What you want out of your car, you really don't have to spend an arm or a leg to get it to where you want it to be IMO. I'd definitely shoot for the Str.t shocks over the yellows. The yellows will leave untapped performance for you and leave a big hole in your wallet along the way. Most everyone will agree that the yellows are awesome and control the car great, which they do, but it's massive overkill unless you're running massive section tires and autocrossing or road racing. Extreme overkill for a daily driver or weekend spirited drive through curvy roads IMO. I'm a fan of Bilstein shocks, but each person has their own opinion on certain brands so I'll leave that one open...

For springs, not many springs keep stock ride height or lower it .5 inch or less. I believe the SLP kit with Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks might be one of your best bets: http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=21&ModelID=8 Other than that, stock springs should suffice for you the best overall with your driveway and whatnot. Lower control arms and panhard bar, ehhh. I'd keep the stock LCA's like M4N14C said, but I'd get an aftermarket panhard bar. Reason why is that it really does give a more planted feel because it is much stronger than the stamped one from the factory, there's a lot of forces going through that bar and it flexes a tiny tiny bit, but what does flex makes it feel "loose" as the rear end moves about. An aftermarket panhard bar flexes a bit less than the stock one. For sway bars, good decision, I personally wouldn't get the billet bushing mounts, saves a little bit of money too. I'd get Strano's front/rear combo or if you want red go with UMI's hollow set. Hollow > solid

I already did what you did and if I could redo it all again, I'd do sway bars first, only rear shocks, panhard bar, and replace the rear LCA bushings with Moog bushings. Those alone will dramatically improve the response in your car while keeping the budget at a reasonable level.

Thought I'd mention this before I end my rambling... seat time and just getting out into an autocrossing club or any kind of driving club is loads of fun and it'll hone your driving skills in so much more faster than you will ever be able get if you're just driving on the streets. Plus it's safe and legal Even if you're not interested in joining anything, it's great to always try it out once and see what it's like pushing your car and yourself to the limits.

Seat time > tires > suspension

flyboy129

It immensely stiffened my car. My old T/A had welded on bolt-ins and it was rigid, but this WS6 already had better cornering from the start. Adding the sfcs only enhanced the cornering and took quite a bit of body roll out.

Kind of what I'm leaning toward. thanks for your input

Should I keep with the stockers or put in something like this? http://www.spohn.net/shop/1998-2002-...pring-Set.html Car has 100K on it.

I was under the impressions stock ones deflect even when cornering. Given this non adjustable setup is less than $200, I'm probably gonna go ahead with them.
Brakes are also in the near future

Awesome. I was really impressed with the value and weight of the Strano setup.

As of now, the car has 18x10.5s on it in the 2009 ZR-1 replicas. Not ugly, but not for this car. I'm going back to 17s, and have decided on the ever-popular TT2s in 9.5". Gonna run 275-40-17s Should look great on black.

flyboy129

Didn't see your reply till now. Yeah, I have owned the first T/A for over 7 years and, quite frankly, I couldn't see myself in another car. I'm 35, happily married to a supporting wife, no kids (no plan for any in the future) have nieces and nephews we spoil, have a really good job, and stick to a budget, so I'll pull OT for my mods and they will be in stages.

Thanks. Will probably do the entry level Konis. Very affordable for an upgrade over stock.

Probably will keep the stockers for now. As far as the panhard,
would you recommend an adjustable, or Non adjustable?
All of my add ons will be black or silver, so stranos will probably be the set.
Do they fit in the stock mounts?

Do you have a link for the bushings? Are they poly?

Need to see if there are any in the Mid TN area.

After these mods, I'll do the smooth air lid, LT headers with a catted Y and salvage my LM1 system from my first T/A. Get it Dyno tuned. Should be a pretty sweet setup.

Thanks for your reply.

flyboy129

Cool. Another STR recommendation. Looks like I have my decision there.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

solid rubber, don't go poly, either stockers with the better solid rubber bushings or aftermarket with roto joints or rod ends.

Corvett z07

iTrader: (2)

^ that.

Moog part # K6178 for the rear control arm bushings. As far as I know, any aftermarket sway bar should accept factory mounting points.

Adjustable panhard bar is mainly for lowered vehicles, it helps to center the rear from side to side. Lowering this type of suspension design offsets the rear one way more than the other, an adjustable panhard bar really helps when you're running large tires and you can center the rear so the tires aren't rubbing. If you have any inkling of lowering in the future, I'd get an adjustable one from the start. Hope this helps out some! Post back with any updates!

flyboy129

See, I'm under the impression (after reading many threads here) that rod ends are super harsh, that rotos are the step between poly and rod ends (kind of like a johnny joint in the 4x4 life), poly is a step up from rubber, a little stiffer, but streetable, and rubber, well, it's rubber. Can give more which results in a softer ride, but handling can suffer a bit. On top of that, pressing the replacement bushings into the stamped steel LCAs can be aggravating due to their inherent flexibility. Just pondering here.

In other news, am looking to do my Trans swap (built one in my 99 to the WS6) in the near future. And, I'm seriously considering separating the TA from the tailshaft of the transmission. Probably will use the aftermarket crossmember and a new bushing, keeping my stock TA. Just doing this since 'I'll be in there' and as a bit of insurance from damaging the transmission.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

Stiff isn't always better, in the case of a live axle the ends actually move in an arc, so you need articulation from your bushings here is where rod ends shine as they provide extremely consistent deflection free articulation. We discussed it at length here: Which rear LCAs If you're dead set against the solid rubber that many here will recommend and don't want rod ends because you're afraid of vibration roto-joints are your friend.

flyboy129

Okay, so since I plan on keeping this car for many years (as I did the other one), and I know the weakness of the stock 10 bolt, which miraculously gave me no problems for the life of the car, but I kept the mods to a very mild level. I will be asking for more from this car, and am seriously considering getting a beater for daily to-from work trips, and use this as a weekend/fun trips driver.

Leaning toward roto joints for the LCAs and running a poly PHB.

Would you recommend adjustable stuff for a future axle replacement (considering I'll be keeping stock springs the whole time)? PHB, LCAs, TA? I'd prefer to keep the factory TA for now and use the crossmember mount that could be adapted to another TA later.

My plans are: I will run the 10 bolt for now till it begins showing signs of wear (which may be some time, or could be next year-who knows), then will look into MWC's 9" with aluminum center, since it will be about the same weight as the 10 bolt.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

My FAB9 didn't center perfectly (it probably would have been fine) so I went with adjustable LCAs. Are you also doing front bushings and ball joints? UMI has some really nice lower Boxed front control arms that you can get with roto joints.

flyboy129

Here is what I'm looking at-in order I will install:

First the crossmember with factory TA bushing in poly (will use rubber for the trans mount):http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...roducts_id=201

New wheels/Tires- The rear tires on car are shot (might as well do it now)

New brakes-Recommendations? -not interested in drilled rotors. And I can't do the cts-v upgrade since my wheels will be 17s. Want to keep a budget friendly, but solid option here.

Strano 35/22 hollow set -Do I need new end links/mounts while I'm at it?

Koni STR-Ts

LCAs- poly/Roto adj on car:
http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...roducts_id=393

PHB (at the same time as LCAs):http://umiperformance.com/catalog/in...roducts_id=309

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

The sways come with new mounts and endlinks if you order from strano. As far as brakes unless you're running big fat r compounds you're probably fine with your stockers plus a good pad and rotor. What are you doing to address your 16 year old bushings and ball joints up front though?

flyboy129

Cool. I'll just get a good set of brakes from Rockauto. What do you recommend for front stuff? Something like this? [/URL]
http://www.spohn.net/shop/1998-2002-...all-Joint.html

And this: [URL="http://www.spohn.net/shop/1998-2002-GM-F-Body/Suspension/Front-Suspension-Steering/Spohn-Precision-Front-Upper-Ball-Joint-1993-2002-GM-F-Body.html"]http://www.spohn.net/shop/1998-2002-GM-F-Body/Suspension/Front-Suspension-Steering/Spohn-Precision-Front-Upper-Ball-Joint-1993-2002-GM-F-Body.html

Will I need anything like this?

http://www.spohn.net/shop/1998-2002-...-Bushings.html

I'll probably do those when the front shocks go in.

I just noticed I can get those Moogs at Rockauto for less.

blackandgold

iTrader: (2)

Again, I wouldn't do poly here, especially in the rear lower control arm bushing location it will cause your control arm to crack. If you don't want to change out to aftermarket control arms just do all moog up front and you will be fine.

flyboy129

So do this: http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....359288&jsn=419 for both uppers and lowers?

I looked at the aftermarket arms. Wow. $800 for a set. I have to question, do I really need these for what I want to do?

As far as brakes, I have read good things on hawk pads. Are they worth the extra investment? This set looks like a decent and affordable upgrade over the Rock auto set I was looking at:http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=16&ModelID=8

flyboy129

Just had an idea. I'll have all of the front stuff from my 99. This would give me time to pull those front suspension parts, inspect them, clean, paint, and rebuild at my leisure. Then bolt in when I am ready. I can then keep my old stuff to repeat this process. Any reason this wouldn't work?

BMR Sales2

iTrader: (40)

Not sure how I have overlooked this thread but man do I have a lot to cover in here.

Let me cover the main items first;

The Str.T's are a great choice in shocks for a street driven application with some handling in mind. They go great paired with our springs However, they are unavailable until October


For swaybars, it is important to keep them proportionally matched. Out 35/25mm hollow bar combo has been working well for years for many people.

For rear suspension components, this is where it gets tricky and a lot of theories and opinions are floating around about this;
I absolutely recommend a panhard bar, especially if the car is being lowered. This will also reduce deflection and flex in hard cornering
Poly is great for a daily driven comfort inspired car. But it is not favored in handling applications. A true rod end/rod end combination is a bit harsh on the street. The solution? We offer a combination poly/rod end control arm and panhard bar
http://bmrsuspension.com/index.cfm?p...353&superpro=0

As for front arms, Most flex and deflection comes in the lower arms. They are longer and have larger bushings. Most benefit will be seen from replacing them with tubular components. Our arms have a poly main bushing with a rod end rear leg to allow for additional caster adjustment and reduce flex. They also come assembled with ProForged greaseable balljoints