Sk8runeg

iTrader: (11)

Lately I've noticed my car just doesnt ride like it used to. It squeaks, rattles, and makes all sorts of noises on top of it not riding very nicely...

Because of this I have decided to completely revamp the supsension in one fell swoop, and I wanted to know if the choices I am making will make the car ride nicer/smoother/less squeaks and rattles, or if the car will jsut handle better and still squeak and rattle.

I jst ordered a Panhard Bar and Lower control arms and energy suspension rear sway bar bushing kit and front sway bar endlinks. I am going to order subframe connectors, strut tower brace. Then once I have enough money I am going to order KYB AGX shocks and Eibach Sportlines.

Will this make my car ride a whole lot nicer and smother and less noisy? Or will it just make it handle amazing but still sound like a 1973 pickup truck?

Thanks
-Scott

OldeSkool

I've got bad news. The panhard bar and lower control arms (mainly the lower control arms) are most certainly going to hurt your ride quality. Subframe connectors may reduce some of the rattling. They reduced mine for a little while but they all came back eventually. The swaybar endlinks wont really make much of a difference. And the strut tower brace is actually a shock tower brace on 4th gen f-bodies and is really not needed. Eibach sportlines are meant to slam your car and you'll basically be riding around on your bumpstops. In other words, they'll make your car ride like a tractor. and the KYB shocks are really not adequate dampers.

I mean this in the nicest way possible, and understand that I am only trying to help you. But you, like so many others, are falling victim to the manufacturers claims about their products. I've been there. I've bought lots of parts only to sell them and get something else or to even go back to stock . So my advice to you is to spend some time searching around this forum before you buy a lot of parts.

Also, dont go buying a ton of parts "in one fell swoop" because there's no way to tell which mod has done what. Or what you really need, or what you need next, etc. I once bought "top of the line" LCA's, torque arm and PHB all at once. All cromemoly, all tubular, all polyurethane... and it all sucked, no longer use any of it. waste of money.

The 3 biggest players in your suspension are: Shocks, Springs, Swaybars. They absolutely determine how your car rides and handles. The stock shocks are known to suck. Mine were finished after about 20,000 miles. You get what you pay for in shocks.

The most comfortable riding LCA's and PHB are stock ones because they have nice big rubber bushings that prevent Noise Vibration Harshness. Polyurethane bushings cause bind and ride harsher. Rod ends dont bind and are great for performance but are terrible in ride quality. However, the PHB is one place where you can use rod ends without sacrificing much ride quality.

I could go on, but mainly, i would start doing some research before spending money

chupr0kabra

iTrader: (10)

That combo could very well lead you in the wrong direction. Sportlines have a very soft rate spring and there are better shocks abailable than the AGX. If you look at the stickies at the top of this section and do a little searching, you'll see that the topics of shock and spring combinations has been beaten to death.

From my personal experience, I went from stock to Hotchkis springs with KYB GasAJust shocks. This was OK at first, but as time went on the shocks weren't up to the task. Then I got Koni SA's and the ride is light years better than both the Hotchkis/KYB combo and stock. Like anything, good shocks cost money, and Koni's are no exception, but they were worth it to me.

If you want to improve the ride, start with the shocks and go from there.


-Mike

Sk8runeg

iTrader: (11)

Well Im getting the PHB and LCA's mainly for traction issues, and there is a lot of noise/rattling from the rear end right now. I jsut put 3.73's in and traction is about as easy to get a supermodel right now, so thats what those are for.

As for ride quality, the sportlines/kyb was just an idea. Thats why im asking for opinions. It wont be for a couple weeks til I can afford shocks and struts so please give me some suggestions as to what I should get.

Also, I dont have massive amounts of money, but I should have anough for decent stuff, so keep that in mind when makihng sggestionc.

Thanks
-Scott

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

For the best ride improvement, keep your stock springs, get some Bilstein or Koni shocks, forget SFC's, ditch your 18" wheels, and keep your tire pressure at 30 lbs. or less.

J. Brown

save up and buy Konis.........if you want to change your cars ride in a positive manner.........go Koni.

shudog

iTrader: (3)

I agree on pretty much all of what's been said. I put on aftermarket LCA's and PHB along with SFC's and was NOT impressed. My goals were the same as yours. The SFC's stiffened the car for sure, but it wasn't all that rattly anyhow and the LCA's and PHB made the noise from every bump or crack in the pavement ridiculous. My next mod will be to install sound deadening material, like Dynamat or whatever, all throughout the interior floorpan and doors. Do a search, guys say it makes the car sound and feel like a much more solid & quiet vehicle.

subtlez28

iTrader: (15)

I totally agree with all these guys.
Poly bushings, lowering springs, cheap shocks, 18s, SFCs all equal a disaster for your ride quality.
From experience: I put on SLP SFCs--increased ride harshness.
I put 17x9s in place of my stock 16s--increased ride harshness (18s would be worse-less sidewall to soak up road imperfections).

OldeSkool hit it right on the head. People selling and marketing alot of these aftermarket parts are not expressing the drawbacks. GM made compromises w our cars that cost some performance (like softer springs and bushings), but these compromises were largely in the name of ride quality.

The good news is if you spend the $ for Konis, your ride will actually improve. If you want a subtle lower keep stock springs w lower perch hose mod.

As far as bushings go...if your stock rubber ones are still good--leave them. If worn-replace w rubber again if ride quality is a priority. Soft rubber bushings soak up vibration and impact.

Long story short, the only simple way to buy better ride quality is to make sure existing bushings are in good condition, and buy quality shocks (Konis). I was skeptical about paying so much for shocks, b4 I got my Konis. But I and most anyone else who has them will tell you...they really help our cars in every way. The ONLY downside is $.

Oh, and if your willing, go back to 16s or 17s.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

I'm with these guys. If you think you might by any chance lower your car, you should save yourself money in the future and buy konis now. Save up if you have to. They may be expensive, but you get what you pay for, and thats a set of shocks that can dampen anything from stock springs to many aftermarket springs. You will be happy that you did it right the first time, trust me.

I don't know what to say about the squeaks. I don't really know how to get rid of them. I've accepted that they will be there. Hell mine sounds like I have a mouse in the trunk. You can still improve your ride quality though

OldeSkool

The most common dose of bad doctrine I see on this site is people who think that torque arms and LCA's and so forth "increase traction." And while its true in extreme hp drag racing conditions that they improve weight transfer and put more power to the pavement. on a street car, the very first step towards getting traction is tires. You can have the best suspension in the world that puts 4 billion tons of weight transfer and absolutely 0 wheel hop at your wheels. But if your tires dont stick, you'll go nowhere. In actual fact, when I had all of those things on my car, the tire spinning was way worse than it was when stock.

Wheel hop and Traction are two different things (even though they have an affect on each other). Cure wheelhop with driving style or suspension tweaks. Cure traction with driving style or tires.

Ripper415

iTrader: (6)

well my tires spin like a **** when i launch, but i'm not about to go buy drag radials since it's my daily driver. you're saying there are no suspension mods that would help me get traction and keep me from spinning other than new tires?

Finite1

iTrader: (3)

I'm gonna disagree. You dont have to have a high hp track car to feel the benefits of these mods you speak of.

You honestly believe that TA's or LCA's w/ good tires doesn't give you better traction / less wheel hop than what you started with?

Why do they even sell the parts for our cars and make claims.. why has everyone reported these issues as being lessened with these parts?? is everyone who does these mods just making things up?

have you seen the stock GM torque arm piece?? it looks like junk. not a piece thats actually helping you. I mean these aftermarket parts, if nothing else, MUST be better than stock and when all put together, IMO, each party will definately help you individually on what its supposed to do


comparing a torque arm to springs/shocks isnt even a valid comparison, they serve two different purposes.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

So for example take a set of 555 street tires given stock torque arm and lca's and say you have no wheelhop. What kind of time decreases do you think you will see if you upgraded to a better reinforced torque arm and set of lca's?

Just curious to see what results you would get out of it and why you get those results. I'm more interested in this than "the guys who sell this stuff say it works, and it must work because they sell many of these items"....

SRfastZ

shocks Konis how much are they ?

OldeSkool

Im not saying these parts dont have their application. Im saying they dont do squat without tires that will stick.

The stock parts give a little bit and give the tires a chance to catch up. aftermarket parts reduce give and put more immediate force to the tires, causing them to break loose immediately... UNLESS they have sufficient grip. and regular street radials do NOT. Think about top fuel drag cars. Yes they have a no-flex suspension set up. BUT they also have wrinkle wall tires that give a little so they dont just break loose and spin all the way down the track.

Ive been back and forth between stock and aftermarket parts and lots of different combinations. If you run street tires, you're going to continue to spin (if not more) with aftermarket lca's and torque arm.

Finite1

iTrader: (3)

I'll give my input after my TA install is done today. you can see my mods.

Finite1

iTrader: (3)

and yeah... its pretty considerable difference. I'd say a TA is worth an extra quite a bit off your 1/4.. anyone else think so?

especially in turns.. you grip a ton better coming into, thru, and out of turns. it's actually pretty dramatic.

also you feel the rear wheels planting and you get more traction off dead stops and accross the board.

just my .02

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

So how many seconds do you assume you shaved off of your 1/4 mile time?

Finite1

iTrader: (3)

I'd have to say it would ReALLY depend on your setup. Theres a guy running over 800hp thru my same torque arm.

for me, I'd guess maybe .2-.4ish? if anyone knows exactly, correct me.

I really want to go to a track soon and just see how i do.