RareBreed0295

iTrader: (35)

I am about to drop my motor to do a H/C swap. I was wondering if i should work on ym suspension or my rearend first? Should i get the 9" rearend or do my suspension first? My suspension setup will include Koni 4/4 shocks, strano springs, strano sway bar, panhard pard, and strut lower brace.
I have the money to do one of the two things, just not sure which one.
My mods will be PRC 2.5 5.3l Heads and Ms3, fast 90/90 setup, Kooks headers, UD Pulley for now. Thats about all the big parts. This car will not see much tracks, just street mostly. Thanks for any help.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Very different things. 10-bolts don't blow up by stepping on the gas. Hell, most cars here have 10-bolts. They can with lots of power, but you also need some sort of stick or terrible wheel-hop to snap 'em (and other rears can break too). My car has a 10-bolt in it. There are autocrosses called ProSolo's that have drag race starts (complete with tree and RT's count). I run on 315 Hoosier tires that enable the car to pull more than 1.2 g's, and on some surfaces it's not unheard of for me to drop the clutch @ 4000 RPM. Might I break one someday? Sure, but I've not broken one year since 1997 in my 1991 car though today with my 2001 car. I've trashed LSD's, I've broken other parts, but not a rear.

So, being that it's a street car and not a drag car, and I'm guessing you want a fun to drive, stable car that doens't beat you silly I'd have to say the suspension is the key. Hopefully as the thread goes on you'll get resonses from folks with good power who find the 10-bolt workable. Someday, you might well want to change. I tend to feel that if something isn't broken, don't fix it. And I'm betting you dislike the handling and ride more than you think the 10-bolt will explode on the next block. They aren't the strongest rear ends in the world, but if you consider just how many cars and trucks they are under, they really get a bit of a bum rap.

Ericbigmac83

iTrader: (19)

if its gonna see dr's then get the rear, otherwise cross your fingers and go with sam. and youre probably gonna want dr's with that much power. not being able to put the power you have down to the pavement sucks.....

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

There are all kinds of folks running with good power on stock rears. I believe he stated he wasn't really going to the track (drag strip), which means he probably won't want to drive around on drag radials.

Ericbigmac83

iTrader: (19)

im one of those people running around with big power on a stock rear actually. and even though i dont really go to the drag strip much, i'll still be driving on dr's

With much respect,
Eric

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

You have "3.73's, 408ci, big cam, 11.3 cr, Spec, Ls6 Intake, Headers, Corsa" and a 10-bolt and presumably the car isn't broken. That's all I was getting at.

I'm only saying that day to day dynamics, fun, and control give the nod to the parts that are at work most often, which is the suspension. Yes, a rear works anytime the car is moving, but it doesn't always trasmit power, and even less often full power. Whereas a suspension works always. Doesn't matter if you are coasting, have your foot stuffed in it. Running down the interstate @ 75 mph, or canyon-carving. Braking, launching, speed bumps, etc. always have the suspension working.

With just as much respect,
Sam

Ericbigmac83

iTrader: (19)

lol, fair enough

SSdreamz

iTrader: (3)

not to steal this thread but what does that suspnsion set up run?

EchoMirage

iTrader: (3)

run as far as price or times at the strip? for price, the 4/4, springs, PHB, STB and sway would be around $1500ish.....im guessing. go to stranos site and he has the prices there. for times at the strip, thats a handling package, not street/strip, and its really not the best for drag racing.

to the OP: i would do a rear first. do you have a stick or auto? face it....with doing motor work, youre not going to drive it like grandma. youre going to get on it, with a fair amount of burnouts, hard 1-2 shifts (if its a stick). while sam may say there are people with lots of power on the stock rear, ill tell you there are far more people who broke their rear with STOCK power. myself included. all my TA had was a lid and filter, and i went through a rear. youre really asking for trouble if you hit the strip at all with a stock rear (and a stick.....autos can last much, much longer). hard street launches, hard 1-2 shifts, and soon enough itll go. i went to the strip ONCE with my new rear.....made about 6 passes. only 2 easy burnouts on street tires, barely chirping them, and really not leaving the line hard at all......no 4K dumps or anything. after that one outing, my rear is now whining considerably. now taking in that up to that point, i had maybe 6 autoxs on the rear, with slicks, and there was no whine at all.

basically, you can almost ensure the rear will go anyway....id go ahead and get a new one now. also, think of this......which no one else has mentioned......if you get the suspension now, then a rear later.....chances are youll have to get some new suspension parts anyway to be compatable with your new rear. shocks/springs will be the same, but the PHB, LCA, etc may need either adapters/relocation brackets, or new parts. especially if you plan on getting a torque arm. anyway.....id get a new rear first, then next year or whenever, do your suspension.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

If you are asking about the things mentioned in the first post, that's out Handling Package 5, which is $1715 plus shipping. http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=18&ModelID=7

RareBreed0295

iTrader: (35)

Well...not sure what im going to do first yet...hopefully a few more people will give some advice..my car is a m6 by the way

EchoMirage

iTrader: (3)

in that case, definetely do the rear first. you wont regret it.

Ericbigmac83

iTrader: (19)

Do you have stock gears? if so i would definitely do the rear end. that cam is not going to be as much fun to drive on stock gears. and with the m6 and 450hp youre def gonna need drs, and you'll sure have enough power to destroy the rear end. on street tires i cant floor it until 3rd gear or i will just shred the tires, its depressing.

while you might not be happy with the suspension, you'll be even less happy if you cant have fun with the car cause youre worried about breaking the rear end. trust me, my tax refund cant come soon enough

RareBreed0295

iTrader: (35)

Well i want to get the 4.10 gears when i get either the 9" or a 12 bolt so i can take full advantage of the power.

Grifter

iTrader: (12)

I am in the same boat. I know I am going to need a rear but the wheelgap and skinny tires make me sick.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Yeah I guess one kicker is whether or not you want to go 4.10 or higher. I'm probably going to keep my 10 in my car up to 3.73 gears. But if I ever feel I need to go higher for the type of racing that I do then I'll consider the 12 bolt or 9.

The opinion on 4.10's in a 10 bolt seems like such a huge unanimous "no" due to them being so weak.

Other than that if you are doing big DR's, real DR's not the BFG or Nitto type, then consider the rear end. If you don't need 4.10s or DR's then consider suspension.

RareBreed0295

iTrader: (35)

Well i am wanting to put 315s on the back so i guess i am just going to get a rear first.

ssvert99

iTrader: (26)

chances are the axles or the posi unit will give out before any gear does. i would definetly do the rearend before the suspension, especially since you have a M6. good suspension parts won't do a car much good if the rearend is broke. stock suspension parts will keep the car useable with a good rearend untill you can do the bolt-ons. you may also want to consider a good driveshaft with the new rearend. it will be the next weakest link.

djsanchez2

iTrader: (14)

I'd say the rearend. You can't break the stock susp. parts on stock power. The 9" will serve you far better for now. I've been through 2 rearends on stock power w/ DR's. My next mod is a 9", i'm already collecting info in preperation for my tax reyturn lol.

Then you can pack on the suspension parts at your leisure.

Fran D

iTrader: (5)

I'm in the suspension camp. If you're not going to be drag racing the car much and spend all of your time on street tires, you're more likely to feel the benefits of the suspension than the rear (and even then, I'm a little dubious on the net present value of a $2K rear versus a couple hundred dollars in parts...IF you break it).

As stated earlier in this thread, if you're really concerned about the rear surviving with the power, one of the biggest contributors to breakage is violent wheel hop. If your LCA geometry is neutral or negative (i.e., the rear attachment point is even or higher than the front attachment point, relative to the ground), then I'd add a set of LCA lowering brackets to your list. I popped a carrier bearing in my stock 10-bolt, with stock power on street tires, just due to the hammering that bearing experienced as the rear bounced up and down in the car (my rear LCA point was 1 1/2 inches higher than the front...in a stock height, non-lowered car!). Now, with the rear point moved lower, I can actually feel the rear beginning to separate from the car on launch and try to lift the front end. Will I still break something in my rear? Yeah, eventually. But, $200 or so and half a day under the car, I'll be back in business for the next 200 runs!