Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket - HELP

[vargasjc]

I have a friend that recently crashed his SS camaro and I got parts off of his car as hopefully upgrades for my 3.8 2000 Camaro. His car only had about 50k miles where as mine has well over 120k. So some of this stuff might be better from just age, but I dont know if some of the stuff is compatible or an upgrade. Maybe it hurts performance??

I got the shocks, they were KYB GR-2s from the front with the springs (dont know if the springs are stock or aftermarket yet) but the shocks are not adjustable and was wondering if they would work. Without making raising the car or making it stiffer since these were on an SS camaro. I am actually thinking about lowering the car anyway so if this shocks would work with aftermarket lowering springs, that would be perfect.

Another thing I got was the whole spindles assembly with hub caps/bearings. I am pretty sure those would work. Dont think they are any different at all.

I also picked up a set of drilled rotors (aftermarket) and the calipers (stock) off the SS. I dont know if the calipers are any different.

I also got the sway bar which I know is bigger but I dont know if its worth the effort in putting it in. Also got an aftermarket strut tower brace he had bought for it, but not sure if that would work on the V6 car. I think the mounts are different

Got the aluminum drive shaft, mine is the steel one piece, I know the aluminum is a little lighter. Any other advantages of swapping them out?

Anyway, Let me know what you know. What is compatible and what's not and what's actually worth swapping out or adding. Like I said, he was pretty much junking the car after he took the engine and tranny out so I got all this stuff for free. Drinks at the bar don't really count :burn:

Thanks in advance!

[fbodyrs96]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

98-02 all use the same brakes front and rear, v8 STB won't fit on a v6.

[vargasjc]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

98-02 all use the same brakes front and rear, v8 STB won't fit on a v6.

Thanks for the reply, what about the shocks/springs? I know the ratios are different between v6 and v8... What about the spindles, hubs, sway bar, and other stuff I asked about.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

The spindles and calipers will be the same. No real point in swapping them. The sway bars are a worthy upgrade; go ahead and pull the front and rear bars off the SS and swap them on. You'll notice quite a big difference with the SS bars on there. The driveshaft is easy enough to do, so for free, go for it. I personally didn't notice a difference from my two piece steel, but it's apparently a proven improvement in the quarter. The shocks are fine, but I'd either keep the V6 springs or get your lowering springs and put them on with the shocks. If you do swap springs, do all four, or you'll introduce some quirky handling that could be unsafe.

Much of the rest of it is the same, unless you want some of the aesthetic stuff.

[vargasjc]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

The spindles and calipers will be the same. No real point in swapping them. The sway bars are a worthy upgrade; go ahead and pull the front and rear bars off the SS and swap them on. You'll notice quite a big difference with the SS bars on there. The driveshaft is easy enough to do, so for free, go for it. I personally didn't notice a difference from my two piece steel, but it's apparently a proven improvement in the quarter. The shocks are fine, but I'd either keep the V6 springs or get your lowering springs and put them on with the shocks. If you do swap springs, do all four, or you'll introduce some quirky handling that could be unsafe.

Much of the rest of it is the same, unless you want some of the aesthetic stuff.

Thanks a lot man! That answers all my questions...only question I have left is, anything else I could get from the SS I might be forgetting about as far as performance goes? Suspension, etc

[vargasjc]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

There is someone locally selling some Eibach lowering springs at a great price. Part number: 4.7038

There is also some Hotchkis 19930016 springs. Also for a V8 camaro though.

Those I think were made for V8 cars and I kow they would fit on the V6 camaros. But would they work good on there since the engine is a lot lighter? or would they make the ride too stiff?

[thebeewantsboost]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

you're forgetting about the motor and transmission. :) get the spoiler too

[vargasjc]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

you're forgetting about the motor and transmission. :) get the spoiler too

Lol he is keeping the engine and tranny. The spoiler got destroyed in crash :(. Else I would have bee all over that. I was mainly talking suspension, under the car stuff.

Thanks!

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

Besides a few of the bushings, everything else will be the same aside from the gearing which you'll likely want to keep stock anyway.

You might take a look under your car and look at the transmission mount. Many of the V6s came with hydraulic fluid-filled mounts that can burst and make some awful noises. There would be a 1/2" indent in your cross-member and a bulbous mount. The SS would have a straight cross-member and a solid rubber mount. The exact configurations depend on year and transmission on either vehicle, and I don't know the specifics of your year, but you might check it out. You would be swapping the whole cross-member and mount assembly.

[vargasjc]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

Would the aftermarket lowering springs designed for the v8 cars work on the 3.8 well? Or would make for a stiff ride?

[ssms5411]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

Aftermarket springs work pretty well but its best to do shocks along with them.

[vargasjc]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

I did end up getting the shocks from the SS camaro, they only have about 20k miles on them so I figured it was worth the effort of swapping them to my car. I got KYB GR-2s in the front and bilsteins in the back.

The stock SS springs wouldnt work on my V6 car though, but thats not a huge deal since I was hoping to lower my car while doing this swap anyway. I was just wondering if V8 sprigs would work, because someone locally is selling some on Craigslist (eibach lowering springs, but they are for a V8 camaro) I didnt know if they would make the car Too stiff since the ratios are different. In that case I would try buying V6 springs.

Let me know.

[ssms5411]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

V8 springs are the same as v6's just the ratios are different.

[vargasjc]

Re: Camaro Brakes and suspension "upgrades" from an SS camaro and some aftermarket -

V8 springs are the same as v6's just the ratios are different.

That's what I said on my last posting... I was wondering, how the increased ratio would affect the ride? Make it too stiff? Anyone done this before that can comment on it?