Tigh Suspension - Simple Question

[CamaroRSZ28SS]

Okay, so i just recently purchased the Energy Suspension HyperFlex Kit which includes the following polyurethane bushings:

• * Front control arm bushings.
  * Rear control arm bushings.
  * Front end link set.
  * Rear coil spring isolators.
  * Transmission mount.
  * Ball joint dust boots.
  * Tie rod end dust boots.

I have also purchased KYB Gas Shocks/Struts.

I love a tight suspension and was wondering what else is needed to achieve this. Thanks for any info provided. BTW this is a great site, glad I found it.

[Mr. Manka 93]

Re: Tigh Suspension - Simple Question

independent rear suspension, transplanted from a C4 Vette.

Get some sway bars.

[CamaroRSZ28SS]

Re: Tigh Suspension - Simple Question

Can u direct me to what sway bars would be good? I have no knowledge at all of that.

[Dominic]

Re: Tigh Suspension - Simple Question

32/21, 35/21, and 32/19 are the most popular depending on driving and springrates. Nobody reads my stickies anymore. Many companies are out there with swaybars now. try lmperformance.

I dont advise you putting polyurethane in the rear lower control arms unless you're a dragracer - search for more info.

[CamaroRob97]

Re: Tigh Suspension - Simple Question

Bars: I would go 35/19 combo on a v6.(with stock springs). Truely you need better springs from the get go if you want good handling.

Shocks: I would get Koni Adjustables or Re-valved bilistens(can get from sam strano)

Springs: The spring rates you need depend on what your doing. For handling the springs don't have enough LBS. ( most aftermaket springs dont have enough spring rate and hurt handling.

Panhard Bar, Just get a UMI rod-ended double adjustable.

LCA: If your wanting your car to handle, stay away from poly. It will make your lca bind when they shoud be twisting. I just bought a set of MOOG bushings(there a stiffer rubber like the 1le bushings).

Either way the suspension must be matched to work correctly. If your gong to do it right do it right from the start.

[CamaroRSZ28SS]

Re: Tigh Suspension - Simple Question

32/21, 35/21, and 32/19 are the most popular depending on driving and springrates. Nobody reads my stickies anymore. Many companies are out there with swaybars now. try lmperformance.

I dont advise you putting polyurethane in the rear lower control arms unless you're a dragracer - search for more info.

I read your stickies but, since I'm such a noob idk what your talking about. Springrates

If you drive your car on the street, I recommend staying away from poly. This does not mean rod is much better though, it is just different!

Why no love for the Poly? What makes it so different? Only reason I got the Poly is because I asked the Summit Racing tech people about 3 different times, 3 different names and emails to see if I got the same answer. And they all recommended the Poly's.

Are Eibach Springs out of the question too or is that okay?

[V6Bob]

Re: Tigh Suspension - Simple Question

Can u direct me to what sway bars would be good? I have no knowledge at all of that.

I read your stickies but, since I'm such a noob idk what your talking about. Springrates????

You're in a dangerous situation here. If you don't understand this stuff pretty well, it's easy to make bad decisions.

Suspension setup is very difficult. You can screw up the handling of your car, and make it downright unsafe.

Even the pros have a hard time getting it right. How many times on NASCAR have you seen a driver complain, "This car handles like crap." Or crash, because the car is handling badly. They have teams of well paid experts to setup suspensions. They have one guy who does nothing but shocks. And they sometimes get it wrong. Not just poorly funded teams. People like Jeff Gordon.

So just how much do you think the opinions of some clown on the Internet (and I'm including myself in that group) are worth?

Swaybars are about the toughest thing. I will tell you I think a 21mm rear bar is a bad idea (saying what's bad is a lot easier than saying what's good, there are a lot of wacko ideas about suspension setup on the Net). If you don't know anything about bars (specifically why a too big rear bar is a very bad thing), and you put on bars because some stranger on the Net says "I have these bars and I think they're great." you're doing a very risky thing.

Read the threads on "1LE sway bars" and "am I on the right track". You might not understand it all, but it will give you a good idea of just how complicated and hard this stuff is.

Your question was far from simple. If you get a set of good shocks and tires, and have a pro check over the suspension for old worn parts, you car will handle much better than what you've got now. You might want to leave it at that.

Here's the reason why poly is a bad idea for rear lower control arms on anything but a pure drag car. When the car rolls, the end of the lcas have to twist slightly because of the particular suspension geometry of an fbody. Poly won't twist and binds up the lcas, causing rough ride and bad handling. Some people use rod ends to handle this, but, for other reasons, rod ends are a very bad idea on anything but a 100% track driven car. Rubber is the best choice for a street car.

This stuff is hard.