Bang for Buck Suspension Upgrades

[DetroitLT1]

Quest- To increase traction and stability of vehicle

LCA, adj or not
LCA relocation brackets
Panhard, adj or not
Torque Arm, adj or not
Subframe, weld or bolt, boxed or tubular

rate these in order of improvements

tell whether to buy adj. or not

best brands?

Reviews

prices

endulge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you guys are the experts!

[ConElite]

1. LCA relocation brackets
2. LCA, adj or not
3. Panhard, adj or not
4.Subframe, weld or bolt, boxed or tubular
5. Torque Arm, adj or not

Subframes and the Relocation brackets get Weld ons.
Go with Boxed, I think its stronger. I would go with adjustable everything. Always good to be able to sweek your suspension if need be.
As for the brands, Its personal Pref. and the willingness to spend money.

As you can see I have all UMI. Why? Its cheaper and the quality is great.

Like if Fred (Injuneer) comes in here he's going to say Spohn is the best and UMI copied them.
As I say, you can only invent the wheel once.

[Z Ya Later]

LCA, adj or non-adj. - Spohn chrome-moly tubular w/ poly bushings; adj.: $215, non-adj.: $155

Subframe connectors, weld or bolt, boxed, double-diamond - I'm running the SLP bolt-ins, no problems; bolt-in: $379.95, weld-in: $284.95

Panhard, adj or not - Spohn chrome-moly tubular w/ poly bushings; adj.: $155, non-adj.: $125

LCA relocation brackets - Spohn weld-in, $65

Shock-tower brace - Spohn chrome-moly, adj.: $165, non-adj.: $125

Sway bars, either just bushings/end-links or bigger bars - Energy Suspension bushings/endlinks, front: bushings $14.99 & end-links $13.99, rear: bushings & end-links $30.39 (kit); Spohn sway bars - $295 (front $ rear)

Poly torque-arm mount - Energy Suspension: $11.95

These are the brands/parts that I am running (non-adj. where applicable). If you are not going to be tweaking the car much, I would go with the non-adj. You'll still feel a big difference but won't need to fiddling with anything to get the car handling correctly. However, if you're going to track the car a little more, then I would look at the adjustable parts. Opt for the chrome-moly units, as the cost isn't that much extra (already figured into the prices I posted above) and you'll get a stronger-yet-lighter part. Also, you'll notice I didn't mention the torque arm...run your stock one. The aftermarket ones are nice, but the stock one will work for now and give you the chance to upgrade other components that will yield more SOTP results. If you need parts numbers and links, let me know and I'll add them. Hope this helps.

[DetroitLT1]

does the brand really matter?

how big of a difference does tubular vs boxed or double diamond make?

[Z Ya Later]

For brand, that depends on what you are looking for. Spohn and BMR both offer their parts in either mild-steel or chrome-moly construction, UMI does not. All make good parts, so quality isn't really an issue here. Price difference is negligable between Spohn and UMI with BMR being more expensive than both, as shown by the following...

Mild-Steel:
BMR tubular, non-adj. LCAs - $129.95
Spohn tubular, non-adj. LCAs - $115.00
UMI tubular, non-adj. LCAs - $109.99

Chrome-Moly:
BMR tubular, non-adj. LCAs - $169.95
Spohn tubular, non-adj. LCAs - $155.00
UMI doesn't offer non-adj., chrome-moly LCAs

What it will boil down to is how much you want to spend on your parts and which you feel better running. I've been running Spohn parts for a while and have no complaints whatsoever. I also recommend them to anyone looking to upgrade their F-body or G-body (like you ).

As for tubular vs. boxed, that's a matter of personal preference. Boxed units are stronger, but bigger and can be harder to install. Tubular units are cheaper and easier to install, but not quite as strong. Now, as far as the strenght goes, unless you're going to be running a real beast of a machine, tubular units will be just fine (Fred can chime in with more specifics I'm sure). With that said, there are some areas I would recommend boxed over tubular, mainly with the sub-frame connectors. But, that's a personal preference of mine. I prefer the added strength in the frame and I have yet to see a double-diamond unit that is tubular.

Lastly, for double-diamond vs. straight SFCs, that will depend on what you want to do with the car and how you want it to feel. Straight units are much easier to install, but don't offer the rigidity and handling that the double-diamond units do. However, the double-diamond units are usually more expensive and take longer to install. The basic thought process here is, if you just want a drag car, go with straight SFCs. If handling is more of a concern, go with double-diamond SFCs. I'm running the boxed, bolt-in, double-diamond SLP SFCs and love how they feel. The car handles very well, rides a lot better and is a little quieter as far as rattles go.

Hope this helps.

[DetroitLT1]

thank you to everyone who is helping. this isnt just for me but for anyone looking at modding their suspension.

[DetroitLT1]

weld in or bolt in lower control arm relocation brackets?

do you have to get different lower control arms when purchasing the brackets?

if you do purchase any of these parts in adjustable models, how do you know what to adjust it to?

[Z Ya Later]

I'd get the weld-in brackets, as they tend to be stronger and cheaper (not that the bolt-in units are strong). There's no difference in which LCA to run if you're running brackets or not though.

As for adjusting the adjustable models, I would imagine they would ship with instructions on how to adjust them properly. I, myself, do not have any experience with this.

[Injuneer]

Like if Fred (Injuneer) comes in here he's going to say Spohn is the best and UMI copied them.
As I say, you can only invent the wheel once.

What's your problem? Why do you feel you have to drag me into this, and then put me down? If you have some sort of problem with me, or my opinions, I don't really care.

I spend a lot of my time trying to help people, and share the knowledge that I've built up over the last 14 years of working with my car, and I can't understand why you have to make an extra effort to irritate people.

[ConElite]

It was a joke Fred. I hope u were kidding b/c I was. Sorry. My intention was not to irritate anyone simply to make it evident that different people have different opinions about products. That's all. I apologize if you took it the wrong way.

Yeah As for the adjustable options, I went with Adjustable LCA's and what that does is give you the ability to adjust the Thrust angle. How do you know how to adjust it? You have to take your car to get an alignment. Its good in the event that the Relocation Brackets is off by a couple degree's. The adjustable PanHard is a must in the event that you plan to lower the car. It will push the axle to one side or other. An Adjustable Panhard is the only way to adjust that.

[Z Ya Later]

It was a joke Fred. I hope u were kidding b/c I was. Sorry. My intention was not to irritate anyone simply to make it evident that different people have different opinions about products. That's all. I apologize if you took it the wrong way.

Seriously Eddie, you need to chill with the "jokes", as they are getting old fast. Its one thing to like UMI over Spohn, its another to insult someone because they prefer Spohn. You're taking jabs at people and calling it "good fun", but its not a wise idea to say the least. Tone it down a bit.

[ConElite]

Seriously Eddie, you need to chill with the "jokes", as they are getting old fast. Its one thing to like UMI over Spohn, its another to insult someone because they prefer Spohn. You're taking jabs at people and calling it "good fun", but its not a wise idea to say the least. Tone it down a bit.

If people are reading things with an attitude or something I cant help that. I like to kid around. I dont take things to seriously, Thats how life should be taken. Living it up but I guess people cant handle it. I have much respect for the Older "Smarter" guys on this Forum. I never meant to disrespect by anything that I say. I have much respect for the Moderator on this forum do to that if it was not for this forum I would be in the dark about F-Bodies. I learned all i know from this Forum. Ill "Tone it down a bit" as ya wish.

The guy asked for an opinion. That was all.

Fred, I have much respect for ya and meant nothing by my statement. If you took it the wrong way, my apologizes to ya. You have helped me before very much and the last thing I want is for you to be under the impression that " I have some sort of problem with you, or your opinions."

[MunsonGTA]

Quest- To increase traction and stability of vehicle

LCA, adj or not
LCA relocation brackets
Panhard, adj or not
Torque Arm, adj or not
Subframe, weld or bolt, boxed or tubular

rate these in order of improvements

tell whether to buy adj. or not

best brands?

Reviews

prices

endulge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you guys are the experts!

subframe connectors - weld in
LCA's - non adjustable
relocation brackets - weld in
panhard - adjustable
torque arm - adjustable

boxed or tubular doesn't matter. i run tubular on my car. any brand is good, they're all basically the same parts, just at different prices and the design varies slightly.

my car consists of:

J&M panhard bar and J&M polyball LCA's. hotpart.com
spohn weld in relocation brackets
alston racing SFC's
stock torque arm for now.

[MDMike]

1. LCA relocation brackets
2. LCA, adj or not
3. Panhard, adj or not
4.Subframe, weld or bolt, boxed or tubular
5. Torque Arm, adj or not
As for the brands, Its personal Pref. and the willingness to spend money.
As you can see I have all UMI. Why? Its cheaper and the quality is great.
Like if Fred (Injuneer) comes in here he's going to say Spohn is the best and UMI copied them.

As I say, you can only invent the wheel once.

What a quote re invent the wheel! And as for jokes or intent, I dont get the taking offense, seemed benign to me, but it is the listener who decides insult, not the poster, I guess...
I assume you have fresh Shocks on that car?!? If not, that is first.
Poly bushings are most bang for buck, unless above shocks are worn. Bilstein HD are great per Spano...

[ConElite]

[FONT=Courier New]What a quote re invent the wheel! And as for jokes or intent, I dont get the taking offense, seemed benign to me, but it is the listener who decides insult, not the poster, I guess...

Thank you Mike.