Alright. I ended up not picking up my 1g AWD DSM so I decided that I wanted to autocross this in the meantime. I don't think I need a 300awhp car yet anyways.
So I have around $2k-$3k to throw at my J Body. I read through the Suspension FAQ. The RKSports coils are only $250 and seem like a good choice. Now, I need struts/shocks. What do you guys suggest?
Also going to do motor mounts, stainless brake lines with Motul fluids, replace bushings with polyurethane, catback exhaust, anti-sway kit, and a cold air intake.
I'm not looking for a ridiculous drop. Also, I have 225/50/r16 tires on it right now. I don't want to risk rubbing the wheel wells. I'm looking to step up to a 17" wheel, with a 225/40/r17 summer tire since I have these all seasons already. Should I stick with stock offset or not since I'm going to end up with a 1.5-2" drop??
Thanks in advance guys. I'll probably update with more later. Kinda in a rush now.
Go with the Tein SS coilovers. I got to ride in Strat81's car(he has the Tein SS) the thing felt like it was on rails. If i ever ditch the airride, that is the only suspension im replacing it with.
Everything else sounds good.
Tein SS, Addco sway bars, GM front strut bar, bushings all around.
Enjoy
My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
JBO lube - they would never have enough in stock and we'd never see RodimusPrime again
I would agree, high end coil overs, strut bar, swat bars, bushings, etc.
Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote:Tein SS, Addco sway bars, GM front strut bar, bushings all around.
Enjoy
Yep.... You will want to drop the car till the A-arms are flat/straight out. From what I hear that is the ideal setup for auto-x
Yup. Any lower is detrimental as it takes the suspension geometry out of its ideal shape.
Koni Sport Kit is another nice option. Not height adjustable, but puts your control arms level (it's what I had). It's a bit cheaper than the teins, although people tell me the Teins offer a better ride for the same track performance.
Gravanatuning has their own coilovers that look nice too.
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Sleeper style, they don't see it coming that way.
The GravanaTuning.com coilovers are B&G Suspension made parts. I have them and LOVE them. I wouldnt trade them for anything. car rides like its on rails, and can corner like no other....I have Overkill strut mounts in the back that stiffen up the rear a ton, and soon soon will have aluminum control oarms as well...
i love my teins... it was a NOTICEABLE difference from the koni yellow/goldline setup I had on the car. (don't get me wrong, the koni/goldline setup worked very well but the teins add even more confidence to the feeling of the car)
personally if' you've got 2-3k to spend on suspension, i'd go teins or the gravana setup (which I have heard good things about too) and look at sway bars and strut tower braces (if you don't already have them)
GOOD tires are a must too... a great suspension without good tires is still gonna feel lacking.
So Tein SS coilovers.
Addco sway bars
GM front strut bar.
Bushings all around.
I have Aurora H107 high performance all seasons (225/50/R16) on stock 16" wheels on it right now. Lane changes at 95 make the rear end shimmy. A lot. This a bushing or tire problem?
Regardless, a 17" wheel with whatever max width I can fit /40/R17.
Ride isn't immensely important however. Also, I'm close to having the $$ to turbo this thing with a 14B off my AWD DSM in my backyard, injectors and all.
I'm going to continue looking around and see what's up.
don't forget the rear strut tower brace too
I wonder if that'd clear my sub box. :/
Sounds like I need to get my doors sealed and deadened with some nice midbass drivers so I can ditch my subs.
Ok. I looked at the Tein coilovers. Now, there is a Super Sport and Super Sport P, which has pillowball mounts?
I've never worked on anything like this so I have no idea what I need in terms of bushings or the like.
What exactly do I need to tighten everything up and make this thing handle?
Strut braces, bushings, subframe brace, Tein SS(P?) coilovers, 17"x8" wheels with 225/40/r17 summers, engine mounts, shift kit, dyno tune, etc...
Only considering tune because it's $150...
both the SS models will have the pillow ball mounts. The basics will not.
Zach Reliford wrote:
What exactly do I need to tighten everything up and make this thing handle?
Strut braces, bushings, subframe brace, Tein SS(P?) coilovers, 17"x8" wheels with 225/40/r17 summers, engine mounts, shift kit, dyno tune, etc...
Only considering tune because it's $150...
If you really want to do it right, you'll have to do more in the way of chassis bracing.,
Here's some ideas for you to ponder.
And a tease of my last chassis mod before I do my fender braces. I'm almost done with it but this is preliminary.
The chassis is seriously tight with this setup.
Lifting the car with a jack has the other wheels coming off the ground with no problems.
The ride is superb and takes corners with aplomb.
Hope this helps.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO! 
oooo... james you've been holding out! can't wait to see what you have in store... keep me updated on those fender braces!
Misnblu, you have a knack for making me wet with bracing. You take the standard and push it to pro levels. Thanks for actually doing more than the standard and delving into the finer details of suspension.
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"The J's weren't designed to be sports cars, the suspension sucks, the brakes are tiny, and the target market for our car doesn't need to be able to do any more than 65mph." - Shifted
A more accurate observation has never been typed. These should be the starting points before any serious performance modification. What's the point of making a serious performer if you can't control it's power?
Well a couple more pics of what I finished this weekend.
Not to take the original posters thread but it is within the context of the post.
Anyway, this is all the bracing that I'll be doing with the exception of the fenderbracing that I'll be fabbing up soon.
They'll actually be welded as well as alot of what is shown in the pics. I'm hoping to get a Tig welder soon so I can get away from the nut/ bolt way of fastening things down.
Carpet is on the way to finish off the area where the rear seats were.
In the pursuit of saving as much weight as possible, I did the rear seat delete. And since RDFabs no longer has their brace bar, I decided to make my own with a twist. The chassis is super stiff now and love it.
Canyon carving is coming soon.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
^^^RD Still makes their bar.
Yours is nice, but I wouldnt hang harnesses from it.
I dont think that was your initial purpose for it though.
Wow. Talk about stiff!
Too bad the Cavy smacked a deer doing 50 Friday night. :/
Zach Reliford wrote:Wow. Talk about stiff!
Too bad the Cavy smacked a deer doing 50 Friday night. :/
tru... but that dear is probably prett stiff.... lol
John Benham wrote:^^^RD Still makes their bar.
Yours is nice, but I wouldnt hang harnesses from it.
I dont think that was your initial purpose for it though.
John, when I was actually in the plans on buying the RD bar, I went to their site and they went up on the price. It also said that the item was discontinued.
This is what swayed me to make my own but not for harnesses but for chassis stiffening. I figured that was one of the purposes of the RD bar too.
I'm happy with it though and glad I went this route instead.
Misnblu.com
Newbie member since 1999
Thank you Dave and JBO!
nice brace work u guys got. u need to set up your camber and toe. in the front atleast. our crappy cars have solid rear axles. low profile. a good set of sticky tires. and ditch extra weight. is all i can think of on top. getting the car as low as u can is the biggest handling plus
Working on obtainting an M-Class license... ?? Hint: 2 wheels.
Toronto Cavalier wrote:nice brace work u guys got. u need to set up your camber and toe. in the front atleast. our crappy cars have solid rear axles. low profile. a good set of sticky tires. and ditch extra weight. is all i can think of on top. getting the car as low as u can is the biggest handling plus
Not "as low as you can get it"
More like 1.8" (or so, anywhere between 1.5 and 2" drop is about right). Get the front control arms to be parallel with the ground - that optimizes your suspension geometry and allows for the most consistent handling. Plus it won't kill your CV joints. The rear end doesn't matter as much, just even it up with the front (height-wise).
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Sleeper style, they don't see it coming that way.
one thing I would like to add...
IMHO I found the Eibach rear bar a far better option with the higher spring rates of coilovers, but the bigger Addco bar was better with springs. (I was using the Eibach front bar with each setup).
On Koni Yellows with Ground Controls and the Addco rear bar the car was WAY to tail happy, to the point where hard cornering (during auto x) if you touched the brakes you were @!#$ the rear end is coming up front .
Darkstars wrote:one thing I would like to add...
IMHO I found the Eibach rear bar a far better option with the higher spring rates of coilovers, but the bigger Addco bar was better with springs. (I was using the Eibach front bar with each setup).
On Koni Yellows with Ground Controls and the Addco rear bar the car was WAY to tail happy, to the point where hard cornering (during auto x) if you touched the brakes you were @!#$ the rear end is coming up front .
I was running Addco Front AND Rear and it helped even it out running the Koni Sport kit. With the Koni Yellows I could set the car up to understeer, be neutral, or be tail happy depending on the strut settings. What might have gotten you was the smaller Eibach front bar.
At AutoX I had a base setting I usually started at, and then adjusted after the first and second run to get it as neutral as possible. Once I was set up right I didn't have the on-brake oversteer. My daily driving setup was just as soft as everything would go, which left a mostly neutral/slightly understeering firm but not harsh ride. I think the Addcos work best as a matched set honestly. The addco rear with anything smaller up front is going to be to much rear bar (typically anyway).
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Sleeper style, they don't see it coming that way.
