Suspension/Bracing

[[ion] C2]

I'm going to drive the Cherahola Skyway and the Tail of the Dragon in October. I'd like to do some cool stuff with my suspension before then. I have a friend who is a fabricator, so I can have pretty much any bar/brace made.

Give me suggestions on:

• struts
• springs
• braces/bars

I don't know much about suspension. I'm going to get the rear strut tower bar to complement my front, but what else should I brace?

[jabartram]

kyb agx, front and rear stb's, if there are fabrication skills involved, a front lower stb. flypaper tires (star specs) poly front bushings. swaybars if possible, kevlar brake pads to stop better.

i run all of that except the lower stb. all works very very well together. i also have spring tricks i do before an autocross.

[[ion] C2]

Are the AGX struts significantly superior to the GR2? I'm not going to be adjusting them all the time. Edit: Ehhhh price is a little too steep for me. GR2 it is.

Lower strut bar sounds interesting, will probably do that.

Polyurethane bushings for what component?

I have relatively new (2 months) ceramic pads and drilled/slotted rotors, and they seem alright..

[Vic28]

this thing finally gonna be dropped......

I was going to suggest fabbing up some monotube Bilsteins and pairing them with H&Rs, but probably not in your price range. To bad the Eibach swaybar group buy didn't pan out (unless a whole bunch of people stepped up).......

[[ion] C2]

I'm not trying to be the fastest autocrosser, I just want a little more handling.

Not exactly the ideal platform for autocrossing.
Tires are a big one....your BFG KDWs aren't bad, but you could do better. It's not worth replacing them until they are worn out, though.
As I said, the swaybars would have been a huge improvement, and poly bushings in the front control arms will help. Upper strut tower braces don't make a huge difference.
I'm looking at the BMR rear lateral arms myself.
Oh, and the valving on the AGX is much tighter than the GR-2's, so they work much better with higher-rate lowering springs. If you can stand to save up for them, it's worth it.

[tnalero99]

Let me know when it gets closer on which dates and I may be able to run it with you. It is only 3 hours from me and my parents only live about 15 miles from the start of the Skyway in Tellico Plains and about 25-30 minutes from the Dragon.

[jabartram]

i run my agx on setting 1 for daily driving and 4 for autoX.

its just my opinion, but ceramics wont touch my kevlar pads.

[tunerkid]

jabartram is naming a very good setup. pricey though but well worth the cash

if your doing swaybars and bushings it's better to just go with the best right away cause you have to drop the subframe and shit to remove and install the new sway bar

[Cliff8928]

I have to agree with Matt on this one, the best suspension parts you're going to get off the shelf are the AGX/H&R combo. I'm a little bit of a nut and I would probably drive with them around 6 or 7 all the time. (the koni sports (yellow) on my other car are cranked all the way all the time).

Sway bars are definitely FTW. It's the only thing I've changed in my suspension from stock (until my warranty expires). They made a huge difference in the responsiveness!

As for bracing, look at the stuff that O.E.M. makes for the j-body. In theory some of it should be a direct bolt-on.

[jabartram]

will the adjustable front strut top plates work on the Alero?? i've been looking for a set for a while now!

http://www.overkillengineeringmotors...m/frjsomo.html

[Cliff8928]

Quite honestly I never even looked into it. I should do that. Or C2 can do it when he goes to work. Just pull a strut mount for both and see if the holes match up.

[NoSweat83]

I can def say the BMR's are worth the money. The added adjustment is also nice.

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by mfuller

Upper strut tower braces don't make a huge difference.

The front does on my car. I've driven with it on and off recently and a very noticeable difference is felt.

[Ttop191]

placebo.

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by jabartram

its just my opinion, but ceramics wont touch my kevlar pads.

Show me what ones to get and I'll return my ceramics and get the kevlar.

Originally Posted by Cliff8928

Quite honestly I never even looked into it. I should do that. Or C2 can do it when he goes to work. Just pull a strut mount for both and see if the holes match up.

I'll do that in a bit.

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by jabartram

will the adjustable front strut top plates work on the Alero?? i've been looking for a set for a while now

Stock mounting plate between the J and N appear identical, the only difference seems to be the plastic piece.

Left one is Alero mount, right one is Cavalier.

[jabartram]

Hmmm, so you can get a little more drop with the j-body mounts. are the spring perches the same diameter? j-body looks smaller around.

[[ion] C2]

So... what I'm probably doing is:
- KYB GR2 struts
- Eibach springs
- Rear upper strut bar
- Custom front lower strut bar

What Kevlar pads do you recommend? Where do I get polyurethane bushings?