stock suspension questions?

[jabartram]

I have recently purchased an '03 alero sports sedan (glx/gx?????) do all of the sport model alero's have such a responsive suspension? I mean for stock suspension its great! my stock suspension handles better than a friends '01 gt, with H&R's and koni adjustables. ok to my questions, how does the stock spring rates compare to eibach's and H&R's, will I lose response changing to either, and i'm looking at 18" wheels and tires, will the short springs limit me to 17's? any help appreciated!

[3.4Alero]

I've found the Eibach's to be a great spring for competitive racing. The drop is just enough to get rid of the monster truck look too. I don't know the rates of the stock springs, but the Eibachs are:

Front: Progressive; 171#-234#
Rear: Progressive; 87#-143#
(Thanks to mfuller for this info)

You will be fine with 18's, as long as you keep the right diameter. With 18's you should get 225-40-18's, with 17's you should get 225-45-17's. You can go to 235's and you will still be fine also.

[jabartram]

do the eibach's give the solid everyday ride also, i like to feel all the bumps in the road!

[3.4Alero]

Oh, you will feel more bumps, but it's not horrible. I also found a bit more bump steer in my car.

[Pellinore]

I couldn't beleive the handling with the performace package you get from GM, for like $250 you got the springs and tires(not the greatest) and I have found not much difference between them and the eibachs, but like 3.4Alero said the car looks alot better with them.

[3.4Alero]

At the limit, there is a BIG difference between the stock sport suspension package and eibachs. Believe me, I did both autocross and road racing (not street racing, this is the REAL thing) before I put on the eibachs and after. You may not notice it during daily driving, but there is a difference at the limit.

[Pellinore]

Yeah i haven't done any real racing but i haven't noticed much of a difference when i have really pushed it, i guess i haven't pushed it far enough.

[jabartram]

thanks for the advice, i'll be installing eibach's and 18" cdr9's with nitto 555's, strut tower braces front and rear, and upgrade the sway bars with poly bushings! and I've got a guy thats gonna reprogram my ecu for for a bill and a half!

[alerov6]

take some pics when u get the mods put in

[Final-Reality]

I betcha I'd notice the difference in my daily drive every time I hit an empty on or off-ramp B)

Have you gotten any aftermarket roll-bars 3.4? And if so which ones? It'd be nice to balance the car with some off-throttle oversteer

[jabartram]

I'm still investigating all the suspension parts for the lethal combination, i'll keep you posted on my decisions, i have to wait until after christmas now, so there is gonna be a month or so delay, DAM HOLIDAYS!

[misslindseysue]

Slow day at work today... anyway, just wanted to say, nice choice with the CDR9s. I'm really happy with my 17's (lots of potholes in MI). Just make sure you get the hub-centric rings with them. Idiots at Discount Tire balanced them three times before they mentioned the rings.

[jabartram]

silly question here but what are hub centric rings?

[dopey]

id recommed intrax springs opposed to eibachs. i speak from experience on this..... intrax give abit more of an overall drop in stance.... along with better ride quailty. both are great springs but i prefer the intrax.

i have intrax, kyb struts, and 18inch rims. and believe me u feel every bump.

3.4 do u have kybs yet?

[rodney]

do all grand am gts (99+) come with the "sport suspension"

[dopey]

the main difference between gt's and alero gls.... opposed to the grand am se and alero gx and so on is i believe a difference in the stiffness of the shocks and afew other things. nothin major though. and im not exactly positive if this is even tru. just what i "heard"

[mfuller]

Originally posted by rodney@Dec 1 2003, 11:34 PM
do all grand am gts (99+) come with the "sport suspension"
Yes, all 1999 and up Grand Am GTs come stock with the FE3 Sport Suspension.

[3.4Alero]

Final - All I have is a front strut tower brace. More will come over the winter. It alone made a big difference, though.

Sweet - I still have the stock struts in. They are still OK, but will probably be changed out this winter.

No one has been able to confirm spring rates of the base and FE3 suspension as of yet, as far as I know.

jabartram, enlighten us on the reprogram. How will it be done, with what equipment, and what parameters will be changed?

[misslindseysue]

Originally posted by jabartram@Nov 29 2003, 02:36 AM
silly question here but what are hub centric rings?
Not silly, I had no clue.

Anyway, they're just little rings that you put on the hub, then put on the wheel. It helps center the wheel on the hub, otherwise they're impossible to balance right, and you get horrible hopping. I think there's a FAQ about wheels here somewhere that mentions them.

[swimmarz13]

important question, do you /have you had any problems with the shock tower, do you need to replace the shocks and struts along with the lowering springs, and another question is what springs give you the best ride quality, i like the lowered look but i am not willing to sacrifice the quality for the look, thanks alot and go check out my ride in the other forum to give me some input
thanks :smokin:

[Final-Reality]

Sorry but if you lower your car it's going to be a stiffer, bumpier ride... why does nobody realize this? If you arent willing to sacrifice a little bit of ride cushiness, then leave it stock.

[3.4Alero]

Eibachs are pretty close to stock, but you can feel the difference (a little bumpier). Final is right, if you do not want to sacrifice ANY ride quality, then leave it stock. As far as the strut tower brace, I personally have had no problems, not sure how there could be a real problem caused by them. I haven't heard any other complaints either. When replacing springs, it's a good idea to replace struts, also. I personally did NOT replace mine, but this winter I will. I had just over 30,000 miles on my car when I replaced springs, now I have 46,000 miles. Would've been much easier to replace them when I had the damn thing torn apart in the first place. Oh well, live and learn.