2nd gen camaro rear suspension

[Evilone83]

Hi all im new here, first post. I'm working on a 75 camaro and would like to know your thoughts on rear suspension. i recently replaced my front suspension and subframe. with the idea of reducing body roll, i went with poly bushings solid motor mounts and BMR's massive sway bar. but now it brought the weak rear suspension front and center. i feel the rear end moving all over like it is attached with duck tape and toothpicks.

i would like to know is there a best type of rear suspension for road racing or pro touring. i have honestly never done any thing to rear of a car but add a leaf spring and have no idea how to set one up. i have been looking at BMR's TAS009 torque arm suspension

http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=938&superpro=0

[TLWiltman]

I usually tend to fall into the torque arm/3-link camp. Speedtech and BMR have good setups there [I tend to like the Watts link (BMR) better than a Panhard (Speedtech).]. It's a compromise there, but I have no reason to believe either system would work poorly. A 3-link would have to be fabricated unless you do a Morrison rear sub (will put you in a modified class, or in a very heavy car, at an SCCA autocross).

A leaf setup can be made to work. It takes a lot of tuning and a setup that replaces the stock rubber bushings with either monoballs or delrin bushings PLUS has a properly designed leaf spring

Your budget (if any) has a major impact here. Sometimes it's actually cheaper to swap the leafs out for something with fewer compromises and tuning requirements

My $.02. Your mileage may vary and there's a ton of other opinions out there as well, including many more useful than mine. LOL

[71maroesteban]

I was also considering the bmr kit but decided on the ride tech 4 link. It's simple to install and has been proven on the track time and time again just wish they would release a rear sway bar for it like they have for the first gen

[Evilone83]

i could be off my rocker here, but cant you put a watts link on almost any rear suspension?(4-link, torque arm, mono leaf, or Independent rear suspension.)

all the race shops around here scream 4-link but they are drag racers. if you say autocross you get a funny look and then hear "you mean like dirt track?"
i really would like to stay under 4k and and simplicity of tuning is a big plus.
is there any gains or draw backs between 4-link ant torque arm?
i have a tendency to shy away from independent suspension. to me they seem to have great grip until they don't, where as i can feel the loss of traction coming in a standard leaf spring car.

[Bygblok]

you can make the leaf spring rearend do just about anything you want it to do. The problem seems to start with finding truly GOOD springs that are equal on both sides. Unless you get top-quality leafs you might have as much as 100 pounds of difference between the sides in compression/deflection rates so it's hard to make it consistent. "IF" you get the springs right the rest is quite basic. Nice rear sway bar with heim joints(spherical rod ends) instead of bushings and a set of really good adjustable shocks. The only other thing that's hard to do is getting the weight balance correct. I used to autocross a 67 Shelby GT500 and that thing was a true pig with the big block weight in the front. I learned a helluva lot about suspension just trying to get that pig to turn. Ended up with NO front sway bar on it and the rear so tight you almost needed a kidney belt to drive it but it SURE was fun!!!

[killer69]

Here is our offering if you haven't run across it yet

http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=54/category_id=36/mode=prod/prd54.htm

easy install room for 3" exhaust over the axle. easy to set up.
any questions fell free to call 435-628-4300

[BMR Sales]

Hi all im new here, first post. I'm working on a 75 camaro and would like to know your thoughts on rear suspension. i recently replaced my front suspension and subframe. with the idea of reducing body roll, i went with poly bushings solid motor mounts and BMR's massive sway bar. but now it brought the weak rear suspension front and center. i feel the rear end moving all over like it is attached with duck tape and toothpicks.

i would like to know is there a best type of rear suspension for road racing or pro touring. i have honestly never done any thing to rear of a car but add a leaf spring and have no idea how to set one up. i have been looking at BMR's TAS009 torque arm suspension

http://bmrsuspension.com/?page=products&productid=938&superpro=0

Thanks for Buying our Front Bar and I'm sure that you will like our Torque Arm Kit with the Watts Link. It is one of our fastest growing segments. We are currently making a Revision (that I suggested) to make installation easier & to fit better.

T.C.

[Bygblok]

Here is our offering if you haven't run across it yet

http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=54/category_id=36/mode=prod/prd54.htm

easy install room for 3" exhaust over the axle. easy to set up.
any questions fell free to call 435-628-4300


great system and I love the idea behind being able to get exhaust through it but if you're running a 10-bolt you're out of luck.

[BMR Sales]

i could be off my rocker here, but cant you put a watts link on almost any rear suspension?(4-link, torque arm, mono leaf, or Independent rear suspension.)

all the race shops around here scream 4-link but they are drag racers. if you say autocross you get a funny look and then hear "you mean like dirt track?"
i really would like to stay under 4k and and simplicity of tuning is a big plus.
is there any gains or draw backs between 4-link ant torque arm?
i have a tendency to shy away from independent suspension. to me they seem to have great grip until they don't, where as i can feel the loss of traction coming in a standard leaf spring car.

In Theory, you might be able build a Watts Link, but would it be engineered correctly. We offer our Torque Arm Kit for those that want to keep Leaf Springs, but that eliminates the Rear Coil-Over "Cage" that has the Attachment Points for the Watts Link. I have seen a Watts Link Kit for G-Body Cars that Attaches differently than our, but it looks like it could snap at anytime

[killer69]

great system and I love the idea behind being able to get exhaust through it but if you're running a 10-bolt you're out of luck.

Your not completely out of luck it can be made to work with a little grinding of the pinion mount we do have the rear mounting ring. so if it is something that you want to investigate just give us a call.

[Evilone83]

Dose the torque arm suspension remove the need for subframe connectors? If not will bolt on connectors work with torque arm suspensions?

[killer69]

Dose the torque arm suspension remove the need for subframe connectors? If not will bolt on connectors work with torque arm suspensions?

It doesn't. really eliminate the need for subframe connectors, the connectors will help make the platform more ridged. because the Torque arm eliminates most or the loading of the lower trailing arms there is little forward force on the trailing arm mount location. IMO the bolt on connectors are not worth installing. unless you are racing the car I feel subframe connectors are not required.

[Evilone83]

Well I'm pretty well sold on torque arm your comments and a post i found by exwestracer really helped.

The speed tech system looks amazing and the BMR system seems built to exceed the need.

I would be interested in knowing how much these systems weigh. I will be removing the leaf springs and going with coil over shocks.

[lees02ws6]

i could be off my rocker here, but cant you put a watts link on almost any rear suspension?(4-link, torque arm, mono leaf, or Independent rear suspension.)

all the race shops around here scream 4-link but they are drag racers. if you say autocross you get a funny look and then hear "you mean like dirt track?"
i really would like to stay under 4k and and simplicity of tuning is a big plus.
is there any gains or draw backs between 4-link ant torque arm?
i have a tendency to shy away from independent suspension. to me they seem to have great grip until they don't, where as i can feel the loss of traction coming in a standard leaf spring car.

You can put a watts link on most solid axle applications, though a triangulated 4 link shouldn't need it (SN95 mustang excluded), you cannot put one on an IRS (there would be no point to that any way).

[BMR Sales]

Well I'm pretty well sold on torque arm your comments and a post i found by exwestracer really helped.

The speed tech system looks amazing and the BMR system seems built to exceed the need.

I would be interested in knowing how much these systems weigh. I will be removing the leaf springs and going with coil over shocks.

The Shipping Weight (including Boxes, Packing Materials, etc) for our System including the CoilOvers is 214 Pounds

T.C.

[killer69]

The Speedtech torque arm and all the hardware, shocks, springs and rear end brackets is 89 lbs

[Skip Fix]

Like Bygblok said you can get a plain leaf spring rear to handle pretty good with good parts. I think at one of the Good Guys autocrosses Herb Adams took out the old Camaro he had done years ago in the early 80s (leaf springs) and ran times right there with guy with all the new systems. So old is not that bad.

http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/1308_chevy_vse_cheverra/restoring.html
http://www.chevyhardcore.com/features/not-forgotten-herb-adams-and-the-vse-cheverra-racer/

Some good springs as he said, maybe front spring eyes with a spherical in it(Global and I think Hotchkis have them, maybe Pro-Tourign F bidy or Custom works) some good Delrin or Del a lum shackle bushings and the rear will be pretty darn solid.

It will not be as easily tuneable(mainly in labor to swap springs) as a 4 link, coil over, torque tube but a heck of a lot cheaper.

[Carl @ Chassisworks]

We offer a complete rear system for the second-gen Camaros. The g-Bar and g-Link are a triangulated 4-link type of rear suspensions which allow maximum articulation, and zero deflection while eliminating the need for a seperate lateral locater. It will fit under the stock floor with the stock rails or we have a narrowed rail kit. It will definitely fit in your budget and there are a bunch of different options.

You can find them on our site here: http://www.cachassisworks.com/c-342-camaro-74-81-gm-f-body.aspx or check out even more options here: http://www.cachassisworks.com/Attachments/Catalogs/BG_201.pdf I won't overload you with reading but give me a call if you want to discuss details and options.

Here's a pic of one under a '72 with our FAB9™ housing. This car also has our bolt-in subframe connectors and center support.

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