79'Trans am rear suspension advice

[barch1968]

There seems to be a few different types of suspension system/companies on the market and I was wondering if anyone out there has an insight on which of the following is best "Bang for the Buck" in terms of road handling.
3-Link?, 4-Link?, Air Ride?, or HTS Truck Arm?

I would appreciate any insight or experience anyone has had.

Thanks,
Barch

[zbugger]

Bang for the buck? Stick with leafs. Hotchkis would be a good choice for a street car.

[formula]

a nice set of leaf springs is by far your bang for the buck bet.

[MonzaRacer]

Also go look at Brets offerings from Air Ride Technologies,,,,at www.ridetech.com (http://www.ridetech.com) or http://www.ridetech.com/productinfo/airbarstang.asp.
I love my air ride it rocks the house. I love taking a 78 C10 and throw it in a curve and it just flat pull through and never waver.
Heck I had a scary moment the other day when objects in the road made me swerve, in a curve no less, and I hit the sand along the side of the road and the truck drifted some but just falat pulled through in perfect control.
Oh and my tires are Indy 500 Firehawks in front 255/70/15 and Bridgestone Winter Duelers LT30x9.50x15C so it wasnt the tires that worked it WAS the suspension and it rides even better than it handles. Trust me even if you just have air on one end it makes so much difference you will want it all the way around. while it may cost more it will last and handle for a good long time and the bang for the buck is there.
Good lUck
Lee Abel

[wendell]

While there's no doubt that air bags will make a truck on snow tires handle like a Corvette, the best bang for your buck is far and away leafs. If you want to mess with ride height (the dominant aplication of coil overs here) and you want something that hooks hard, the LD three link is the answer.

Lee, do you race a monza? If so, got any pics? I'm sort of into Monzas.

[Lowend]

Absolute best bang for the buck is the Global West CAT V L3 leafsprings with the spherical bearing in the front eye.

I'll put those up against most of the truck arm setups

[Tom Welch]

Even an optimized factory suspension is pretty darn good, my old 78 T/A gained almost 15mph through the twisties after I upgraded the stock subframe bushings, control arm bushings, leaf spring bushings, shocks, and swaybar bushings. I was very happy with the improvement.

[Bandit]

The good news is you are starting off with a great platform! As was stated, these cars already handle pretty well and can be made to really stick with not much effort!
You can't go wrong with an aftermarket leaf setup, make sure you upgrade your bushings and steering components at the same time, and have good wheels and tires. I like my Hotchkis TVS, but from what I hear Global West is a great deal as well!
If you want to have your cake and eat it too, and have the cash to foot for it, there's always Air Ride Technologies, but a good lef setup will handle with the best of em...

[10Aniv]

I would also try Pro Touring F Body, I have had very good lick with them and the customer service is outstanding. The owner has a 79 TA so he has alot of knowledge on what works and what doesn't

[exwestracer]

Wow. I hope he's got it figured out by now! This thread is almost up for it's 5Aniv...LOL

[badazz81z28]

I would also try Pro Touring F Body, I have had very good lick with them and the customer service is outstanding. The owner has a 79 TA so he has alot of knowledge on what works and what doesn't

I think thats highly debatable. Call first, check quantity on hand BEFORE you order. You just maybe waiting on parts longer than you would like. I recommend you stick with Global West or Hotchkis.