Pro-touring suspension on third gen camaro

[jerrys85iroc]

I am having alot of trouble trying to figure out what to do as far as new suspension for my camaro...i'd like to do air-ride but havent been able to find a entire kit for my car...cause i need EVERYTHING...i looked at hotchkis some but still no luck...and they dont make tubular a-arms for my car huh...this is stressing me out...can anyone help me out??? I need some advise bad.....

[Apogee]

Mark at SC&C (www.scandc.com) is always good for suspension advice ;)

Tobin
KORE3

[wendell]

Is your goal to buy a bunch of stuff so the suspension doesn't look stock? Or is your goal to have a well handling 3rd gen. If it's the later, you're in luck because between SCCA A Sedan and NASA CMC, the 3rd gen is a VERY well developed platform. If you're interested in the former, there's no shortage of folks lined up to separate you from your money. Good luck.

[Rhino]

As was previously said, there's a plethora of parts available. Take your pick :)

http://www.stranoparts.com/searchbymodel.php?ModelID=9
I did take a quick look at the site. Strano does have tubular A-arms for your application.

[slowcamaro]

I think ridetech does make a kit. KandiedZ on TGO has been on airride for quite a while now. As well as a few others, I have yet to see any of these cars being flogged though. Not to say the potential isn't there, it just has yet to be proven on this platform.

Koni yellows and Ground control weight jacks seem to be the go to setup as far as proven race worthy suspension. Depending on how serious you are Vorshlag/AST also have some very nice looking shocks and struts, but once again, feedback and reviews are few and far between with such a new product.

Strano has won multiple SOLO national championships in a third gen f-body. If you call him he'll set you up with everything you need.

Tubular A-arms for our cars aren't going to gain you much of anything, I personally prefer the stock arms with global west del-a-lum bushings.

The biggest improvements in the handling depart you're going to find are tires(275s fit up front no problem with proper backspacing), then shocks and struts(KONI's)

[jerrys85iroc]

ok well someone had told me to flog my car and buy something running cause its not worth the money....i looked at strano and so far he's had everything...i would like to one day go to events and stuff so i do want to handle as well as possible...So the tubular a-arms don't make a difference??? i was gonna change out the sway bars,springs and shocks, the control arms and panhard bar...as well as brakes...and basically just pull everything off and sand and paint,and put it back in...is that basically everything i needto do to get the best handling or am i missing something...sorry for all the questions,i'd rather be right then assume...

[BMR Sales]

BMR Fabrication is the leading manufacturer of 3rd Gen suspensions. We sell more 3rd gen F-Body suspensions than any other company. Whether you're looking for street performance, drag performance, or handling, BMR has the parts you need. We make both front suspensions and rear suspensions. We have almost 70 different part numbers for your car and most of them are available in red or black hammertone color.

Check out the BMR website and call Lee if you have any questions. He can create a custom package that fits your needs and your budget.
http://www.bmrfabrication.com/F3.htm

BMR is also having a 15% OFF Veteran's Day Sale that ends November 16th. Take another 5% OFF for a custom package over $1000. Active military personnel get another 10% OFF during the Sale.

[Norm Peterson]

ok well someone had told me to flog my car and buy something running cause its not worth the money....i looked at strano and so far he's had everything...i would like to one day go to events and stuff so i do want to handle as well as possible...
What sort of events are you considering? If it's Solo/autocross, be a little careful, as some rather innocent-sounding modifications can push you way up-class against dedicated race cars (I think that poly/rod end rear LCAs would land you in C Prepared, all by themselves if you did nothing else to the car). On the other hand, there are no suspension limitations for a track day car that I know of (other than choosing wisely).



So the tubular a-arms don't make a difference???
Unless they allow a more aggressive caster setting, probably not much. There isn't going to be a huge difference in weight. There will likely be some improvement due to firmer bushings, though you can probably fit stiffer bushings into the OE control arms. I am assuming that you only mean the front suspension here, as the common "firmer bushing" material is polyurethane, which isn't a particularly good choice for use in the rear suspension LCAs unless it's a street/strip car you're building.



i was gonna change out the sway bars,springs and shocks, the control arms and panhard bar...as well as brakes...and basically just pull everything off and sand and paint,and put it back in...is that basically everything i needto do to get the best handling or am i missing something...sorry for all the questions,i'd rather be right then assume...
Sam Strano is probably your best resource here. But start by defining for yourself just what you want from the car and how far you're willing to modify it. An SCCA Solo F Stock build can be made to run through the cones fairly quickly swapping only the shocks/struts and front sta-bar (faster than you are, if you've never autocrossed before). But an FS build won't be as fast as the same car at the E Street Prepared level which I think permits all of the things in that short list.


Norm

[slowcamaro]

For sway bars you will likely be able to get your spring balanced with bars that were available from the factory. If you watch for sale sections of various forums you can pick up factory bars dirt cheap.

They were available in front sizes of 36(hollow), 34(hollow), 34,32,30,27

Rears 24, 23(?), 21, and 18.

So if you spend sometime in the junkyards you can basically find any sway bar combination you need to balance your spring package.

As far as springs it really depends on your intentions, back roads, autocross, road course? Typically the road course guys are sprung a good bit stiffer. Once again CALL Strano he'll at the very least give you a good starting point.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

[jerrys85iroc]

you guys are gonna hate me but no matter how bad i wanted to build that car times were getting hard and i had to sell...i guy came to me needing parts and had cash...sometimes cash talks, but i am definetely going to get another project asap or at least when i make better money...