93 S10 Suspension Help

[Clutch93]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the board so this is my first post. My friend actually introduced me to the site because he wanted to show me the Syborg. By the way, that truck is insane!
Okay, onto my truck. Reg cab 93, 2wd 2.8 5sp. I started by putting DJM 2" drop springs in the front with stock replacement sensatracs (yes they actually have enough travel, the front rides great and now stays relatively flat with the 1 1/4" if i remember correctly sway bar from a junkyard blazer. I originally went with 3" blocks in the rear and a set of djm shocks to try and stiffen it up. I LOVED THIS SETUP! However, my truck had a lot of miles on it and my leafs started to squeak and grind and needed rebuilding. Instead of stock replacements, I opted for the Beltech 3" multi-pack drop springs. I went with these because I heard you will have bad axle wrap with the mono leafs. Well from day one I've HATED these springs, they ride extremely stiff and are very bouncy. Now I like a good firm ride and very little sway since I drive "somewhat aggressively," however this are simply bone jarring and the truck sat almost as tall as the stock springs with no blocks plus I still experienced plenty of axle wrap. Well, i've simply dealt with this problem for a few years now, I've added blocks to level the truck out, i've tried between 1" to 3", right now i'm running 3" to level it, that seems rediculous since the front only has 2" springs and these are supposedly 3" drop leafs. Adding the blocks has also caused more axle wrap (never did with stock leafs), i've also tried different shocks, I ordered a set of Beltech Shocks to try and counteract the bouncy ride. Made it worse so I went back to the DJM shocks but got a shorter version of it for more travel, still HARSH and bouncy. I'm sort of lost now, i've never heard of anyone else having these problems, in fact I see most people recommend beltechs when people are staying with leafs on the back of S10's. Now for a while now i've been considering going with the ZQ8 leaf springs, they are around 2" of drop and i've seen people add blocks with no problems, however they did have the anti hop shock. Is this my best route without spending too much money. I see these springs with low miles on ebay for $125 all the time. Any suggestions would be great, i'm soo sick of the horrible ride and my wife absolutely hates riding in my truck with me. I still had stock springs when we dated and she liked to back then! Sorry for the long post but I wanted to be thorough, any help is appreciated, i'm sure most of you have way more experience than I do with suspension. Thanks!

Nick

[ArtosDracon]

The ZQ8 springs are great, though they will be a little stiffer than your stock ones, but not much. You may still want 1" blocks with them, but 1" blocks shouldnt cause much axle wrap, if any with your 2.8.

The belltecs are usually quite good, and definitely not that tall, you may want to give them a call.

[2ToeRacing]

I have a factory ZQ8 truck.The suspension sits about 1.5 lower then a regular S-10. My truck came with bilstein shock and I think they are great shock to complement the the hole package.All the ZQ8 stuff should fit on your truck.The best part is the steering box,its a close ratio box and give the truck a nice tight feel.

[Clutch93]

Hey, thank you both for re-inforcing what I was thinking about the zq8 susp. Actually, I have a Trans-Am steering box on it too, I've been really happy with it so I think i'll just stick with it unless it starts having problems. I think i'll save up and get those zq8 springs to start with and probably add 1" blocks to make it nice and level. You guys have any idea how much the springs are new from the dealer? I would rather have brand new, but really tight budget, my wife and I just bought our first house so i'm sure lots of you know how that goes. haha Any other suggestions would be great on a possible coil spring conversion for the future or just any springs anyone thinks are even better than zq8. Thanks!

[ArtosDracon]

IMHO, just get a pair of used ZQ8 springs, tear them apart, paint them individually, and reassemble with new clamps and bushings and they'll be as good as new, so long as they are un-damaged from the yard. Inspect them carefully if you do decide to get them from a yard, check for any cracks or discoloration, and make sure all the springs are facing the right direction before you buy it. It's become a trend lately to flip one of the springs in the pack and that's just bad from every angle I can think of.

I don't like the third gen boxes because you loose some turning radius in the box, but they do work quite well considering their price. I like the Monte SS boxes much, much more. Same 12:7 ratio, but with a firmer center due to the large .210 t-bar and 39 degrees left and right, instead of 32 of the 3rd gen boxes and a firmness higher than the 98-00 ZQ8 box, but slightly lower than the 01 ZQ8 box.

[Clutch93]

Thanks for the info, it would be a good idea to rebuild them myself, any idea where you can get the bushings from? Also what year monte carlo steering box? I do like the idea of a tighter turning radius, it's pretty pitiful compared to the factory box. By the way, I didn't start this post to try and give Beltech a bad name, I'm sure they make good products, it's just my experience hasn't been good. I was going to put this in my original post but just forgot. I should have checked this for myself a LONG time ago with part numbers, but i'm wondering if maybe beltech offers a different spring for the blazer and maybe they sent the wrong ones. Could be they are too stiff for my application and that's why i've had problems. Just a thought.

[Clutch93]

Well, I just realized that I asked where I could buy bushing for my leaf springs in my last post. Not what I meant. When I removed my original springs, they had an insulator between each spring in the pack. I believe that's what was completely worn out and causing my springs to make so much noise. I would like to rebuild slightly used ZQ8 springs and I meant to ask if anyone knew if these had those insulators and if so, where can you purchase those? Is that a dealer item or do I need to look around online?

I just read an article yesterday about rebuilding leafs and the main thing they said that would cause noise was at the end of each leaf where they rub on each other, they actually used a grinder to smooth down these surfaces and clean them up so they would allow for smoother movement, causing less binding and no noise. Another article showed them using a rubber pad made for the end of the springs that kept them from contacting metal on metal, however this required drilling 2 holes at the end of each leaf to install the pads. Because these pads just press into the holes you drill, they seem like they wouldn't last very long.

[ArtosDracon]

Just saw both of your last posts now, sorry. Grinding down the ends to a smoother shape will defiitely help. The ZQ8s probably did have the pads on the rear as well. I don't see them as being particularly necessary, but that's likely a personal NVH prefference. I kow that the stock springs do tend to bind with the sharp endges that they have front and rear. If I new more about what the material was made of, I might be able to suggest a replacement, but I don't.

[Clutch93]

Thanks for the quick reply, well, i've got a couple items on ebay right now, hopefully they'll sell and i can start thinking about purchasing some springs. I'll most likely just tear them apart to clean and paint and see what i'm looking at. with decently low miles they may not need much, i'll have to see. I'm wondering as well, with 1 or 2 inch blocks will i be able to install a zq8 rear sway bar without changing the endlinks?

[ArtosDracon]

No. But that's ok, the endlinks are pie to change.

[Clutch93]

Good News! I found a set of ZQ8 springs at a local truck salvage yard with only 21,000 miles on them! $70 bucks, not too shabby, pretty good when you can beat Ebay prices and not pay $95 bucks in shipping! It's not a pick your part kind of place, but the guy said they've been crushing a bunch of the s10's they have left so since i'm coming down today he said he'll take me out there and show me what they have left. pretty cool guy. anyway i'm really hoping to find the ZQ8 frame brace as well. can you guys think of anything else I might be overlooking that could help me out? I already asked if they had any anti-hop shock rear ends, he said no, no rear sway bars either. I might be interested in the front springs since I eventually want to put drop spindles on. Anyone know if there is a difference in v6 and 4cyl ZQ8 coil springs? Thanks for you guys help so far!

[Clutch93]

So when I got to the salvage yard yesterday, the guy spends 30 min looking for the springs that he told me he would put my name on and that they have advertised on their website and on car-parts.com and finally says, "i guess we scrapped them, sorry." I couldn't believe it, this guy tried to get me to pay over the phone for them, and he didn't even know if they had them for sure. not as cool as i thought he was. anyway, now i'm on the hunt again. I'm going to try the local pick a parts this weekend, hopefully i'll have some luck
On another note, i've done a bunch of reading here and on other sites looking for good brake upgrades. I've seen the 98+ blazer spindles and dual piston option. (i'm not big on it though since the spindles are so pricey and you can never know how long junk yard pieces will last.) i've read about other higher dollar upgrades that are totally out of my budget. I'm actually really happy with my brakes right now, it's just stock rotors with ceramic pads. My concern is, i'm feeling a little bit of rotor warp and my pads are about done, they've been on the truck for around 90,000miles, (they did good). So that being said it's about time to think about replacing and although i'm happy with them, i'm hoping to do some auto x and maybe even a track day in the near future, i'm just wanting something that will have a little more resistance to brake fade for days like this, but still be long lasting for daily driving. Can anyone recommend a stock sized replacement rotor that is slotted and which pads do you guys recommend with slotted rotors. Right now i'm using Satisfied Pro Ceramic, I know, most of you probably would never recommend pads from kragen, but like i said they worked excellent and lasted a LONG time. Anyway, i was thinking EBC green stuff pads for use with slotted rotors, you guys think this is a good pad to use for street and a couple events a year?

[MonzaRacer]

As for using spindles if you find an Extreme S10/Blazer you can swap in the complete front brake/spindle set up its a direct bolt in and give much better brakes over the older S10 single. According to my references the Master shouldnt need changed.
And if you really get energetic swap in the complete factory rearend also as it will give you the rear disc to and most of them have 3.42 or 3.73 rear gears helping with performance.
The neat thing is if you ever get into where you need bigger brakes the ZQ8 spindle lends its self to upgrading to C5/C6 brakes later on!! Oh and 15 in wheels still fit the rear for drag racing!

[monteboy84]

I have all the abutment brackets, calipers, brand new rotors, etc for the Blazer spindles, so if you could round up spindles and bearings, I have everything else. I got it all together but went with C5 brakes on the S10 spindles.

-matt

[Clutch93]

That's great info guys, thanks for the offer too, i'm just kind of leaning away from the blazer spindles because of the design, i know they're a snap to change, but they're also pricey and probably un-reliable from the junk yard. i'll have to do some more thinking about it. I would REALLY like the option of going with c5 or c6 brakes that those would give me though. I came across some factory sized slotted rotors from Powerstop for under $60 bucks each online. You guys think those are any good?

[ArtosDracon]

They're just stock rotors that have been slotted, which will help vent some gasses and slightly help reduce heat, but will also decrease rotor area, which decreases bite a little.

Depending on your budget, Wilwood has a NICE four piston kit with aluminum hubs 12" rotors for ~$650 w/ smooth rotors or ~$750 with drilled and slotted rotors. It will fit under most 15" stock wheels and can use the stock master.

Or you can cobble together stuff to do a hybrid C4\C5 on them. C4 rotors with C5 dual piston calipers and special brackets on the stock rotors. If you can dig up the C5 stuff from a yard for a good price then it's a pretty economical option, and rotors can be had at an autozone for quite cheap. I'll have to look up the site that has the brackets\kits available if you're interested.

[MonzaRacer]

That's great info guys, thanks for the offer too, i'm just kind of leaning away from the blazer spindles because of the design, i know they're a snap to change, but they're also pricey and probably un-reliable from the junk yard. i'll have to do some more thinking about it. I would REALLY like the option of going with c5 or c6 brakes that those would give me though. I came across some factory sized slotted rotors from Powerstop for under $60 bucks each online. You guys think those are any good?

So whats wrong with the design? HMMM ATS/speedtech spindles use same design, hundreds if not thousands use the same design.
Could you get bad bearings, yeah maybe, but still a deal.
you should be able to get spindle, caliper, brackets and hoses and be able to take them off your self and not have over $200 on the outside. Or this has been every price I have gotten so far.
Best price was $35 a SIDE COMPLETE.
Now why are they better ,you get bigger rotors(more swept area) dual pistons tend to live longer, heat is spread over more area, the whole design is much better. Same Geometry so its a no brainer bolt on.
As for slotted rotors on street cars with limited track duty really have no actual gains, except less metal on rotor. But if you can get them cheap they do look cool.
Unreliable from junk yard is rare, most will exchange but heck reman calipers from reputable stores arent bad.
And from what I have read some guy have dome some mixing and matching of different rotors and abutments and got all stock parts to bolt on with Vette Calipers.
Heck I was shown one guys Blazer with Corvette Calipers inside stock wheels!
Now as for rear suspension I have about 20 guys using Ridetechs air over leaf and simply removing all the leafs but the main one, then building a solid pipe brace and clamping it to the upper side of the front of the leaf. basically making the leaf a ladder bars of sorts and the air spring holding the load. They love it and use simple stock air compressors from junkyard and a hidden pipe bumper under their roll pans for storage and hidden paddle switches. Heck one guy found NOS solenoids and ran all his line and stuff under hood. Everyone is giving him grief about NOS on a 2.2!

[ArtosDracon]

The only real issue with the blazer spindles is the cost of drop spindles. While standard S10 spinles are about $150 a set, the blazer drop spindles are almost $400, a lot of us have a hard time swallowing that, and we could really use the extra drop without screwing with our all ready bad geometry.

[Clutch93]

I wasn't trying to say there's anything "wrong" with the blazer spindles, my main concern was as stated by ArtosDracon is that the drop spindles are pricey and I had hoped to lower my truck further with some in the future, also, when a hub goes out, it's a full replacement which even stock is pricey compared to a couple of bearings and some grease. I understand there are TONS of vehicles out there with this design and yes it's really easy to change and less messy, but i'm really on a tight budget, so changing to something that although better, may end up costing me more money down the road is tough to swallow.
I know, this is a pro-touring website and i'm sitting here with basically no budget, but I joined the site and am trying to broaden my knowledge of custom work because I believe there is real automotive knowledge here unlike some of the other forums or websites out there. I actually have an automotive background so some of the crazy/false things I read out there just blow my mind, this is why I chose to come to this forum to do as much research on information that I can trust as I can. I really appreciate your guys help with all of my questions and your suggestions as to the best set up. I think when I go to the pick a parts this weekend, i'll scope the pricing on calipers, spindles, brackets etc for the blazer, if I can come out of there on the cheaper side then i'll consider it. probably not a purchase this weekend, but definately something to price and reconsider. What size is the blazer rotor by the way? if you guys know off hand. Lot's of things to look for and consider this weekend, i'll let you guys know what I find, thanks again for all you help!

[monteboy84]

What are you trying to gain with drop spindles versus the stock height ones? Are you trying to handle, or is your only concern laying frame with the mini-truckers?

I'm not trying to knock the drop spindles . . . well actually yeah I am, you can get the ride height down to a very functional level without the drop spindles, and your tie rod clearance will be better.

ETA, If you fix your bumpsteer properly, the Lower ball joint will have the effect of a 5/8" drop spindle.

[ArtosDracon]

The trucks sit much, much higher on the frame than the G-bodies do, wanting drop spindles has nothing to do with the fact that these are mini-trucks and everything do with the fact 2.5" of drop with coils and LBJs gets the frame\body\engine about where G-body cars are with just the LBJs, and anything more than 2" in the springs will start to compromise the geometry. If you'd like I have a stock height S10 blazer in my garage that I can take a picture of to show you how high it's sitting. My regular 2-ton jack can barely get the front tires off the ground when jacking from the skid plate, which is the lowest part of the frame, I can't take weight off the rear wheels with my current jack.

[Clutch93]

What are you trying to gain with drop spindles versus the stock height ones? Are you trying to handle, or is your only concern laying frame with the mini-truckers?
Well, my main reason for wanting the drop spindles was for the drop, (not to lay frame with mini truckers) but to get the truck a little lower and not compromise geometry anymore with even shorter springs. I was actually considering a 1" spring when I get the spindles instead of my current 2 inchers. I've been reading a lot about tall ball joints though and they are an interesting alternative. I would rather have more handling and better geometry than being a full 2 inches lower though. Originally in this post my main concern was getting the rear leafs replaced with something that would keep the truck level and get rid of the wheel hop and the bouncy ride the beltech springs have caused. I think the best option for this is the ZQ8 option leaf springs from second gen s10's. I'm on the look out for these. What started the talk about the spindles from a blazer and so on, is the fact that my brakes will need replacing in the next few months or so. I would really like to participate in some auto cross events and maybe even a road race. We only live about 45 min from buttonwillow race track. So, since the brakes are going to have to be replaced anyway, I thought I would see about upgrades so that I feel more confident on those track days. I really appreciate everyones input, like I said before, I came to this forum because I believe there is a lot of experience and knowledge here. I'm trying to absorb all I can so that with my VERY minimal budget I can make the best choices on upgrades and not have to do things twice to get the desired results.

[monteboy84]

Understandable on all counts. The main thing I'll advise you on the drop spindles, is that some companies will move the steering arm up on the spindle to maintain tie rod clearance to the wheel with the drop. This is all well and good on a mini-truck where only looks matter, but if you're looking to handle, the relocated steering arm will screw with your bumpsteer pretty bad.

I'm not sure if this is the case with Belltech's for an S-10, but it's worth noting.

-matt

[Clutch93]

that's good to know, I'm really starting to consider the tall bj's as an alternative, along with the blazer spindles. I was against them at first, but with all the big brake options i'll have and keeping better geometry, it just seems like it'll fit the bill better. Are there any benefits to going with the speedway tubular UPC's as far as geometry goes? Or is it just for looks and possibly lighter weight?

[monteboy84]

that's good to know, I'm really starting to consider the tall bj's as an alternative, along with the blazer spindles. I was against them at first, but with all the big brake options i'll have and keeping better geometry, it just seems like it'll fit the bill better. Are there any benefits to going with the speedway tubular UPC's as far as geometry goes? Or is it just for looks and possibly lighter weight?

The Blazer Spindles are slick, all it takes to bolt C5 brakes to them is a kit from KORE3, no cutting, grinding or any kind of fab work.

On Upper Control Arms, the only place you'll really see performance gains is if they're a redesign to work with tall ball joints, and to give you more caster, which is a big part of giving the steering a more modern performance feel.

-matt

[ArtosDracon]

The blazer spindles are a great choice if you don't need the drop. I will say that I know the DJM spindles do not have the steering arm re-located, if you still decide to go that way.

You will need the upper control arm if you go with the tall ball joints though, the stock upper arm has an angled ball joint plate that will cause the ball joint to bind and wear very quickly. There are some non-adjustable upper arms that are about $50 a piece though, so it's not too terrible on the pocketbook.

[baktrak09]

I have a 93 rcsb s10 as well. I absolutely love my current suspension setup. It handles great. Here is what I have done prices.

Front
ZQ8 front sway bar, $20 from pic a part.

Stock lower control arms with power performance tall lower bj's $100

2 right side Ub machine uca's for the truck ball joint $110

2 fullsize truck ball joints (3/8" taller than stock) $34

Drop spindles $75 brand new Craigslist find

New springs for a 4cyl s10 with 3/4 of a coil cut off. $70

ZQ8 steering box $35 from pic a part

Jeep steering shaft $3 from pic a part.

I am also going to be getting adjustable shocks.

Rear.
Belltech lowering leafs with a 1" block. $100 new Craigslist find

ZQ8 sway bar $20 pic a part

Imho the best thing that helped my rear suspension was some of the helper coils that go over the shocks. Some have luck with them some dont.

Disc brake rear end from a 2wd blazer.

I plan on doing a camaro ls1 brake setup on the front.

My Belltech leafs dropped the back of mine almost 3".

[Clutch93]

41729Okay, i'm back, after more poking around and researching, i've come up with more questions. Okay, so going with a blazer "tall" spindle, basically this is going to require less angel on the ball joints, correct? From what i'm understanding you always want your lower control arm to be level is that right? is it true then that you also want the upper control arm level or close to it? to achieve this, do you run tall ball joints top and bottom and the "tall" spindle, either ATS, or blazer units? I understand you have to run different UCA's to use the tall upper bj's, so since the SPC arms are not going to fit the budget i'm looking at either the UB machine UCA's or the Speedway motors arms. Now about these arms, is it better to go with the steel cross shaft for strength and durability for a daily driver or is this not a concern and I should go with the lighter component? Also, i've included a very crude "paint" sketch of the control arm angles, i'm assuming that the lower sketch is how it should look for best geometry, is this correct? Is there anyway to get better geometry without buying the adjustable uca's? Like do the MOOG problem solver control arm bushings help with this? If so what benefits am I going to see using those? I'm planning on replacing the bushings anyway, so I just need to decide on the MOOG or the Del-a-lum.

[ArtosDracon]

The blazer spindles are the exact same height, they won't change your camber characteristics at all. They just offer sealed hubs and a lot more brake options.

In theory, and a perfect world, you would want your LCA to be angled down about .5" outward so that your first half inch of bump it will push the bottom of the splindle out. Your UCA is in the right area so long as it's level or pointed up outwards, that will pull the top of the spindle inwards during bump.

ATS or B-Body(impalas and caprices mostly) are the two main tall spindle options. The B-bodies are a huge comporimise as they will help with camber gain, but they are even worse than the stock spindles in terms of bumpsteert. The only compromise on the ATS spindles is in your wallet, if you can afford them, they are the best option.

Tall ball joints are not best suited for tall spindle swaps, they essentially are just making the splindle act taller by increasing the distance between the internal pivot and the spindle. With the UB machine uppers and the truck ball joints you will gain ~3/8" on the upper, most of the aftermarket tall ball joints are .5", with the exception of the SC&C stage 2 plus kit, which uses a proprietary "extra tall" ball joint. Pretty much all of the tall lower ball joints are going to be ~.5" taller than stock.

In terms of bushings, they can't really affect the suspension geometry unless they're offset bushings, which I haven't seen for sale anywhere. The Moog Problem Solvers are named so because they're a blue thermoplastic that is about half way between rubber and poly in terms of stiffness, but without the friction issues inherent to poly. The del-a-lum bushings are great pieces. I could nit-pick them to death for being over-complicated, but they are great. Speedway motors also sells solid steel bushings for the G-body that uses .5" bolts, which can be adapted to the S10 with relative ease. They are definitely race only.

For a street vehicle I would highly reccomend the steel cross shaft. Aluminum is fine for track cars and generally fine for weekend cars, but if you drive this regularly, you want the steel. Aluminum has a stretching tendancy that will cause the shaft to no longer be true after one good pot hole. I would even suggeset spending the extra $7 with the speedway arms to get chromoly. They don't downgrade the size of the tubing to save weight, so you are getting a stronger arm.

If I missed anything let me know.

[Clutch93]

I'm glad i'm asking these questions now, before I start spending money since i'm finding that i'm off on a couple of things. Thanks for the reply ArtosDracon. Okay, so blazer spindles are only for better brakes. I guess I thought I read somewhere that they were taller too, oh well. No the ATS spindles will NOT fit the budget, and I don't want to sacrafice one area of alignment to gain in another area. So in order to get better geometry I go with tubular uca's and the truck ball joints. Is there a quality difference between the UB arms and the speedway arms? Is this the only geometry correction I can do without buying adjustable UCA's or tall spindles?

The Moog bushings I came across said they were actually offset but those were not specific to S10's, I was just doing a google search to find out what they "fixed." I guess it's different depending on the application. So, you said they're basically like a plastic? Kinda sounds like the Nylon type material used in the Del-a-lum. Hmm.. So what is the main problem they are trying to fix with these? Do they flex too much and lose geometry under stress or do they just wear out to quickly? I had the stock bushings in mine for about 12 years with no noise and they didn't look Horrible when I replaced them. Ever since I changed to the polygraphite bushings I've been totally disapointed, constant sqeaking and you can tell the suspension is binding. I'm really trying to find something that isn't harsh and is quiet. I've been convinced for the longest time that I should just go back to stock bushings but I keep reading great things about the Del-a-Lum bushings. A little pricy but very cool looking, and greasable.

While I have everything out, should I bother with boxing my lower Control arms? Is there enough flex there to justify the work?

Another area on the front is the sway bar. I have the largest 2wd blazer sway bar on the front, I guess it's the same as the zq8 33mm right? anyway, it was a junkyard pick and resulted in great improvement. Should I be looking into adjustable end links or is this as good as it's going to get with the factory length? Also, is it possible to use a camaro rear sway bar on the back of the S10? I've never heard anyone mention using one before, just the zq8 bars, but I'm having trouble finding one local. I may just have to ebay it if nothing else will work besides aftermarket. Alright hope this isn't too much. Thanks again for the help.

[ArtosDracon]

The only real difference between the two upper arms is the ball joint used and neither are bad, but the truck ball joints will be less expensive and only sacrifice 1/8", though the speedway arms are a bit less expensive.

The Moog "Problem Solver" bushings are whats called thermoplastic, which is a VERY complicated item, it is theoretically a plastic capable of being a full solid when frozen, a soft semi-solid across a large mid range and a fluid when heated enough. What this means for a suspension though, since it will likely never make it out of that mid-range is that it's an extremely predictable and cosistant material, that won't deflect as much as rubber and won't bind or grab. It is substantially different from both Nylon and Delrin.

Both Nylon and Delrin are actually brand names, both beyond their original patents though. Delrin is a specific type of Acetal polymer plastic that is very hard and due to it's make-up is self-lubricating, like most brass. Nylon is a slightly different plastic, though they are quite similar, nylon is larger molecularly, and isn't self-lubricating and isn't quite as hard, but is still quite strong and responds very well to external lubrication. These are both MUCH harder than thermoplastic.

If I were going to make any mods to my stock LCAs, i would sleeve the bushings, box the lower area and en-force the ball joint plate. But those all require a fair ammount of down-time and fabricatin ability. They'll also add un-sprung weight, so be conservative if you decide to do it. There is no need for 1/8" plate here.

Your front swaybar is the biggest you can get, a lot of companies even sell smaller bars and pitch them as an improvement(I'm looking at you addco) without offering any specs on them. If you had the ability, you could modify the arms of the bars to be a bit shorter, allowing you to relocate the mount to the side of the control arm and use heims at both ends, which would make it notably more predictable and a bit stiffer, but would be a lot of work.

You can actually use a fourth gen camaro bar on the rear of an S10! Suprise. It's only been done once to my knowledge, but it looks great IMHO and the shorter arms along with the diameter would probably make it well worth it. http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f178/best-susp-mod-ever-rear-sway-bar-353851/ (That project can be found here.)

[Clutch93]

Well, it's been almost a year and I just now have the money to move forward with my suspension rebuild. Told you guys I had a tight budget! Anyway, here's what i've come up with.

UB Machine UPCA's, ProForged C10 upper BJ's, and Tall S10 Lowers. I also ordered their tie rod sleeves. Picked up some Moog Problem Solver Thermoplastic Lower control arm bushings. A set of Belltech Drop spindles, ZQ8 leaf's and i'm going back to the pick your part to pick up a 98 blazer rear end with disc brakes and sway bar. Hopefully i'm going to totally change the feel of the suspension.

I know there are lot's of options out there, most that are probably more expensive than this setup, but I really wanted to get a decent package for the front AND rear, without taking out a loan! haha

Anyway, i'll take any constructive critisism that anyone might have, hopefully I did my research though and it should be a pretty good entry level suspension package i've put together. BTW, I would post pictures, but nothing has shown up yet, since I just ordered it all this week.

[rentedmule]

I've done 60 or 70 auto-X events on a similar front end setup - I think you'll be happy with it.

[Clutch93]

I've done 60 or 70 auto-X events on a similar front end setup - I think you'll be happy with it.

That's re-assuring, 60 or 70??!?! Wow, I definately don't see myself doing that much racing, but who knows, it may end up handling so good I'll be addicted! Thanks!