2nd Gen Camaro Suspension upgrade 800-1000$ budget -- stock weekend driver

[Mycophiles]

This is my first post here so Hi everyone.

My girlfriends boss has a Gen II Burlinetta w/ a 350cc engine. When he bought it he replaced the shocks with off-brand orielly parts but has really done nothing else to the suspension.

I've just gone through a (BOOOO) 1965 Mustang frame-up resto (well halfway through anyway.. just went through the suspension part) and I've done much research on that car but am just starting to look at the packages/ options on this car.

In any case.. back to my girlfriends boss. He just came back from an autocross and loved it. He's looking to do several more in the coming years. He often takes the car to car shows and also often drives the car. It is a 'weekend driver' and NOT a trailer queen.



So for the suspension package there is a need to keep the car looking stock. ( as far a 2 inch drop as many of these suspension packages come with... I'm not sure how he is going to take that ) In my personal opinion the roads here in houston don't offer much ride-comfort to ANY car with a two inch drop so I'm looking to keep this car stock height.

Additional information:

The engine is going to be bored out .30 and port matched. Also the transmission and gearing might change (a little bit) ... just a bit to help with light-to-light acceleration. But in any case... these are the plans for the powerplant. It will be kept pretty much stock as he likes going to car shows and wants it "looking" stock.



First the requirements:

1. keep the car fun and nice to drive. (not break-your back with the stock seats)
2. be able to go to an autocross and not worry about the suspension buckling or the car rolling around like a boat.
3. keep the price under 1000$
4. keep the suspension fairly stock-looking for shows (it's rare they look at suspension parts... but tubular uca's and lca's are really out of the question anyway b/c of price)

Second: My research

The research indicates that this car needs

1. subframe connectors
2. UCA's that have additional height (for camber)
3. sway bars


So... looking at MANY threads. I was thinking of suggesting the CustomWorksProducts front-end rebuild kit. But also he will need springs/shocks/leafsprings etc.

I thought I would post up and ask what you guys think.

All/any suggestions welcome.

[Henesian]

You can make the car handle great with just new springs, shocks, sway bars in a $800-1000 budget. A great shock choice would be the matched Bilstein/Hotchkis set, which would set you back $300-400. Coil springs in the front would set you back another $200, if you went with the Hotchkis 600lb/in 2" drop springs, which are a great choice. You just need a 1-1/4" front solid bar with polyurethane bushings in the links, and a 7/8"-1" bar in the back with poly bushings. Also, a huge cornering speed improvement would be polyurethane spring shackle bushings, which would set you back around $75 for a whole set. Polyurethane leaf spring bushings and aftermarket rear sway bar links make the biggest difference ever. You should worry about actually properly setting the car up and dealing with the main stuff, before dealing with that extraneous control arm stuff.

[Mycophiles]

You can make the car handle great with just new springs, shocks, sway bars in a $800-1000 budget. A great shock choice would be the matched Bilstein/Hotchkis set, which would set you back $300-400. Coil springs in the front would set you back another $200, if you went with the Hotchkis 600lb/in 2" drop springs, which are a great choice. You just need a 1-1/4" front solid bar with polyurethane bushings in the links, and a 7/8"-1" bar in the back with poly bushings. Also, a huge cornering speed improvement would be polyurethane spring shackle bushings, which would set you back around $75 for a whole set. Polyurethane leaf spring bushings and aftermarket rear sway bar links make the biggest difference ever. You should worry about actually properly setting the car up and dealing with the main stuff, before dealing with that extraneous control arm stuff.

Appreciate your reply.

I see that the Bilstein/Hotchkis set comes in two flavors. From what I've read there are the revalved Bilstein's and the normal Bilstein's. Also, I don't know the part number's of the Bilstein/HOtchkis set I'm looking for. The descriptions on Hotchkis website doesn't show the shocks as "revalved".

Also, I've read if you are going to go with the 2" drop then use the "revalved" Bilstein by Hotchkis. I don't see any stock height springs on the Hotchkis site so now I'm looking at springs and wondering which would the best choice for stock height.

I'm a bit confused as to what you said next above, sorry. You say, "You just need a 1-1/4 front solid bar... and a 7/8"1" bar in the back... " do you mean you need this if you go with the 2" lowering springs or just "in general".

The polyurethane leaf spring bushings/aftermarket rear sway bar end links... which one's am I looking at for stock height? For nearly every leaf spring set I see it's a 1.5 to 2" drop. Is there a nice rear leaf spring kit with bushings out there for stock height?

[marolf101x]

If you are going to buy a performance shock, why not make it the last one you ever purchase?
-monotube damper with sport tuned valving which also provides great ride quality
-OE direct replacement
-standard height available
-dropped applications available
-fixed valve or single adjustable (rebound)
-1,000,001 mile warranty
http://ridetechshocks.com/gm-shocks/...970-81-camaro/

We have a bone stock 70 Chevelle. . .changed just the shocks, and the improvement was nothing but astonishing. Our new shocks are considerably more aggressive with the valving than the standard OE replacements, so increased performance was expected. What was surprising was how much ride quality improved. By slowing down the car over dips and turns it actually improved ride quality as it no longer felt like a "Spanish Galleon on the North Sea".

[Rick Dorion]

Britt, which ones did you use? I need to upgrade my 67 Belair.

[marolf101x]

The RQ (fixed valve) is the only one available right this second. The HQ (rebound adjustable) is in line for assembly and should be ready to ship from our warehouse on 7/15

[Henesian]

Appreciate your reply.

I see that the Bilstein/Hotchkis set comes in two flavors. From what I've read there are the revalved Bilstein's and the normal Bilstein's. Also, I don't know the part number's of the Bilstein/HOtchkis set I'm looking for. The descriptions on Hotchkis website doesn't show the shocks as "revalved".

Also, I've read if you are going to go with the 2" drop then use the "revalved" Bilstein by Hotchkis. I don't see any stock height springs on the Hotchkis site so now I'm looking at springs and wondering which would the best choice for stock height.

I'm a bit confused as to what you said next above, sorry. You say, "You just need a 1-1/4 front solid bar... and a 7/8"1" bar in the back... " do you mean you need this if you go with the 2" lowering springs or just "in general".

The polyurethane leaf spring bushings/aftermarket rear sway bar end links... which one's am I looking at for stock height? For nearly every leaf spring set I see it's a 1.5 to 2" drop. Is there a nice rear leaf spring kit with bushings out there for stock height?

I have a 2nd gen TA that came with some better suspension options from the factory than the Camaro did, so I'm not sure exactly what you have on the car that's stock. People have raced their cars on the yellow and blue Bilsteins with great success. ridetech shocks are also a great way to go. Sway bars are just in general. Sway bars are the one thing on the car that will improve the handling with the least damage to ride quality. They change the ride quality little to none. I say a 1-1/4" solid bar in the front, because that's what my car came with stock from the factory, and a 1-1/4" is about 2x stiffer than a 1"(or 1-1/8", I can't remember) bar and stiffer than a tubular 1-3/8" bar that Hotchkis or other Pro-touring companies match with a 7/8" rear bar and 600 lb/in coil springs. I prefer the 1-1/4" solid bar over the 1-3/8" tubular bar, because it gives you more room in the front for bigger tires and is stiffer. For leaf springs, I have the factory 125 lb/in Trans Am leaf springs, and I went with an ADCO 7/8" rear sway bar, and luckily(didn't even know) got really good heavy duty sway bar links in the set. Leaf spring bushings, and sway bars don't change ride height. The only thing that changes ride height is the actual spring. Polyurethane leaf spring bushings can easily keep you in budget, because they're about $70 a set from Energy Suspension, and really help out. A big rear sway bar requires actual links, because the stock ones aren't stiff enough to get the full benefit of the bar. For coil springs, stiffer rates require thicker and shorter springs. It's just the nature of the beast. I'm not knowledgeable enough about stock height springs, but I think that a good choice is the 78 Trans Am WS6 springs.

There are a ton of philosophies for setting up a street car for having reasonable ride and good handling. I'm not a fan of having that much compromise, so I tend to go pretty all out. If you want to know the set-up I have on my T/A, I can easily list it out. I would say that the simplest thing for trying to keep good ride quality and get some good handling is to do all the bushings, front sway bar, rear sway bar, and all 4 shocks.

[Rod]

I would look (in this order) shocks, sway bars, coils & leafs, Tires

ridetech front shock #22059846 price $ 250.00 pair
ridetech rear shock #22099847 price $ 250.00 pair
Hotchkis Front sway bar #2236F Price: $259.95
total $ 759.00

that leaves a few dollars out of the 1000 dollar budget in the pocket for driving events

Thats a great start and he can upgrade to better tires (Falken RT615K) and springs (Hotchkis Coils and Leafs) as his driving gets better
Tires are HUGE in autocross but you can not get the full benifet of them without shocks, sway bars and springs so thats why there towards the back of the list

[Mycophiles]

Thanks for everyone's input. It's been informative and has made the search much easier. The Hochkis kit will go on but the shocks are still up in the air. I believe the fox shocks are going to be used which were recommended by hotchkis with thier front sway bar/rear swar bar/springs kit.