Upgrading your suspension?

Hi. I decided to write this thread to help all the guys/gals that want to upgrade their handling and suspension. Here are my suspension mods and some feedback on them

KYB GR2 struts (paired with SSC lowering springs)

PROS The struts feel a little better than stock. Handling is more stable and a little tighter. the springs drop the car perfectly 1.1/4 inch but ...

CONS The springs are not firm enough for the drop. seems like you could mush them all the way down on a hard bump and bottom out. (have had them for over a year and this has not happened to me so far) {knock on wood} & of course any lowering you do will cause a harsher ride

I rate them a 7 out of 10 paired together. (Probably higher with better springs with a higher spring rate)

VERDICT Good struts and springs for the strip and on smooth roads. Would go for better springs here in Michigan for everyday driving

Solid upper motor mounts

CONS. The car rumbles a little when you stop and you can feel it in the steering wheel.

PROS Puts more power to the tires. & best of all, the energy the car uses to rock/ jerk the motor when it kicks into gear at WOT is eliminated and used purely to accelerate.

I rate them a 8 out of 10

VERDICT These feel like a suspension mod and an engine mod with decent torque gains

Anti pogo washers

Cons over priced probably worth 10 bucks

Pros Overpriced for a reason. These stop the car from (the basketball effect) where the car continues to bounce after falling over a bump

I rate them a 6 out of 10

VERDICT Good idea for a lowered daily driver. Would like to test them on better springs

ZZP front strut tower brace

Cons quite a workout to put on (and I'm bench pressing 315) but what do you expect from a device made to tame 2 of the most tensioned parts of your car. There is very little warning when the limits will be reached with this mod, then under-steer will occur.

PROS This thing is amazing for 70 bucks! the car goes where you steer it. PERIOD! it really shines in high speed tight corners.

I will soon pair this with a rear brace because the front end is so stable that the back end cannot keep up, (Translation) I CAN THROW THE @SS END OUT AROUND CORNERS NOW EVEN WITH UPGRADED TRAILING ARMS

I rate this mod a 9 out of 10

Verdict this mod ties the 2 struts together and helps them work more as 1 unit. The steering feel becomes more like 1 wheel as opposed to 2, but the grip remains that of 2 wheels

UMI Trailing arms

PROS These are tubular and they are the thickest trailing arms I could find. They are bigger than ZZP's and you can get them in black or red. They also come with polyurethane bushings and grease certs. They help keep the rear from hopping side to side while steering on rough surfaces and they help the rear wheels follow the fronts around bends.

CONS The difference is noticeable but not in tight corners or low speeds. These start to shine on turnpikes and on- ramps. They are more active at high speed sweeping turns and twisty roads

I rate this an 8 out of 10

VERDICT Great for high speed twisties or low speeds on rough roads
GMPP Rear anti-sway bar

PROS This is a very cheap mod that nets a HUGE handling advantage. This stops car (especially the rear end) from leaning side to side around corners and while making quick maneuvers. The inertia used to rock the car to either side is directed DOWNWARD into more grip at the tires. The advantage is the tires remain "flatter" for lack of better term. This creates a lot more grip and much more predictability.

CONS If you happen to drive aggressively, this may increase tire wear

I rate this mod a PERFECT 10
Verdict Best suspension mod possible for the price. Very noticeable handling improvement. effects are multiplied when used on a lowered vehicle. Your car will move much quicker all around and have more grip


I will upgrade this thread as I upgrade suspension. Next will be a rear strut tower brace and then front Anti-Sway bar

You'll love it once you do the sway bars. I did the sway bars first, then springs and struts. I felt like the sway bars did more for the cornering ability of the car than the springs did.

I wish you would have bought big sway bars first.

That would have made a MASSIVE difference.

Curious who stickied this....

I like this thread..helps me a lot
I'm assuming you did Matt?

All I really need on my car now for suspension is a good set of STBs. Everything else is upgraded and awesome now.

its not that helpful IMO... It should have all of the options instead of reviews on certain parts.

X2 ^^^

It's still helpful in that it helps you decide which parts will make the biggest difference...but yes it does need more parts reviewed...maybe more people can post what upgrades they have and their experiences with them and then their posts can be combined in an entirely new thread with all of the info together...and then that can be stickied.

and UMP?

Do you mean UMI?

because im fairly certain the BMR bars are bigger.

From what i've been told, tower bars don't do much compared to new sways.

OP should have bought AGX's.

X2 at the AGX's...das what i want...i like curves more than straight lines lol

Definitely don't think a sticky is needed here.. More stickies makes for clutter..
If we stickied every thread that had moderate use...

Originally Posted by codyAK

Definitely don't think a sticky is needed here.. More stickies makes for clutter..
If we stickied every thread that had moderate use...

This is why I want to talk to the guy who stickied it.

i did it. i just glanced it over and went right at it. didnt really debate it at the time.

honest, this section isnt crap compared to a few of the others where we have nearing on 10 stickies at the top.

Originally Posted by matt5112

and UMP?

Do you mean UMI?

because im fairly certain the BMR bars are bigger.

From what i've been told, tower bars don't do much compared to new sways.

OP should have bought AGX's.

Thanks for the correction. I will edit. but yes they are UMI Trailing arms

The biggest bang for your bucks is bigger sway bars and upgraded trailing arms. That's why the GMPP performance kit contained those three items.

where do you get the gmpp kit and whats the price compared to other brands?

GMPP sway bar is weak imo.

Gotta go bigger in the rear.

http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/results...ber=pk12456148

Once you get springs the GMPP kit does well. My car is fairly neutral with the GMPP bars, Eibachs, Konis, and UMI arms.

Bigger sway bars will only take you so far! The GMPP sway bars are more than what you need for the GP-giant deminishing returns beyond their diameter,-use poly bushings on everything and you pretty much maximize the GMPP sway bars effect. The strut tower braces will make a HUGH difference in the handling by stiffening the frame-they pay giant dividends in the handling-do not under estimate what they do. The stock front sway bar lasted 10 years in New England-How long will you keep your GP?- hollow versus solid.

Strut braces do crap to W-Bodies, because 90% of them dont even mount properly - using the 3 strut bolts. stock sway bars break often too.