metalhead212121

Ok I just finished replacing the following:

~New shocks and struts (Bilstein) The old shocks and struts where SHOT.

~New springs front and rear. Got them from Spohn. Thanks again Steve for all your help!!!

~New control arm bushings. (Del-A-Lum Bushings) Old bushings were starting to crack.

~New motor mounts (GM) Very expensive but I'd like to think they are durable (200 list 160 my cost). My boss recommend I go with GM mounts because he said the regular part stores carry low quality mounts.

~New link stablizers. I broke the old ones...oh well.. I needed poly ones anyway.

~New Strut Mounts. The old ones were making noise. I wanted HMS mounts but well..thats a story in itself.. I ended up going with Moog strut mounts...

~New Hotchkis Panhard Rod. The stock bushings in the old one were cracking.

All in all the car rides 10x better than before. A little harsh but for the most part the car feels "nimble." Heres where my questions come into play....

1. The car rides pretty straight but Id prefer getting it aligned... Someone told me that it takes 500 miles for springs to settle. Ive owned the car for a year and have barely put 500 miles on the car (weekend driver). Once the springs have settled will the ride quality change at all? Should I drive it for a couple hundred miles and then align it or should I do it now?

2. The car sits somewhat high.. Over time should I expect to see it drop a little or will it always be that way?

3. Other than subframes (have them...just dont have them installed), relocation brackets for the trailing arms (have the trailing arms...just havent installed them), strut tower brace and lower brace what else am I missing suspension wise?? I dont need a roll cage....yet.

4. If I do decide to install the subframes relocation brackets ect ect how will be my ride be affected. Yes I know its somewhat of a dumb question.. Right now (like I said before) the car rides a little harsh but its a nice and firm ride. I dont wanna go all out suspension wise only to find out the car isnt "fun" to drive anymore.....

Dan

CrazyHawaiian

1. Well I'm definately not an expert at springs, but I dont think you need to put 500 miles on the car. The weight from the car will settle the spring. People usually tell you it will be a certain ammount of time before the springs settle, not a certain ammount of miles. I've heard it takes some people about 2 weeks. For me it only took 6 days. If you dont drive the car daily, then let the car sit, let the springs settle, then when all is good (do before and after measurements), go get the alignment and start driving around.

2. It depends on what springs you installed. If the previous springs were OE stock, there is a good chance they were sagging. Sagging springs cause them to feel sloppy and the ride height will drop a little. If this is the case and you installed replacement stock height springs, the car might appear to sit higher than before. This is the height the stock springs were supposed to be at. If you did install lowering springs, then you can expect them to settle a little and drop the car a little more.

3. I think you've pretty much got it covered as far as a nice street/strip setup once you install the chassis strengthening parts.

4. Install them right away. The subframes will strengthen the chassis causing less flex. Without them, it is possible that your chassis is flexing, causing the chassis to absorb the bumps in the road instead of the strut/shock. This can mean a nicer ride but dont be fooled, its a bad thing. You want the chassis to be as strong as possible. You want the springs/struts/shocks to absorb the bumps in the road. The LCA relocation brackets will help if you have alot of wheelhop (they correct the angle of the LCA's when the car is lowered). The STB will probably not make a noticable difference for you unless you roadrace/autox.

Have fun!! Looks like you got a nice setup going!!

Justins86bird

Do you mean lower chassis brace like the one made by Kenny Brown or do you mean the steering wonderbar brace made by GM, GW, TDS, Spohn?

Hotchkis, Vettebrakes and Spohn make tubular tie rod adjusting sleeves that are stronger then stock. Might be something to look into.

metalhead212121

Justins86bird~ I meant the wonderbar. Ive been looking at the lower chassis brace by KB and I dont understand where it bolts to the chassis. Is there any threads about this lower chasis brace???

Dan

Justins86bird

The brace attaches to the left and right subframes right under the firewall, right in front of the tranny pan. Total weight is approx 4 pounds.

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...ny+brown+brace