I just installed a shock tower brace, subframe connectors, lca relocation brackets, and an adjustable panhard bar, all from umi. goin with those are new springs and shocks. the handling is better than expected. its amazing. i went on a "test ride", i hit about 120 on the highway without worry. im glad i did all those suspension upgrades. the car handles like a champ compared to what it was stock. im really happy with it. just wanted to share that with u guys.

 

im gonn abe starting my suspention pretty soon so thats good to hear...i have a 450+ RWHP car with not a lick of suspention besides springs

 

HaHa Suspension mods is all I have done with the car and now Im looking to make some power. Ive done the opposite of you. With the money Ive spent i could be at 400+ hp lol

-Dino

 

yeah no doubt, I cant wait for more.

need more power!

 

suspension first, then the powah

 

Thats tha way to do it

 

same here.

 

damn thats good to hear. im surprised the stock suspension actually held up.
next in line is power. i wanna bring out the true beast of the ls1.

 

same here, glad im done with the suspension. now the real fun begins

 

Agreed.

 

dont forget that the rear should really be the first mod to a car, to bad they are so expensive. i have always believed that you should start from the rear and go from there. i read that years ago and i wish i had the money to do it like that lol.

 

I Disagree

This approach puts you in the "I'm going to eventually make XXX horsepower, therefore I will replace every rear suspension component I can- with whatever looks like the best part" mentality.

And so you spend a lot of money and you end up with parts you dont need or you get the wrong kind of parts for what you're trying to do.

Planning is important but sometimes you just have to take it slow and see what problems you actually have and what you actually need to do to solve them.

I did my suspension first... then undid a lot of it.. before moving on... wish I would have put the money into "powah" and addressed suspension issues as they came up

 

Im currently on the do a little bit of power, then add some suspension stuff, then more power then more suspension. I did bolt ons and then just did my sfc's, lca's and panhard, next its cam and heads then shocks and springs, and swaybars

 

OldeSkool

i see nothing wrong with doing a little at a time, but what i try to avoid is having an overpowered beast that handles like a beast. it may be okay when you are only concerned with going straight, but i would rather get a 12-bolt and a few parts to allow the car to turn and break before i go beyond bolt-on engine mods.

 

i did mine first because i literally was feeling the flex from the 13 year old components.

plus with rear suspension that is aftermarket, you put more power to the wheels than using stock pieces. you dont gain more hp, you just get back some of your stock HP that dissolves into the body with stock pieces.

plus aftermarket suspension lowers your 1/4 mile times by a tenth or tenth and a half or more depending on the application. theres cars with stock suspension that have gone 11 and lower, but they make enough power to make up from the stock suspension's loss.

 

Where did you get your suspension parts???? I am real interested!

 

http://www.umiperformance.com/ ?

 

You get them from UMI directly if you like. I also sell UMI products (same prices, actually I don't play around with the .99 on the end, so round down to the next lowest dollar). I also have other things like springs and shocks you might want as well.

I do want to point out that reading the first post he mentioned shocks and springs as well as the other things. But it reads like they didn't matter. I don't know what he used specifically, but I can assure you shocks are a HUGE change in these cars even when done all by themselves. I'm trying to say that when you make a lot of changes at once you can't tell which part did what to the car, which is why I prefer a more step-by-step method. In that way you can feel the changes, consider them, and know where to go next/what the parts did exactly.

Bottom line, from experience I believe the shocks helped as much or more than the other things individually.

 

so, i have 200k miles on the stock suspension and was considering shocks + springs. . . but should i get OEM springs or what do you recommend? are springs JUST for looks? that is what i have heard aswell?

 

You need at least shocks in a seriously bad way........ Springs aren't just for looks, but I can't tell you if you want or need them. I think I mentioned in another post to you that details are important and I can't get those by way of e-mail or forums.