I'd recommend a set of LCA's, LCA relocation brackets, and a Torque Arm. That's the easy part. The hard part is deciding on which type of each part you want to do with.
Being a street car, I don't think full race double adjustable (rod-ended) LCA's are particularly wise. I'd recommend either the poly/rod or all poly arms. All poly are silent, poly/rod can make a little noise from the one rod-end but the benefit is that the suspension articulates the best with a rod-end in the one end of the LCA.
LCA brackets are pretty simple, just decide on weld-in or bolt-in.
Torque arms aren't so simple because there are so many different ways to do them. Again, being a street car I'd recommend a Full-length Adjustable TA, and because you do some drag racing a TA Relocation bracket to get it off the transmission tailshaft. This setup is much less intrusive than a Tunnel-mount TA in terms of noise and vibration.
It's really not a clear cut answer. It all depends on what your goal for a street car is.
Do you have a set of sticky tires? This will make a world of difference. If so...
Do you have a 10 bolt? If so, a 10 bolt plus good tires will eventually end up in something braking.
Relocation brackets will help. Personally, I saw zero gain from a panhard bar and LCAs. The only thing the gave me was the ability to move the rear and tires. Oh and they look nice.
Sam that package looks good...is there an advantage to the weld in relocation brackets as opposed to the bolt in ones?
Thanks for the compliment Jim....as far as the goal...the car is truly a street car more than a strip warrior. It's got a set of Nitto 555rs on the back right now. Prior to the cam they actually hooked up...not anymore!
Car still has the stock 10 bolt in it, so far so good.
__________________
Comp Cams 232/238 .595/.605 112+2 LSA, Hooker LTs & ORY, Magnaflow Cat Back Exhaust, SLP Lid, SilverGhost P/P TB, LS6 Intake, 25% UD pulley,Vigilante 2800 stall, 3:73 Motive gears, BMR 1.25" springs, KYB AGX shocks, Tuned by Straightline Performance,381 RWHP 380 RWTQ. Sig by Flamin Bird
I'd get a better set of tires first. M/T or Hoosier QTP's.
Then you can start looking at some other pieces. I'm guessing since you have KYB shocks already that you are not looking for a drag shock but If you are willing to go that route I'd say look into a single adj shock. I perfer strange over Qa1.
From there it all depends on how crazy you want to get.
A stall upgrade would not be out of the question?? A true 4k is def worth your time and will be there whent he suspension is up to par.
That rear is on borrowed time, start saving. Once you can get it to hook, its going to at the very least shit out the posi or have severe gear whine which is the death rattle for it.
The reason why I mention gear ratios and stalls is when the suspension is over done (which is a good thing), and you have the right tire on there, unless you have a trans brake you need to get out of the hole w/o bogging. I made that mistake with my old 383 LT1. a SMALL stall due to trans programming issues in 94/95, but I got one of the 1st sets of M/T ET Street radials. What I did on Nittos well, i BOGGED so horribly, there was nothing that could be done until I upped the stall and gear.
So be prepared for that.
For you street car you may want to look for a diff kind of rubber.
__________________ 2002 Navy Blue Metallic Trans Am.
Pullin both wheels w/ 1.75 60's
I'd recommend a set of LCA's, LCA relocation brackets, and a Torque Arm. That's the easy part. The hard part is deciding on which type of each part you want to do with.
Being a street car, I don't think full race double adjustable (rod-ended) LCA's are particularly wise. I'd recommend either the poly/rod or all poly arms. All poly are silent, poly/rod can make a little noise from the one rod-end but the benefit is that the suspension articulates the best with a rod-end in the one end of the LCA.
LCA brackets are pretty simple, just decide on weld-in or bolt-in.
Torque arms aren't so simple because there are so many different ways to do them. Again, being a street car I'd recommend a Full-length Adjustable TA, and because you do some drag racing a TA Relocation bracket to get it off the transmission tailshaft. This setup is much less intrusive than a Tunnel-mount TA in terms of noise and vibration.
This gives me a chance to educate folks on how I work.
Do I recommend LCA relocation brackets automatically? No, which is different from what others do. I, on the other hand, want to know there is a reason or need for them. This man says straight up that he will do some drag racing, that's very different than someone who is setting up to carve corners as a primary interest.
Honestly, this is where the internet sucks. People read something, take it out of context and then somehow it becomes 100% fact. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.
I see parts as no different than pills. I'd hope your doctor would not randomly give you meds unless, you know, you ACTUALLY HAD A NEED FOR THEM. That's what I do, use parts when and as needed, not "just because the 'net said so". He clearly has power, and will visit the track now and then. Just because brackets are installed doesn't mean he needs to run them in the lowest setting. I take it to mean he has some power, that he'd like to plant. Maybe I mis-read what he's after. OP, do I can't get a clear read on what you want (which fwiw is exactly why I would rather talk to my customers than do things by e-mail only).
In any regard we can put a setup together for you.
__________________ Sam Strano SCCA National Champion (x6)
SCCA ProSolo Overall Champion-2009
SCCA ProSolo Class Champion (x5) Strano Performance Parts
814-849-3450 www.stranoparts.com
since you are mainly street-dont go with QA1s. If you are lower than stock, you will need to get parts to correct the new suspension geometry. I had QA1s before. they worked ok-or I thought -at first. But soon felt the car hunting for the road. I have been thru alot of different pieces on suspension and by no meens an expert. But am listening to one and enjoy the way the car is stating to handle. As for rear articulation-yes the rod end/poly is great and you can tell a difference. I switched to Konis and strano springs this year on march from QA1s. HUGE difference. They are some alerternative shocks for every budget. And as for a stall-a 4000 and up is way to much for the street.
__________________ 2000 NBM Trans AM-F.A.S.T-MOSER-VENGEANCE-TEXTRALIA-SLP-TSP.
Always great when you hear from someone who's been able to compare and contrast various parts. I remember when tillery first called me, he HATED how the car drove down the road. Great to hear the difference before and after.
The fact is there are two ways to look at suspension. As a bunch of individual parts, or as a system that has to work together. I work on the system approach and make sure that we don't have interaction issues. Unfortunately it's easier to sell folks on one or two parts at a time because it's cheap and the little sound bites, for lack of a better term, make it seem like you need lot of parts. Don't get wrong, I actually prefer working up on the parts list, not doing every single thing at one time. In that way you not only learn how things work, but can stop when you are happy and not overbuy parts.
In short, I want to work on what's wrong *actually* wrong, as in issues you have with the car first. If an issue isn't there, I don't want to put parts on a car that deal with a non-existent problem.
__________________ Sam Strano SCCA National Champion (x6)
SCCA ProSolo Overall Champion-2009
SCCA ProSolo Class Champion (x5) Strano Performance Parts
814-849-3450 www.stranoparts.com
This gives me a chance to educate folks on how I work.
Do I recommend LCA relocation brackets automatically? No, which is different from what others do. I, on the other hand, want to know there is a reason or need for them. This man says straight up that he will do some drag racing, that's very different than someone who is setting up to carve corners as a primary interest.
Honestly, this is where the internet sucks. People read something, take it out of context and then somehow it becomes 100% fact. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.
I see parts as no different than pills. I'd hope your doctor would not randomly give you meds unless, you know, you ACTUALLY HAD A NEED FOR THEM. That's what I do, use parts when and as needed, not "just because the 'net said so". He clearly has power, and will visit the track now and then. Just because brackets are installed doesn't mean he needs to run them in the lowest setting. I take it to mean he has some power, that he'd like to plant. Maybe I mis-read what he's after. OP, do I can't get a clear read on what you want (which fwiw is exactly why I would rather talk to my customers than do things by e-mail only).
In any regard we can put a setup together for you.
I understood from previous posts that LCA brackets are good for drag racing not corners. After reading the following statement I would have thought you would recommend something for 90% of that cars usage not a visit to a strip now and then. I know different parts for different applications. This didn't seem like a drag racing application. That's all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huggerorange73
The car will see 90% street time with a visit to the strip now and then, so I'm not looking for a full on drag set up.
I understood from previous posts that LCA brackets are good for drag racing not corners. After reading the following statement I would have thought you would recommend something for 90% of that cars usage not a visit to a strip now and then. I know different parts for different applications. This didn't seem like a drag racing application. That's all.
And therein lies the issue. It's not clear what he wants, which is why I hate doing this sort of work by e-mail. You interpretted one thing, I another, and you assumed from things I've stated other places in other contexts that I think LCA Relocation brackets are automatically a no-no, and that's just not true.
__________________ Sam Strano SCCA National Champion (x6)
SCCA ProSolo Overall Champion-2009
SCCA ProSolo Class Champion (x5) Strano Performance Parts
814-849-3450 www.stranoparts.com
Sam, when I get closer to figuring out things, I will give you a call.
Just to clarify what the "goal" is here.
After the power upgrade, the car clearly needs a little suspension work. This car is without a doubt first and foremost a STREET car. If it's lucky, it may see a trip to the strip once or twice a year at the most. I chose the Nitto 555Rs over the other tires because from all I read they were the best choice for the street.
The problem Sam refers to would be now the car feels like it wants to rip the rear end out the car when launched from a dead stop. Prior to the cam ( 330 RWHP 326 RWTQ ), this was not an issue.
Also, the 2800 stall ( which I was told was really a 3200 when it's all said and done ) was again chosen for street duties.
So I guess the clear cut question I'm asking is....based on my mods/power level and the fact that it is a street car, what upgrades would you guys make if this was your car?
__________________
Comp Cams 232/238 .595/.605 112+2 LSA, Hooker LTs & ORY, Magnaflow Cat Back Exhaust, SLP Lid, SilverGhost P/P TB, LS6 Intake, 25% UD pulley,Vigilante 2800 stall, 3:73 Motive gears, BMR 1.25" springs, KYB AGX shocks, Tuned by Straightline Performance,381 RWHP 380 RWTQ. Sig by Flamin Bird
So you have wheelhop issues? Which, while not a drag car, is a launching/traction issue.
I'd still recommend LCA's, up to you if you want to run the brackets or not. And a TA of some type.
My recommendation still hasn't changed, but I think you'll get a lot of similar responses about TA's and LCA's with regards to your wheelhop... And in this case, seeing as you have lowering spring I do think that LCA brackets would also help.
__________________ Sam Strano SCCA National Champion (x6)
SCCA ProSolo Overall Champion-2009
SCCA ProSolo Class Champion (x5) Strano Performance Parts
814-849-3450 www.stranoparts.com
So you have wheelhop issues? Which, while not a drag car, is a launching/traction issue.
I'd still recommend LCA's, up to you if you want to run the brackets or not. And a TA of some type.
My recommendation still hasn't changed, but I think you'll get a lot of similar responses about TA's and LCA's with regards to your wheelhop... And in this case, seeing as you have lowering spring I do think that LCA brackets would also help.
I only saw wheelhop once...when I hammered the throttle pulling out of a loading dock. MASSIVE wheelhop.
What I'm feeling on the street is more like the car is planting well and the rear is pushing against the LCAs to leave the vechicle.
If you have time tomorrow Sam, possibly I could give you a call and do a little brainstorming?
__________________
Comp Cams 232/238 .595/.605 112+2 LSA, Hooker LTs & ORY, Magnaflow Cat Back Exhaust, SLP Lid, SilverGhost P/P TB, LS6 Intake, 25% UD pulley,Vigilante 2800 stall, 3:73 Motive gears, BMR 1.25" springs, KYB AGX shocks, Tuned by Straightline Performance,381 RWHP 380 RWTQ. Sig by Flamin Bird
Winter Project = Rear Suspension...suspension gurus, come on in! 
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