[Sirrotica]

Copied and pasted from IHADAV8.Com:

The thread: http://www.ihadav8.com/forum/index.php?topic=3268.0

For the upper control arm you can get the same basic one that Brian sells at G body, from speedway motors. You need 2 of these. The stock control arm is a little under 8.5" from the center of the shaft to the center of the ball joint so you either need to use a longer upper ball joint with stock lower which will give you a 1/2" taller set up and correct some of the camber curve issues that the G body has, or you can use a stock upper and a longer lower ball joint, or longer both top and bottom .

That last statement may sound a little confusing but you can do a lot of different combos with ball joints depending on how you want the car to sit. With the taller upper and stock lower it will sit at roughly stock height. With the taller ball joint in the lower it will sit either 1/2" lower or 1" lower depending on which ball joint you use. A longer ball joint changes the relation of the steering knuckle axis point and changes the way the tires move in relation to going around a curve. The taller spindle height will keep the tire on the outside of the curve from knuckling under (going positive camber) and help on the inside tire from going the other direction. It will keep the tire flatter on the ground in a corner. Prefered is no more than 1" difference in height from stock or it can really change things more than you want.

Upper tubular control arm part number 910-34394 R
1/2" longer upper ball joint part number 721101041. QA-1.
1/2" longer lower ball joint part number 721101091. QA-1.
1" longer lower ball joint part number 0011277100. Howe.

The G body chasis has bump steer built into it from the factory which means that as the tires hit something in the road and the tires move up and down the toe of the wheels change. This doesn't help handling and it also can create some tire wear issues if the tires are wider than stock. An easy way to correct this is a bump steer kit. What this does is replace the outer tie rod with an adjustable set up. You can get these from several different sources but I've found them for less than Hotchkiss and others have offer them. If you want to understand how this works do a search on youtube for bumpsteer and there are several vids that show the corrections and how they relate to this kit. Once again you can get these from speedway motors. The kit tie rods has both inner, outer, and a sleeve that uses lock nuts instead of clamps on the tie rods. You will need 2 of each.

Bump steer correction tie rod kit part number 910-32800, 18.5" long
Stud kit for bump stop correction kit part number 916-36055GM
Seals for outer tie rods available from speedway 910-01504

As far as a tubular lower, unless you are planing to do a lot of road racing it's not needed, but if you go this way you'll be happier with heim joint ends instead of poly bushings. If you want to save a little money and make it handle better then you can replace the lower control arm bushings with a greasable steel and teflon bushing. This will give you the advantages of a bushing that won't flex but move up and down much easier. Not a lot of bling factor but you don't have to put out a chunk of cash for something that's not needed. You will need 2 of each bushing for the lower arms since the front and rear bushing aren't the same. You can also get brand new arms without bushings or ball joints in them from speedway if you want something a little better looking.

Lower control arm buishings part numbers: Front-106-20069LW, rear-106-20076LW

If you plan on changing the rear bushings or arms you'll be much happier with a heim joint type rather than a stock type bushing. The rears have a design that binds them up since the rear sway bar is attached to the lower control arms. To fix this you can get a bushing housing that has a heim type joint in it so the control arms actually move rather than being held in the chasis by the center of the bushing. I suggest that you box the control arms before you replace the bushings. You can also change the IC of the car with an offset bushing in the axle. These bushings are offset 1/8" which will bring the IC down and rear ward which will give you better traction on the rear. These need to be installed in the car so that you get the position of the right because they're offset.

Replacement rear heim bushing part number 916-34048
Offset axle bushing part number 916-34047

As far as springs go I don't like progresive ones. The reason is because you can't really adjust the chasis for a spring that starts at one rate and then increases in rate as it's compressed. I also don't like the Ebach springs. They're a little to heavy for a V6 car. I do have some numbers that are moog parts that are close to the same rates of the DSE that Scott W (GNS Performance) is using on his car. (575 lbs/in Front and 125 lbs/in rear) For the front of the car a rate of 530 lbs per inch or 598 lbs per inch. The lighter spring will give you a smoother ride but the heavier ones will help the car go around the corners a little better. On the rears I don't increase the rate a whole lot because it's the front that has the most. The rates I chose are either 141 and 133 lbs per inch or 167 lbs per inch. The springs may not look like a stock spring but they will fit in the upper spring pocket the right way. I'll list them as pairs somewhat matched so it doesn't confuse you any. The part numbers are MOOG so you will get a quality spring. These springs will lower the car at least 1" overall from original stock height.

Lighter spring combo part numbers 5658 Front and 6377 or CC617 Rear
or
heavier spring combo part numbers 5660 Front and 5413 Rear.

The other option for the front spring is the 5608 (1" lower at 424 lbs/in) and will stiffen up the fronts some without giving a really harsh ride. The stock spring has a rate of 355 lbs/in and this will give you some options as to what you want to do with the car.
« Last Edit: July 22 2015, 12:18:45 PM by Charlief1 »

Link to another thread on the subject: http://corner-carvers.com/forums/sho...ight=GM+G-body

These suggestions ought to give you a starting spot depending on how much better handling you want and what your budget dictates......................