First suspension mod

whats is the first suspension mod I should get I have a 94z28 hardtop a4

Good shocks...no matter what your goal is.

I'd get a stiffer front swaybar first.

depends...
what's your goals for the car?
aggressive street, casual street, autox, dragging?
you can do anything from front sway bar, sfcs, stb, shocks, springs, etc.
it all depends on your goals

simply put.... subframe connectors. help you in drag, auto x-ing, road racing, cannon ball run, and the daytona 500. :cool: not to mention they also help in frame longevity and as well as prevention help of drooping doors over time. i guess it will also help you save the frame if in a light wreck. cant go wrong with sfc's. stock shocks on a z28 are good enough, and so are the sway bars.

I have a feeling Sam Strano will disagree with some of you about what the most important thing is as a first mod.

That's okay, I'm used to people disagreeing with me

That's okay, I'm used to people disagreeing with me

:) Me too :)

Sure, but what do I know???? :D

Shocks first. If handling is the goal (vs. launching only), then bars, springs and a lot of other things before I'd add SFC's.

To be blunt, I know that SFC's are popular as a first choice, but there are more well chosen parts. It's an absolute myth the car will fall apart without them. I know of two 4th gens with 200k and 320k+ miles on them that are FAR from falling apart. And as for the "body flex" it's made much worse by the piss-poor stock dampers which transmit impacts into the body that *should* be and are sucked up and damped out by a good set of shocks. Chicken and egg. You could let the impacts through and then make the best of it by adding SFC's. Or you could stop those impacts in the first place, help the ride much more and have more money to spend on other parts like swaybars. MHO.

So what I've taken to heart from the thread, is that shocks are without a doubt the best "bang for your buck" most difference mod on a stock car, agreed? What would be next, assumming you didnt want to lower the car any....?

So what I've taken to heart from the thread, is that shocks are without a doubt the best "bang for your buck" most difference mod on a stock car, agreed? What would be next, assumming you didnt want to lower the car any....?

Bigger front swaybar or SFCs.

I still wouldn't make a suggestion w/o knowing what his plans are w/ the car. Seems foolish to me. :confused: I know I wouldn't suggest a front sway bar if he wants to drag the car.

No matter what his plans are a good set of shocks will be one of the most beneficial mods.

It takes all of 5 minutes to remove a swaybar when it comes time to drag race.

I guess I'm just a fool, though.

True, but I don't think I'd suggest a set of r-series HALs if he was just wanting better handling on the street. :)

No one did :)

I took Strano's advice and got bistein shocks valved to his specs, and a massive 35 mm solid swaybar (or i guess you can spend the extra dough and get a bigger but hollow swaybar) My goal was not to stray too far from OEM specs, use stock springs, with no lowering and drastic change in ride quality. My use was street, some autox, and perhaps some opentrack days.. Its basically his SCCA SOLOII F-S setup..


Then I also go the T2R diff. Its kinda pricey around the $500 mark or so, but man does it feel nice when you power out of the turns.

of course there's the matter of tires too..

Most important is the driver of course.. :)

I called them up, and left my number, and Strano called me back and helped me pick stuff out..

Since your car is a 94, other things are 10+ years old now, also might want to consider replacing the wearable items to "tighten" things up again..

Since your car is a 94, other things are 10+ years old now, also might want to consider replacing the wearable items to "tighten" things up again..

Can you define all the "wearable items"? I know you mean like bushing, ball joints, etc, but what all wears the fastest on the camaros, I have a 96, with 110k, what all should be worn for sure?

I dunno, i was hoping you would be able to find out by checkin your car, so I would know what to expect when my 99 hits that mark.. ;)

from just hearing and reading from this and that, I always hear people talk about checking/replacing the balljoints, tie rods, various bushings inthe front and back, wheel bearings.... and then in the steering I read the guys a frrax.com use a rag joint eliminator, and make sure various bolts are tight to reduce that dead center feel.. I have only 51k miles on my 99 so I haven't gotten around touching anything of that stuff yet.

also on alignment, generally for street up to -1 camber, max pos castor, and some run a hair toe out, or toe in , or 0 - which i follow

Can you define all the "wearable items"? I know you mean like bushing, ball joints, etc, but what all wears the fastest on the camaros, I have a 96, with 110k, what all should be worn for sure?

No one mentioned aftermarket lca's? Axle hop is a b*tch.