hey folks i own a 96 firebird T/A and i took it to a road course last spring and had a blast but it didint handle quite the way i was hoping tho . i am currently putting a cage in it and already have some minor suspension mods <adj shocks, lowering kit, strut braces, bushing kit etc.>, and i was wondering if anyone has some advice as to how i can make this car handle better? should i go for coil overs instead or a different setup completely? any advice helps, thanks for looking

 

cal sam strano or stranoparts.com hes the end all be all

 

It all depends on what you mean - what's it not doing that you want it to?
Oversteer on entry?
Mid-corner push?
Bad push on exit?

Could be anything from a poor alignment to $$$...

 

GM High Tech Performance magazine had some excellent articles recently on Sam building up a car like yours

 

IMO the best beginning suspension for the Fbodies is the factory engineered LE1 with Poly Bushings. After that is mastered then buy 32MM solid front sway bar and STB then try various rear sway bars to find a match for your style of driving Then when you have the car handeling you can get into to the secrets of driveing a race course.

 

The advice to talk to Sam Strano is is right on.
You will need to be more specific with your current mods to get better advice. Look at everything a one package. Some parts don`t play well with others.
FWIW, I`ll give you some advice on some of things I got.........
You mentioned adjustable shocks, what kind? Koni`s are the only adjustables you want. No KYBs.
For the rear do not run polyurethane bushings except for the anti-roll bars and trans/torque arm mounts. Running poly upfront is OK, but not the best though. Poly binds. And worst case scenario you could get into a roll overster condition in which the rear suspension rolls to a point that the poly bushings bind and all of a sudden that bind creates sudden stiffness of the rear suspension. Guess what? Your tail might just step out from under you. Not good for newbies!
I have LG Motorsports aluminum rear LCA s with QA1 rod ends, and a Spohn chromoly PHB with QA1 also. You want the rear suspension to move w/o bind and LET the anti-roll bars and spring/shock package do the job of weight transfer management. When I put these on my `95 Z28, the way the rear suspension was planted into the ground was amazing! And I don`t mind the rod ends on the street. Get QA1`s and keep them clean and dry.

I just have an Eibach ProKit with my Konis and it`s a good trade off for more civilized street duty. Coil overs are in my future though.

A big front bar goes a long way to flatten up the front suspension. I have a Strano Hollow. As stiff as a solid without the weight penalty. A Strano rear bar is on the list for this year.

Alignment: you can go with more negative camber (I`m around -1.25*) and it won`t cause long term uneven tire wear. Go with alot more postive caster too.

Go to FRRAX.com for indepth advice on making your F-Bod handle.
Don`t forget about the brakes too!

 

If you already haven`t read it, I had posted in this forum, my experience

https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=202906

See post # 16

 

once you get your car handling. how about trying it out at www.camarofirebirdevent.com