Got all this power and really got on her the other day next to some slowstang and was spinning and fishtailing into 3rd gear before i had to let off cause it was getting out of control. It got me thinking with all my mods, i've done nothing to put the power to the road. Suggestions on where to start? I have a pretty good idea that tires will hlp but what else? I'm not trying to turn it into a race car but i do want a fast street car. I eagerly await the responses.

 

Being lowered hurts traction. At a minimum you need LCA's and LCA relocation brackets. Probably an adjustable panhard rod to recenter the body over the rear axle. Then check the pinion angle to make sure its in the range of 1 to 2-degrees negative. And sticky tires, the taller the sidewall (while maintaining the stock tire diameter) the better. If you're running 18's, reconsider - they hurt. With those mods you should be able to control street traction.

Might want to spend some time in the "Suspension, Chassis and Brakes" forum, where these topics are covered frequently.

 

LCAs? please break that abreveation down for me.

 

Lower Control Arms

 

Lower control arms really effect traction? I just put all new joints and bushings in mne when i lowered it. What about sub frame connectors and panhard? And of course tires.

 

The stock LCAs are just sheet metal stampings. They flex, and that's bad for traction. Aftermarket tubular LCAs are stiffer, which is better.

LCA relocation brackets move the axle end of the relocation bracket down a couple inches, which improves the geometry so that the car's weight transfers downward more, which is good for traction. This is especially important on a lowered car, where the stock geometry has been compromised.

Subframe connectors will help stiffness in general, and are a good idea for all 4th gen owners IMO, but I don't think it's going to make a big difference on traction.

The stock panhard bar is a sheet metal stamping like the LCAs. A tubular one is stiffer, but side-to-side stiffness isn't as important for straight line traction until you get into power levels that you don't find on a street car. Having said that, a tubular panhard bar is going to be lighter than the stock stamped one, and it never hurts to save some weight.

Tires are going to make a bigger difference than any other one thing.

Something you didn't mention is shocks and springs. These can make a big difference in how the car's weight transfers to the rear, and weight transfer is hugely important to traction.

 

The springs are the eibach prokit lowering spring front and rear. And just some new gabriel gas shocks. Nothing special. So the best thing for my tractions issues would be 1. tires 2. lcas and relocation mounts and 3. different rear shocks? Suggestions on all? The tires i want the best, the shocks and the lcas+ brackets a middle line. Not the most expensive but not the cheapest either.

 

The "best" tires for straight line traction are slicks, but that's really impractical for the street. Drag radials are a good compromise, and there's a wide range of those, with the Nitto 555R Extreme Drag being a street-biased drag radial, whereas the Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial is more drag biased. 555Rs will be okay (not good) if you get stuck in the rain; with ET Streets you'd want to pull over and wait for it to pass. You need to figure out how much you're willing to compromise for traction. You need to bring treadwear in as a factor, too. 555Rs will last 10-15k on the street; ET Streets will only last about 3-5k. Your mileage may vary, of course.

If you want the best street tire that isn't a drag radial, then I think the best is the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. No contest. I can't make any promises about the straight line traction they'll offer, though.

With sticky tires comes the risk of breaking your rear end. The stock 4th gen rear end isn't very strong, and with some power upgrades and some sticky tires, your odds of breaking it skyrocket. Your 4.10 gears and the fact that you have a stickshift make it even more likely to break. There are a couple options here:

You can spend ~$500 beefing it up with a girdle, but it still might break, and then you're out $500 in addition to what it costs to repair.
You can spend ~$2500 replacing it with a complete 12-bolt, 9", or Dana 60 rear end from Strange, Moser, or DTS.
You can spend ~$1000 on all the parts you need to build your own 9" rear end, and do the fabrication yourself. Not many people do this, so you'll need a good bit of expertise (which you may have to pay extra for) to do it right. It involves welding.

All of the above prices are parts only. If you're not doing the work yourself, double it.

LCAs + brackets: UMI and BMR both have good parts here. Between those two, I'd take whichever you can get the better deal on. Have a look through our Supporting Vendors -- you should be able to find both.

I'll let others comment on shocks -- I have a thread going in the Suspension, Chassis and Brakes forum where I'm hoping to get some advice on that topic myself, although my priority is ride/handling balance, not drag launch.