Hey,
I'm wanting to upgrade the suspension on my 02 Z28 M6. This is a street car so it needs good street ride but I want to be able to hook up when launched.

Should I get the SLP kit or build my own: BMR/Hotchkis parts etc.

If building my own any suggestions??

Thanks.

 

I'd go BMR all the way...Hotchkis is good too, but just a little more co$tly.

 

i decided to do it peice by peice. and yes the BMR are cheaper on avg..

most everyone will agree that your first suspension mod should ber SFC's. next id go LCA, PHR, Sway bar in that order. UNLESS you car has around 40k miles on it like mine and the shocks are dead and its time to get new ones.. in that case your gonna hafta spend about $700 but id get sonce nice new shocks (HAL's for me) and some new lowering springs. (why get shocks and not springs? )

the SLP lvl1 is a decent package. i think you will notice a better ride quality and see some handling/control gains. but i think that suspension wise LCA's will help an f-body hook better than anything; and the lvl1 doesnt include them.. thats part of the reason i went the peice-by-peice route.

my next suspension mods will be new shocks and springs. once i figure out what type im getting THEN i can order my LCA's and PHR because im prolly gonna get some lowering springs and will need adjustable LCA's/PHR and relocation brackets for the LCA's. make sure and lay a play out for the future! you dont wanna be two years down the road and have two types of a part with the same function. also you might wanna look towards the more expensive "rod" end parts. poly bushing arent as great as everyone thinks they are. read here about poly bushings.

and last alot of people will also tell you that for a stock car if you wanna hook better get some stickier meat under ya.. most ppl around here are big fans of the Yokohama ES 100's and Nitto 555(r)'s.

hope some of that jargin helps

/tek.

 

Well my car has 9700 miles on it so shocks won't be too soon. I do want to lower it in the future... no more than 1 inch though due to roads around here.
So an adjustable LCA and PHR is what i need?? How hard is it to adjust them properly??? I"d hate to screw up the handling on my car. I don't know if it was in my earlier post but i want this to be set up for street/drag racing.

Yeah some Yokohoma ES 100's are in my future on my 18 Z06 rims

Thanks.

 

ok if you decide to lower your car im pretty sure your gonna want the relocation brackets and adjustable LCA/PHR. i think i read a post recently about someone who lowered and didnt relocate the LCA and it doesnt distribute the wieght and power properly and puts strain in places it doesnt need to be and that kinda junk.. and FYI most all lower springs are about the same ratio. minimum seems to be about 1" front to as low as 1.6" and 1.2" rear to arounr 1.6-8" rear.

and i stand corrected from my last post. the SLP lvl 1 DOES have the LCA's. i would try and get some incite from ppl that alrdy have this package installed and see how they are doing with it. like i said im getting lowering springs and the eibachs included in the lvl1 are stock ride hight (a waste if you know you will replace them in the future way before they are ready to go). so once you get ur lowering springs you'll prolly need new ADJUSTABLE LCA/PHR and LCA relocation brackets (lvl1 parts arnt adjustable). also the sway bar is a hollow 32mm. i opted for a beefier solid 35mm suspenstion technique bar. ill let ya know how that goes. you will save money going with this package for sure. not sure how that weights with ya though. summed up: this package wasnt as specific to my needs/likes so you just need to re-evaluate what you really want out of your suspension and compare/contrast slp's parts vs the competition.

good luck.

/tek.

 

For street use the SLP Level 1 is hard to beat. I would suggest the 70001 kit with 1LE LCA's and PHB. The "reinforced" 70001a kit has poly bushings which tend to bind up and need frequent maintenance.

I disagree on the BMR parts. While yes they are cheaper, I have seen more than one BMR PHB break or bend the end into an oval. Actually 3 friends of mine have had this happen.

As for relocation brackets; again I will take the unpopular stance and do not think they do much. My car is pretty low and does not have the brackets. I don't drag race much so I can't say how it affects that, but I will say that it hooks up really hard coming off of a corner on an autox or road course.

 

...as far as i know...adjustable LCA's are basically pointless...i don't think i've heard of anyone having a problem with regular aftermarket LCA's or complaining about how they wish they could adjust them. and if your car is gonna be a street car with occassional trips to the strip, i really doubt you'll need rod ended PHB or LCA. i'm pretty sure the rod end pieces are aimed more at serious autox and roadcourse cars....someone correct me if i'm wrong here.

and if there is such a problem/worry with poly bushings...why not get aftermarket LCA's or PHB with rubber bushings? but, in your case, i don't see the need for you to purchase rod end parts...kinda like overkill for the intended use of the car...

...and also, rubber bushings will provide a smoother daily drive than poly or rod end...
And i'm pretty sure rod end pieces are known to get a lil noisy, which you might not want to deal with if you drive the car a lot.


...and in the end, yeah, some sticky tires will help your launching more than a new phb or lca's will...just watch out for your rear end...

 

I got SLP's level one suspension kit a couple of months ago. It was a good price for everthing that was included. Definite improvement in handling, no complaints here.

 

The purpose of adjustable LCA's is to allow an alignment shop to correct the rear thrust angle, or put the rear tires in the same plane(s) as the front tires. An adjustable PHB is useful to center the rear axle in the car. The axle is skewed when the car is lowered.

 

owned what 'ma man chuck said

-o- and the reason i said go rod ends was because everything else WAS poly.. look around and check out all the big suppliers: G2, LMP, BMR, Jegs.. where ever. they all sale either rod end for racing application, or left a nice little paragraph to make you feel special about poly bushings that warp with preasure/tension and dont have the elasticity of rubber to return to their origonal shape (this is how they claim its a stronger material. which it is.. but not the right material for the job (imo)). so in the long run poly starts to make noise etc and you have to change out the junk. o well.. i got 2 suspension technique sway bars going on my car this month with poly.. w/e.

/tek.