I'm starting to do more autocross and less drag racing. I was wondering what we can do to beef up our suspension? I don't want to get started in the wrong direction. Thanks for the help.

As of right now the only suspension enhancements I have are a BRB strut tower brace and weld in tubular sub-frames. Also have 17"SS wheels.

 

well what you need to do is figure out what class of autoX you want to stay in

then go from there

but since you have sfc and stb...i would highly reccomend a panhard bar, lower controll arms, sway bars and possibly torque arm.

next would be the obvious...shocks and springs

 

Thanks for the help. I'll look into those.

 

My opinion? Call Sam Strano Strano Parts. You can post to the forums on his site and he'll get back to you as well. He's on an SCCA tour at the moment and I'm not sure how frequently he's checking threads, etc.

1. Determine which club class you want to be competitive in, and review the mods you can make to stay in this class.

2. Change one thing at a time. Get accustomed to the change before making another. Learn how the parts affect the car so you can make educated decisions in the future. Identify what you're trying to accomplish and/or fix. Just don't throw money at it and see what sticks (been there, done that)

3. Dump the stock shocks first. Koni SA's in front (on lower perch) and Bilstein rear's are pretty popular. Or Strano Bilstein revalves all-around.

4. Stock panhard bar is suffice until you start running race rubber and/or the rear is out of alignment...then get an adjustable heim-joint unit.

5. Stock LCA's on stock bushings will suffice. Ideally, don't use poly on your LCA's. If you want to upgrade, go with heim-joint LCA's.

6. Even though I have one, I feel the 2-point STB is useless. The coil-over suspension in our cars doesn't transmit load into the shock towers from what I've read.

7. The 35mm front sway bar and 19-22mm rear sway bar seem to be the current rage. I'd receommend the 35 front bar and keep the 19. If you don't like it, you can get a slightly bigger rear bar later. Sam has hollow versions which are just as firm but saves weight, too.

8. I don't think an aftermarket torque arm can reduce both brake & aceleration hop unless you go with a decoupled version. I'd stick with stock unless you have a serious wheelhop problem (or if the stock unit breaks, etc).

9. Stock springs work well. If you want to lower the car for more negative camber, get linear rate springs. If you just want more negative camber without lowering the car, buy LG Motorsports or Global West front control arms.

10. Pay attention to the rules for SFC's. Seems to me SFC's will bump you up a class because it stiffens the chassis.

$0.02

 

I would say sway bar is the first thing that you should do. It makes my car so much fun to drive.