GodAmGT00

Okay... I've been patient enough, and I've finally got everything needed for a decent handling car..

-Granatelli U/LCA's
-Energy Suspension Sway bar links (front/rear)
-Roush "Track Day," Springs (apparently pretty stiff)
-KYB AGX (Gotta have adjustment)
-DD Cobra R's
-Nitto 555R's (315/275)
-Steeda Bumpsteers
-Moog Inner Tie-rods
-TA Rear Diff Girdle (gonna need it w/ the grip)

Now, a few things I wanted to ask as a feeler..

The Nittos: I think I've read here a few times that the Nitto 315's are a little skinnier than most, so they shouldn't be near the Quadshocks. I want to retain my Quadshocks for a few reasons, if you need them, ask.. Is this true??

Also: I got the 555R's for both the front and rear. Do any of you w/ a similar combo have the other 555's in front (stiffer sidewall, better for handling)? Or would they be okay in the front as well??

The sidewalls are like pillows.. So soft.. So I'm assuming I'm going to have to run a slightly higher pressure, but I don't want the tires to concave, so how do most of you combat this??

Over all, I think it should take me about 4 hours to do the swap... Anyone want any old parts??



JT

oxfordgt

I take it that your plans for the car are road racing. Sounds like a good set up. What size are the tires in the front? I hope you don't have plans at the end of the 4 hours you think its gonna take because you will be late. I'm gonna say at least 6 hours for the install.

JonBeast

The swap is going to most likely take more than 4 hours because you will run into a lot of stubborn bolts and other **** like that. As for the quad shocks, you should be fine 315s will clear...but if you need to remove them thats okay, it won't hurt anything to take them off.

Oh, and one suggestion for the upper control arms....do one side at a time. Otherwise is a real PITA to get everything to line back up. If you have any questions, just send me a PM.

randy78045

Ha, i read the comments about 4 hours an they were my thoughts also... It's been my experience that no matter how simple the job should be, there's always something that slows the process down and making it not so simple...

dvs_03gt

nice buy.. should def feel better.

whered u get ure CA's??? how much? also.. what size rim u puttin those nittos on?

and.. let me know how u like the AGX shocks.

GodAmGT00

The only reason I quoted 4 hours is because I have 2 friends that will be helping me out, along w/ the fact that I will be using a Lift and Air Tools... It's a godsend.. (In the military, and they have shops on base..) By no means do I believe it'll be easy, since the car has experienced a New England winter or 2.. I'm preparing for some broken bolts, but we'll see.. I thought about replacing all of the hardware, because of that very fact...


The one thing I'm going to enjoy is the fact that I don't have to separate coil-over set-ups.. It's such a PITA trying to keep the plunger for the shocks straight while trying to unbolt the top end of the strut mount/pillow mount..

Thanks for the suggestion on the Uppers, since I wasn't sure if I wanted to drop the entire axle.. I did want to paint the axle though, since it's got some surface corrosion that I want to get rid of... Why put all this nice stuff on, and skimp out??

I was questioning whether the KYB's are up to the task, but from my Import days, they are some of the more preferred shocks/struts.. I've heard tons of good about Bilsteins, but they aren't adjustable...

And to answer the question about the rims, I went w/ 17in Cobra R's (Deep Dish). They're different, and I didn't want much smaller of a sidewall, since potholes and my tendency to still want to drag race still occupy my thoughts. I may road race the car eventually, but I enjoy the twisty roads very much.

The only thing I forgot to get are subframes.. That'll be another day though..



JT

GodAmGT00

Alrighty then....


So, what was a nice afternoon, and all the planets were in line for the most part...


Took 4 and a half hours to do the swap, since we had to walk to a Home Depot for Sawzall blades.. Everything else went fair smooth except for:

- Top shock retaining nuts on both sides were not coming off.. They got cut off instead..

- Lower Control Arm bolts = Cut the bottom bolts because they were seized in the bushings.. Easy enough

- 153,000+ Miles, and the suspension still looked like it was in decent condition.... Nothing I'd sell, or give to anyone, but it was still decent..

Since the shop was closing down, we didn't swap the outer tie-rod ends. "No Biggie, I'll just do them tomorrow." One thing I wanted to note was, as I was taking the car off the rack, and being all excited, I started to turn the car and what'dya know? ----POP---- Driver's side tie-rod separated at the ball-joint. In fact, that tie-rod was so bad, that it was completely dry, and would easily slide in and out of the housing...

So, we decided it'd be a good idea to just swap them out anyway.. Slipped the guy at the shop a couple bucks, and an hour or so later, car was complete. Still needs an alignment..


Anyone thinking about getting the Roush Springs, get them. They're STIFF as all hell... And the AGX's compliment them very well.. Today, I swap out the Diff. Girdle, and get an alignment.. If that doesn't get rid of my vibrations now, I'll probably just put the car into a lake...

I don't normally do this, but if anyone wants pictures, let me know.. I'll take some after I was the car today...



JT

pallidamors

Maybe you can help me suspension gurus. I want to create a decent handling car, use the least amount of $ possible, and not sacrifice my 1/4 times that much (because the stiffer suspension hurts weight transfer) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

GodAmGT00

Hmmm..


Well, I had a bunch of money, so I bought decent stuff, but minus the rims/tires, I don't think I spent more than $1200, and got everything you see at the top of the list...

I thought you wanted a stiffer rear suspension, since a soft suspension induces wheel hop/spinning... In which case, you could always get some decent springs, and get rear adjustable shocks, so you can stiffen them up when you're racing, and soften them up on the street...

Get some control arms.. Not only do they come w/ polyurethane bushings to help stiffen up axle rotation, they're lighter, and I believe they reposition the spring a little, for a lower center of gravity..



JT