gbody handling mods - are they worth it?

[megaladon6]

X2
beermonkey, when are you EVER sober? Lol

 

[iambigperm]

This has been a fantastic thread. On the $3,000 budget. He said his car is street strip & drag raced to 11.50s so I assume he is figuring money for wheels tires & brakes as well. You can easy spend $3k on that alone. Even being frugal at least if you are getting new aftermarket brakes and doing much of the labor yourself.

A couple thoughts with regards to striking a balance between great handling, ride, and acceleration traction, that can still confidently hold an 11.50 gbody. I would choose wheels in the 16 to 18" range. Bigger wheels with rubber band tires can become greased snot trying to accelerate on the street in an 11.50 G. Not saying it can't be done with great traction improving mods but generally plus you tend to get the harsh ride he is trying to avoid. Also you can get drag radials in these sizes to fit Gs which I would think would be a mandatory or at least a great bang for the buck upgrade here. For example M&H has a 275/40/18 that is a bolt up with the proper rim backspacing. Doesn't even require a fender lip roll. It has the same height & section width as a common 275/60/15 just in a 40 series tire on usually a 18x9 rim. So it should handle AND stick.

With regards to brakes. No expert here but my understanding is go big and aftermarket. If you have no planes to autocross race it etc then bang for the buck would be fronts and maybe inexpensive used factory big car drums (with a proportioning valve) as all most all your stopping power comes from up front, you can exceed your rear brake power needs with big drums, and brake fade isn't an issue on the street.

For the $3k I was just talking suspension. Brakes, wheels, etc would be another day. The car came with some 17x8.5 Centerlines that aren't my favorite, but they work. For drag racing I have some Weld Prostars with Hoosier 27x11.50x15 DOT slicks. As much as I race I get pretty tired of swapping the tires back and forth. I'd like to put some good tires on the Centerlines that would work for 1/4 mile and street duty. The BFG's on the Centerlines are a bit old and hard, but they still smoke up nice.

 

[85GPLef41]

I rode in my a friend's Monte SS with front SPC upper adjustable control arms and the ZQ8 spindles with dual piston calipers, Hotchkis coils ,factory sway bars front and rear,all new bushings& steering components, Lee steering gearbox and a decent alignment, factory wheels with decent tires ...And i must say it handled like it was on rails!! It handled awesome and wherever he turned that steering wheel it turned without hesitation and you had to hold on to avoid being tossed around. 8) It had some aftermarket rear control arms though i don't remember which and a stock SS non posi 7.5 rear and no factory braces that i can think of. So they are definetly worth it though for drag racing the set-up would be completely different...

 

[dogsht]

For on the street I have owned and been impressed with both M&H and Nitto. Both make an excellent drag radial for your 17" centerlines. I like the sizes offered by M&H better as they are not as short. Height makes a bigger difference in traction than width and its easier to give it a better look/stance with a slight rake. 26.0 on the M&H vs 25.6 for the Nitto in the same size. M&H also offers a 28 tall 275/50/17 my favorite and a jumbo 28" 325/45/17 that would work with a frame notch & inner fender lip roll assuming proper backspacing. They also have a monster 390/40/17 and Nitto has a 315/35/17 that is also a very short 25.79. I have friends that have BFG & M&T drag radials which are great on the track but wear fast and have no rain tolerence on the street.

http://www.mandhtires.com/store.php?crn ... =cat_click
http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/nt555r#overview

 

[iambigperm]

For on the street I have owned and been impressed with both M&H and Nitto. Both make an excellent drag radial for your 17" centerlines. I like the sizes offered by M&H better as they are not as short. Height makes a bigger difference in traction than width and its easier to give it a better look/stance with a slight rake. 26.0 on the M&H vs 25.6 for the Nitto in the same size. M&H also offers a 28 tall 275/50/17 my favorite and a jumbo 28" 325/45/17 that would work with a frame notch & inner fender lip roll assuming proper backspacing. They also have a monster 390/40/17 and Nitto has a 315/35/17 that is also a very short 25.79. I have friends that have BFG & M&T drag radials which are great on the track but wear fast and have no rain tolerence on the street.

http://www.mandhtires.com/store.php?crn ... =cat_click
http://www.nittotire.com/Tire/nt555r#overview

I'll go with some 275/50/17's on the rear most likely. I have a rolled fender lip, but haven't touched the frame yet. After reading some of these posts I think I'm going to be sliding all over my cushy bench seat once the suspension is done. I'll have to add some 5 point harnesses. Anyone have a 5 point harness installed without a roll bar?

 

[beermonkey9417]

sounds like those sway bar upgrades didn't stop you from swaying over to the bar...

X2
beermonkey, when are you EVER sober? Lol

im sober when needed... 8)