Was wondering if anyone had any info on the best complete suspension/ Handling kit for a 87 Street/ Strip Monte Carlo SS with a 6.0 LS swap/ 4l80e trans. does anyone have any person experiences with any particular kit. looking for a complete set up with sway bars front and rear upper and lower control arms springs and shocks and or coil overs. They're several kits out there (QA1, UMI, CPP, BMR, Hotchkis ect.....)
Help with complete suspension kit
- Thread starter Speedman87
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DOES NOT COMPUTE...
DOES NOT COMPUTE...
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A Pro Touring style suspension and drag racing don't mix well. If you want the best of both worlds, you're going to need some expensive, very adjustable coilovers. The only thing that would apply to both worlds would be the rear sway bar: get one that ties the axle to the frame, not the factory style that goes between the rear lower control arms. Most drag racers remove the front sway bar entirely, so there goes your handling. Do some research before you start slapping high zoot suspension stuff in and wondering why it just spins on the drag strip.
Look into what you really want to do, and see what you need. Its not hard to build a street/strip car that works well at the dragstrip with auto store parts. I ran boxed lower control arms, junk shocks and springs in the rear and went 10.70's.
Yes ive looked at different products. just trying to figure out what works on these cars and what doesn't. so you are saying i cant have a car that handles decent that's set up with good traction???
Wow that amazing! no Gbody Shuffle? what was your set up? Engine, Trans, Mods?? I just want a street able car that can hit the drag strip a few times a year and not spin all over the place. maybe kick a little *ss on the street
Mine was in a 70 Chevelle. But to your question, a handling car needs a stiff suspension that won't roll. A drag car needs a loose suspension to transfer weight. A stock chassis chevelle/Malibu/monte whatever is all the same setup. I used the stock geometry suspension points, however, moving the arms around by raising the rear of the upper arms is a big help to changing the geometry and imaginary intersection point of the bars. Adjustable upper arms is good just to get your pinion angle and to make up for misalignment in the rear. Solid lower bars is fine. You don't move them. But on the flip side of spending tons of money on the rear, is that it does nothing unless you can get the front end to move. And for me, at lower HP, a free moving FRONT end with a stock rearend is probably a better start. My car at the time had the cheap 3 way adjustable Competition Engineering shocks and Moroso trick springs up front, with no name basic rear shocks and springs.
I have the complete UMI level 4 kit with 2" drop in my Regal. I got adjustable suspension points on my Quick Performance 9" housing. Also a 6.0 and 4L80E and boxed the frame.
Cornering is like a slot car, its unreal how flat it corners and how sharp the steering is. With 275/60 tires it has enough flex in the poly bushings to rub the wheel wells under hard cornering, but trust me its earning it. With the shocks set for softer settings it's not too bad of a ride for regular driving either. Not even harsh on the highway. I dont have much, if any, weight transfer. So I'm sure it is less than ideal drag racing but the smiles per mile on the road and off/on ramps make me happy.
Cornering is like a slot car, its unreal how flat it corners and how sharp the steering is. With 275/60 tires it has enough flex in the poly bushings to rub the wheel wells under hard cornering, but trust me its earning it. With the shocks set for softer settings it's not too bad of a ride for regular driving either. Not even harsh on the highway. I dont have much, if any, weight transfer. So I'm sure it is less than ideal drag racing but the smiles per mile on the road and off/on ramps make me happy.
Speedman,
You should check out Savitske Classic and Custom at https://scandc.com/ Mark Savitske is the owner and author of his book entitled "How To Make Your Muscle Car Handle".
I also have an '87 El Camino and wanted the handling characteristics that you've described in the first paragraph of this posting. Earlier this year, I bit the bullet and dropped a chunk of change to get SC&C's Touring Plus package shipped to me in Hawaii. Basically, SC&C has done all the research, testing, and packaging to offer all of the necessary parts to transform your G body suspension.
Although the parts arrived almost 9 months ago, I have not driven it yet. I am in the process of building a replacement chassis with all of these performance enhancements. In addition to these suspension upgrades, I am installing front and rear brakes from a 2000 Blazer. My drive train will include a rebuilt semi-mod 350, Bowties Overdrive 2004r transmission, and '87 GN 8.5 in rear end. The 350 will have a balanced forged crankshaft, Comp hydraulic Cam, aluminum heads, headers with Pypes exhaust, and old school dual quads. This will be my wife's ride!
You should check out Savitske Classic and Custom at https://scandc.com/ Mark Savitske is the owner and author of his book entitled "How To Make Your Muscle Car Handle".
I also have an '87 El Camino and wanted the handling characteristics that you've described in the first paragraph of this posting. Earlier this year, I bit the bullet and dropped a chunk of change to get SC&C's Touring Plus package shipped to me in Hawaii. Basically, SC&C has done all the research, testing, and packaging to offer all of the necessary parts to transform your G body suspension.
Although the parts arrived almost 9 months ago, I have not driven it yet. I am in the process of building a replacement chassis with all of these performance enhancements. In addition to these suspension upgrades, I am installing front and rear brakes from a 2000 Blazer. My drive train will include a rebuilt semi-mod 350, Bowties Overdrive 2004r transmission, and '87 GN 8.5 in rear end. The 350 will have a balanced forged crankshaft, Comp hydraulic Cam, aluminum heads, headers with Pypes exhaust, and old school dual quads. This will be my wife's ride!
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that books a good read and Mark's a knowledgeable guy,the G body section is on the slimmer side of thing's but he equates it to the same principal of the A-body design. so the theory is the same.i read that book a few times built & my set up around what i learned from it but went with products from a different manufacturer.like everything else,it comes down to personal preference.
Agree. I have also read and reread his book to understand the basic concepts. I opted to go with his package because he knows the pieces do NOT negate each other's positive contributions. Did your procurement of components add up to or was more/cheaper than what they offered? For me, another factor was combined shipping. Is your ride on the street?
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