I just saw this thread, wish I had back when you posted it. If you haven't already, take a look at my build thread for ideas on more bracing and such. I've since been working for Speedtech Performance and have updated some parts to Speedtech Brand but haven't posted photos yet. At least you can see what I've done to get the car to be competitive enough to run some of the big pro-touring events.
Here's a copy of the alignment specs we (Speedtech) include with our G Body products. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click one of the instructions pdf links. http://www.speedtechperformance.com.../category_id=96/home_id=-1/mode=cat/cat96.htm
The G body is similar to the A body in that the frame is very flimsy, the control arms are flimsy, and the geometry needs a lot of help. You can take care of the second two just through a 2" suspension drop, some decent control/ trailing arms and a decent alignment. We don't recommend drop spindles, as many g-body experts would agree. Coilovers or drop coil springs are the way to go. I've had my car at both a 3" drop and a 2" drop and found bumpsteer and overall predictability and feel of the car was better at 2". I also felt there was more room to tune it that way and no issues with rubbing tires either.
If you're still shopping, our front control arms have geometry corrections built into both the uppers and the lowers. They're not cheap, but they're not the most $ either. They're made in house in the USA out of all heavy duty parts. The final step to the ultimate front geometry is a pair of ATS spindles, although they're a little more bite to the wallet. Check the above link to check out all our G body suspension.
Coil springs work great for the average driver, however you still need a decent adjustable shock to be serious about doing well at the track. Think of it this way, what's better for drag racing? An over the counter Monroe replacement shock or a high quality 90/10? The pro touring suspension is no different, although the way you set it up is. I drive my car every day so I take advantage of the easy valve adjustment. I can have a comfortable daily drive and when it's track time I can stiffen them up simply by turning a dial. I can't emphasize here that anyone can sell you parts that you just slap on, but tuning is where you get the most out of your car.
By the time you buy springs and shocks you might want to compare the cost of a coilover conversion. The advantage of coilovers is you can tune your ride height without ripping the suspension apart and trying different springs, and you get the adjustability in the shock. Most come with a spring matched to your car, but springs are fairly inexpensive if you decide to get crazy with tuning spring rate. They're also a lot easier to deal with than swapping standard coil springs.
Moog replacement springs, #6486 for an 82 Regal with a V8 are 343# spring rate. 5660 S10 springs are 598# and some people like the 5662 S10 at 748#. I used the 5660s and cut 1/2 coil off for a total of a 2" drop. They're fairly stiff compared to stock but I still have decent ride adjustability through my shocks. In my opinion the 5662 are too stiff for a driver and leave little room to adjust.
Larger rear sway bars work great at the drag strip but don't work well cornering, that's why there are specific bars for each type of racing. The bars that mount to the rear trailing arms work at around 30% efficiency, I would stay away from them and use a frame mount bar. Best way to tune your rear bar is to get an adjustable one like ours. Through experience and then doing some research, I've realized that G bodys have a tendency to over steer when you beef up the rear suspension. You don't need a lot of bar to keep things tight. With the set up in my build thread I ended up unhooking the rear bar altogether and got a little more body roll which actually gave me the best cornering. Bumping up to a larger front bar merits using a matched adjustable rear bar so that you can play with spring rate.
Speedway Motors sells a lot of g-body stuff at a reasonable price. That's where I got my axle brackets so I can adjust lower trailing arm angle. They focus on circle track so make sure whatever you buy for them isn't designed to work specifically for that type of racing. We sell a Currie built 9" rear with all the brackets in place if interested but again that's getting up there in budget. If you weld brackets onto your axle, be sure you have a shop that can straighten the housing after welding. You'd be surprised how much they warp.
My old set up included Edelbrock (Hotchkis) lower trailing arms. They were beefy, but it didn't really help the inherent binding that 4 link cars suffer from. Speedtech "Articulink" rear trailing arms not only are adjustable, but both uppers and lowers twist to near eliminate bind all together.
Hope this helps!
Here's a copy of the alignment specs we (Speedtech) include with our G Body products. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click one of the instructions pdf links. http://www.speedtechperformance.com.../category_id=96/home_id=-1/mode=cat/cat96.htm
The G body is similar to the A body in that the frame is very flimsy, the control arms are flimsy, and the geometry needs a lot of help. You can take care of the second two just through a 2" suspension drop, some decent control/ trailing arms and a decent alignment. We don't recommend drop spindles, as many g-body experts would agree. Coilovers or drop coil springs are the way to go. I've had my car at both a 3" drop and a 2" drop and found bumpsteer and overall predictability and feel of the car was better at 2". I also felt there was more room to tune it that way and no issues with rubbing tires either.
If you're still shopping, our front control arms have geometry corrections built into both the uppers and the lowers. They're not cheap, but they're not the most $ either. They're made in house in the USA out of all heavy duty parts. The final step to the ultimate front geometry is a pair of ATS spindles, although they're a little more bite to the wallet. Check the above link to check out all our G body suspension.
Coil springs work great for the average driver, however you still need a decent adjustable shock to be serious about doing well at the track. Think of it this way, what's better for drag racing? An over the counter Monroe replacement shock or a high quality 90/10? The pro touring suspension is no different, although the way you set it up is. I drive my car every day so I take advantage of the easy valve adjustment. I can have a comfortable daily drive and when it's track time I can stiffen them up simply by turning a dial. I can't emphasize here that anyone can sell you parts that you just slap on, but tuning is where you get the most out of your car.
By the time you buy springs and shocks you might want to compare the cost of a coilover conversion. The advantage of coilovers is you can tune your ride height without ripping the suspension apart and trying different springs, and you get the adjustability in the shock. Most come with a spring matched to your car, but springs are fairly inexpensive if you decide to get crazy with tuning spring rate. They're also a lot easier to deal with than swapping standard coil springs.
Moog replacement springs, #6486 for an 82 Regal with a V8 are 343# spring rate. 5660 S10 springs are 598# and some people like the 5662 S10 at 748#. I used the 5660s and cut 1/2 coil off for a total of a 2" drop. They're fairly stiff compared to stock but I still have decent ride adjustability through my shocks. In my opinion the 5662 are too stiff for a driver and leave little room to adjust.
Larger rear sway bars work great at the drag strip but don't work well cornering, that's why there are specific bars for each type of racing. The bars that mount to the rear trailing arms work at around 30% efficiency, I would stay away from them and use a frame mount bar. Best way to tune your rear bar is to get an adjustable one like ours. Through experience and then doing some research, I've realized that G bodys have a tendency to over steer when you beef up the rear suspension. You don't need a lot of bar to keep things tight. With the set up in my build thread I ended up unhooking the rear bar altogether and got a little more body roll which actually gave me the best cornering. Bumping up to a larger front bar merits using a matched adjustable rear bar so that you can play with spring rate.
Speedway Motors sells a lot of g-body stuff at a reasonable price. That's where I got my axle brackets so I can adjust lower trailing arm angle. They focus on circle track so make sure whatever you buy for them isn't designed to work specifically for that type of racing. We sell a Currie built 9" rear with all the brackets in place if interested but again that's getting up there in budget. If you weld brackets onto your axle, be sure you have a shop that can straighten the housing after welding. You'd be surprised how much they warp.
My old set up included Edelbrock (Hotchkis) lower trailing arms. They were beefy, but it didn't really help the inherent binding that 4 link cars suffer from. Speedtech "Articulink" rear trailing arms not only are adjustable, but both uppers and lowers twist to near eliminate bind all together.
Hope this helps!
