El Camino project car

[Soup DeVille]

Nice looking from here.

[hotrodalex]

Hellwig sway bars, 1 1/8" adjustable in the rear and 1 1/4" in the front. Current bar is 7/8" in the front so all around improvement.

Going with the Jegs branded tubular control arms. Too bad I'm not in school right now because I could easily build those myself, literally the same thing that I built for the SAE baja car last year, just a bit beefier for a car weighing 3,500 lbs instead of 400 lbs.

1 1/4" seems kind of small compared to the 1 1/8" rear bar, so initially that makes me wonder if I should go with a larger front bar to make sure the balance is right. I'll have to do a little research.

I changed my mind on the Jegs control arms, probably gonna go with UMI tubular adjustable arms. A bit more expensive but beefier.

[giant_mtb]

This thing has been a huge PITA to put in today so if it still rattles I'm gonna light it on fire.

Nice build; nice and clean.  How does it sound with the speakers pointing right into the backs of the seats?  Are there front/door speakers as well?

[Soup DeVille]

1 1/4" seems kind of small compared to the 1 1/8" rear bar, so initially that makes me wonder if I should go with a larger front bar to make sure the balance is right. I'll have to do a little research.

I changed my mind on the Jegs control arms, probably gonna go with UMI tubular adjustable arms. A bit more expensive but beefier.

In general, assuming normal stock domestic tendencies to understeer, having a thicker rear bar will be what you actually want

[hotrodalex]

The seats block some of the higher frequencies but the kick panels have some 6.5s that make up for it.

[hotrodalex]

In general, assuming normal stock domestic tendencies to understeer, having a thicker rear bar will be what you actually want

A Hellwig rep recommended a 1 5/16" bar, sounds good to me.

[hotrodalex]

I need to up the spring rate in the front. Passenger side likes to rub on certain bumps, usually on left hand turns where the suspension is already loading that corner.

Unfortunately if I get new springs that might mean I'll need to upgrade the shocks too. Also not sure if I'd want to go back to a stock spindle (have a 2" drop spindle at the moment) and only lower using springs. Not sure which is better for the geometry and bump steer and budget. I'll have to do a little research. Wish I could just make some fancy computer models of all this.

[hotrodalex]

Ordered the rear bar from Amazon for $216, which is like 50% off. Sweet. Technically not in stock right now, so it won't ship for a couple of weeks. Oh well. Summit for $260, ships today. After tax it was only $30 more and I don't wanna risk not getting it in time for the first autocross event in May.

[hotrodalex]

I'll install this bar and then see where to go from there. I'm assuming I'll need a larger front bar.

Shouldn't actually need the rear trailing arms, since the sway bar is a different design and doesn't mount to the lower arms like the stock bars (stupid, stupid idea, GM). I want to get them anyway to prevent binding and axle hop, though. Problem is I don't have enough cash laying around at the moment to get both sets of trailing arms and a new front bar. So maybe just the front bar and lower arms for now and then get new upper arms in a month.

Need to dig through some receipts so I can find the front spring rate and see about bumping that up a bit.

[hotrodalex]

I officially own a racecar now.

Took about 4 hours since you have to drill some holes in the frame for the front mounting points, which means you have to take the springs out. But overall was a clean install and the rear behaves itself much better now. Still have the stock bar up front and it wasn't oversteer happy.

[hotrodalex]

Front spring rate is 487 lb/in. Hotchkis springs have 512 lb/in and 580 lb/in (big block) options. Since this is a racecar now, 580 lb/in seems like the obvious choice.

More research is necessary, however.

[Secret Chimp]

Hell 580 lb/in is the obvious choice because it's an actual significant increase over 487. Why would you buy new springs only 25 in/lb over your old ones?

[hotrodalex]

Hell 580 lb/in is the obvious choice because it's an actual significant increase over 487. Why would you buy new springs only 25 in/lb over your old ones?

Part of the fun is upping the spring rate while keeping the same ride height.

Easy option is coil overs, but my wallet says no.

[Rupert]

Same ride height? Slam it!

[hotrodalex]

I ain't no ricer.

[Rupert]

I think it would look cool slammed.

[hotrodalex]

It's slammed as much as possible while still being somewhat practical and not riding on the bumpstops.

I can go lower in the back but might run into issues when I haul stuff in the bed, which is why I only lowered it 1/2".

[Rupert]

Stupid practicality...

[hotrodalex]

If you'd like to contribute to my air ride fund, feel free.

I went ahead and emailed DSE and Hotchkis asking about spring heights (and spring rate in DSE's case). Kind of annoying how springs are sold based off stock ride height, since I have no idea what that is. Just going off my current springs.

Through my research it also appears that I should get some tall ball joints for my upper control arms to improve the suspension geometry.

[Rupert]

If you contribute to my new wheels fund, I'll contribute to your air bags fund.

[hotrodalex]

I'm thinking forgo the springs for now and see if the bigger front sway bar will fix the rubbing. Normally it's just on largish bumps during a corner, so with less bodyroll the cornering load should be a bit lighter and compress the spring less.

I do, however, need a 600 series steering box. The one my dad installed in his car is amazing - comparable to the E46 BMW we had.

[hotrodalex]

yay or nay?

[hotrodalex]

I'm thinking yes.

18x8.5, 4.5" backspacing and -6mm offset in the front
18x9.5, 5.250" backspacing and 0mm offset in the rear

Need to find tires for that, though. Probably some performance all seasons. Better grip than the current Radial T/As in dry, wet, and snow. Would love some sticky summer rubber but I don't have space to bring a set of winter tires with me to college.

[hotrodalex]

Continental Extreme Contact DWS 235/40R18 front 265/40R18 rear.

Other option is 235/45R18 in the front. Not sure if I want to bump the overall diameter 0.2" or let it drop 0.7"

[Soup DeVille]

Get the bigger tire. You'll wear it down soon enough anyways.

[hotrodalex]

The smaller ones are $20 cheaper though.

And this rear sway bar has upped the fun level to 11. Forreal doriftos around every turn now.

[280Z Turbo]

If you want to save money, use 17s

[hotrodalex]

$1700 plus some tax.

Ugh.

Can't decide if I should wait or just loan myself some money out of my savings and have big wheels now. I mean that sounds like the obvious choice to me.

[hotrodalex]

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp

Handy website when changing tire/wheel sizes. The 18s will fit perfectly. They'll be a bit wider so it'll have less of the old sucked-in wheels look.

[280Z Turbo]

What size are the current rims and tires?