Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

Ok, so I have searched and read multiple posts about what you guys have been doing for suspension items.

Here is the list of stuff I have done/am doing as of right now:
Respeed Camber plates
Respeed Big brake kit
Respeed Spherical control arm bushings
Respeed Spherical stay rod bushings
Racing beat front sway bar with poly bushings
Racing beat springs
Tokico blue hp struts (planning on going to illumina adjustables in the future)
CP racing 4 point strut tower bar
Competition idler arm
New lower control arms
New tie rod ends and adjusters
Reman TII 4 piston calipers
TII SS brake lines
TII powerslot brake rotors
TII outer wheel bearings
TII grease seals
TII hubs

I have read some of you guys saying that the pitman arm isn't a item that usually requires attention. As far as I can see there really isn't any other front end components that I need to look into replacing?

Just looking for a little input as always, im basically punching myself in the groin right now for how much this is costing. But I guess if im going to make this car 400 rwhp, it better be safe and mechanically intune.

The next big thing im going to need to do up front is add power steering because the huge tires im going to run up front will be ALOT to manage...

Thanks
Dan_s_young

teamzzyzx

I just have my RB Springs and my Illuminas. But all my busings are shot, and steering is sloppy, so upgrading all that is coming up REAL quick. Also coil overs for the fornt, and pan-hard and tri-link are goin in for the rear with the new bushings. Hopin to have it all done before xmas

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Power steering is a must with the front tires. That was one of the first things I did along with the rest of the suspension upgrades. If you haven't bought the Tokico blues, go straight to the Illuminas, or get carried away, like you aren't already, lol, and do coilovers in the front.

Go with a good set of street/strip/roadrace brake pads. Make sure they aren't the type that need heat before they start grabbing. The Hawk pads listed should be good, that or try out the EBC pads.

I generally don't see the need to replace the lower control arms, but since they come loaded with new ball joints, that can be a good choice. You might want to consider the adjustable lower control arms since you are adding the camber plates. The only other part I can think to add would be the Ackerman spacers.

One question I do have for you is what did you end with for total backspace, including the spacers, since you went with the TII big brake kit? Also, how much clearence did you end up with between the outside of the tire and the inner lip of the fiberglass fender in front? I have a line on the big brake kit, struts, TII calipers, etc., along with 15X9" tires for the front. Not sure if I will need spacers yet or not.

I'm assumeing the stay rods are also what's know as the tension rods, so I would say you have the suspension covered.

I don't recall what you are doing for the rearend, but if you are upgrading to a Ford 8.8 and doing it yourself, please do a writeup on the entire process. If you are having it built, a set of mechanical drawings with all measurements and angles would be great. It would save me a bunch of head scratching when it comes time to do mine.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

I have heard these are no longer available but check them out. www.racersare me.com

I have these which include Ackerman spacers, height adjustable coil over platforms, and camber plates
Eibach 400lb springs
Koni reds
all new ball joints
ali new tie rods
Poly control arm bushings
Poly tension rod bushings
Mazda Motorsports delrin idler arm bushing
stock front anti-sway bar with poly bushings
new inner and outer bearings
new rotors and axxis pads
GSL-SE front struts and brakes,
rebuilt calipers

And this is my street car...

The rear is my winter project...

justint5387

iTrader: (1)

ReSpeed camber plates
RB springs
Koni red
new tie rods
new idler arm bushing
poly control arm bushing
poly tension rod bushing
RB front sway bar
Hawk HP+ brake pads
RB SS lines
New wheel bearings
Brembo plain rotors

What camber and caster do you guys run?

steve84GS TII

175lb RB springs front and rear.
Tokiko Blues.
RB front sway bar,stock rear bar.
All poly,except the rear 4 links.
Front and rear strut tower braces.
Engine brace.
CP rack and pinion steering.
3rd gen Infini steering wheel,nice thick grip and plenty of circumference for leverage.
Selectmaz 12" front brakes,TII calipers,stock SE brakes in back,stainless lines,EBC Greens,TII master,booster and prop valve.(Hawk SP pads were too noisy and dusted too much.)
17x8 and 17x9 Advan RG superlight wheels,225/35-17 and 245/35-17 Falken FK451 tires.
Camber and caster are within stock ranges due to the wide stance,big tires and the desire to maximize treadlife(expensive tires!). It handles very well,still easy to pitch sideways and get crazy with 300HP,but for the most part its a well behaved,fairly moderate setup.Not too harsh,but far from stock.I like to road trip and use my car for multipurposes,so I never intended to go all out race with the suspension.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

Im replacing the control arms due to the fact that the ball joints need to be replaced and the control arms could be bent.

I don't remember the exact front backspacing off the top of my head at the moment but I will look it up for you when I have a second. But there is about .5" from the tire to the fender lip. I really wanted to fill those fenders up good!

Yes tension rods/stay rods are the same thing. Also im going to go with the grannies kit for the 8.8" differential. I honestly dunno if they will provide mechanical drawing just because others would rip off their design. But im sure I could provide alot of pictures and stuff. The rear diff is still a while away though. I have many aspects of my build to consider prior to the rear end.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

I remember you asking about how the front wheels were supposed to center in the wheel wells and if perhaps your control arms were bent. The more I look at pics of our kit, I'm beginning to suspect that the kit itself may be off a bit. Mine doesn't look quite centered either and the widebody on eBay right now seems to show the same problem.

As far as the Grannys rear end, my biggest interest/question is which model it came from and the hub to hub length. The rest of it I'm sure I can figure out and build myself. I'm not sure what mods I will need to do for the front or aftermarket rear end until the wheels from overseas show up and I can do some test fitting.

Since you bought your car with the bodykit installed and are going pretty much top drawer with all of your aftermarket parts and upgrades, I'm hoping you get your's finished and dynoed before I finish buying all of my turbo parts. I'm not even going to try and out spend you, nor make mine as pretty of a finished product as you will have. I do have a goal in mind though since mine has been more of a low budget, hands on, 'ratrod' build when compared to your's. I want 1 more hp, or 0.001 second better in the 1/4 mile than you achieve.


LOL. It's fun to have goals some days. It's the only reason for me to get off the couch most of the time.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

To be completely honest I didn't want to go all out at first. But then I started to realize things. In order to do it properly and have it all work right its going to cost alot of money and take alot of time. Nothing would be worse than getting all these components together and have something like a wastegate failing causing the motor to overboost and blow up. I figure if I replace and address every component the car will end up being a more solid product.

I know for a FACT my body kit isn't completely on yet. The reason im going over the car completely is because I didn't originally do the kit myself. Im starting to notice things the body shop did not do and over looked. For instance, the door hinges are missing some bolts, and the front of the kit is not bolted on properly. So I need to spend some time going back and fixing the work that someone else did.

I guess you could say my pet peeve is having to go back and fix things that were overlooked in the first place. Thats why with my car im trying to do it ALL the first time so issues don't come up. (although im sure they will anyways....)

As far as the backspacing goes I was doing some thinking. The backspacing im running right now is 4.5" and it seems to be at a good location. There is still about .75" clearance to the springs up front so for the time being thats good.

notveryhappyjack

iTrader: (4)

all I have is:

rb sways fr/rr
poly sway bush fr/rr
rb springs fr/rr
cusco adjust. front strut tower bar
gsl lsd rear
tokico blues fr/rr
replaced the tie rods inner/outter
new wheel barrings rr
repacked front wheel barring
new bal joints front
lifetime allignment at firestone !!!

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Definitely agree with going over all of it and making sure it's done right the first time. Doing it half-assed usually means doing it right later on and spending more money than having done it right the first time. "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right" is something my father told me over and over when I was young and didn't have the patience nor was I willing to listen at the time. Now that he's gone, I still thank him for that bit of wisdom he passed on to me, yet I still had to learn it the hard way over the years.

My original plan after the widebody install was to do the TII. I got a wild hair and did the 12A bp, twice. First time was a practice build with a fresh gasket kit and well used parts, 2nd time was the final build with all new hard seals, etc. While this has cost me more than going straight to the TII, what I have learned from the builds offset the costs incurred, I have a good 12A 1/2bp that I can sell and am now better prepared to build the TII.

I also now have a much better idea of what I want out of the car as a total package regarding, performance, streetability and handling. So far it has been an interesting journey and experience. Phase III of the project with the TII install, and perhaps the final paint for the body, should bring me close to the end of the project. Then there's the REPU waiting in the wings for the next challange. It never ends until the money runs out.