How far should I go?
 

Yes, this is another suspension thread.
I have Eibach Pro Kit, and am definately doing either Bullitt shock/struts, or bilstein shock struts, MM subframe connectors, Eibach front/rear sway bars, and more than likely caster/camber plates just in case. This is all I that I am DEF doing.

Where should I go from here? Should I do some lower control arms with panhard bar? Should I get front control arms, rear upper control arms?

Or, don't worry about building the rear yet and get a stall convertor/vavle train for the AODE. Then build the rear.

With the mods I am definately doing... it's about 1200 for bilstein shocks.struts and/or 1000 for Bullit shock/struts. This all should already lower my 1/4 time fairly well, and make this a completely different "steering" car, correct? One more question, how much would this cost to install?

what are you setting your car up for? most of the items you mentoned are more for a road course than a 1/4 mile. you will not need a panhard bar. the 05+ need it because they only have a single upper control arm. what you really need to do before you add your to your list is do what you've already planned out and take your car to a road course and then to a 1/4 mile. figure out what you like more then tailor your car for that kind of track. the mods you already listed are sufficient for a good cornering car. if you have problems and dont like the way it feels only then should you add more to your car to fix that problem ie- panhard bar, control arms, sway bars... if you're going more for good 1/4 mile times then you wont even use the front sway bar anyway, you'll do much better without it. if you have bad traction then purchase some upper and lower control arms preferably adjustable so that you can change the pinion angle. imho, purchase the shocks/struts and subframe connectors (if you purchase mm than you will also need some torque box reinforcement plates) and take your car to get it aligned. if they have trouble alligning it then purchase the cc plates. a torque converter is much more important than the other suspension parts because you have an auto.
also, if you'd rather take it to a 1/4 track than corner then get some lakewood 90/10's or 70/30 which is a little more streetable.

before purchasing other mods figure out what kind of racing you would rather do. when it comes to suspension there are two ways to set it up and neither helps the other...

Well in all honesty it's a 99% DD. I'll prolly never visit a road course but I want it too feel GOOD on the road and really be able to take turns hard, ie. on/off exit ramps. I'm not saying I'm gonna fly on the street, but if I wanted to then I could safely. This is why I thought the eibach sways wouold be good. I would go the 1/4 a couple times a year so I think the lower control arms would be helpful, also on the street coming out of corners and such.

control arms are a good idea for traction, you dont need them immediately and you can add them any time without having to allign the car. i have them and noticed a difference in traction because they plant your tires into the road a little more but they're most effective in eliminating wheel hop. you do not need them for the front. the rear sway bar is excellent for cornering but you may not need it for the street, it's really your call if you have the money. do the shocks and struts because your car is already lowered and rides ****ty so this will help. like i said earlier, do cc plates if you need them. your car is pretty low so odds are that you will need them. imo, the TC is much more important than the sway bar. with every thing else you are doing your car should corner a lot better with a good allignment. get used to your car like that for a while then later down the road add a rear sway bar. also, a front strut tower brace wouldnt hurt down the road. it will tighten up the front end and wont hurt 1/4 miles times...

Cool, I was wandering about the rear sway bar only and not a front one. Would any bushings be a good idea with all this? I would like to just do a rear sway while I'm under the car doing other things.

Just out of curiosity, how many hours, with a professional installer and a lift, would it take to install shocks/struts, rear sway, full length subframe connectors, and caster/camber plates?

bushings, eh, it depends on how yours are. it's probably better to go ahead and order new ones. i installed shocks/struts, cut my springs, installed rear upper and lower control arms and put on the rear sway bar in about 4 hours by myself with no help. i didnt use a lift, i just had two jacks and two jack stands. the front strut tower brace took about 45 mins (i think, cant really remember). and subframe connectors were welded on by a friend. im not a professional at it so it should take less time than that. the sway bar is easy because you'll already have the old one off the do the shocks. cc plates are easy too because again you'll already have the shocks out.

save the money if you're paying someone and do it yourself... it's not bad.

Well my personal tuner/installer (BTW I have free dyno tunes for life:D ), he has a lift so I'll have access to that. I'll have him help me for I don't know too much about suspension, even tho I have a feeling it's almost like another bolt on. Just replacing the old stuff with better stuff.

it's easy, hardest part is taking off the wheels. oh and the front brakes for some reason, i had a hell of a time fitting them back over the rotors...

Thanks for all the help o almigthy Floppy. Here's the final set up: Bilstein shocks/struts, mm subframes, mm caster camber plates, a rear sway bar, and I'm goin to do Cobra front brakes at this same time since everything is taken apart. I just never mentioned it before ;)

lol, sounds nice. it's going to ride (and stop) like a different car.. :)

Good. I think what I have planned is good. I'll wait till later to get more serious, (control arms) The good thing is that after this, I should be able to afford a valvetrain and stall:)

when you put down building the rear i got confused.

i bought my mach1/bullitt shocks/struts for a 100 bucks. dont know where you got a 1000 from thats way too damn much money. plus its easy as hell to install these 10 bolts total and some depaneling. then 40-50 bucks for alignment.

dont know what the rear sway bar will do but i would of directing that money towards LCA's.

looks like there is a 3200 stall for sale on this site. when you say valvetrain you are talking about the valvebody, right?

Sorry, yes valvebody.

And when I said 1000 for bullet shocks/struts I also meant along with the subframes, caster/cambers, sway bars. The billstein are 200 more so thats what i meant by 1200.

I think I might just wait on the rear sway. I think the subframe connectors will give me a more sturdy, non-flex car that I'm looking for right now. I can always do the sway's later.

I might do lower control arms, but I'm just gonna see what I want, would lower control arms help with handling in corners at all??? I understand what they do and there purpose but would it help "firm" up the feel of the car?

I might do lower control arms, but I'm just gonna see what I want, would lower control arms help with handling in corners at all??? I understand what they do and there purpose but would it help "firm" up the feel of the car?[/QUOTE]


i've never heard of them helping with cornering. i dont know if they helped me at all with it because i did the whole suspension at the same time. i dont see how they could help with any of that though. honestly the only time you feel a difference with them is right at the launch and maybe when shifting.

i cant stand suspension threads cuase i have no idea what you are talking about aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

Yea, one thing that I have a problem is, since I have my auto set up for firm shifts, when I go to 1st to 2nd I tend to get a little sideways sometimes, ESPECIALLY coming out of corners and then punching it. This is kinda what I mean by corners, I should have clarified better, sry.