Serious suspension upgrades/packages recommendations

[Hawkeye_306]

I’m looking to upgrade my cars suspension for good all around performance (balance between street, road course, & strip). Not looking for perfection, just on par with a late model sports car. Can someone recommend an aftermarket suspension package? Or a good custom suspension/speed shop? Figure 5k-7k range. I only want to do this once.

I’m very familiar with the fundamentals of suspension design, and have fabricated suspensions from scratch on tube-frame cars. But I’m a little weary of cutting into the unibody of my baby without knowing beforehand it will turn out well. I’d rather rely on the past experience of others in this case than figure it out as I go. Thanks in advance!

 

[dcurtis]

With 5-7k I would go with a good tubular k member and a arms, coil overs, and for the rear there are many good companies, granatelli, bbk, steeda, maximum mototsports.

 

[Venom351R]

Not sure the exact year of your car so you can pick what best suits you if this is what you are looking for.

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_67

 

[stykthyn]

Did I seriously see the word granatelli? MM grip box. Everything you need to be a competent performer.

 

[N8Dogg98]

 

[JoeFox83]

Subframe connectors only.......MM vs. BBK??? The BBK's are powder coated!

 

[N8Dogg98]

Powdercoat is pointless on SFCs... gotta have them welded in anyways

 

[JoeFox83]

Oh..............good point!!

 

[JoeFox83]

65" MM (Part # MMFL-5B) looks like what i will go with on my 83 GT hatch! Thanks!!

 

[Sharad]

I’m looking to upgrade my cars suspension for good all around performance (balance between street, road course, & strip). Not looking for perfection, just on par with a late model sports car. Can someone recommend an aftermarket suspension package? Or a good custom suspension/speed shop? Figure 5k-7k range. I only want to do this once.

I’m very familiar with the fundamentals of suspension design, and have fabricated suspensions from scratch on tube-frame cars. But I’m a little weary of cutting into the unibody of my baby without knowing beforehand it will turn out well. I’d rather rely on the past experience of others in this case than figure it out as I go. Thanks in advance!

I'm a vendor, so I'm not allowed to suggest any particular brand, although I can offer some tech advice.

What you're trying to do is pretty tricky... any brand name suspension company will be able to offer you good durable suspension components, so if you stick with the known brands (manufacturers with thousands of satisfied customers, and dozens of racing championships) you'll be good there. My specific recommendation for you is to use adjustable dampeners and choose springs which are not to soft and not too stiff. That way, you can light up the dampening for drag strip use, and your springs won't be too stiff to allow weight transfer. Meanwhile, you can stiffen up the dampeners for open track days, and your springs won't be too soft to control the suspension.

Building a dual purpose car is slightly complicated, but it can be done. And of course, we here on Stangnet will be happy to offer suggestions as you go along.

 

[N8Dogg98]

Like said above, MM Maximum Grip Box is your best bet. Give MM a call to discuss what you want out of the car. A coil-over set up, if the appropriate springs are selected, will ride better AND handle better than the stock suspension.

 

[2000xp8]

Griggs or MM, with that budget just get the whole package, don't bother piecing it together.

 

[Hawkeye_306]

Thanks for the recommendations! Both MM & Griggs look promising.

I plan to put in a mild roll cage & one concern with piecing together misc. bolt-ons is that I might not be able to take advantage of tying the cage points into the various suspension / lower reinforcement mount locations (or, for that matter, tying in the individual bolt-ons if they weren’t deigned to work as a package). After checking out the Griggs & MM websites, it looks like they have handled this level of complete setup before, so both look like viable options given what I’m looking for.

Thanks again!

 

[Sharad]

Thanks for the recommendations! Both MM & Griggs look promising.

I plan to put in a mild roll cage & one concern with piecing together misc. bolt-ons is that I might not be able to take advantage of tying the cage points into the various suspension / lower reinforcement mount locations (or, for that matter, tying in the individual bolt-ons if they weren’t deigned to work as a package). After checking out the Griggs & MM websites, it looks like they have handled this level of complete setup before, so both look like viable options given what I’m looking for.

Thanks again!

Yes, MM & Griggs manufacture excellent suspension setups for cornering. They're not so good on the dragstrip though, and you mentioned that as a consideration.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

UPR and Team-Z components should also be a consideration. What they lack in ultra heavy duty construction compared to the MM stuff, they make up for it price difference. All of them make quality components.

 

[Sharad]

UPR and Team-Z components should also be a consideration. What they lack in ultra heavy duty construction compared to the MM stuff, they make up for it price difference. All of them make quality components.

You bring up a good point Brian. UPR is known more for drag racing because our components are lighter, and not as heavily braced as MM & Griggs. But we have thousands of k-members out there on the street and we've never had a failure.

To me, here's what it boils down to. Hawkeye said "I’m looking to upgrade my cars suspension for good all around performance (balance between street, road course, & strip)." My suggestion is for him to choose whether strip or roadcourse performance is more important to him. If the answer is street-strip, I'd recommend UPR because it's lighter and works better than MM/Griggs on the dragstrip. UPR suspension is also perfectly functional on the roadcourse, it just isn't the ideal setup in that venue. However, if he says roadcourse performance is more important, he should probably choose MM/Griggs. The altered geometry of their k-members does have an advantage on the roadcourse. Also, and it can be used on the dragstrip, it just isn't ideal in that venue.

Make sense?