Hook me up!!!

[Fire67]

Alright, its finally time to do some suspension mods to my TA... I've been putting this off because I was really unsure of where I want to go with this car.
Drag racer? Corner Carver? I've finally made up my mind!
I want to go as fast as possible down the 1/4 and still have a nice drive home. There lies the tricky part, my drive home from the track is about 68 miles.
Now that we've got through that here's some about my car. The car's a full weight (3600lb) '96 Trans Am. The stock motor is putting 450hp & 430ft-lbs to the rear wheels with the help of a Procharger D1-sc. Im currently running a T-56 with a Spec billet steel flywheel and stg 3 clutch. Im also currently running the stock 10bolt with a Zexel Torsen diff and GM 3.73's.
Im already planning installing BMR boxed, weld-in SFC's and purchasing some MT ET street radials. Also my track is likely going to make me install a 6pt roll bar and harnesses.

Here's were I need help, I dont want to waste money buying parts to find out later their junk.
LCA's> Boxed, tubular, adjustable?
LCA relocation brackets> Worth a crap?
TQ Arm> stock type mounting, or crossmember mounted? If BMR crossmember style; trak pak or extreme duty?
Shocks> ? Up for suggestions... Anyone seen the Coil-over shock conversion for our rear suspension?
Springs> Drag launch springs? Are they worth it (street-ability) or even neccessary with coil-overs if I go that route?
STB>
Front sway bar> To remove, or not
Rear sway bar> bigger?
Panhard rod>?

I just went to the track on a buddies pair of MT streets and my entirely stock suspension, I bogged when launching 3000-3200rpms, spun when launching 3700+
I mainly want to get my crappy 60' in check so I can put down decent times.
Let me know what ya'll think.

[AAron]

um the first thing i would look at is a new beefier rear end. that stock 10 bolt isnt gonna hold up to sticky tires and the pounding it will get from the T56, and a good suspension. the only way you will make it home from the track in my opinion is to get a new rear end.

i didnt wait for mine to fail in my '01 Z28 i put a 9" in it and let the good time go, aka 6000 rpm dumps ;D

[Fire67]

I already plan on getting a 12-bolt rear... I know Im gonna need one.
Im mainly looking for others experience/knowledge about specific suspension products. I want to put together a sure fire recipe for traction that isnt gonna have me buying useless/crappy parts. Ive already got a pile of aftermarket parts laying around my shed because they were good for the setup at the time, but worthless after other mods got thrown into the mix.
I want to get the best 60' times possible without destroying streetability. i.e. I dont want it to feel like a boat.

[AAron]

there are are a couple of shops that will setup your car for the strip, but it might not be streetable.
if you want do it yourself, id look LCAs adjust or non adjust, poly bushings not rod ends. boxed is more expensive, and not really needed.
LCA relocation bracets are for lowered cars mainly.
a torque arm adjustable if posible get one that dosent mount to the tranny tailshaft, cross member mount. the BMR trak pack isnt bad but i thought it mounted to thier SFCs. id call them to find out for sure.
front sway bar either take it off for the track or just disconect one side. a bigger rear one is also nice.
STB useless.
pan hard if you find a deal yeah, but the stock on isnt that bad.

then the fun of dialing it in. like the torque arm, most say that 1/2-1 degree down on the nose is advantagous. but if you want you could go about 2 down but set it back to 0 before street driving.

oh im not to sure about springs, but lower spring rate makes it squat batter. not sure about coil overs either.

most good suspension shops can help you out.

[Fire67]

I guess that no matter what, If I want to go faster in the 1/4 Im gonna have to sacrifice some street manners...
For LCA's I know to get poly bushings for the noise difference, what are the advantages to adjustables?
The BMR track pak TQ arm comes with a crossmember that gets welded to the subframes. I've seen pics of them having tabs welded on so they can also bolt to the holes for the tunnel brace. I like the idea of getting it off the tailshaft housing so Im more than likely going to get the BMR piece.
Front Sway bar: unbolting the one side works? Which side?
Rear Sway bar: I heard that having a bigger on in the rear can get you into trouble in a corner by increasing the chance of snap oversteer... If thats true, is it worth a big enough improvement on the strip to justify going into the corners slower on the way home?
Anyway, thanks for the input.
I think I'll go visit BMR (an hour drive) and see what kind of packages and insight they have to offer...

[AAron]

adjustable LCAs just give you more adjustment. you can move the wheels forward and back, etc...

sway bar: front, either side will do.
back, you dont want one of the really big ones like the BMR extreme duty, but like the 1LE size works good. you could put both front and rear bigger sway bars. i have run with out a rear one man that sucked. but the front is worse but not so bad just dont drive crazy. i have owned cars with out sway bars.

[jdawgs94z]

hmmmm..choices choices

[1bad2k2ta]

Adjustable LCAs allow you straighten out your launches if it tends to jump to one side or the other. For ultimate handling and response, the rod ends are better, but the noise transmitted to the cabin, to me, is unbearable. I went with adjustable wherever possible and poly bushings for overall improved handling/traction without making the car too annoying to drive. I am less than 10 mi. from the local track, but my car still sees 95% street driving, so that was a major consideration when I picked my parts, most of which are in my sig.

[Fire67]

Here's were Im more than likely gonna go with my setup...
BMR boxed subframe connectors
BMR tubular LCA's (possibly adjustable)
BMR Track Pak torque arm w/ built in safety loop
Above items I will try to obtain ASAP
Once I save more money, I want to add
QA1 12-way front & rear shocks w/ front springs
I'd like to find the company that does the rear coil-over conversion for our cars
Stiffer sway bars(not sure which)
Adjustable panhard rod

After I build my new motor and have it ready to go in, I want to buy the BMR K-member and upper/lower a-arms for the front suspension.

Im hoping that the BMR rear suspension stuff is going to help with my 60' times for now, and still be useable once I step up the power level. Hopefully, the QA1's and fatter sway bars will be enough so I can have the car handle good on the highway, and then some simple adjustments to make it hook hard on the track.

[yellerr]

Lots of great info here!

[AAron]

fire67 said:

Here's were Im more than likely gonna go with my setup...
BMR boxed subframe connectors
BMR tubular LCA's (possibly adjustable)
BMR Track Pak torque arm w/ built in safety loop
Above items I will try to obtain ASAP
Once I save more money, I want to add
QA1 12-way front & rear shocks w/ front springs
I'd like to find the company that does the rear coil-over conversion for our cars
Stiffer sway bars(not sure which)
Adjustable panhard rod

After I build my new motor and have it ready to go in, I want to buy the BMR K-member and upper/lower a-arms for the front suspension.

Im hoping that the BMR rear suspension stuff is going to help with my 60' times for now, and still be useable once I step up the power level. Hopefully, the QA1's and fatter sway bars will be enough so I can have the car handle good on the highway, and then some simple adjustments to make it hook hard on the track.

on the k member make sure you get the mild steel for street driving. the chrome moly dosent have enough flex so it cracks easier than mild steel.

[Fire67]

Aaron:I think Ive actually heard that somewhere... Crome moly for race cars only
Crome moly also for large budgets only

[AAron]

oh yeah. not cheap.