Thinking about upgrading the front suspension

[BlackoutDrunk]

Thinking about upgrading the front suspension of my car. I mainly use it for street driving and don't put many miles on the car per year (2-4k). I'm just not sure what my options are. I saw a lot of places sell tubular control arms and stuff but don't know if I need all that. I want to improve the overall handling but I'm not sure it's worth it. I Know I will have to put some money into it because I'll have to do stuff like ball joints, bushings and shocks anyway. With that being said if it does make sense to upgrade parts while I'm doing other stuff then I won't mind putting money into it however if I'm not going to notice a difference I would rather spend that money somewhere else...say new exhaust manifolds. :biggrin:

I'm not in a rush and whatever I decide will probably be done in the spring so I'd like to get some opinions and start putting money aside.

As usual your input is much appreciated.

 

[charlief1]

When you mean upgrade and street driving, are you planning on more than just crusing it like maybe doing some auto crossing with it? Contact ScottW on the board. He's got the DSE suspension on his car and it seems to work well. He also sells the parts so he can answer all your questions.

 

[scot w.]

Thinking about upgrading the front suspension of my car. I mainly use it for street driving and don't put many miles on the car per year (2-4k). I'm just not sure what my options are. I saw a lot of places sell tubular control arms and stuff but don't know if I need all that. I want to improve the overall handling but I'm not sure it's worth it. I Know I will have to put some money into it because I'll have to do stuff like ball joints, bushings and shocks anyway. With that being said if it does make sense to upgrade parts while I'm doing other stuff then I won't mind putting money into it however if I'm not going to notice a difference I would rather spend that money somewhere else...say new exhaust manifolds. :biggrin:

I'm not in a rush and whatever I decide will probably be done in the spring so I'd like to get some opinions and start putting money aside.

As usual your input is much appreciated.

Thanks Charlie!

It all depends on what you want from the car and what it would be used for and many times "Budget" is a factor as well... Now I will answer your question on "Is it worth it?" & "Am I going to notice a difference?" To me the answer to both is "YES" and don't forget good brakes! this was the best investment that I done to my car other than the suspension. Too many people dump thousands of dollars into making the car fast and never spend the money to make it stop just as fast. Better handling & better braking makes the car a lot more safe to drive in my opinion.

I sent you a PM...

Scot W.

 

[BlackoutDrunk]

I pretty much figured I would be doing the brakes while all this other stuff was going down and yes budget will play a factor. I saw one suspension package on GNS was over 2k and that's a bit more than I want to spend at this time. I just started looking so I didn't know if there was something less expensive than that. The car is mainly just a cruiser but like I said I know eventually balls joints and bushings will have to be done. I am just trying to gauge if it will be worth it to me to upgrade any other parts while I'm doing the brakes/ball joints/bushings.

 

[BlackoutDrunk]

another thing is...I know there can be a domino effect when changing/upgrading parts so I just want to do research before diving in.

 

[charlief1]

There's lots of options as far as what you want to do with the car then. There are simple brake upgrades that you can get out of the salvage yard. My rear disc conversion is off of a 4th gen Camaro and the front brakes are off a 2000 Blazer 2WD 4 door. Bigger brakes all around and I have less than $200 in both of them. The fronts are bolt on and the rear are a little more complicated, but easy parts to find and less expensive than after market. There's a thread in the suspension section about the LS1 brake conversion as well as my build in the B4black section if you want to see what's involved in doing the rear. My thread is "Finally got some time". Not done with her yet and not everything will be shown but it may be helpful to you.

Not trying to step on your toes Scott.:frown: If I could afford your parts I would bud.

 

[scot w.]

Charlie your not steeping on anyone's toes at all that is why I mentioned in my post above that some are on a budget and the owner has to determine what he wants out of the car, all of which dictate what route one will go..

I think the most important thing someone can do when expecting to upgrade their car is do some heavy thinking /research on how they truly want the car to perform (on or off the street). Saving money and going to a cheaper Suspension or Brake route causes a lot of extra fabrication work and figuring out what works and in some cases even then it isn't always cheaper in the end but it is still an upgrade from the 25yr old OEM Buick parts! Then you have the more expensive aftermarket route which definitely is more expensive but is usually a "Bolt On" application. With some aftermarket products there are a lot of engineering, design and testing that goes into those parts which results in less fabrication, better quality, better fitment and provides a step above ANY OEM products..

In the end it comes down to what the customer wishes to do and I respect them all and I am here to help whenever I can..


Scot W.

 

[BlackoutDrunk]

with the Blazer fronts did you use the calipers and rotors?

 

[Silver Fox]

Thinking about upgrading the front suspension of my car. I mainly use it for street driving and don't put many miles on the car per year (2-4k). I'm just not sure what my options are. I saw a lot of places sell tubular control arms and stuff but don't know if I need all that. I want to improve the overall handling but I'm not sure it's worth it. I Know I will have to put some money into it because I'll have to do stuff like ball joints, bushings and shocks anyway. With that being said if it does make sense to upgrade parts while I'm doing other stuff then I won't mind putting money into it however if I'm not going to notice a difference I would rather spend that money somewhere else...say new exhaust manifolds. :biggrin:

I'm not in a rush and whatever I decide will probably be done in the spring so I'd like to get some opinions and start putting money aside.

As usual your input is much appreciated.

Check out the information in my sig in regards to my front suspension. This is another path you can go.

Rob

 

[LETHALV6]

There is a guy in the FS section selling new UMI uppers and lowers for like $550 i think, smokin deal...I just paid about $750 for mine and thats with the new bushings and ball joints.
This is what Im putting in mine along with the Blazer front setup...I should know next week the difference it made. not sure what I want to do on the rear setup, think I may leave the drum setup as im more interested in bolding more boost on the line than anything.

 

[BlackoutDrunk]

thanks for the tip Lethal, unfortunately I don't have the money at the moment. I have to pay for a fishing trip coming up. Just doing some research.

 

[charlief1]

with the Blazer fronts did you use the calipers and rotors?

The entire spindle, and brakes are off the Blazer are used. This will upgrade the car to an 11" rotor and dual piston calipers. Bolts right on and all you'll need to do is have it aligned after bleading the brakes.:smile: