new toys installed
09-22-12, 10:47 PM
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
new toys installed
so i just got my coilovers slapped in my car and adjusted for the most part. threw on my joe z exhaust and f sport sway bar. car feel like a new animal now that i have them part on now hell yeah..should of done this a long time ago..just wanted to post this thats all 
09-23-12, 01:53 AM
#2
no pictures?!
__________________
Your #1 Dealer for Aftermarket Performance Products
Orange County, CA
Email: info@merakiautoworks.com
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Website: www.MerakiAutoworks.com
Your #1 Dealer for Aftermarket Performance Products
Orange County, CA
Email: info@merakiautoworks.com
Text/Call: 213 394 2886
Website: www.MerakiAutoworks.com
09-23-12, 10:50 AM
#6
Driver School Candidate
09-23-12, 10:53 AM
#7
Driver School Candidate
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09-23-12, 01:57 PM
#8
Lead Lap
On the old Buick in my avatar I saw a huge difference when changing swaybars.
Stock was 7/8" on the front only. Added a stock 1" rear OEM piece with boxed lower control arms & then an 1-1/4" bar on the front. Front bar was a direct bolt-on from a '76 Trans AM.
Turned the Skylark from a beached whale while cornering to something with some more refined manners. Stays quite flat now. Not a modern car, never the less, much better.
The technology remains generally the same.
09-23-12, 04:03 PM
#9
Tech Info Resource
iTrader: (2)
Right, but swaybars only solve a problem after you've set the spring rates correctly. Your Buick came with very soft springs, so anything to stiffen it will make is feel better.
The natural frequency on any suspension will tell you a lot about the intended use - road cars tend to have a very low natural frequency for a pleasant ride - like the Buick - so you don't have to worry about spilling your coffee when you hit a bump. Performance suspensions are a balancing act between wheel compliance, contact patch, and keeping your kidneys from being damaged. Spring rates (and therefore natural frequencies) are generally much higher because spring rate is the front line resistance to body roll. Swaybars are actually a bandaid because they permit part of the load to be transferred to the spring and shock on the opposite side of the car in hopes of maintaining a good contact patch without losing compliance through stiffer shocks and springs. The bad news about swaybars is they limit the independence of your fully independent suspension because they force both wheels on the axle to respond instead of just the affected wheel. Rear sways turn fully independent suspensions into (essentially) live axle suspensions with better geometry (unless it's one of the new Mustang GTs - Ford has truly done the amazing with these cars' suspensions).
So like all things, it's a trade off. No one here has actually tested a stiffer rear bar to see if it made the car faster on a closed course like an autocross or road course, so the most anyone can tell you is, "It feels better to me" which means nothing from a performance perspective. Very often the fastest set up doesn't feel good and isn't easy to drive at all.
The natural frequency on any suspension will tell you a lot about the intended use - road cars tend to have a very low natural frequency for a pleasant ride - like the Buick - so you don't have to worry about spilling your coffee when you hit a bump. Performance suspensions are a balancing act between wheel compliance, contact patch, and keeping your kidneys from being damaged. Spring rates (and therefore natural frequencies) are generally much higher because spring rate is the front line resistance to body roll. Swaybars are actually a bandaid because they permit part of the load to be transferred to the spring and shock on the opposite side of the car in hopes of maintaining a good contact patch without losing compliance through stiffer shocks and springs. The bad news about swaybars is they limit the independence of your fully independent suspension because they force both wheels on the axle to respond instead of just the affected wheel. Rear sways turn fully independent suspensions into (essentially) live axle suspensions with better geometry (unless it's one of the new Mustang GTs - Ford has truly done the amazing with these cars' suspensions).
So like all things, it's a trade off. No one here has actually tested a stiffer rear bar to see if it made the car faster on a closed course like an autocross or road course, so the most anyone can tell you is, "It feels better to me" which means nothing from a performance perspective. Very often the fastest set up doesn't feel good and isn't easy to drive at all.
09-23-12, 04:37 PM
#10
Lead Lap
I agree on all points !
Learned a long time ago it's not the individual items you add to your car but the combination or the package that has everything working together.
See it on V8Buick all the time and yes...........I was there too.
New owners wanting to improve performance of Grandma's old Buick. Headers....cam......gears??
A very simple recurve of the stock distributor, mild timing advance, swap the 2V for a Q-Jet & leave it alone.
5 years ago a healthy stock 350 Buick would easily run with a stock 5.0 Mustang at the 1/4 mile.
Learned a long time ago it's not the individual items you add to your car but the combination or the package that has everything working together.
See it on V8Buick all the time and yes...........I was there too.
New owners wanting to improve performance of Grandma's old Buick. Headers....cam......gears??
A very simple recurve of the stock distributor, mild timing advance, swap the 2V for a Q-Jet & leave it alone.
5 years ago a healthy stock 350 Buick would easily run with a stock 5.0 Mustang at the 1/4 mile.
Last edited by SteveCraig; 09-23-12 at 04:38 PM. Reason: sp.
09-24-12, 01:47 AM
#12
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
ill get some pics up as soon as i can..i went with kw coils but now i realize i should of went with a different brand cause im not a fan of their platic looking adjustable part where the helper spring sits on to adjust the height..i tighted the set screw and i think it stripped the damn threads so now i have to see if they will warrenty it or if i have to figure out something to make it work maybe like a one size bigger allen screw or something..does ne one have any help with it? other then that im waitng on stiffer springs to come in for the rear and then when im done makeing it to my liking in my settings then ill post up some pics..sorry but i just am a little anel about my stuff if ne one has info on the problem i have with the set screw pls lmk asap..
