Top mods for Handling on a Budget

[stt816]

I want to thank Apex Motorsports for giving me some great suggestions, but I would like to know what you guys think....I wanted to know how I can get my camaro ss to have better handling. I am a college student on a very limited budget. I have only had the camaro for about a month, but coming from a MINI Cooper S there is a big difference in the handling department. I don't like how the car's back end fish tails when going fast around a turn, makes me feel actually unsafe and I feel like I have to go around turns slow. Also when making turns passengers have to do a big lean, and I don't like that. I am a daily driver that likes to have fun driving around town, I want it to handle like my MINI did, possibly making the car "feel smaller" too..I also miss that tight steering wheel feeling that BMW put in my MINI...My MINI friends say I can only beat them in a straight line, lets prove them wrong...Please let me know what you think. I would also like mods that I can install myself, that would cut the cost down a lot.... Thanks again!

[The Stig]

subframe and differential bushings

[stt816]

Originally Posted by stieger

subframe and differential bushings

I always hear about sway bars....no?

[ModBargains.com]

Depends on what kind of budget you're on if I'm honest. Remember, you shouldn't compromise on part quality just because of a budget, you'll want to find the best deals available for something you know belongs on the car. With that said, all my customers who want KW V1's say that it's a good budget friendly set of coilovers, that really is the best bang for the buck deal to find, and it gives a very nice performance gain through the bends.

[stt816]

Originally Posted by ModBargains.com

Depends on what kind of budget you're on if I'm honest. Remember, you shouldn't compromise on part quality just because of a budget, you'll want to find the best deals available for something you know belongs on the car. With that said, all my customers who want KW V1's say that it's a good budget friendly set of coilovers, that really is the best bang for the buck deal to find, and it gives a very nice performance gain through the bends.

yeah I'm not compromising on quality, wouldn't get a no name brand part. Just wanted to see what direction I should go first

[ActNup NY]

Originally Posted by stieger

subframe and differential bushings

Big Big difference !!

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by stt816

I want to thank Apex Motorsports for giving me some great suggestions, but I would like to know what you guys think....I wanted to know how I can get my camaro ss to have better handling. I am a college student on a very limited budget. I have only had the camaro for about a month, but coming from a MINI Cooper S there is a big difference in the handling department. I don't like how the car's back end fish tails when going fast around a turn, makes me feel actually unsafe and I feel like I have to go around turns slow. Also when making turns passengers have to do a big lean, and I don't like that. I am a daily driver that likes to have fun driving around town, I want it to handle like my MINI did, possibly making the car "feel smaller" too..I also miss that tight steering wheel feeling that BMW put in my MINI...My MINI friends say I can only beat them in a straight line, lets prove them wrong...Please let me know what you think. I would also like mods that I can install myself, that would cut the cost down a lot.... Thanks again!

Well the biggest thing you can do which will effect all of your mentioned goals are a set of sway bars. The Camaro is big and heavy, especially compared to your MINI and will take some getting used too. Oversteer (the back end fishtailing) when your going slow with the traction control off is a function of the car having a lot of power going to the rear wheels compared to what you're used too with the MINI and is going to require you to change up your driving habits just a little bit to get best performance. That being said the best way to make your Camaro feel like it's dropped 400lbs is to install a set of sway bars! They really do completely change the attitude of the car, and make it much more fun and tossable like you're MINI.

The Camaro from the factory normally exhibits a lot of understeer. You can expect the handling of your Camaro to move from severe understeer to a much more neutral handling characteristic. You will find that you can corner much faster with more confidence after a sway bar install than you could with the factory bars.

We have a stage2 package available which is extremely budget friendly and includes both our drop spring and sway bars. Your Camaro will feel much more sporty and responsive after a Stage2, but without a particularly harsh or jarring ride quality. We have Stage2 packages available for both V6 and V8 cars.

There are of course other parts you can install on these cars that will make a big difference... things like Solid Subframe Mounts, Trailing Arms and Rear Tie Rods really do tidy up the rear ends of the Camaro and will make the car more responsive, but if you're looking for your single biggest bang for your buck our Stage2 is really hard to beat.

Let me know if you have any questions. We can be reached at 1-888-972-2464, via PM here on the forums, or you can reach me personally at jarrett@pfadtracing.com . We definitely have the parts to help you reach your goals, just let us know what we can do for you!

[stt816]

thanks so much pdaft.Great info!

[Black Lightning]

Yeah, that was a great post Pfadt. Thanks for the info.

[Avenging Orange]

Front radius rod, rear diff insert and rear sub frame. Hits three key semi weak points without breaking the bank.

[PAUL SS]

The Camaro comes with sway bars, are these aftermarket pieces that much better? Are there better sway bar links than stock, those seem somewhat thin.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by PAUL SS

The Camaro comes with sway bars, are these aftermarket pieces that much better? Are there better sway bar links than stock, those seem somewhat thin.

Yes, aftermarket sway bars are (IMO much) better than stock. One of the main features of aftermarket sway bars is that you set them at varying stiffness levels.

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by PAUL SS

The Camaro comes with sway bars, are these aftermarket pieces that much better? Are there better sway bar links than stock, those seem somewhat thin.

Almost all modern cars do come with sway bars now adays. The 5th Gen Camaro does include sway bars from the factory, but once you see them you will understand the reason for the upgrade... especially the rear bar is extremely small for the weight, amount of grip generated and suspension geometry of the Camaro.

Here is a Before and After video of what you can expect after a Pfadt Street Sway bar installation. This video demonstrates the change in overall balance around a skid pad. What you see with the factory bars is that they're limiting the vehicles speed around the skid pad by causing the car to understeer (when the front tires lose grip before the rear wheels). With our sway bars notice that overall speeds are higher, and the car is much more neutral (both front and rear tires lose traction at the same time) at the now higher cornering limits, and oversteer (rear tires lose traction before fronts) can be induced with either more throttle application or by flicking the wheel.

[JusticePete]

For anyone doing sway bars there are ONLY two great choices available. You can order the 25mm front solid ZL1 bar from your local Chevy Dealer along with the 28mm solid rear ZL1 bar and the ZL1 control arms. The change in rear sway bar geometry for the 2012 model year and the more aggressive bar ratios on the ZL1 make them a no brainer upgrade for the 5th Gen owner.

There are a couple of small fitment issues up front. The ZL1 front sway bar uses 12mm studs and the rest of the Camaro range uses 10mm studs. You'll need a 12mm set of endlinks from GM along with brackets and bushes. That said, the car will perform so much better it has made the inner bars virtually obsolete except for those that are running 11.5" wide rear wheels and some of the drag wheel configurations. Those folks will have to stay with the old style inboard mounts.

Now if you want to take advantage of the new rear sway bar geometry that is vastly superior to the old style inboard mounts you have another option with Pedders. Pedders ZL1 upgrade includes all the parts you need including the OEM arms along with endlinks, droplinks and MONSTER sway bars. Pedders uses a 27mm solid adjustable bar up front with OEM quiet spherical performance adjustable length endlinks. Our new rear bar is 32mm solid complete with droplinks and arms. Our inboard mount sway bars performed so incredibly well I was not sure we we see such a large gain with the new bars. I was certain that we would not be able to go with a 32mm bar as the increase in efficiency, the increase in function from the new geometry would deliver a harsh ride. It doesn't happen often, but I was wrong. The 32mm Z style bar delivers a great ride quality with so much more control nothing I can say will be good enough. The Pedders and GM parts are in stock and ready for delivery.

Keep you eyes out for a Pedders sway bar sale. I have some inboard 27mm adjustable bars that need to find a new home...

[PAUL SS]

Thanks that's great info.