Full Suspension Upgrade Help

[Aprojectile]

I own a 2012 1LS that I want to do a complete suspension upgrade on. I mean everything too. I plan on using the car to do a lot of road racing with, and where I live is in the heart of the Appalachian Mountainso, so it is nothing but turns everywhere.

Anyways, I have a Manual V6. I have so far changed the breaks out the to ZL1 Calipers and Rotors and got ZL1 Replica rims (I plan on buying another set that is even wider and run only race tires on them) so I still have a lot to do for suspension upgrades. I was considering buying a 1LE setup and building around it. I know a good investment is a sub frame connector but idk what is a good one. Any and all suggestions will be nice. If you know of a better kit than the 1LE then let me know. I don't want the car to be extremely tight since it will be for the street not a actual track but I do want a major handling increase.

PS. I'm trying to get in contact with IPS to get the car Twin Turbo so it will have 575 HP too.

[Apex Motorsports]

Sub frame connectors are not that effective. Rear cradle bushings are probably what your are thinking about. They are literally the foundation of the rear of the car. For the use and potential power level you are looking at I would go with a set of solid cradle bushings. As for the rest, you can easily put together a complete package from the aftermarket that will out perform the 1LE package. As good as the 1LE package is it still relies on rubber bushings and stamped arms. If you would like to look at some options shoot me a PM and I wold be happy to mock some packages up.

[mp51998]

Talk to Pete at JPSS. He's in Martinsville Va. and can handle all your suspension needs. He's a sponsor here and a wealth of knowledge. We won't sell you anything you don't need. He can transform your car into what ever you want it to be or provide the parts and guidance to do it yourself.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by mp51998

Talk to Pete at JPSS. He's in Martinsville Va. and can handle all your suspension needs. He's a sponsor here and a wealth of knowledge. We won't sell you anything you don't need. He can transform your car into what ever you want it to be or provide the parts and guidance to do it yourself.

Thank you for the kind words.

Originally Posted by Aprojectile

I own a 2012 1LS that I want to do a complete suspension upgrade on. I mean everything too. I plan on using the car to do a lot of road racing with, and where I live is in the heart of the Appalachian Mountainso, so it is nothing but turns everywhere.

Anyways, I have a Manual V6. I have so far changed the breaks out the to ZL1 Calipers and Rotors and got ZL1 Replica rims (I plan on buying another set that is even wider and run only race tires on them) so I still have a lot to do for suspension upgrades. I was considering buying a 1LE setup and building around it. I know a good investment is a sub frame connector but idk what is a good one. Any and all suggestions will be nice. If you know of a better kit than the 1LE then let me know. I don't want the car to be extremely tight since it will be for the street not a actual track but I do want a major handling increase.

PS. I'm trying to get in contact with IPS to get the car Twin Turbo so it will have 575 HP too.

The 5th Gen does not require any bracing so we can take the money you were ready to spend on sub-frame connectors and spend it where it matters most.

The #1 upgrade is to move from the inboard mount rear sway bar you have on your V6 to an outboard mount Z/28 style bar. If you give me an idea of how much you have budgeted for your suspension work I can tailor my recommendations to it.

[GMfan454]

Similar thread to mine. Will follow this one as well.

[5thGenerationSS]

contact fabberge here on c5 and they will set you up with the kit. they make the 'IPS' kit now

[Aprojectile]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Thank you for the kind words.



The 5th Gen does not require any bracing so we can take the money you were ready to spend on sub-frame connectors and spend it where it matters most.

The #1 upgrade is to move from the inboard mount rear sway bar you have on your V6 to an outboard mount Z/28 style bar. If you give me an idea of how much you have budgeted for your suspension work I can tailor my recommendations to it.

Right now my budget will be around 2k. But I plan on adding to that over time and buying more stuff over time. So reality I don't have a budget. I might not be able to buy everything at once though. But that's no big deal to me since winter is right around the corner and I will be parking the car for winter.

[Aprojectile]

Would the Z28 suspension package be worth buying? Or would it still be better to put together a aftermarket kit? I'm not worried about the price too much. I just want something that is reliable and good for what I want. And sturdy as **** too. I don't want to be in a turn going 50 and somethinges break and I go off the side of a mountain. And yes I play on mountain roads that have cliffs with no gourd rails lol.

[JusticePete]

A full build looks like this.

DSE Billet Aluminum Sub-Frame Bushings - They are the most expensive and also the best machines to the finest level of detail. There are no poly sub-frame bushings available in the market I can recommend.

1LE/ZL1/Z/28 OE toe Links with Sealed Monoballs from the Chevrolet
Z/28 Rear Upper Outer Control Arm solid rubber bushings from Chevrolet. They are the best available solution. They provide great stability while allowing just enough articulation to protect the arms from uneven load transfer.

JPSS Black Magic Billet Radius Bushing Inserts. They are bigger and more robust than the Z/28 molded inserts providing optimal stability while minimizing dynamic caster changes.

JPSS Black Magic Caster Locks deliver a 1 degree gain in caster to bring your steering wheel back on center more quickly coming out of turns and high speed straight line stability.

JPSS Black Magic Sway Bars are 32mm rear and 27mm adjustable front. My bar diameters have set the standard for the 5th Gen Camaro since 2009. Often imitated in dimension, but never duplicated. JPSS bars are the 5th Gen Gold Standard.

We have two choices in coilovers. Both the DSE and RideTech systems replace the rear upper strut mounts minimizing the side-loads on the strut shafts and seals. This makes them more reliable than the OE or aftermarket systems that retain the hard rubber hour glass OE mount. For street and up to mid level road course use we use RideTech. For full competitive mode we move to the DSE / JRI coilovers at mre than double the price of the RideTechs.

We use Forgeline GA3R wheels in our 5th Gen builds. The 5th Gen is an unusually powerful vehicle that is heavy by track car stabdards placing exceptionally high loads on the wheels. The GA3R by Forgeline is the ONLY wheels that comes with a competition warranty, that covers the wheels for all out racing on slicks. That tells you all you need to know about the strength and quality of Forgeline GA3R wheels. Match the suspension to a set of Forgeline GA3R 19 x 11.5 rear and 19 x 11 fronts with rubber squared from 305/30/19 to 325/30/19 and you have a 5th Gen that will out handle vehicles with sticker prices multiple times higher than a modified 5th Gen.

On your $2k initial budget we can do sub-frame bushings, radius bushing inserts, caster locks and sway bars. With a JPSS tight spec alignment you'll be astounded at how well it handles.

Double your budget and we can do a full build with RideTechs.

A little more than triple your budget and we can do a full build with DSE / JRI coilovers.

Three times your initial budget gets you into a set of Forgeline GA3Rs with rubber.

I hope this answers your questions and gives you some direction to get your suspension build started.

[Avenging Orange]

After much debate and good advice from Pete and the guys from Apex and JDP....I decided the best for me are sways, cradle and front radius rod bushings and fe4 struts. Everyone will have their opinion and thought....but read up and listen to good advice. These guys know where the weak points are. Good luck.

[hammdo]

Yep, Justice Pete, Apex, and JDP help!

I did a lot of suspension upgrades on mine and like them all -- These guys know their stuff. I did, however, do the Hotchkis subframe connnectors too. The solid subframe bushings and the fe4 upgrades were big help. Trailing arms/bushings, Toe Rods, upper bushings, radius inserts and 1LE shocks/struts made mine SOLID for sure. Its not for everyone, but I do like mine. I also did the ZL1 brakes with Goodridge ss lines and ZL1 wheels...

Justice Pete recommend alignment -- just awesome..

-Don

[Aprojectile]

What about aerodynamics? I plan on putting a full ZL1 body kit on to help get more down force. And I would like to also lower the car some too.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by Aprojectile

What about aerodynamics? I plan on putting a full ZL1 body kit on to help get more down force. And I would like to also lower the car some too.

The ZL1 is more about the absence of lift. The Z/28 more about down-force. Then there is the JPSS V3 Aero Package.



http://www.jpssonline.com/#/jpss-v3-aero/

[hammdo]

Originally Posted by Aprojectile

What about aerodynamics? I plan on putting a full ZL1 body kit on to help get more down force. And I would like to also lower the car some too.

I did the ZL1 body upgrades but did hex vents on the hood...

-Don