hotchkis chassis brace and strut on a V6 ?

[leonardo]

ok so I am changing my eibach's to the hotchkis springs and sways since I already have the hotchkis endlinks .....i wanted to also upgrade to the bar and brace because I do some really hard cornering on my ride so I wanted to know will the strut and chassis brace be beneficial to me ? ive heard nothing but positive feedback but all from V8 owners.......some people have told me Ill be wasting my money on a brace and strut since the V6 doesnt produce enough power to cause wheel hop ...........any V6 owners out there with the track package ?

[Hotchkis]

Originally Posted by leonardo

ok so I am changing my eibach's to the hotchkis springs and sways since I already have the hotchkis endlinks .....i wanted to also upgrade to the bar and brace because I do some really hard cornering on my ride so I wanted to know will the strut and chassis brace be beneficial to me ? ive heard nothing but positive feedback but all from V8 owners.......some people have told me Ill be wasting my money on a brace and strut since the V6 doesnt produce enough power to cause wheel hop ...........any V6 owners out there with the track package ?

Leonardo – our Chassis Max Brace isn’t just for reducing wheel hop. It also helps reduce movement of the rear suspension cradle during cornering so the car feels more confident and is more predictable.

V-6 Camaros can handle just as good as V-8 models. You should have plenty of power to pull out of a corner.

[leonardo]

well I got the hotchkis track package and here are my reviews for the V6

Springs- 10/10 very stiff springs over bumps ( which I love ) and ride quality is not compromised

Sway bars - 10/10 great design and much thicker than OEM thats for sure

Strut brace- 10/10 not only does it look awesome but it handles great

Chassis brace - 10/10 I LOVE THIS THING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! best investment ever, the wheel hop that I used to get whenever I floored it, is now gone ! as soon as I step on it the car just pulls itself no more lag.

Endlinks - 5/10 dont let the looks fool you, these things may look awesome but they are VERY LOUD and annoying !! its so embarassing when guest in my car ask "whats that clicking noise" then I have to explain that Im working on getting it fixed. As of yet I am very dissatisfied with these As I turn the wheel its click after click, so you can imagine when I do an entire turn its like a damn popcorn machine .....hopefully in its worst case scenario these just happen to be bad endlinks and really not the way they are supposed to function because if they are then I will be changing endlinks thats for damn sure ..... so we shall see after I take it back to the shop today

[caverman]

Originally Posted by leonardo

Endlinks - 5/10 dont let the looks fool you, these things may look awesome but they are VERY LOUD and annoying !! its so embarassing when guest in my car ask "whats that clicking noise" then I have to explain that Im working on getting it fixed. As of yet I am very dissatisfied with these As I turn the wheel its click after click, so you can imagine when I do an entire turn its like a damn popcorn machine .....hopefully in its worst case scenario these just happen to be bad endlinks and really not the way they are supposed to function because if they are then I will be changing endlinks thats for damn sure ..... so we shall see after I take it back to the shop today

Hearing this from more than one person is one of the big reasons why I'm not going to the end links for now....besides the fact that they aren't cheap.

I've heard plenty of people say that the OEM endlinks work fine with the sway bars. Now, if I were tracking my car real often or doing heavy road coarse stuff that might be different. To me, for a daily driver with an occassional AutoX event I just don't think they are necessary.

Now...if I bend or brake one I'll replace it with an aftermarket end link but I have a feeling that's not going to happen for a long time if ever since I don't really push my car that hard.

Good luck.

[axis]

Originally Posted by leonardo

Endlinks - 5/10 dont let the looks fool you, these things may look awesome but they are VERY LOUD and annoying !! its so embarassing when guest in my car ask "whats that clicking noise" then I have to explain that Im working on getting it fixed. As of yet I am very dissatisfied with these As I turn the wheel its click after click, so you can imagine when I do an entire turn its like a damn popcorn machine .....hopefully in its worst case scenario these just happen to be bad endlinks and really not the way they are supposed to function because if they are then I will be changing endlinks thats for damn sure ..... so we shall see after I take it back to the shop today

Aftermarket endlinks shouldn't make any noise at all. If they do, there's something wrong. 99% of the time, they aren't tightened properly. They are very picky about how tight they need to be. While it's next to impossible to use a Tq wrench on the stockers, the aftermarket ones shouldn't have a problem using one on. You'd be suprised at just how tight 36ft/lbs is.

[Hotchkis]

Leonardo - thank you VERY much for choosing Hotchkis for your Camaro. We're thrilled to hear how happy you are with the Track Pack.

Regarding the endlinks - for most street cars that don't see track time, stock endlinks with factory NVH insulation work fine and are whisper quiet. The Track Pack includes billet endlinks for the most high performance applications where maximum strength and adjustability is necessary. Our end links are made with heavy duty PTFE-lined Heim joints and quality aluminum machined sleeves. They are much stronger than the stock pieces. While being stronger, they do give some additional suspension noise. Make sure they are torqued correctly and grease the fittings, that should help.

[leonardo]

Originally Posted by Hotchkis

Leonardo - thank you VERY much for choosing Hotchkis for your Camaro. We're thrilled to hear how happy you are with the Track Pack.

Regarding the endlinks - for most street cars that don't see track time, stock endlinks with factory NVH insulation work fine and are whisper quiet. The Track Pack includes billet endlinks for the most high performance applications where maximum strength and adjustability is necessary. Our end links are made with heavy duty PTFE-lined Heim joints and quality aluminum machined sleeves. They are much stronger than the stock pieces. While being stronger, they do give some additional suspension noise. Make sure they are torqued correctly and grease the fittings, that should help.

Well yesterday when I took it back in to the shop he sprayed some W40 on the joints and it "quiet down" for about 15 miles and then the noise came back, and I know its supposed to make some noise but the level of noise these endlinks are making is beyond normal ( trust me Ive asked other members like Don and Rob who also have the track package and they agree its not normal ) The clicking is immediate after just moving the steering wheel even a little bit, I am going back one last time today, its been such a hassle getting off work early all these times so hopefully there is a solution because i'd hate to have to go with a different brand of endlinks

[leonardo]

just got my ride back and wow so much smoother thanks a lot Drew and Aaron at hotchkis. you guys are awesome for helping me out on such short notice

[caverman]

Ok....so what was the fix?

[leonardo]

Originally Posted by caverman

Ok....so what was the fix?

well hotchkis can explain better than I can but basically the endlinks needed to be taken apart to be lubbed at the joints because just spraying w40 wasn't going to work, sorry I didn't explain it too good ,hotchkis help me out here lol

[Chito]

Congrats bro n yes hotckis is a good product.

[VR Baron]

Glad that worked out Leo

[leonardo]

Originally Posted by blackbee

Glad that worked out Leo

thanks

[axis]

Originally Posted by leonardo

well hotchkis can explain better than I can but basically the endlinks needed to be taken apart to be lubbed at the joints because just spraying w40 wasn't going to work, sorry I didn't explain it too good ,hotchkis help me out here lol

Glad you got it worked out. I knew there had to be a problem somewhere. Never heard of having to grease the aftermarket joints but obviously that was the problem.