V6 Suspension Upgrades

[BMR guy]

Originally Posted by JohnZ

Thanks BMR Guy, do you guys plan on making a strut tower brace for the V6? Sidenote, the 1k includes the front and rear endlinks. However, I was also looking at BMR, I do like your stuff and have heard good things, plus you do offer a lot for the money.

Yes, there is a plan to manufacture V6 strut tower braces but nothing has been started yet. We lost access to our V6 test car when the owner upgraded to an SS. Any V6 cars in the Tampa Bay area?

[JusticePete]

Using a strut tower bar because you like the look is Adding a strut tower bar as a critical performance upgrade is wishful thinking.

The lowest hanging fruit on a Daily Driver Camaro has NO flash value but has tremendous functional value. Sub-frame inserts address rear end step out. You can add coilovers or sway bars or lowering coils or wheels and tires and none of them will address rear end step out. Some of these modifications will actually make rear end step out worse.

Sub-frame bush inserts or sub-frame bushes are the place to start your suspension mods on a six or an eight. Take a read through this thread and see how mission critical sub-frame bushes really are to a 5th Gen.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98362

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by JohnZ

Im looking to upgrade the suspension in my v6 camaro, but I am not seeing much of any parts. Does anyone manufacture a strut tower brace for the V6? Also, does anyone know if the Hotchkis sway bars and endlinks work on the V6, i want to make sure before I drop a grand on this stuff. When I searched this section, I could not find much info in regards to v6 upgrades specifically.

Thanks

Hi JohnZ,

Every part that we make for the 2010 Camaro, works on both V6 and V8 Chassis. This includes our engine mounts, strut brace, sway bars etc. Even our shifter when it is released will probably fit both chassis.

We have a TON of V6 owners using our products, as the performance goals of V8 and V6 Camaros are identical. Hopefully some of them will see this thread and chime in.

As others have posted, there are multiple manufactures of Strut Braces for the 2010 camaro, and they all address the inherent flex in the chassis under a variety of conditions, from road racing to pulling in a driveway.

With that said, the most effective upgrades on the 2010 Camaro are going to be front and rear matched sway bar upgrades, and rear suspension upgrades like Rear Trailing Arms, and Rear Subframe bushings that completely solve any rear subframe movement during cornering etc., not just limit it. Take a look at the video below to see what I am talking about to completely solve the rear end stepping out during cornering.



In terms of Sway Bars on V6 and V8 models, take a look at the charts below to show the relative comparisons between OEM V6, OEM V8, and all Pfadt engineered sway bars. I have included a video below that to show exactly what the sway bars will do for your V6 Camaro in terms of flat cornering. Like I said, the performance goals of V6 and V8 Camaros are identical, due to the weight difference being approximately the equivalent of a full tank of fuel.





If you have any questions regarding V6 performance, please just let us know. We are here to help!

[camaro4mybday]

a question to pfadt um if your subframe bushings are solid wouldnt that mean a harder ride for the daily driver, wouldnt you want a little softness in them to keep things comfy?

[JusticePete]

The harder the sub-frame bushes the more noise there will be transmitted. That is why the OE bushes have NVH voids. All of us try to skin the same cat and not have the cat screech. Our inserts use the OE rubber for NVH management. The EP1201 are solid. but not as hard or dense as the EP1201HD which we consider full track ready.

None of the noise increases with Sub-Frame inserts or bushes are objectionable. They are incremental increases. None will make your ride rough because the sub-frame isn't really part of the suspension in the sense it was not designed to articulate when you traverse a bump. The sub-frame is supposed to be the platform for the moving components of the suspensions that make your car ride smooth or rough.

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by camaro4mybday

a question to pfadt um if your subframe bushings are solid wouldnt that mean a harder ride for the daily driver, wouldnt you want a little softness in them to keep things comfy?

camaro4mybday, I can not argue against the logic behind your question. But in reality there are a couple things going on in the rear suspension design that let us get away with a solid design.

We tested versions of rear subframe bushings in various poly/plastics and found only disadvantages in performance and no advantage in NVH levels in-cabin. The design of the rear subframe to chassis isolation allows for a lot of movement in the X (fore/aft) direction and some Y (side to side) direction for dynamic alignment changes. There is also movement as you can see, in the Z (vertical) direction (which is probably the weakest direction of the design), but it is not the primary use of that connection. Things that more directly affect the ride quality are in the Z direction, and are more like Springs and Struts etc, to soak up bumps and vertical suspension deflections. So the rear subframe bushings are not primarily used in that application, as they do not directly take those vertical loads.

It is for that reason, that we found by creating a MUCH stronger, and LIGHTER component, that solves the issue of rear subframe movement COMPLETELY, and not just partially, it was best to go with a solid mount. A solid mount in Aluminum, or a close to solid mount out of hard poly, had the same levles of NVH, from our testing. Only the non-solid versions we tested did not have the performance advantage of the solid mount.

So, with that said, the level of NVH added by the solid subframe mounts is very minimal at most, if any. Some customers say they notice no ride quality/noise difference whatsoever. Some say they just "feel" the rear end being tighter, shaper, more precise, and the noise level is minimal (some say there is slightly more differential noise). It is really a subjective concern, and depends on what your expectations are and how perceptible you are of noise etc.

The suspension arms and components that affect ride quality more directly are still isolated in rubber, in one way or another (poly etc), and this is why the Solid Subframe Bushings have less of an effect on noise, vibration and harshness, than say, a full control arm poly kit.

Things still stay nice and comfy on the street with the use of these bushings!

[Hotchkis]

Originally Posted by JohnZ

Im looking to upgrade the suspension in my v6 camaro, but I am not seeing much of any parts. Does anyone manufacture a strut tower brace for the V6? Also, does anyone know if the Hotchkis sway bars and endlinks work on the V6, i want to make sure before I drop a grand on this stuff. When I searched this section, I could not find much info in regards to v6 upgrades specifically.

Thanks

Hi JohnZ -

Whew, lots of info in this thread. You do ask in your post if the Hotchkis sway bars work on the V6 and the answer is yes. Give us a call anytime to talk to a tech.