Pfadt solid subframe mounts, diff bushings, sways and trailing arms installed! - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

AdamCzap · 12-27-2010, 07:07 PM

WOW! Today was a lot of fun. My dad and I spent about 7 hours in the shop working on everything, but we installed the following:

Pfadt solid subframe mounts
Pfadt differential bushings
Pfadt front and rear adjustable sway bars
Pfadt rear trailing arms

Review: Overall, the car is vastly improved compared to what it was with the stock suspension. I was really shocked how different it felt. The rear end feels much more solid now: I step on the gas, nothing steps out or wheel hops. It just hooks and goes, but I'll have to wait till spring to drag race it. The sway bars make hittin' twisties fun again. These mods are a definite must for anyone looking to get better power transfer to the ground in their car. There is a *very* small increase in cabin noise. I was expecting a lot more, but it's pretty negligable. On another note, I wonder what performance difference I would have felt it I would have added all these mods incrementally? I'd guess probably the subframe mounts as there is a huge amount of movement with the stock mounts. Who knows? It's definitely easier to just do them all at once though. The total bill for all the parts was ~$1600 on sale from Apex Motorsports. I could not have been happier with their service and the speed of delivery. All in all I'd say this is probably one of the most substantial upgrades you can do to the Camaro for the money.

Subframe bushing install notes: we did what most others on here are doing to remove these. We cut around the metal core with a sawz-all and then used an air chisel / air hammer to knock the plastic casings out. It was pretty straitforward, but just time consuming as the car needs to be raised off the subframe. Dropping the car back down on top of the frame and lining everything up again was the longest part of this procedure. Re-connecting the driveshaft wasn't too bad since we left the car in neutral and painted some markers on it to keep everything lined up properly when putting it back together.

Differential bushing install notes: this was the most difficult part of the job. These bushings were HARD to get out! We spent about 10-15 minutes each on them but I've hard of guys spending hours trying to get them out

. We torched the metal cores to the point that they melted the rubber around them and fell right out. Then we wrapped the aluminum differential with wet paper towels to avoid heat soak from the torch. If you're going to do this I recommend using a vacuum or smoke eater to catch all the smoke as it really smells like butt. Getting the metal casings out just involved a lot of grunt work with the air chisel and air hammer. I can't imagine trying to do this with a hand chisel like they show in the instructions!!!

I'd highly recommend paying the money for the Cincy Speed bushing tool for this job if you don't already own the air equipment. It could literally save you hours.

Trailing arm install notes: This was pretty straight forward and imo it could easily be done in your garage. Just undo a couple bolts, knock out some more bushings and away you go. I bought a 2/3 jaw puller for this but didn't even use it to get the bushings out. I can't remember what we used, probably the air chisel again. Trailings arms imo are a really great "bang for your buck" part. I hope nobody wants my old ones bc I threw them out

Sway bar install notes: You can do this in your garage pretty easily. The back one is a 20-30 minute job and the front will take a little longer. Be sure to grease the crap out of them. The hardest part about this is wiggling out the front sway bar. I wrote another thread about this a few weeks ago when I did it. Huge improvement in cornering! My rear bar is on the stiffest setting and I'm going to wait till I break my stock end links in half before I replace those.

Here's some pics, please excuse the twin turbo pr0n at the end

Apex Motorsports · 12-27-2010, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamCzap

All I can say is WOW! Today was a lot of fun. My dad and I spent about 7 hours in the shop working on everything, but I now have the following mods installed:

Pfadt solid subframe mounts
Pfadt differential bushings
Pfadt front and rear adjustable sway bars
Pfadt rear trailing arms

Full report with pics coming soon! So far no real noticeable increase in cabin noise but a HUGE difference in the car's feeling of "connectedness" to the road. My car makes ~550rwhp and it was difficult for me to spin my crappy 18" snow tires. I'm very impressed right now.

Can't wait for the full report!

ZX1truth · 12-27-2010, 09:35 PM

Congrats brother.......great choice and I've been driving my SS hard with my install. See my post.....can't wait to see yours!

S-eatin-grin · 12-27-2010, 09:45 PM

You going to do the bushings for the upper rear control arm, front radius bushings, add some endlinks and springs too? I've got the suspension on the do list for my SS but am going with BMR...they have complete kits. Iv'e heard though that the pfadt solid subframe mounts are the best out there. Congrats and look forward to the results!

ZX1truth · 12-28-2010, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S-eatin-grin

You going to do the bushings for the upper rear control arm, front radius bushings, add some endlinks and springs too? I've got the suspension on the do list for my SS but am going with BMR...they have complete kits. Iv'e heard though that the pfadt solid subframe mounts are the best out there. Congrats and look forward to the results!

Just saying.....Pfadt has complete kits also.....and they may do a total package discount if you ask real nice like! And ...yes their solid subframe mount KICKS AZZ!

Ivan @ Southwest Speed · 12-28-2010, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZX1truth

Just saying.....Pfadt has complete kits also.....and they may do a total package discount if you ask real nice like! And ...yes their solid subframe mount KICKS AZZ!

Couldn't agree more. Between them and the Motor Mounts, they are Southwest Speed's Best Sellers.

A Smart investment and worth every dollar....Pfadt.

Ivan @ Southwest Speed

AdamCzap · 12-29-2010, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivan @ Southwest Speed

Couldn't agree more. Between them and the Motor Mounts, they are Southwest Speed's Best Sellers.

A Smart investment and worth every dollar....Pfadt.

Ivan @ Southwest Speed

I'm surprised the motor mounts are such big sellers. I figured those would probably be the least beneficial out of all that stuff. Shows how much I know!

Apex Motorsports · 12-29-2010, 05:58 PM

I'm glad to hear you are happy with everything. Thanks for your business and the feedback.

*radz28* · 01-03-2011, 04:08 PM

Thanks for posting your experience and impressions. It helps solidify what I'm thinking I'll need to do

danhr · 01-03-2011, 04:21 PM

it appears that you have a couple of exhaust leaks....

AdamCzap · 01-03-2011, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danhr

it appears that you have a couple of exhaust leaks....

Hah - yeah, I can never tighten those darn things enough.

Apex Motorsports · 01-03-2011, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radz28

Thanks for posting your experience and impressions. It helps solidify what I'm thinking I'll need to do

That is what I'm talking about!

AdamCzap · 01-03-2011, 06:42 PM

I love his use of the word "solidify"... lol. Yeah, seriously. I was out beating on my car a little bit today and reminded about what a good purchase this stuff was.

*radz28* · 01-04-2011, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apex Chase

That is what I'm talking about!

As expensive as I remember those to be, it seems those are the most complete way to control that rear subframe. I'm liking the poly-style, too, but being a fan of SFCs, if I can kinda' add them (in a round-about-way; these really seem to almost make the rear subframe part of the unibody) and tie that diff' and subframe down, the cost doesn't look nearly as much, IMVHO. The only thing I'd be a little worried about would be a little more noise, but if it's not much more than I got with my 4th Gen's relocated torque arm-style mount, I wouldn't complain at all. It definately sounds like getting some pullers and custom extractors are the way to go, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamCzap

I love his use of the word "solidify"... lol. Yeah, seriously. I was out beating on my car a little bit today and reminded about what a good purchase this stuff was.

It was deliberate - believe me. I've been pretty much sold on this mod' since the first video was posted!

12-27-2010, 07:07 PM	#1
AdamCzap Drives: 18 zl1, 17 sierra denali Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Detroit Area Posts: 471	Pfadt goodies installed + review + pics WOW! Today was a lot of fun. My dad and I spent about 7 hours in the shop working on everything, but we installed the following: Pfadt solid subframe mounts Pfadt differential bushings Pfadt front and rear adjustable sway bars Pfadt rear trailing arms Review: Overall, the car is vastly improved compared to what it was with the stock suspension. I was really shocked how different it felt. The rear end feels much more solid now: I step on the gas, nothing steps out or wheel hops. It just hooks and goes, but I'll have to wait till spring to drag race it. The sway bars make hittin' twisties fun again. These mods are a definite must for anyone looking to get better power transfer to the ground in their car. There is a very small increase in cabin noise. I was expecting a lot more, but it's pretty negligable. On another note, I wonder what performance difference I would have felt it I would have added all these mods incrementally? I'd guess probably the subframe mounts as there is a huge amount of movement with the stock mounts. Who knows? It's definitely easier to just do them all at once though. The total bill for all the parts was ~$1600 on sale from Apex Motorsports. I could not have been happier with their service and the speed of delivery. All in all I'd say this is probably one of the most substantial upgrades you can do to the Camaro for the money. Subframe bushing install notes: we did what most others on here are doing to remove these. We cut around the metal core with a sawz-all and then used an air chisel / air hammer to knock the plastic casings out. It was pretty straitforward, but just time consuming as the car needs to be raised off the subframe. Dropping the car back down on top of the frame and lining everything up again was the longest part of this procedure. Re-connecting the driveshaft wasn't too bad since we left the car in neutral and painted some markers on it to keep everything lined up properly when putting it back together. Differential bushing install notes: this was the most difficult part of the job. These bushings were HARD to get out! We spent about 10-15 minutes each on them but I've hard of guys spending hours trying to get them out . We torched the metal cores to the point that they melted the rubber around them and fell right out. Then we wrapped the aluminum differential with wet paper towels to avoid heat soak from the torch. If you're going to do this I recommend using a vacuum or smoke eater to catch all the smoke as it really smells like butt. Getting the metal casings out just involved a lot of grunt work with the air chisel and air hammer. I can't imagine trying to do this with a hand chisel like they show in the instructions!!! I'd highly recommend paying the money for the Cincy Speed bushing tool for this job if you don't already own the air equipment. It could literally save you hours. Trailing arm install notes: This was pretty straight forward and imo it could easily be done in your garage. Just undo a couple bolts, knock out some more bushings and away you go. I bought a 2/3 jaw puller for this but didn't even use it to get the bushings out. I can't remember what we used, probably the air chisel again. Trailings arms imo are a really great "bang for your buck" part. I hope nobody wants my old ones bc I threw them out Sway bar install notes: You can do this in your garage pretty easily. The back one is a 20-30 minute job and the front will take a little longer. Be sure to grease the crap out of them. The hardest part about this is wiggling out the front sway bar. I wrote another thread about this a few weeks ago when I did it. Huge improvement in cornering! My rear bar is on the stiffest setting and I'm going to wait till I break my stock end links in half before I replace those. Here's some pics, please excuse the twin turbo pr0n at the end Attached Images Last edited by AdamCzap; 12-29-2010 at 04:30 PM. Reason: added pics, install notes, full review

12-27-2010, 09:35 PM	#3
ZX1truth Drives: 2010 2SS/RS Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Posts: 592	Congrats brother.......great choice and I've been driving my SS hard with my install. See my post.....can't wait to see yours! __________________ LME built LSX427 w/t all Callies internals\| AGP 65/65 TT \| Holley Sniper Intake \| Brodix BR3/LME custom ported \| LME custom cam \| Pro EFI 112 ECU \| ID-1700x \| NGK BR7EF \| AGP's-Fore Triple Fuel pump \| Monster LT1-S Triple \| ZL1 3.23 diff, CF driveshaft, ZL1 axles \| Hurst Line Lock \| MGW Retro Short Throw \| Pfadt solid subframe mounts \| Prothane Motor Mounts \| Revshift Poly Trans insert \| Ground Control camber/caster plates \| Accelerated Racing Solutions tuned\| God is too good! I don't deserve it, but I sure will accept it!!!

12-27-2010, 09:45 PM	#4
S-eatin-grin Drives: 2013 2SS/RS AGM Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: WV Posts: 1,170 View My Garage	You going to do the bushings for the upper rear control arm, front radius bushings, add some endlinks and springs too? I've got the suspension on the do list for my SS but am going with BMR...they have complete kits. Iv'e heard though that the pfadt solid subframe mounts are the best out there. Congrats and look forward to the results! Last edited by S-eatin-grin; 12-27-2010 at 09:46 PM. Reason: typo

01-03-2011, 04:08 PM	#9
radz28 Petro-sexual Drives: Ultra-Grin Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Crazy Coast Posts: 15,807 View My Garage	Thanks for posting your experience and impressions. It helps solidify what I'm thinking I'll need to do __________________ '20 ZL1 Black "Fury" A10, PDR, Exposed CF Extractor Magnuson Magnum DI TVS2650R // RFBG // Soler 103 // TooHighPSI Port Injection // THPSI Billet Lid // FF // Katech Drop-In // PLM Heat Exchanger // ZLE Cradle bushings // BMR Chassis-Suspension Stuff // aFe Bars // Diode Dynamics LEDs // ACS Composites Guards // CF Dash // Aeroforce // tint // other stuffs

01-03-2011, 04:21 PM	#10
danhr BAMF SS Drives: 2016 Camaro 1SS A8 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ford City, PA Posts: 3,024	it appears that you have a couple of exhaust leaks.... __________________ 2016 1SS A8: FBO + Circle D + P1X + Meth + Tuned by Pray Performance Stock Longblock 800 SAE rwhp. 9.4 @ 145 mph.

12-29-2010, 05:58 PM	#8
Apex Motorsports Drives: 2000 Camaro SS Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Louisville, Ky. Posts: 25,165	I'm glad to hear you are happy with everything. Thanks for your business and the feedback.

01-03-2011, 06:42 PM	#13
AdamCzap Drives: 18 zl1, 17 sierra denali Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Detroit Area Posts: 471	I love his use of the word "solidify"... lol. Yeah, seriously. I was out beating on my car a little bit today and reminded about what a good purchase this stuff was.

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