demonspeed's 2002 SS #7146 "journey"

[xXSilencerXx]

I feel your pain, I don't have a buffer and did a full detail on the Camaro a few weeks back. It was all Meguiar's stuff, and I was happy with the results, but I may have to try what ndtguy uses since it sounds like it work well on his white car. I've never used anything but Meguiar's so it'd be nice to try something new.

[demonspeed]

While my intentions of filming this had nothing to do with adding it to this thread, I figured it's worth sharing. It is only accessible through the link (not public).

This is just a roll out of a parking lot (5mph?), side-step the clutch (1500rpm?), and run to 110. You'll notice I paddled the gas a little at the top of first due to spinning.

http://youtu.be/C11-fkRd3t4

[ndtguy]

Nice shifting Steve. What tires are on your car?

[demonspeed]

Uniroyal all-seasons. Came with the car and are essentially brand new. Wish I could sell them, but I can't imagine anyone wanting crummy all-seasons for a car like this!

[demonspeed]

My SLP Bilstein/Eibach install happened Saturday at UMI. While UMI does not really do installs, I've known Ryan for over 16 years Jerry has been with UMI well before it was even UMI, and I was introduced to him in 2003. He's a huge asset to the shop, and does a ton of the hands-on tough stuff. He did 99% of this install, and all on his own time.

While everything I've done so far has been smooth sailing, this install did not go as expected. If anyone can take any advice from me, please heed my warning: be sure to have strut mounts when you change your shocks/struts/springs. If you don't use them, then return them. Just have some before you start your install. KYB, Moog, Monroe, and many other "no-name" brands make them. *EDIT: ACDelco 501-148 (left) / 501-149 (right) - reliable GM quality at the aftermarket price.

While my car only has 67k miles, the sleeve in the strut mounts were seized to the top of the strut. Jerry was able to get one side loose with some "finesse," but the driver side would have none of it. Had we not done this at UMI, I would have been screwed. Fortunately, Jerry "engineered" a solution, so all is well. However, it was a complete waste of 5 hours. Had I had new strut mounts, we could have saved a lot of time and aggravation.

All we were able to complete, aside from the shocks/springs, was a strut brace

Here is Jerry taking stuff apart (you can see how I paid him in the bottom-right):



Here's the ugliness that awaits any of you who haven't yet changed your struts (unless your car has lived in a bubble):



The underside was just as nasty. With a little love from an angle grinder, I cleaned them up as best I could:



I hit them with some rust preventer in black, so hopefully it will keep things clean for a few years.

Here is everything back together:



Strut brace:



Unfortunately, I'm going to keep the suspense up as I've not yet taken any pictures post-lowering EDIT: pictures added post 52. It appears to be about an inch lower, though. The ride is much tighter than the factory deCarbon's, yet not at all harsh. It feels significantly more confident, and any floatyness is gone. I've never driven a Strano/Koni car, so I can't compare to what is the apparent 4th gen benchmark, but I am very happy with the results, especially for the driving that I will do (if I make it to a road course even once a year I'll be lucky).

I'll be doing a be doing a better write up on LS1tech once I do get the pics and some more time with everything. I must say that had it not been for Jerry, the bad situation would not have been turned around. I'll try to get pics up later this week.

[ndtguy]

Nice to see the two pics at work. I will have to wait until I get home to see the others. Like your car, my car rides a bit tighter and doesn't have the bounce-everywhere thing going on now. I wish we lived closer so we could compare the difference there is in stock springs vs the SLP other than a 1" drop.

I'm looking at your sway bar bushing, just wondering, but is it on correctly? Also, did you do the body bushings in poly also? If so, was there any improvement over the stock rubber bushing and how much?

Thanks!

[xXSilencerXx]

That's cool that you know those guys! My car is full of their products.

My strut mounts were the same way. I had to buy new ones to finish the install. My problem was that the nut on the top of the strut was so rusted it either stripped or broke off, and the strut mount was rusted to the strut so it didn't even come off when the nut broke. I end up cutting the shaft on the struts to get the spring seat since that was the only part I need to finish.

[demonspeed]

Originally Posted by ndtguy

I'm looking at your sway bar bushing, just wondering, but is it on correctly? Also, did you do the body bushings in poly also? If so, was there any improvement over the stock rubber bushing and how much?

My stock end links were junk, so Jerry just cut them out and replaced them with the end links from their sway bar kits. I'll be doing their sway bars, but we ran out of time. I'm not sure I notice any difference or not, though.

Originally Posted by xXSilencerXx

That's cool that you know those guys! My car is full of their products.

My strut mounts were the same way. I had to buy new ones to finish the install. My problem was that the nut on the top of the strut was so rusted it either stripped or broke off, and the strut mount was rusted to the strut so it didn't even come off when the nut broke. I end up cutting the shaft on the struts to get the spring seat since that was the only part I need to finish.

I wish I would have taken pictures of the carnage trying to save the strut mounts. What you explain is what we had to deal with. You can see in the pictures of the a-arms how nasty it gets under the strut towers, so it's no wonder they get rusted to the shaft. Since the deCarbons were going in the dumpster, there was no problem cutting the strut piston shaft with a cutoff wheel.

[02SS#214]

Nice Build!

[demonspeed]

Here are some crappy pics I grabbed last night. It was too late in the evening as the sun was very low, but hopefully everyone can see the slight difference. As is the trademark with the SLP springs, the rear is what is noticeable. Interesting stance, but the combo works in unison.









And before:

[dmginc]

looks good, 1.5" drop would probably look a little better but that is probably a better ride height (damn speed bumps!) and it looks way better then stock height.

it has a nice stance to it now.

[demonspeed]

Thanks!

I prefer the look of the lower cars - really, I do. I'm not worried about speed bumps or anything, either. It honestly came down to wanting a combo that was "made for each other" and would work great for my preference of racing in a straight line. As mentioned, totally function over form for this one.

[Ls1Lover]

Nioceee! Looks Betterr! Front Just Needs To Come Down A Little Bit.
But Still Looks Way Better Than Before (4x4)
And I Bet It Handles Awesome

[xXSilencerXx]

The car has a real nice stance to it, not as low as other setups, but it still looks great.