Installing 1LE Struts in '11 SS?

[Mr. Notorious]

I have a couple questions for those that swapped the 1LE front struts into 2011 SS.


- Are the 1LE's meant to run at a lower ride height than the SS? (I have BMR 1.25" lowering coils)


- Will my front 2011 sway bar links bolt right in? Or did the mounting hole in the strut get upsized to 12mm?


- Is the front strut mount any better / different for the 1LE?


- Are there any other options I should be considering, I like bilstein's, but they're just a bit salty on the price tag at $250 a piece.





Background info, my front struts are worn (I have over 75,000 hard miles on these struts). They're making noise and have a slight wobble so I just wanted to replace the mounts and struts. I already have aftermarket swaybars in the car, so I'm not looking to swap in the 1LE bar.


I also run 275's in the front, and I recall there was very little clearance between my tire and the lower spring perch on the strut. So whatever strut I get I really want it to be close to the same size / width as the OEM one. I read about a Koni orange strut having a larger lower mount which makes me nervous going aftermarket.

[hammdo]

I'm lowered 1" and no issues with the 1LE setup. I'm also running the ZL1 wheels...

No issues:

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=381401

-Don

[JOHNSONROD]

is the new rear sway bar the old style FE3 narrow bar or the new style FE4 wide bar? if you still have the narrow style bar in there, going to the wide rear bar is the best handling upgrade you can do. in my opinion, the narrow style rear bar makes the car squirrely, and borderline unsafe to drive.

[hammdo]

Danny is right, that is one of the very first suspension mods I did:

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=371323

-Don

[TWOFORTYZ]

Originally Posted by Mr. Notorious

I have a couple questions for those that swapped the 1LE front struts into 2011 SS.


- Are the 1LE's meant to run at a lower ride height than the SS? (I have BMR 1.25" lowering coils)


- Will my front 2011 sway bar links bolt right in? Or did the mounting hole in the strut get upsized to 12mm?


- Is the front strut mount any better / different for the 1LE?


- Are there any other options I should be considering, I like bilstein's, but they're just a bit salty on the price tag at $250 a piece.





Background info, my front struts are worn (I have over 75,000 hard miles on these struts). They're making noise and have a slight wobble so I just wanted to replace the mounts and struts. I already have aftermarket swaybars in the car, so I'm not looking to swap in the 1LE bar.


I also run 275's in the front, and I recall there was very little clearance between my tire and the lower spring perch on the strut. So whatever strut I get I really want it to be close to the same size / width as the OEM one. I read about a Koni orange strut having a larger lower mount which makes me nervous going aftermarket.

Bilsteins have been wonderful on my vehicles, the bilsteins on my 240Z have so many miles on them they have worn through the chrome plating and still work flawlessly. I have them on the Caprice wagon as well. They make a great product.

[Mr. Notorious]

Don, do you have the factory 2011 Front Sway Bar and Links installed with the 1LE struts? I suspect not, and that you have the 1LE sway bar installed. So you wouldn't have the issue I think I may have.

I believe my 2011 front sway bar runs 10mm hardware at the sway bar links, where-as the 1LE strut would have the more current 12mm sway bar link mounting tab.
johnsonrod, Someday I'll update the rear sway bar, but I'm just focusing on replacing worn components right now. My 2011 sway bars were upgraded with hotchkis sway bars back in 2011 anyways.

[hammdo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Notorious

Don, do you have the factory 2011 Front Sway Bar and Links installed with the 1LE struts? I suspect not, and that you have the 1LE sway bar installed. So you wouldn't have the issue I think I may have.

I believe my 2011 front sway bar runs 10mm hardware at the sway bar links, where-as the 1LE strut would have the more current 12mm sway bar link mounting tab.
johnsonrod, Someday I'll update the rear sway bar, but I'm just focusing on replacing worn components right now. My 2011 sway bars were upgraded with hotchkis sway bars back in 2011 anyways.

Initially, I did the bmr sway bar updates and that put me into having the 1LE links thus, drilling my original 11 struts to fit them. The stock 11 sway bar links are not big enough to fill the 1LE link opening — it will be too lose — so, if you do 1LE, you’ll need the sway bar/links plus, you’ll be needing the updated LCAs in the rear for the outboard 1le rear sway bar/links. No way to really avoid that - if you want 1LE update on the 11- otherwise you would need to drill out the sway bar for the 12mm links if you get the 1LE struts/links...

-Don