2011 SS suspension upgrade

[Ravioli SS]

Hi guys,

Recently installed a btr stage 2 cam along with a few other goodies and i am near 450 rwhp. I've been reading suspension threads all day and I thought I had an idea of what I want to do but now I am more confused than ever.

Originally, I thought about getting the 1le kit from GM but I discovered the level 3 BTR kit. I like what is in it but honestly, and this is petty, I don't like the red springs or red poly bushings. Should I suck it up and get the btr kit or would SFC, tunnel brace and bushings make this significantly better?

I'm in WI and this car will primarily see street use. Thanks

[KJZ28]

Look up Justice Pete. He talks a lot about all your options. He talks about the advantages of using factory parts on street cars. If you get in an accident they are designed to crumple keeping damage minimal. Aftermarket stuff is super stiff and transmits the impact into more of the car. I upgraded to the 1Le parts and I am very satisfied.

[Avenging Orange]

The platform we are rolling on has been around for quite some time. The weak points have been found and addressed. A few properly placed bushings and upgraded shocks and struts can make a huge difference. But like anything else, it depends on what you want the car to do and how deep your pockets are.
Take some time and do some research. As stated, Pete wrote the book (literally) on the 5th gen suspension.

[Ravioli SS]

Thanks guys I pm'd him a few minutes ago. It will be on the street 99.5% of the time as I have no plans to take it to any track days or drag race it. I may someday but not in the foreseeable near future. All of that being said I really like the 1le kit too but it seems like it doesn't address some of the other issues that the suspension has-- bushings mainly.

[olblue75]

Get some cradle bushings preferably solids that’ll fix the majority of your woes, as far as Pete goes he’s outta the car biz or at least he doesn’t own a shop anymore. So if you wanna good handling car get a 1LE front bar, one of Pete’s 32mm if you can find one or a DSE 35mm hollow rear bar, 1LE shocks and struts or Bilstiens B6’s, and a good alignment that should get you started.
Almost forgot 1LE rear upper shock mount an Z28 rear upper control arm rear mounts their solid rubber vs the other Camaro platforms voided ones.

[Avenging Orange]

The other side of this..is getting the parts. I started the middle of May and I'm still waiting on parts from BMR and Detroit Speed.
I think they are now ramping up.....but Covid put a hurt on them as well.

[Ravioli SS]

all great points.

[Ravioli SS]

guys a few questions..

are the subframe bushings and cradle bushings the same part... just interchangeable terms? I am at 460 rwhp could I 'get by' with poly or should I absolutely be installing the solid mounts? I read on a previous thread that Prothane has an 88 durometer rating and whiteline is even better than that. Whiteline is around $250 for the rear subframe bushings and the entire set with rear subframe bushings from prothane is $400.... by comparison the Hendrix solid bushings are $400 by themself. Not trying to sound cheap but like many I am on a budget just need to make sure I spend wisely and get the most bang for the buck. Remember 99.5% of the time street driven 460hp at the wheels(cam, headers/full exhaust, cai, tune), all stock 2011 camaro ss suspension (I do need tires... prob next season) Thank you all and Happy Fathers Day!

[Axe55]

BMR has a wide variety of kits, I've bought stuff from them and liked it. You might have to suck it up on the red bushings but they offer black components. Best place to start is trailing arms, toe rods, and cradle bushings when you're upgrading the suspension to get rid of wheel hop. You'll feel the difference when you launch, I can tell you that. I went with non-adjustable as I don't track mine and they're cheaper. I also went with cradle bushing inserts because they're easier to install. I might regret that later, but we'll see.

[acammer]

First step in killing wheel hop is going to be cradle bushings and differential bushings. Doing the trailing and toe rods won't help much if the cradle isn't tied down properly. On the other hand, once the cradle is tied down those other parts are still good to-do's, but you'll find a lot of your hop issues resolved.

[Ravioli SS]

Originally Posted by acammer

First step in killing wheel hop is going to be cradle bushings and differential bushings. Doing the trailing and toe rods won't help much if the cradle isn't tied down properly. On the other hand, once the cradle is tied down those other parts are still good to-do's, but you'll find a lot of your hop issues resolved.

safe to say solid subframe bushings and poly diff bushings look to be some of the most popular choices for the first suspension mods. I read a thread from back in 2014 that says instead of the 1le upgrade kit a better performing setup is:

Prothane subframe bushings
Prothane front control/radius arm inserts
JDP Upper control arm bushings
BMR or Detroit speed sway bars
JDP FE4 suspension conversion
Trailing arms w/ outer bushings (many choices)
Toe links (again many choices)


All thus being said, I can get the GM 1le upgrade kit for $950 but I would need the lower control arms from a 2012+ which adds another $100 and ideally I would get a tunnel brace $80, sfc $350, and a strut tower brace oem $275 with 2010-2011 brackets or $350 aftermarket on top of that

Unfortunately I don't have the funs to do everything but such is life

[Avenging Orange]

I think you are aiming a bit high for what you originally wanted. BMR has a couple simple bushing kits that will address major weak points for around $500. You can replace the inboard mounted rear sway with a zl1 bar, links and LCA,'s from GM for $300. You can upgrade shocks and struts to the fe4's (at a minimum) for $300. And you can take it a step further with BMR (or others) springs. You can have a great handling car fairly cheap if you shop around.
As we said before...do some reading and research before you jump in head first.

[olblue75]

The for sale section is loaded with good used parts but buy new shock and struts and personally I’d go with solid bushing over poly because poly will eventually wear or start to make noise.

[Ravioli SS]

Originally Posted by Avenging Orange

I think you are aiming a bit high for what you originally wanted. BMR has a couple simple bushing kits that will address major weak points for around $500. You can replace the inboard mounted rear sway with a zl1 bar, links and LCA,'s from GM for $300. You can upgrade shocks and struts to the fe4's (at a minimum) for $300. And you can take it a step further with BMR (or others) springs. You can have a great handling car fairly cheap if you shop around.
As we said before...do some reading and research before you jump in head first.

Originally Posted by olblue75

The for sale section is loaded with good used parts but buy new shock and struts and personally I’d go with solid bushing over poly because poly will eventually wear or start to make noise.

I think you guys are right. After carving some serious time out today I am going to do Radius Rod Inserts, Hendrix Solid Subframe Mounts and a zl1 bar with fe4 lower control arms