Thread: cheap, simple, sus. upgrade?

so i dont want to have this rock solid suspension that takes me a grand to put together. im looking for just very simple upgrades that can improve handeling for a DD. some guys have been talking about the dorman trailing arms and was also looking at the dorman trac bar from the same place, tpr swaybar links and moog sway bar bushings unless anyone knows where i can get poly's from, gmpp stb's with drcustomparts gmpp brackets. i already have gr-2 struts and was looking into the ssc lowering springs or maybe the wbs ones, kinda expensive. anything else that would be worth to swap for? car is the gtp in my sig. thanx guys

pretty sure the moog bushings are poly.

Dorman boxed trailing arms on ebay $20 each
The Don Rome brackets and Gm STB bars are $130 total.
GMPP rear sway bar is like $50 too.
Right there you're under $200 still. That's what I'm doing.

Sways bars and bigger,wider better tires will make the most difference.

trailing arms and control arms are not going to make you handle better.

ya i was looking at the rear gmpp sway bar, and keeping the front one stock, just upgrade the bushings and links. like i said; cheap, simple, and easy upgrades. i think im prolly gunna hang onto this car until either the motor or engine gives out and both are running strong, other then a leaking valve stem seal and a leaking oil pan gasket. so im gunna do some upgrades to make this a fun DD till it gives out. i dont want anything extreme, just subtle upgrades.

ive heard of ppl upgrading to moog tie rod or control arm bushings and such, just trying to get a wish list together.

Originally Posted by taman86

i think im prolly gunna hang onto this car until either the motor or engine gives out and both are running strong, other then a leaking valve stem seal and a leaking oil pan gasket.

u have a motor and engine? holy ****.

lmao, ya my bad. i was thinking tranny and typed engine, dkw. any advise as to what im looking for. i guess what im looking for is better stock replacement stuff like the gmpp sb's and stb's and such. the car is a 97 and garunteed the suspension is worn out or weathered so im looking to just "update" it with some better things. make sense?

Originally Posted by taman86

ya i was looking at the rear gmpp sway bar, and keeping the front one stock, just upgrade the bushings and links. like i said; cheap, simple, and easy upgrades. i think im prolly gunna hang onto this car until either the motor or engine gives out and both are running strong, other then a leaking valve stem seal and a leaking oil pan gasket. so im gunna do some upgrades to make this a fun DD till it gives out. i dont want anything extreme, just subtle upgrades.

ive heard of ppl upgrading to moog tie rod or control arm bushings and such, just trying to get a wish list together.

tie rods wont hurt if you have a lot of miles

for the LCA bushings. Its pointless to me to change them. Might as well just buy a whole new moog LCA.

Ya the car had 145,000 miles

I'm just curious..what are tie-rod ends gonna do? I'm kind of intersted in this thread since im kind of like Taman in that I want to "update" the suspension..im at 126K.

The rubber bushing can weather rot and cause loose steering

^^ thats why im changing my tie rod ends. id suggest getting front swaybars as well as the rear ones as they tend to break at the end link. dorman trailing arms are cheap enough to replace those crappy stockers (theyre like 20-30$ each). strut tower braces id skip and get a decent set of springs, since lowering the car just a bit w/ stiffer springs will make it handle a lot better. same thing with lower control arm bushings, just get new lca's and be done with the balljoint too.

last but not least, a good set of tires makes a day-night difference in how the car responds in turns, how it grips the road. if you have old, crappy tires id start with that.

im at 153 000 miles right now and im collecting parts to restore my suspension to its former glory. i managed to snatch slp swaybars, bmr trailing arms, kyb agx + ssc springs, speedbuilt stb's. next on the list for me are tie rod ends and heavy duty lca's and im calling it a day.

Thanx odi, ya I never thought about the lca's but for the stb's I was looking at the gmpp ones with the drcustomparts brackets, they're cheap. As for tires those are out of my range for the time being so I'm just sticking to suspension parts. I already have gr-2s so I just need a good set of springs, just want a mild drop nothing drastic prolly gunna go with ssc spring or vogtlands

trailing arms and control arms are not going to make you handle better.[/QUOTE]

Stock trailing arms are POS. I had one snap in my Monte. $40 for tubular dormans is cheap insurance.

you know, investing a few hundred bucks to to restore your old, weather rotted, worn out suspension is some cheap insurance for an old high mileage car, and will more then likely last for the remainder of the car's years and cheap insurance against falling parts

go with vogtands if you dont care for a drop and want a nice ride. ssc's are a bit harsh.

Originally Posted by Durk Diggler

Stock trailing arms are POS. I had one snap in my Monte. $40 for tubular dormans is cheap insurance.

I know there POS. Do you think I run stock? NO

but they will not make you handle better. Thats all im saying.

so here is a list ive compiled so far for my suspension rebuild/ update project includes description, price, and quantity:

mevotech front strut mount 20x2
monroe rear streat mount 15x2
dorman trailing arms 12x2
mevotech poly swaybar links 3.50x2
mevotech tie rod ends 12.15x2
moog swaybar bushings 8.65/pair
mevotech lca's 58x2
dorman adj. track bar 36.79
GMPP front swaybar 54
GMPP rear sway bar 47
GMPP stb's 27x2
brackets fpr gmpp stb's 48x2 (it might be per pair)

try to see if u can get the dorman front stb. iirc theyre as cheap as gmpp but a better build quality.

where do you get the dorman stb from? do you have a part number or scource? i couldnt even find it on the dorman website?