DSE subframe

[BillyBobL71]

Scott,

Is it necessary to have a valve cover oil fill on your dry sump? Couldn't you fill through the reservoir?

Nice Garage Mahal by the way!

Bill

[XcYZ]

Originally Posted by Steve1968LS2

Look great!!

Hey, those hoses look familiar.. are those the ones I found eons ago for my LS install?

Fit great don't they?

Car really looks great Scott and you did that swap in record setting time.

Thanks Steve. Yep, the hoses fit great!

Originally Posted by BillyBobL71

Scott,

Is it necessary to have a valve cover oil fill on your dry sump? Couldn't you fill through the reservoir?

Nice Garage Mahal by the way!

Bill

No, I don't need a oil fill on the valve cover, but that's how they came.

Thanks!

[fleet]

How's the project coming Scott?

[XcYZ]

I've been waiting to get some seat time in the car before commenting on the upgrade. I put about 400 miles on over the last week and I couldn't be happier. I went with DSE's suggested alignment specs of .5* camber and 5.0* caster. They recommend 0* toe, but we put .1* toe in it.

Using DSE's double adjustable shocks and their baseline compression and rebound settings, I felt the front was disproportionately stiffer than the rear. I went 4 clicks out on both the compression and rebound and now the car feels very well balanced for street and highway driving. Of course, some of that may be due to the fact the the rear has 7300 miles on it and the front is brand new. Time will tell, but it makes me consider upgrading the rear shocks to double adjustables as well.

I'll come right out and say that it's a HUGE improvement over the WD subframe... but how do I quantify it? It's hard to explain seat of the pants feel, turn-in, precision, predictability, and confidence. The old subframe drove nice and was fun to drive - I don't regret going that direction at the time. The new setup, however, is definitely on a different level. Obviously I haven't had a chance to drive it competitively yet, but I've taken liberty of some 'spirited' driving at low speeds as well as high speeds. It's so predictable, it's amazing how much more confidence I have in the car now. I've never driven a car that feels that connected to the road.

There are no quirks, there aren't any personality characteristics, it's simply all business and dialed in.

[GregWeld]

Great post Scott!

I would never have thought that a change like this would be so 'noticeable'. I would, if you were going from stock to a good sub frame - but from one aftermarket sub to another I wouldn't have thought it was such a big change.

That makes it all worthwhile, 'cause this is not that simple of a swap on a "done" build.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

[XcYZ]

Thanks Greg. I wouldn't call it revolutionary, but more evolutionary. It was nice with the WD, but the DSE takes it up several notches in every aspect and it's evident in how it drives and rides. I'm VERY happy, it really did surpass my expectations.

Again, it's hard to quantify from behind a keyboard. Stop over to MN and I'll give you a ride. Hell, you can drive it.

[GregWeld]

My flight arrives at 3:30 this afternoon. Can you pick me up at the airport?

[fleet]

Originally Posted by XcYZ

I'm VERY happy, it really did surpass my expectations.

That's all good Scott, but how bout the important stuff...

Did your wife and kids give it the thumbs up?

[JamesJ]

Originally Posted by XcYZ

I went with DSE's suggested alignment specs of .5* camber and 5.0* caster. They recommend 0* toe, but we put .1* toe in it.

Using DSE's double adjustable shocks and their baseline compression and rebound settings, I felt the front was disproportionately stiffer than the rear. I went 4 clicks out on both the compression and rebound and now the car feels very well balanced for street and highway driving..

Do you remember what the factory shock setting was?

[69pro-touring]

Didn't get my new subframe powdercoated, looking at different options for painting it. Wondering how your ppg has held up on yours?