G-Body Suspension - ATTN: Marcus

[Buick Motorsports]

Hey guys,

Last summer I added the following to my suspension on a SBC equipped 85 Buick Regal:

245/45/17 Front
275/40/17 Rear
Suspension Techniques lowering coils.
Front QA1, 12 way adjustable shocks. Set at 6 currently.
Front sway bar, GM stock.
No Rear sway bar.

Being installed shortly:

Rear QA1, 12 way adjustavle shocks.
Front sway bar 1 3/8"(Hotchkis)
Rear sway bar 1"(Hotchkis)

I found the handling, last year quite good despit the lack of a rear sway bar. I know that with the other pieces of the puzzle being added, that it will handle great.

Is anybody running a similar setup? What are your shocks set at?

[sinned]

I see springs, shocks and tires. What about the rest? What are the bushings, ball joints, and steering linkage like? I wouldn't worry about a rear bar right now; it will have very little impact on overall handling anyway. They are primarily used to tune out under steer on cars that are otherwise set-up correctly. Throwing sta-bars on otherwise basically stock suspension is not a good way to make your vehicle handle better. What kind of tires are you running, there is huge difference in performance sized Wal-Mart tires and decent set of “W” tires or better yet dual purpose tires.

[white79bu]

I am running somthing similar on my Malibu except I am running KYB shocks(bilsteins hopefully this summer). My car has the 36MM hollow swaybar in the front and 7/8" in the rear. Let me know how the rear sway bar helps. I am thinking about going to a 1". I know that I am going to go to an r-compound tire or something close this summer. If you do that it will make a big differance. Everything in your setup sounds like it should work great. Let us know. Andy

[Buick Motorsports]

I see springs, shocks and tires. What about the rest? What are the bushings, ball joints, and steering linkage like?

Dennis,

let me be more specific....

I also inserted all the body bushings that were not installed at the factory, I used the stock rubber variety. I have triangulated the front frame with braces and also installed braces behind the rear seats, as I have a T -Top car.

Front ball joints, bushings and steering are all stock units at the moment. There is no unnecessary play in them. Rear tubular control arms are polyeurathane bushings.

Tires are Falken FK451's.

[sinned]

A better tire will make a world of difference when the time comes to see how it really handles. The 451’s are a nice “get me by tire” (read as inexpensive alternative), but are not known for their outstanding roundness or lateral grip when pushed, especially when hot. Most have problems with high speed vibrations that cannot be balanced out.

The steering and suspension pivot points are all OE in a 1985 vintage chassis and we think they are OK? I can tell you right now that they are not. You need to be replacing the ball joints and linkage, even if you think it is OK.

Poly in the rear bushings, please search that one.

QA1's are fantastic shocks, great move purchasing those. ST springs are OK, made by Eibach last I checked. They are not really performance springs as much as they are cosmetic springs. The rate on them is fairly low; 450ish IIRC.

Frame bracing always helps, smart move.

[Buick Motorsports]

First off Dennis, thanks for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated.

I totally agree that the Falkens are a get my by tire. I will be upgrading these prior to any track testing.

You need to be replacing the ball joints and linkage, even if you think it is OK.

What is your recommendation here? OE? If not, which aftermarket company?

ST springs are OK, made by Eibach last I checked. They are not really performance springs as much as they are cosmetic springs. The rate on them is fairly low; 450ish IIRC.

"IIRC" please define, still learning. The rating on the ST springs are as follows:

Front 610 pounds
Rear 180 Pounds