86 Regal suspension help

[kifried]

Can anyone tell me if the bilstein shocks with eibach pro kit is a good suspension combination for an 86 buick regal? Also, i understand that kit drops the front 1" and the rear .8". I can't seem to find the stock ride height dimensions for an 86 buick regal, if anyone has those I'd appreciate it.

Also, I'm very new to suspension tuning, any good resources to read out there, about suspension systems, wheels, wheel sizing, tires, tire sizing, etc. What I'm mainly confused about is how to select a proper wheel, and what the differences are between all the wheels and tires. What makes a good combo, etc??
Thanks, ken

 

[johnnyttype]

what are your plans for the car? street, street/strip, just strip, autocross?

 

[kifried]

Mostly street with the possiblity of some stip down the line, but nothing serious. Honestly, this car will most be for aggressive pleasure riding haha.

 

[johnnyttype]

Can anyone tell me if the bilstein shocks with eibach pro kit is a good suspension combination for an 86 buick regal? Also, i understand that kit drops the front 1" and the rear .8". I can't seem to find the stock ride height dimensions for an 86 buick regal, if anyone has those I'd appreciate it.

Also, I'm very new to suspension tuning, any good resources to read out there, about suspension systems, wheels, wheel sizing, tires, tire sizing, etc. What I'm mainly confused about is how to select a proper wheel, and what the differences are between all the wheels and tires. What makes a good combo, etc??
Thanks, ken

i would have to think that the eibach kit would give the car a more aggresive stance if thats what ur looking for, it wont tuck the tires but it will close the gap nicely. i dont think u could ever really go wrong with bilstein shocks. if u go with the lowering springs, from what i have read, i would recommend checking ur rear ends pinion angle to make sure it is not thrown out of whack.

what kinda wheels r u looking at? bigger, wider? most cars will run 3.5"-4.0" of backspacing depending on the combo being used.

i think a pretty good setup for street and strip would be:
-bilstein shocks
-eibach springs if u want the lower more aggresive look, stock or cargo springs if more concerned for track use.
-UMI boxed lower control arms w/ poly bushings
-UMI adj. uppers so u can set pinion angle, w/ poly bushings
-1 3/8 inch rear sway bar, really stiffen things up in the rear
-tires and rims i would need more info, like if they will need to be rotated cause of daily use, sizes and what not.

my .02 cents:smile: hth

john

 

[jdpolzin]

Save some money and buy MOOG 5658 springs for the front and MOOG 5413 springs for the rear. Dont use Poly bushings in your suspension components. Get a good front and rear swaybar. I suggest an ATR rear bar and a 34mm front bar, I believe TSpool has the front bars for a good price. Buy a set of Hotckis lower bars for the rear, there is a set on Ebay right now. Then be done! The Hotchkis or Metco lower bars have about the best bushings without going with Delrins.

 

[johnnyttype]

Save some money and buy MOOG 5658 springs for the front and MOOG 5413 springs for the rear. Dont use Poly bushings in your suspension components. Get a good front and rear swaybar. I suggest an ATR rear bar and a 34mm front bar, I believe TSpool has the front bars for a good price. Buy a set of Hotckis lower bars for the rear, there is a set on Ebay right now. Then be done! The Hotchkis or Metco lower bars have about the best bushings without going with Delrins.

im confused why no poly bushings? hotchkis uses them, metco's lower bars use them, and the delrins u mentioned have polyurethane in them too?

 

[kifried]

john, I really liked your advice and it gave me a reasonable place to start researching components. I think I can confidently say I'll go with the bilstein shocks. Everything else I'm still up in the air about. Honestly when I read for instance about UMI control arms and then Edelbrock control arms they seem so similar to me, that only a pro would know the difference. I also bought this book,

Amazon.com: How to Make Your Car Handle: Books: Fred Puhn

I think I need to get a more theoretical approaching to everything prior to understanding which components would be best. I'm assuming it's most efficient to do all suspension work at one time. It'd be stupid to replace the shocks and springs and then 2 months later replace the control arms..? I also want to get a new rear end. I have a 2.56 non posi but before I do that, I want to get my car dyno'ed to get an idea of the power and torque curves.

Ah it just seems like a never ending, and confusing circle of decisions, and lots and lots of potential options for aftermarket parts.