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SignUp Now!. . . the intentionally flawed engineering built into the G-body chassis . . .
Do tell. Exactly how WOULD one fix this, if one were to apply oneself with some modern engineering techniques? Are AFX spindles the answer, for almost $2000?
Short Answer............ Yes, 2000.00 no 1358.00 yes. the Truth......... the AFX spindle is the BEST improvement you can make on the G body. there is no other front suspension part on the market that does what the AFX spindle does. The raised roll center vastly improved bump steer, ackerman improvement. better bearings, MULTITUDE of brake package available to bolt on, lower unsprung weight all add up. It doesn't matter what you do to the front suspension you can not improve it as much as by adding the AFX spindle. Ask Mark at SC&C
Mark is the man.
I just put on their stage2 front UCA's with the extra tall ball joints. You can actually see the relocated ball joint position in the arm (ie-fixing stock inherent design).
just to add to this the tall ball joint by no means "FIXES" the design shortcommings, it does help to improve it.
You could buy a few parts that solve the real problems with our cars, and handle really well, or buy package kits and handle well, but some may not fix the true problems.
you are correct some of the products on the market are purley replacements, that have some benifets in that they are likley stronger some of the products on the market DO fix problems.
The irony about Mr.T's "catalog" comments, is that most of what he bought comes from a catalog. period. Unless somehow he just knew the part numbers and options available through his amazing telepathic skills. We just don't know!
some one had to make the part and sell it, it appears his main focus is not on the suspension but on other areas of the car which is awesome, and you can make the car handle "Better" by simply adding urathans sway bar bushings. but there is alot more to it than that.
i have spens many hours on the phone with Mark, talking about G bodies, and from those converstaions we have come up with a "Package" of parts that have all been designed together and arround the AFX spindle. the computer design does not lie.
Possibly the dumb newbie question of the day...
What is this AFX Spindle you'all are referring to?
Thank you
~JM~
Possibly the dumb newbie question of the day...
What is this AFX Spindle you'all are referring to?
Thank you
~JM~
We have to be careful becuase too many people in this section whine and cry whenever we mention something that a vendor doesnt sell but I'll be generic and tell you to google it. It's the best of the best and hopefully Killer69 will become a vendor on this board soon so we can talk about it without getting into drama.
The spindle eliminates the bump steer and camber curve issues that our stock spindle have in them. The AFX spindle also has a C5 Vette hub milled into it so it can accept may different types of large aftermarket or stock C5 13" brakes. They are pricey but are well worth money of you plan to use your car in any type handling
situation.
Its this spindle that comes with a 5'5 brunette with long hair and DD's who lives to serve every need you could ever have.
Blake, a question on the GN on your website. With all the suspension mods and lowering, what wheel diameter/bs,brakes did you run and did the frame need notching? Has this car been to the strip before and after to see how the handling upgrades effected strip performance? Obviously there are differenced between a drag only set up and a pro-touring but I'm interested in seeing if a good street handling Gbody (pro-tour style) can still run in the mid 10s with just changing tires, kind of best of both worlds...
No. A 200mph Buick isn't Pro-Touring; it is a race car. Everything you read in magazines is designed to sell you things, as it is the nature of their business.
Why do you need to spend hundreds or thousands on parts to achieve the results of a car you can drive/race? You don't.
With a few choice suspension parts, some good tires and brake upgrades you can achieve night and day results that will perform as well as any "kit" out of any catalogue.
I don't have a single "DSE" part on my car and wouldn't waste the money on it either. Usually modified stock parts are good enough to achieve results... many national Solo 2 (auto-x) championships have been won with near-stock, well set up, 3rd and 4th Gen F-bodies. You'd be surprised at the similarities between the G and F-body cars.
My recommendation is that you get yourself into some proper sticky tires and wider wheels (17 or 18" max), quality shocks (not coil overs), stiffer springs and/or an axle mounted rear swaybar (not HRpartsnstuff), a fresh suspension with some existing stock style flex remaining (either rubber bushings in boxed stock arms, or poly-U in stock un-boxed arms), a more aggressive brake pad compounds, and a CG Lock to increase your personal confidence while driving. Lastly, you need to setup your suspension (alignment), tune your tires (pressure) and get familiar with your car in more extreme conditions.
But that means your hands get dirty, you don't get bonus points at the local car show for buying stuff out of a magazine, and might have money left over for other upgrades.
So pro touring is a bunch of parts sold out of a catalogue?
No. A 200mph Buick isn't Pro-Touring; it is a race car. Everything you read in magazines is designed to sell you things, as it is the nature of their business.
Why do you need to spend hundreds or thousands on parts to achieve the results of a car you can drive/race? You don't.
With a few choice suspension parts, some good tires and brake upgrades you can achieve night and day results that will perform as well as any "kit" out of any catalogue.
I don't have a single "DSE" part on my car and wouldn't waste the money on it either. Usually modified stock parts are good enough to achieve results... many national Solo 2 (auto-x) championships have been won with near-stock, well set up, 3rd and 4th Gen F-bodies. You'd be surprised at the similarities between the G and F-body cars.
My recommendation is that you get yourself into some proper sticky tires and wider wheels (17 or 18" max), quality shocks (not coil overs), stiffer springs and/or an axle mounted rear swaybar (not HRpartsnstuff), a fresh suspension with some existing stock style flex remaining (either rubber bushings in boxed stock arms, or poly-U in stock un-boxed arms), a more aggressive brake pad compounds, and a CG Lock to increase your personal confidence while driving. Lastly, you need to setup your suspension (alignment), tune your tires (pressure) and get familiar with your car in more extreme conditions.
But that means your hands get dirty, you don't get bonus points at the local car show for buying stuff out of a magazine, and might have money left over for other upgrades.