Cascade Crew

[Demon]

about damn time too...

SFC's I got done a few weeks ago, and with some knocking and rattling about, I figured, meh, its time to go for the LCA's and PHB ... so, I did.

If you haven't done LCA's yet, don't delay any longer, as many here will tell you, best mod you can probably do for the cost, and for your car... after doing the SFC's I was left with a bit of rattles, mostly because of the LCA's I assume, and they've since been silenced, everything is lubed up properly and I'm surprised at how much the difference was... not having driven one car myself stock vs. modified in LCA's, all I had to go on was what I read online or what folks like Dewey had mentioned to me in person at various times...

after driving about and thrashing on some roads, I can honestly say I shouldn't have waited as long as I did, for any of these mods.

However, after looking at the underside of my car while it was up in the air, I am now left with a bit of debate...

my stock shocks are by no means any good to begin with, but after seeing the lower mounts on them being dry and cracked, I know its time to go with some Koni SA's ...

However, my sway bar bushings are basically in the same condition, for all the babying and garage keeping the previous owner had done, as little as the car was driven in nearly 5 years before I got it, the rubber doesn't seem to have held up too well... AND... I want a new torque arm/torque arm relocation bracket (because I don't want a chassis mounted torque arm, but I want it off my transmission... the stock one actually looks a tad flexed... )

so... my dilema is this....
Koni SA's start at about $725 and a set of Strano springs are roughly another $300... OR:

Sway Bars (Strano) again roughly $300, Torque Arm ($290) + Relocation ($250) and toss in a Spohn tunnel brace for shits and giggles...

Or I can totally do a third option and get the K-Member with upper and lower control arms for about the same price...

each option will run about 1000-1200 depending..
I've given up on doing power mods for now because honestly, its a low miles LS1 and I enjoy the car thoroughly as it is power-wise (for now) ...

I know 400hp is just an exhaust and a cam away... but those, unfortunately, take a lot more planning out than I had initially figured.

[Dewey316]

Do the shocks. Talk to Sam about it. It may not be as expensive as you think. If you are getting them revalved thru Sam, there is not reason to go with the high-end koni's. You can get the lower end shocks, and have them revalved the same as the high end stuff.

You might also call Jason Swanson with Unbalanced. IIRC he does bilstein revalves, might be worth talking with him to, and then desciding which options works out best for you setup. Sam may also do bilstein revalves, I don't recall though. No harm in making several phone calls and talking to people. Both Sam and Jason are nice guys. The stuff Jason normally sells, tend to be on the very high end side (he sells the all alum, bilstein race shocks, and Pensky stuff), but with he bilstein revalve connections, may be able to revalve standard HD shocks with his customer valving for you setup.

Both them would also be good guys to chat with about what direction to go next. I myself think that shocks are about the most important peice you can replace. But giving what your plans are for you car, they may have input that will help get you there with least amount of coin spent.