stiffer suspension without breaking the bank.

[lilbrudder]

today i've been experimenting with locally availible, cheap suspension mods and here's what i've come up with....

double oem rear swaybar: all i did was take an extra RSB i had laying aroung cut off the end loops, position it above the one on my car now and use a heavy cable clamp to sinch the ends to gether(tighten it down when the car is sitting on ground).
first impression= i just took it around the block....WOW! that's what i was hopeing for... much flatter in the corners.... decreased rocking when braking... more responsive steering.
the bad= noticed a couple of popping noises from setteling, went away by the time i got back home(lubed all touching parts we'll see how that works).... new RSB pushed up against tubing to gas tank(i reset it and tightened it harder, we'll see if that holds). concerned the stock end links won't last, we'll see.

next mod= spring booster blocks: got some booster blocks at the auto store for like $10. put one in top of rear springs and one in bottom of front springs.
first impression=around the block car felt stiffer and corners felt flatter
neutral=this one won't be for every one, it raises the ride hieght 1/2 to 3/4 inch(didn't actually measure, just noticed it is a lil' higher) this could be good for those who live in bad road areas or week end rally worriors.
the not so good= i'm going to ckeck my alignment while these are in because it most likely changed it.

next mod= top hat stiffening: i started a thread about this one already but basically on the T.H. there is a rubber cusion that can be made bigger hopefully to reduce play in that T.H. i haven't had a chance to test this theory yet because the rubber is still drying, will update tomarrow.

will post as i get more results with these mods this week.

[lilbrudder]

double sway bar= is great, no more settling noises, no rubbins on gas tank tubing, this way definatly worth it. car handles how she should have from the factory.

spring blocks= i'm a little self conscious about these, raises about 3/4". definately stiffer, feel more bumps on road=more rattling in car.

top hat= got rid of the bobble noise i was going after, steering might be a little tigher (could be placebo effect though) no extreme difference but worth it to silence some noise.

[Crazy_pilot]

Awesome stuff! The doubled up sway bar is definitely something I'd want to try.

[lilbrudder]

here's some pics...
double bar=0321081424b.jpg 0321081639.jpg
spring blocks=0321081428.jpg
top hat filled=0320081029.jpg

[It's Just Eric]

....Something tells me the first two are just really, really bad ideas...thats just me though

[SVXRide]

yes, they'll work, but I wouldn't put too much stress on them....

The spring spacers are more for providing more ground clearance. They definitely mess with the effective spring rate, as they're not allowing the spring to work as it was designed to.

The double swaybar will work, but it's hard to say exactly how much stiffer the combination is.

-Bill