87tpi

iTrader: (5)

I 'm getting ready to rebuild my suspension and can't decide between Hotchkis or spahn trailing arms and panhard.Any suggestions?

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Spohn is a site sponser and much cheaper in the long run than Hotchkis for the same if not better parts.

87tpi

iTrader: (5)

Yeah,I was leaning towards spohn but I want to be sure that they have good products before spending the money

5.0Camaro

i have a lot of spohn pieces, great customer service and great quality.

Dr G

Spohn. They are a site sponsor as ShiftyCapone says, and let's remember that without good sponsors, a site like this would struggle to survive. The products are a great quality, nice clean welds, good powder coated finish and superb customer service. I haven't heard anything bad about Hotchkis though, but I'd go for Spohn if I were you.

pasky

Hotchkis also makes great stuff but IMO, you can't beat spohn. Steve spohn makes some great items and he is very pleasant guy to talk to. Just call him up and tell him your goals and Steve will be more than happy to suggest to you what you would need without trying to dive into your wallet. His welds are excellent, he doesn't over price his products, and just about everything you get from him gets a powder coat. Spohn's service and products rock.

87tpi

iTrader: (5)

Now, should I get the adjustables or stay with the non adjustables?I'm not looking for a super custom suspension setup,just to make the car handle like it's on rails.

MNformula350

iTrader: (2)

I recently put on Spohn's lca's and panhard bar and if i were to do it all over again i would do the same I also got his subframe connectors but haven't had them installed as of yet.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Just get the non adjustable for now. The only pieces you would ever really want to be adjustable for a car that doesn't see any race duty (road, autoX, or drag) would be LCA's and torque arm. Everything else should be left for the all out racer. I wouldn't worry about adjustable peices on a street car.

Dewey316

if you plan on lowering, an adj. PHB would be a good choice. heck it is a pretty good choice for even stock car, centering the rear is a good thing to do. IMHO the only reason to get adjustable LCA's, if to get the spherical bearing option. An adj. torque arm is another good part, it allows you to properly set your pinion angle.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

YES. I completely forgot to add that in my first post. You will need one if you ever plan on lowering your car. If not your rear end will not be centered. That is actually the only adjustable suspension piece that I run. Everything else is non adjustable.

VILeninDM

2 questions:

- What's a spherical bearing option? And how does it require adjustable LCA's

- I know what torque arm is and I know what pinion is, but what pinion angle are you guys talking about?

I am planning to redo my entire suspension, and right now looking at different aspects/angles/factors that I need to keep in mind. Looks like I haven't come across these two yet.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Pinion angle is the angle which your rear end is in relation to your tranny. Your tranny, driveshaft and rear end are all not 180* in a straight line. The rear is usually set a little bit at an upward angle so that when it is loaded (car accelerating) it will be at 180*. You can change this setting with adjustble peices (LCA's and torque arm). Depending on your final set-up along with how mich poer you make determines what angle you need. A stock set-up only nees a few negative degrees if I recall.

BretD 88GTA

Actually, the rear end is usually set at a downward angle. Under acceleration the driveline rotates upward toward the bottom of the car.

The LCA's have no effect on pinion angle. The torque arm takes care of it. For the street no more than about -1° of pinion is good. For drag racing on the track you can go to -4 or so depending on what kind of power you car is making.

BretD 88GTA

A spherical bearing (actually, rod end would be the better term) takes the place of the bushing. In a nutshell, it's a rotating ball assembly that gives the suspension more freedom of movement and eliminates any slop or restrictions that may take place with a bushing. This improves handling.

However, it will also create a harsher ride since the rod end can't absorb road vibration like a bushing. They also don't last as long as a bushing and need to be replaced periodically. An adjustable LCA isn't required, but it's the natural result since the rod ends have threaded shafts so they can be replaced easily.

Here's an example of a rod end:
http://www.fkrodends.com/ExtraStrength/rsmxrsmxt.html

87tpi

iTrader: (5)

Yeah I plan on puting on the Eibach pro kit

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Thanks for the clarification. I was trying to visualize the suspension travel in my head and couldn't remember if it was upward or downward. Naturaly I picked the wrong one.

VILeninDM

tnx guys, that clarifies things somewhat.

I still can't picture where the upward force is coming from when you accelerate. torque arm pushing against the rear differential in the opposite direction of rotation?

A picture here would be most cool

So if you want to adjust pinion angle, adjustable LCA's and torque arm are a must, or is torque arm by itself is enough?

pasky

The torque arm itself is enough. You need a adjustable torque arm if your going to be adjusting the LCA's to set the pinion angle back.