69boo307
Mar 9th, 04, 8:23 AM
I got my car aligned yesterday, got some mufflers, and was able to do a little 'real' driving with it now that the brakes are getting broken in well and I've got most of the bugs worked out of the car.
I have a fairly aggressive alignment, with -.7 camber and +4.5 caster. Yes it wants to track grooves on the highway a little, with the big tires, but in corners it more than makes up for it smile.gif .
Other points that might affect it: I have stock steering box(slow and sucky), and new poly body bushings and trans mount(vibration city).
I'll do alot of comparing with my 2002 Z28 camaro, which is kind of the 'benchmark' I was wanting. My goal was for the chevelle to outperform it. I think it's very close, if not superior. I know it will stop faster than the camaro.
General:
typical A-body body roll, totally gone. It's noiser than stock, but feels so much more secure. I can actually drive the car, instead of feeling like I'm captain-ing a sailboat.
I'm now fearless to take it out on the highway, which was not the case before. the rear suspension is noiser than stock. the panhard rod has spherical aircraft-style bearings, which can make some racket when you hit a big bump. that just goes along with the territory though. Poly and spherical bushings are gonna be more noisy and transfer more vibration.
Highway ride:
The HTH supplied springs provide a slightly stiffer ride than my camaro. It is very well 'grounded' to the road and has a tight feel. Lane changes are now a pleasure instead of a scary experience. The poly body bushings transfer more road vibration to the cabin...but I was expecting that ahead of time. Not good if you want a nice quiet ride, good if you want to feel the road.
I feel that the rear springs may need some adjustment on the spring jacks (comes with the HTH kit). I have the rear height set a bit lower than stock, and the springs feel just a hair too stiff, if that makes sense. I'd like a slightly more 'damped' feel in the rear, it's a little on the lively side. I'll do some tweaking with the springs jacks and see if I can adjust the rear. My camaro has fairly stiff rear springs, but it still feels well 'damped'. don't know of a better way to describe that, hopefully it makes sense.
The Carrera shocks that came with the HTH kit are top-notch. They remind me of Bilsteins. Not the best for your cushy luxury type ride, but excellent performance shocks that have very fast response to bumps and irregularities in the road.
Curves:
Last night I took my car out a little deserted country road that I frequently use to 'test' new handling mods on my camaros I've owned, as well as the vette I owned. It has some pretty good curves and rolls up and down hills in the process.
Pre-HTH, I couldn't have managed more than 45mph out this road. In the camaro, I can comfortably take it at 65mph without drama. I still didn't want to push the chevelle too much, as I'm still breaking it in, but I took this same stretch of road at 60-65mph and the car didn't flinch. It has considerably more in it. Even with the crappy old steering box, the car tracks smoothly around the curves with less body roll than my '02 Z28. I never once felt any understeer, or felt the car pushing. It tracks properly, and goes where you tell it to go.
It really does not feel like a 35 year old a-body, the handling is very comparable to that of a new f-body. With equal horsepower, the chevelle would be all that my Z28 could handle. The little 307 doesn't exactly allow you to shoot out of the curves tho. smile.gif
The only negative point I found thus far, again the rear seems slightly too lively, if you hit a bump mid-curve, it'll want to kick out a little. My camaro does the same thing, but to a lesser extent. I think this can be remedied by getting the rear spring jacks set better. Even as it stands, however, there is no comparison to the original setup. If I'd attempted to drive out that road at 65mph with my original suspension, I'd have been wrapped around a tree.
Braking: I do not have the HTH brakes, I have C5 vette brakes with Hydroboost. These are nothing short of amazing! I must say I am more impressed with the brakes, than the suspension setup. good braking is simply not something you associate with an old muscle car...This setup just rules though! Without a doubt it will stop at least as fast, probably faster, than my '02 Z28. the chevelle weighs a couple hundred pounds more, but I also have the huge C5 calipers, and 13" rotors. the hydroboost, though not fully broken in yet, has a nice feel to it. The pedal is fairly soft at the top, so you can tap the brakes without abrupt motion...but as you lay into it they begin to clamp down HARD. I havn't explored the limits of this setup yet, but thus far I am absolutely thrilled with it!
Hopefully this is helpful to those considering the setup. If you want handling, and you don't mind a little noise and feeling the road, it's awsome. If you want a cadillac-type ride, you might want to stick with something a little less aggressive.
-Brian
I have a fairly aggressive alignment, with -.7 camber and +4.5 caster. Yes it wants to track grooves on the highway a little, with the big tires, but in corners it more than makes up for it smile.gif .
Other points that might affect it: I have stock steering box(slow and sucky), and new poly body bushings and trans mount(vibration city).
I'll do alot of comparing with my 2002 Z28 camaro, which is kind of the 'benchmark' I was wanting. My goal was for the chevelle to outperform it. I think it's very close, if not superior. I know it will stop faster than the camaro.
General:
typical A-body body roll, totally gone. It's noiser than stock, but feels so much more secure. I can actually drive the car, instead of feeling like I'm captain-ing a sailboat.
I'm now fearless to take it out on the highway, which was not the case before. the rear suspension is noiser than stock. the panhard rod has spherical aircraft-style bearings, which can make some racket when you hit a big bump. that just goes along with the territory though. Poly and spherical bushings are gonna be more noisy and transfer more vibration.
Highway ride:
The HTH supplied springs provide a slightly stiffer ride than my camaro. It is very well 'grounded' to the road and has a tight feel. Lane changes are now a pleasure instead of a scary experience. The poly body bushings transfer more road vibration to the cabin...but I was expecting that ahead of time. Not good if you want a nice quiet ride, good if you want to feel the road.
I feel that the rear springs may need some adjustment on the spring jacks (comes with the HTH kit). I have the rear height set a bit lower than stock, and the springs feel just a hair too stiff, if that makes sense. I'd like a slightly more 'damped' feel in the rear, it's a little on the lively side. I'll do some tweaking with the springs jacks and see if I can adjust the rear. My camaro has fairly stiff rear springs, but it still feels well 'damped'. don't know of a better way to describe that, hopefully it makes sense.
The Carrera shocks that came with the HTH kit are top-notch. They remind me of Bilsteins. Not the best for your cushy luxury type ride, but excellent performance shocks that have very fast response to bumps and irregularities in the road.
Curves:
Last night I took my car out a little deserted country road that I frequently use to 'test' new handling mods on my camaros I've owned, as well as the vette I owned. It has some pretty good curves and rolls up and down hills in the process.
Pre-HTH, I couldn't have managed more than 45mph out this road. In the camaro, I can comfortably take it at 65mph without drama. I still didn't want to push the chevelle too much, as I'm still breaking it in, but I took this same stretch of road at 60-65mph and the car didn't flinch. It has considerably more in it. Even with the crappy old steering box, the car tracks smoothly around the curves with less body roll than my '02 Z28. I never once felt any understeer, or felt the car pushing. It tracks properly, and goes where you tell it to go.
It really does not feel like a 35 year old a-body, the handling is very comparable to that of a new f-body. With equal horsepower, the chevelle would be all that my Z28 could handle. The little 307 doesn't exactly allow you to shoot out of the curves tho. smile.gif
The only negative point I found thus far, again the rear seems slightly too lively, if you hit a bump mid-curve, it'll want to kick out a little. My camaro does the same thing, but to a lesser extent. I think this can be remedied by getting the rear spring jacks set better. Even as it stands, however, there is no comparison to the original setup. If I'd attempted to drive out that road at 65mph with my original suspension, I'd have been wrapped around a tree.
Braking: I do not have the HTH brakes, I have C5 vette brakes with Hydroboost. These are nothing short of amazing! I must say I am more impressed with the brakes, than the suspension setup. good braking is simply not something you associate with an old muscle car...This setup just rules though! Without a doubt it will stop at least as fast, probably faster, than my '02 Z28. the chevelle weighs a couple hundred pounds more, but I also have the huge C5 calipers, and 13" rotors. the hydroboost, though not fully broken in yet, has a nice feel to it. The pedal is fairly soft at the top, so you can tap the brakes without abrupt motion...but as you lay into it they begin to clamp down HARD. I havn't explored the limits of this setup yet, but thus far I am absolutely thrilled with it!
Hopefully this is helpful to those considering the setup. If you want handling, and you don't mind a little noise and feeling the road, it's awsome. If you want a cadillac-type ride, you might want to stick with something a little less aggressive.
-Brian