Steve's 1994 ESP Z28 Page

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Page updated Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Here is the most important part of a good autocross car. Unlike most Z28 owners, I have to be more concerned with the suspension than the engine. So that is where I've started. (Everything is in older to newer order!)

06/01/00

(Note: In these first two paragraphs, my thought was that this would be my regular street car and occasional autocross car..... but of course, it still is!!)
The first items to change were the springs, sway bars and shocks. Sway bars are the first change anyone should make to their F-Body. The stock Z28's come with a 30mm front and 19mm rear bar. Guys, a stock 6 cylinder comes with those. Those of you lucky enough to have an SS or WS6 Firebird at least get 32mm front and 21mm rear bar. OK, but still not enough. The 1LE cars came with 32mm front and, depending on the year, either a 19mm or 21mm rear bar. Still not enough. Put the largest front bar on you can. I didn't. I did buy bars from LGMotorsports, a 32.5mm front and 21.5mm rear. I should have looked a little further. Now I know that Suspension Techniques has a 35mm front and 25mm rear. THAT'S what I want. If anyone would like to buy mine, they're for sell.

Springs and shocks were next. Here I knew what I wanted. Eibach Sportline springs. These provided a 1.8" all the way around. All of the pictures you see here are with the springs installed. Doesn't look like it, does it? It's a big difference in person. Still, I believe they could go another .5" and still be ok. I don't really have any problem with speed bumps, just go slow over them. Yes, they are stiff but I'm use to a stiff car so it doesn't bother me. To control what little motion is left, I bought some of GM's special High Performance de Carbon shocks. Most of the shock reviews I read talk about how most of the high performance shocks are too stiff. I found these in an article in GM High-Tech Performance Magazine (November 1999). I'll let you know how these work out after a few autocross runs.

My suspension alignment right now is:

Camber -0.7 degrees

Caster 4.0 degrees

Toe 0

We'll see how this works. Camber is a compromise. I would like -1.5 degrees but I know I'd have excessive wear on the inside if I did. Then again, depending on autocross wear, maybe not. I'll have to see.

So far, that's all although I have MUCH more planned. Below is a list:

Adjustable Panhard Rod

Adjustable rear control arms and control arm brackets

All of the normal chassis stiffening pieces

Poly suspension bushings

05/10/2003

Here are some things I discovered over the last year or so from driving the car with the setup listed above.

The shocks are terrible - Get the best shocks you can. Afford them.

32mm front bar is not enough - Just not crisp turn-in, too much roll.

The alignment is pretty good.

Also, can't do the adjustable rear control arm brackets or arms. Rules say. My alignment seems to be ok. I get even tire wear on the street but we'll see after all the parts go on, just exactly how much out of alignment it really is right now.

So it's time for some changes.

05/15/2003

Here's the shopping list of parts I just ordered from Sam Strano Jr. at Stranoparts.com If you need parts for your F-Body, Sam's the one to call. He spent 45 minutes on the phone with me just to make sure I got what I needed (well, I got what I could). And who would turn down advice from the SCCA 2002 E Street Prepared and Pro Solo F Stock National Champion?

Ground Control coil over's with 500lb/in springs

Suspension Techniques 35mm front sway bar

Koni Sport single adjustable shocks for the front

Bilstein HD shocks for the rear

Energy Suspension front control arm bushings

Ground Control adjustable rear spring perches with 120lb/in springs

Addco adjustable chrome moly panhard rod.

Now I'm just waiting for the parts to start arriving. And I can't wait!! I'll have pictures and installation notes as soon as we get started.

05/19/03

Ordered the BMR chrome moly strut tower brace. This thing is massive, 1.25" x .065 thickness. It simply connects the two strut towers together to prevent flex in the strut towers. There are some made that also attach (triangulate) to the firewall but you can't use those in ESP. I ordered black. (Arrived 05/24/03).

06/26/03

Here are some pictures of the parts that we installed.

Notice a problem here? We've got to take the coil overs back off. Notice the black spring perch on the Koni? That should have been removed! We didn't read the instructions very well. The coil over will drop down approximately 1.5" once we do. Live and learn.

Really nice hardware. It's a shame to put this under the car where you can't see it!! The spring is an Eibach 500 lb/inch spring.

Here you see Ernie grinding the top of the Koni so it will slide through the coil over. It was sort of a pain and it took quite a while to do both of them. There is a jam nut on the underside of the piece that's being ground but we couldn't get a tool in there to break it loose.

Here's the coil over without the spring.

This is the front Koni Sport single adjustable shock. They are only adjustable for rebound and I set mine on full firm. Probably made one of the biggest differences in the ride and handling. Get the best shock you can afford. You won't be sorry. When you install it be sure to remove the black dust boot AND the stock spring perch. You can also see the BMR chrome moly strut tower brace at the top of the picture.

Not much here, this is just the top hat for the coil over.

Here is the coil over without the shock inside of it so you can see how it really goes together.

Here is the rear adjustable spring perch with the 120 lb/inch springs. You can see the Bilstein on the left. Also note the stock panhard rod. I'm waiting on my adjustable chrome moly bar to arrive.

Whoa! It's all gone!! This is what it looks like once everything has been removed.

Here is the ride height before I take it to have it adjusted for weight.
LF - 25 3/4
RF - 25 7/8
LR - 26 5/8
RR - 26 3/4

07/19/03

Got the new panhard rod on today. It's easy to do but my old bolts wouldn't go all the way through the rod ends! Had to go buy new bolts. I also rolled the lip on the rear fenders getting ready for the 315's and 11" wheels.

02/06/2004

I replaced all the rod ends off of the panhard rod. They rattled like hell and just flopped around. Very cheap. I used QA1 rod ends and new mounting hardware, it's very tight and completely quiet now.

06/09/2004

I forgot to add a link to the sheet that was filled out for my cars weight... so here it is!



back to main page....	Page updated Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Here is the most important part of a good autocross car. Unlike most Z28 owners, I have to be more concerned with the suspension than the engine. So that is where I've started. (Everything is in older to newer order!)

06/01/00
(Note: In these first two paragraphs, my thought was that this would be my regular street car and occasional autocross car..... but of course, it still is!!) The first items to change were the springs, sway bars and shocks. Sway bars are the first change anyone should make to their F-Body. The stock Z28's come with a 30mm front and 19mm rear bar. Guys, a stock 6 cylinder comes with those. Those of you lucky enough to have an SS or WS6 Firebird at least get 32mm front and 21mm rear bar. OK, but still not enough. The 1LE cars came with 32mm front and, depending on the year, either a 19mm or 21mm rear bar. Still not enough. Put the largest front bar on you can. I didn't. I did buy bars from LGMotorsports, a 32.5mm front and 21.5mm rear. I should have looked a little further. Now I know that Suspension Techniques has a 35mm front and 25mm rear. THAT'S what I want. If anyone would like to buy mine, they're for sell. Springs and shocks were next. Here I knew what I wanted. Eibach Sportline springs. These provided a 1.8" all the way around. All of the pictures you see here are with the springs installed. Doesn't look like it, does it? It's a big difference in person. Still, I believe they could go another .5" and still be ok. I don't really have any problem with speed bumps, just go slow over them. Yes, they are stiff but I'm use to a stiff car so it doesn't bother me. To control what little motion is left, I bought some of GM's special High Performance de Carbon shocks. Most of the shock reviews I read talk about how most of the high performance shocks are too stiff. I found these in an article in GM High-Tech Performance Magazine (November 1999). I'll let you know how these work out after a few autocross runs. My suspension alignment right now is: Camber -0.7 degrees Caster 4.0 degrees Toe 0 We'll see how this works. Camber is a compromise. I would like -1.5 degrees but I know I'd have excessive wear on the inside if I did. Then again, depending on autocross wear, maybe not. I'll have to see. So far, that's all although I have MUCH more planned. Below is a list: Adjustable Panhard Rod Adjustable rear control arms and control arm brackets All of the normal chassis stiffening pieces Poly suspension bushings


05/10/2003
Here are some things I discovered over the last year or so from driving the car with the setup listed above. The shocks are terrible - Get the best shocks you can. Afford them. 32mm front bar is not enough - Just not crisp turn-in, too much roll. The alignment is pretty good. Also, can't do the adjustable rear control arm brackets or arms. Rules say. My alignment seems to be ok. I get even tire wear on the street but we'll see after all the parts go on, just exactly how much out of alignment it really is right now. So it's time for some changes.


05/15/2003
Here's the shopping list of parts I just ordered from Sam Strano Jr. at Stranoparts.com If you need parts for your F-Body, Sam's the one to call. He spent 45 minutes on the phone with me just to make sure I got what I needed (well, I got what I could). And who would turn down advice from the SCCA 2002 E Street Prepared and Pro Solo F Stock National Champion?
Ground Control coil over's with 500lb/in springs Suspension Techniques 35mm front sway bar Koni Sport single adjustable shocks for the front Bilstein HD shocks for the rear Energy Suspension front control arm bushings Ground Control adjustable rear spring perches with 120lb/in springs Addco adjustable chrome moly panhard rod. Now I'm just waiting for the parts to start arriving. And I can't wait!! I'll have pictures and installation notes as soon as we get started.


05/19/03
Ordered the BMR chrome moly strut tower brace. This thing is massive, 1.25" x .065 thickness. It simply connects the two strut towers together to prevent flex in the strut towers. There are some made that also attach (triangulate) to the firewall but you can't use those in ESP. I ordered black. (Arrived 05/24/03).


06/26/03
Here are some pictures of the parts that we installed.

Notice a problem here? We've got to take the coil overs back off. Notice the black spring perch on the Koni? That should have been removed! We didn't read the instructions very well. The coil over will drop down approximately 1.5" once we do. Live and learn.


Really nice hardware. It's a shame to put this under the car where you can't see it!! The spring is an Eibach 500 lb/inch spring.


Here you see Ernie grinding the top of the Koni so it will slide through the coil over. It was sort of a pain and it took quite a while to do both of them. There is a jam nut on the underside of the piece that's being ground but we couldn't get a tool in there to break it loose.


Here's the coil over without the spring.


This is the front Koni Sport single adjustable shock. They are only adjustable for rebound and I set mine on full firm. Probably made one of the biggest differences in the ride and handling. Get the best shock you can afford. You won't be sorry. When you install it be sure to remove the black dust boot AND the stock spring perch. You can also see the BMR chrome moly strut tower brace at the top of the picture.


Not much here, this is just the top hat for the coil over.


Here is the coil over without the shock inside of it so you can see how it really goes together.


Here is the rear adjustable spring perch with the 120 lb/inch springs. You can see the Bilstein on the left. Also note the stock panhard rod. I'm waiting on my adjustable chrome moly bar to arrive.



Whoa! It's all gone!! This is what it looks like once everything has been removed.
Here is the ride height before I take it to have it adjusted for weight. LF - 25 3/4 RF - 25 7/8 LR - 26 5/8 RR - 26 3/4


07/19/03
Got the new panhard rod on today. It's easy to do but my old bolts wouldn't go all the way through the rod ends! Had to go buy new bolts. I also rolled the lip on the rear fenders getting ready for the 315's and 11" wheels.





02/06/2004
I replaced all the rod ends off of the panhard rod. They rattled like hell and just flopped around. Very cheap. I used QA1 rod ends and new mounting hardware, it's very tight and completely quiet now.

06/09/2004
I forgot to add a link to the sheet that was filled out for my cars weight... so here it is!