V6 1LT Track Build Help. Breaks/Suspension
 

I've been tracking my 2017 V6 1LT, boy is it fun! and want to build the car a bit, right now I want to focus on suspension and breaks. I have the 20's on the car. I know there's a'lot of threads but I want your thoughts on my ideal build. I know I can bring my times down if I could get the car to be more settled in cornering and if I could carry more speed down the straights with better breaking power before the turn in.

I'm getting break fade mid to end of sessions with stock, and a fair amount of body roll/lean with stock suspension.

I really like the data on the YYZ springs, anyone running them on the track/daily?
https://wildhammermotorsports.com/ca...BoC1J0QAvD_BwE

Sway bar or strut suggestions?

What would be a good break upgrade for low price, not necessarily cheap but not breaking the bank. SS break upgrade? Would just pads get me a lot more bite? Pad/rotor ideas? The brembo kit from Chevy is out of my price range and I think you only get fronts..

And I am almost due for new tires, any suggestions on some stickys that will have decent daily driving tread life, but help me attack the track? I am running the square setup on RS 20's.

Any and all suspension and break suggestions are appreciated, thanks Guys!

I would suggest some AFE Power, or BMR Sway bars. the stock v6 and I4 cars have sooooo much body roll.

I would also recommend getting some brembo take offs from an SS. the stock SS brake pads already have fairly aggressive pads and are cheap to replace. The Brembo's also seem to dissipate heat much better. You should also either remove the rotor back plate or find the track specific rotor backplate for the SS.

Definitely find some higher temp brake fluid to use. like Castrol SRF or Motul.

I wouldn't bother with just a spring swap. or even cheap coilovers. Either pony up the big bucks for KW coilovers, piece together the shocks and springs from the V6 1LE (check out the suspension part number megathread) or just get the GM lowering kit that would be even better than the v6 1LE suspension.

For tires, I'm currently running Hankook RS4's. ive put about 6k miles on them, about 6 autocrosses and a full track day on them and they have about 75% life left.

Also, don't forget to get a good alignment. if you can find a performance supplementary manual it will have recommended track alignments for you.

We use the bmr sway bars. we can hook you up on some of them and suspension components, To make your car handle better.
Best regards,
Antonio


Click HERE to send me a PM | Sales@jdpmotorsports.com | www.jdpmotorsports.com | JDP Facebook | 801.545.4215

I agree with both Scooter and JDP. just putting springs on the stock dampers is likely to wear them out and only make the car feel racier, but not actually be faster. Sway bars improve handling a lot, with minimal trade-offs for Street driving. When you get into modified suspensions though, it does get very complicated to sort out issues about handling balance, because there are so many things you can adjust if your dampers have adjustment, and your sway bars do as well. You can also adjust tire pressures. And you can adjust your alignment. It's a good idea to go with the factory GM alignment specifications for track use, which are in the high performance owner's manual supplement.

Consider getting a pyrometer to study your tire temperatures immediately after a track session and see how well the load is being spread out across the tire. You can also study your brake temperatures, but understand that attempts you get will be much lower than what they were on the track, particularly if you have a cool-down lap.

Thanks for the suggestions! I have experience with Hankooks and was leaning into looking that way in general I like their stickiness and life generally speaking. KW coil overs are out of my range maybe if I was building an SS id consider them, or should just get a 1LE!

Is this the gm suspension kit you're talking about?
https://www.chevrolet.com/performanc...aro/suspension
The one below the 1LE kit, PART NO. 84225252

SS breaks sound like the way to go.

I’d go with KW coil overs, keep the stock sway bars (for now), FE4/FEA front and rear suspension links, run SS take-off front brakes (use stock pads if take-off or get aftermarket if you need to buy new - Reybestos, PFC Pagid), SS track deflectors and rotor shields, Castro SRF or Motul RBF600, 9-10” wheels and 275-295 tires (Hankook RS4, Yok AD08R or Nitto NT01).

Try the car out. Go to an upgraded sway bar or bars if you need small improvements or if you want an improvement without increasing ride harshness.

Yes, the lowering kit. Springs shoul be 1LE-ish with dampers to match. If you don’t want to dive into coils, go that route or, if you want to be a bit cheaper, just grab the FE3/SS/V6 1LE stuff. You’ll increase performance and have fun any of the 3 spring/damper options.

Thanks for the info! I did drop my tire psi to 32 at my last track day, about a 36psi on track range, prob could have gone even a little lower. Dealership had the psi at 38+, that was best for where the tire wear was, I was 5 seconds faster with that 32, it was my third session on track so I was more comfortable with the track too. But that is huge just playing with tire psi.

I'm not trying to do anything too crazy here, it is only the V6 ha but Sway bars, SS breaks and I feel like springs would bring that center of gravity down a bit helping it handle in the corners but yes I hear you on the need for shocks and struts that match up also.

Ill drop you a line when I'm ready for the bars. Thanks

Most online retailers sell the 4pot GMPP brembo kit for less than $500.

My biggest concern with doing JUST spring (besides the increased wear on the shocks) is that the stock FE2 shocks are atrociously underdamped. I have a nice twisty and bumpy hill near my home town that I like to rip up and down and there are two specific bumps I cant avoid. even having FE4 sway bars I have to let up to avoid bottoming out. driving my buddies SS 1LE I don't have that problem and can add another 10-15mph to the corner with out even upsetting the car (mag ride is also magic)

Also front to rear weight transfer is dare I say violent. and the only way to fix that really is with shocks. I do have 33k miles on my car but the stock shocks almost feel blown out when I'm driving with big sways and sticky tires. stock sways and all seasons everything feels fine.

Why not just make a v6 1LE clone it would be a very solid track car. just check out C&D's lightening lap historic data. its faster than ALOT of very well known cars.

If you can do suspension work yourself you could piece together a 1LE clone for very little money.

Man I like where you took this! a 1LE clone. So now for the parts. Is this all it is:
https://www.gmpartscenter.net/oem-pa...BoC0WoQAvD_BwE

Do you have another idea for piecing it together other than buying it outright?


Are these the stock brembos on SS's (4 piston) that will get me alot more breaking power: https://wildhammermotorsports.com/ca...t-performance/

This is an idea build:
https://wildhammermotorsports.com/ca...t-performance/
https://wildhammermotorsports.com/ca...ll-race-parts/
http://www.jdpmotorsports.com/manufa...o-ss-bmr-sb052
Haven't figured a shock for this build yet.

I appreciate all your input!

If you wanted to go all OEM these would be most of the parts that make a v6 into a v6 1le. the prices were just rounded numbers I had in a spreadsheet. and if there are two part numbers its a left and right hand part. I got all of these part numbers from the suspensions part number megathread.
I also haven't yet gotten all of these parts so I cant gurantee I got all the part numbers correct.

FRONT SWAY 1LE FE3 22988701 90
REAR SWAY FE3 84004728 90
TOE ROD X2 23117751 150
FRONT SPRINGS x2 84186922 54
REAR SPRINGS x2 84010830 58
FRONT STRUTS 23420871 23420872 186
REAR SHOCKS 84084729 84084730 196
824

So those parts on top of that brake kit you found (great deal BTW) would be a near OEM setup that works great And I think would bring you pretty close to FE3 suspension level (v6 1le is all FE3 suspension). or you could go with the GM lowering kit 84188725 which would replace the shocks and springs from the list above and would be an even further improvement although about 600 bucks more expensive.

The next step for me after all that would be to start getting the FE4 differential bushings, cradle bushings, and all the control arms and ride links from the SS 1LE/ZL1. but I don't have unlimited funds and I like to be able to feel the weaknesses in the car before upgrading. so I'm only half way through my 4 cylinder 1le clone...

DONT FORGET A PERFORMANCE ALIGNMENT

Nice, check out this cart, look about right? Don't know why stabilizer bar isn't giving full pic but that is the sway bar right? https://www.gmpartsdirect.com/index.php?p=cart