[DoggyB22]

So right now all my suspension on my 2016 Camaro SS is factory. I have a cammed, FBO, high ram, fuel 416ci & I'm wanting to upgrade a few suspension parts. I don't have all the money to drop on swapping out everything but wanted to know what essential parts should be focused on first then do remaining later. Will be a dig & roll car.



Its on 17" skinnies & rears as well. I want to get a 15" conversion but need to find some rears/brakes locked in first.



I was thinking getting a BMR cradle chassis brace, front & rear sway bar, lowering springs, & control arms would be a good start?

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by DoggyB22

So right now all my suspension on my 2016 Camaro SS is factory. I have a cammed, FBO, high ram, fuel 416ci & I'm wanting to upgrade a few suspension parts. I don't have all the money to drop on swapping out everything but wanted to know what essential parts should be focused on first then do remaining later. Will be a dig & roll car.



Its on 17" skinnies & rears as well. I want to get a 15" conversion but need to find some rears/brakes locked in first.



I was thinking getting a BMR cradle chassis brace, front & rear sway bar, lowering springs, & control arms would be a good start?

What do you really want the car to do better than it currently does with stock suspension? "Dig and roll" doesn't respond well to lowering or stiff front springs/shocks. You don't need aftermarket control arms to race in a straight line, either, and all the rear camber you would get from some aftermarket arms and toe links in back - which you would want for better cornering grip - is going to cost you straight-line traction. Your wheel/tire combo is going to make it kind of pointless to spend money on handling upgrades, frankly. A car optimized for drag racing will have a very stiff rear spring rate with rear dampers that have really high compression and low rebound rates (the old "90/10" shocks). The front will have a softer spring rate and also dampers with high compression and minimal rebound. This all sucks ass when it's time to turn a corner, which is part of why you see so many built cars spin out after a series of tail wags at drag strips.

So all that said, what kind of upgrades are you actually looking for from aftermarket suspension parts?

[DoggyB22]

Originally Posted by Msquared

What do you really want the car to do better than it currently does with stock suspension? "Dig and roll" doesn't respond well to lowering or stiff front springs/shocks. You don't need aftermarket control arms to race in a straight line, either, and all the rear camber you would get from some aftermarket arms and toe links in back - which you would want for better cornering grip - is going to cost you straight-line traction. Your wheel/tire combo is going to make it kind of pointless to spend money on handling upgrades, frankly. A car optimized for drag racing will have a very stiff rear spring rate with rear dampers that have really high compression and low rebound rates (the old "90/10" shocks). The front will have a softer spring rate and also dampers with high compression and minimal rebound. This all sucks ass when it's time to turn a corner, which is part of why you see so many built cars spin out after a series of tail wags at drag strips.

So all that said, what kind of upgrades are you actually looking for from aftermarket suspension parts?

Lol well more so for launching better, what is weak points on the factory parts. Doing hard launches on stock parts isn't always the best. Factory parts weigh more than aftermarket. Replacing all the factory with aftermarket lightens it up a lot. Etc etc Aftermarket will always be better than stock for racing

[WhiteMale]

Cradle Lockout, trailing arms, control arm, front of cradle brace, non-adj rear sway bar.

Get's rid of all the wheel hop in the rear.

Though the cradle lockout kit is probably the most bang for the buck mod you can do in the rear.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by DoggyB22

Lol well more so for launching better, what is weak points on the factory parts. Doing hard launches on stock parts isn't always the best. Factory parts weigh more than aftermarket. Replacing all the factory with aftermarket lightens it up a lot. Etc etc

The weight of suspension pieces is completely irrelevant for your (and most other people's) purposes. So for launching, I would think you want to do two things: 1) eliminate any hop if possible, and 2) maximize and tailor the weight transfer to maximize traction.

WhiteMale already listed some things to address #1. I confess I'm not sure what the rear swaybar has to do with it on a car with IRS, since there is no asymmetric torque loads around the driveshaft to twist the car like there is with a solid-axle car. I'm not saying he's wrong - just that I'm not clear how a stiffer (I presume) rear bar helps. I think the main thing you would want is to make as many pivot points (mostly bushings with stock suspension) rigid in location around a single point, while avoiding bind wherever possible. Since all the links in our multi-link IRS move in multiple planes, the only way to achieve this is with links that use spherical rod ends. Do not use links with axial bushings made from harder-than-stock material, such a polyurethane or Delrin.

I've already given you an overview of how to improve weight transfer. You want the car as high as possible, at least until it starts to wheelie. If you get to that point, congratulations: you've achieved 100% weight transfer. Until then, the higher your ride height, the closer you can get to that goal. Beyond that, you want the stiffest rear springs you can get, with rear shocks with tons of compression rate and minimal rebound rate. Up front you probably want the softest springs you can get, again with dampers that have lots of compression rate and minimal rebound. You probably want no sway bar at all up front, too. In short, you're trying to keep the rear end from squatting as much as possible, while generally letting the front end rise as much as possible, and using the front dampers to manage the slowest, gentlest front ride height settling possible so as not to shock the rear tires loose.

All of this will make for a downright dangerous car when turning, especially if you also increase the rear swaybar rate as WhiteMale recommended. I'd go so far as to suggest having both swaybars easily disconnectable: you can do this with quick-disconnect end links (see how off-roaders do this on their Jeeps). For an actual race, disconnect the front bar at both ends so it doesn't limit rebound travel, and connect the rear bar (I guess?). For street driving or any other driving where you actually have to turn corners, connect the front bar and probably disconnect the rear bar (especially if you do what I said with the spring rates). Otherwise, you're liable to end up on an episode of Ridiculousness.

Aftermarket will always be better than stock for racing

That's not true at all. There are loads of aftermarket parts that are worse than stock suspension pieces in many ways.

[WhiteMale]

I meant to just list my mods and not really try to tell him that the rear bar would help his needs in that way.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by WhiteMale

I meant to just list my mods and not really try to tell him that the rear bar would help his needs in that way.

Ah, got it. Thanks for clarifying.

So to the OP, I would probably not spend any money/time at all on different rear swaybars for drag racing mods. Just figure out a way to make the end links quick-disconnect and that's the extent of sway bar mods you probably need.

[DoggyB22]

Originally Posted by WhiteMale

Cradle Lockout, trailing arms, control arm, front of cradle brace, non-adj rear sway bar.

Get's rid of all the wheel hop in the rear.

Though the cradle lockout kit is probably the most bang for the buck mod you can do in the rear.

For sure thanks! Totally forgot about the cradle lockout kit

[DoggyB22]

Originally Posted by Msquared

Ah, got it. Thanks for clarifying.

So to the OP, I would probably not spend any money/time at all on different rear swaybars for drag racing mods. Just figure out a way to make the end links quick-disconnect and that's the extent of sway bar mods you probably need.

Understood! Thanks for the info above.