F-Body Europe

I am still unsure about the suspension upgrading of my LS1 Z28:
I like to go for BMR 32/21mm sway bars, Bilstein/ SLP calibrated shocks, keep my H&R/Geiger springs, take BMR adj Panhard Rod and Relocation brackets, SLP SFCs and STB and BMR front upper and lower A arms (available with PU only).
But for the rear LCAs there are some different bushing options:
Polyurethane (PU)/ Rubber with higher durometer or PU only or spherical end rods/ PU or spherical end rods only.

I like to use the car for small roads with curves and for high speed autobahn driving as well. Drag racing and 0-60mph time is not so interesting.

I was looking through some supplier FAQ pages:
BMR says PU/PU is fine for street/ autocross (I am not sure what autocross is actually)
Global west says PU/PU is for drag racing only and a bad choice for street use. They recommend double spherical endrods for all as the superior choice.
I do not mind some extra noise, but want the best for my application,
so its not really important, whether the LCAs cost 200 or 300USD.

I am interested in your opinion (especially Lus!fers)

And some more links to sites discussing this issue will be appreciated.

Gunnar
(right now in China: Chickens are a bargain these days!!)

Rod end's is the only way to go if you want the most out of your car. The only way they make noise if you buy cheap LCA's from on the vendors mainly BMR. LG and PPC have the best rod ends money can buy. Regular maintenance like a oil change and you'll be good to go.

My whole susp is rod end w/ the exception of my upper A-arms which are poly but that's fine by me at this point.

If you ever been a Rod end car vs a poly bushing kit you'll never go back to poly. My car is no louder than what it was before I swapped from poly to rod end but the car feels way tighter.

I also spent hours wondering and considered the spherical joints which I was put off as it suggested it was good for racing and made more noise than stock bushings. I was put off the Trak-Pak for noise reasons too.

In the end, I just wanted the best hold on the rear axle that I could get to stop it hopping so went for poly at both ends. Since I'll never know if the spherical ends are better, it doesn't bother me. I think Global West say the poly binds but I don't know if the BMR grease nipples answer that or not. It works for me. The limits on the car are higher than I'm going to risk in normal high speed driving. Just ask yourself do you really need them for what you're going to be doing with the car or do you need them to say you've got them?

In the end, I spent extra getting the lighter chrome-moly LCA's with poly both ends. Even if you get the spherical ends, the irony is that you'll never really know if they're any better than poly arms as the differences are going to be in the higher ranges where there may be an ultimate difference to an ultimate driver. For me, it was a cost issue - I replaced everything so wasn't going to pay out for something that might be better, I'd have to have a test with two cars back to back and lap times before I accepted their word.

Nobody is going to tell me that changing the LCA's will change my Camaro into a Pagani Zonda and nothing I've ever bought has made me think "Wow, that is a million times better and worth twice what I paid". It's better, of course, but how much better? Better, significantly better, a phenomenon of biblical proportions? Well, you get the idea. You'd be better buying a torque arm to go with ordinary LCA's.

Me? I've spent enough on my Camaro. It does what I want it to do. Now I'm trying to finance buying a 405hp Z06 to go with it.

AutoX is Slalom ... what the Porsche club did at Bitburg ... can't wait to see what the suspension upgrades did for my 'maro ...

All poly binds. Period. Doesn't matter if it has grease fittings or not. Will you be able to tell the difference between the 2? Yes. Has nothing to do w/ pushing the car to it's limit. It's a night and day difference w/ a rod end setup. It's all a matter of preference and seeing how you already made up your mind and have poly you'll never know.

I switched for 2 reasons. Weight and performance. I push my car hard at times and at other times I just cruise. I also like the fact it's alot easier to maintain and it's cleaner when doing it. Brake cleaner then wipe off and add the graphite and I'm done. Grease gun is messy IMO.

Thanx to Wayne and John,
BTW John, why did you change your nickname from ZBLKHELLRZR to SRZ and start as a Newbie??

I am just checking the different offers for rod ends: Some say "spherical", some not, some are with Teflon, others not.

I found some on http://www.Billingsleyracing.biz where there are some Wolfe Racecraft LCAs w/ rod ends also.

What is PPC??? John, please give the Link!

Wayne, about the Torque arm - I forgot to mention that I would like to go for the Edelbrock torque arm, which http://www.lmperformance.com is offering for just 160USD. That is half of the usual price.
The most expensive Torque arm I found so far was from Wolfe Racecraft for 675USD. I think, even 300USD is a rip off for a two steel tube weld construction.

For front upper a-arms Global West offers some Del-A-Lum bushings and some rod end bushing kits for the lower a-arms.
But as Wayne said, I will come to the point that the performance gain does no longer justify the price. BMRs upper and lower a-arm package with PU bushes for 570USD should do the trick. It would require another 400USD for G2/LGs rod end a-arms

I am more cautious about the rear suspension.
Any sensible comments and links regarding LCA bushings will be appreciated.

Cheers!
Gunnar

Here is the link for PPC.
http://www.provenperformanceconcepts.com/

I changed my name because that name no longer applies. Been repainted and my badges from GM say SRZ. Silas Rendition of a Z. SRZ.

Del bushings are the best to get if you go that route for uppper A-arms. LG's product are the best but oh so expensive. LG now has LCA's w/ boots on them to protect them from debris. Costly but well worth it. I'm switching mine out in a few months when I get back from doing my bid in the dirt.