New Suspension With Energy Bushings

Yamatr3 · 10-04-2008, 07:13 AM

Well over the last week we have been changing out all of my suspension bushings to the Energy ones I bought from PAW. osCommerce
All I can say is, the stock suspension is put together like CRAP from the factory. This part of my car has never been apart and when you unbolt everything from the A arms, they do not move. It takes a substantial amount of force to move them. I can't imagine, how much this plays against the shocks. When we put the A arms back on, tightened them up, you could move them with your pinkie finger. This is exactly the way it is supposed to be. We still have to realign it, re corner weight it, and reset the KW's settings, so I won't get to drive it till next weekend. However, I am going to guess and say it will be a huge improvement over stock. That should be awesome as the car already handled GREAT! Oh, and to top it off, I put Eibach sway bars on it too. So, we should see next weekend.

compression · 10-05-2008, 03:07 PM

sounds like a fun project. But I thought no movement was a good thing ? So it is stiff as

But then again I don't know too much about suspension

Yamatr3 · 10-05-2008, 04:17 PM

You want the A arms to be able to move freely with no binding. They were totally bound up, as bolted on by the factory. When any suspensions A arms bind, they are not letting the shocks do their job. This in turn makes it harder to set your suspension up correctly.

mena661 · 10-05-2008, 10:06 PM

Good to know. Thanks for the info.

LatinVenom · 10-06-2008, 03:29 PM

One quick note, these are for N.A. car and not for a GXP.

Yamatr3 · 10-06-2008, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatinVenom

One quick note, these are for N.A. car and not for a GXP.

As you know, mine is an NA car. Why would they not work on a GXP? I believe all the A arms are exactly the same.

mena661 · 10-06-2008, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamatr3

As you know, mine is an NA car. Why would they not work on a GXP? I believe all the A arms are exactly the same.

Yeah suspension components are the same. Only shocks and springs are different.

2KWK4U · 10-06-2008, 11:36 PM

Are the stabilizer bars the same diameter, too, btw N/A and GXP? How about ZOK? I know Yamatr3 changed the sways anyway, so it's a moot point for him. Just want to be sure GXP owners can order the same "full monte" bushing kit from Energy (or anyone that sells Energy bushings) and have no problem installing them all.

Also, the full kit comes with replacement differential carrier bushings. Are there any fit issues there?

mena661 · 10-07-2008, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Are the stabilizer bars the same diameter, too, btw N/A and GXP? How about ZOK?

I believe the sways are different but not sure. The GXP ZOK sways are definitely different.

spiky3480 · 10-07-2008, 09:00 AM

Also, the full kit comes with replacement differential carrier bushings. Are there any fit issues there?[/quote]

I have the differential carrier bushing installed. There are no fitment issues...press the old one out and put the new one in. Bada bing, bada boom.

Yamatr3 · 10-07-2008, 02:29 PM

I used the A-arm only kits from Energy. As mentioned above, the sway bars are different from the NA to the GXP, so if the GXP people want to do this, they would have to buy the bushings ala cart, meaning; rear diff bush, A arm bush kit front, A-arm bush kit rear, and then the appropriate sway bar bushings for either a NA model or GXP model.

these bushings were pretty difficult to get out. I would only attempt this if you have a press. As it was, it took us three shots on each bush to get all the pieces out. In the end it took 6 hours to replace the bushings, not including doing the re-alignment.

I was hoping to have my car back on the road by the weekend, but I have decided to relocate the battery to our tiny trunk as I an putting Norms side skirts on and do not want to have to take them on and off for battery replacement, plus this will give me more weight on the rear end where I need it with the V8.

When all is done, my car will have the following suspension set up,

2006 NA Solstice, non ZOK
Eibach sway bars, using Eibach bushings
KW coilovers resprung for the V8 weight differences
Energy A-arm suspension bushings front and rear
Energy Rear diff bushig
ZOK rear diff brace - This is the stock GM piece that has the extra bracing welded to it. I did it this way, due to my custom exhaust. Both the Kappasphere bar and DDM brace will do the same thing as the GM ZOK brace.

LatinVenom · 10-07-2008, 06:55 PM

All I was trying to point out is the difference between the suspension components on the N.A. car and a GXP.
If you go to the Performance Autoworks site the title says 2.4L.
You then go to the 2.0L (GXP\RL) offerings and is not listed for the GXP.

Charley · 10-07-2008, 07:19 PM

LS2 V8 Solstice?! My God, I'm drooling!

Just call me Envious!! Amazing.

With that much in there, you might have to compensate for the original bind on the A-arms when you set up your shocks or things could get squirrelly!

SCISOLSTICE · 10-07-2008, 09:24 PM

I love the way my 2006 Sol handles. The car is not $60000 car.

Yamatr3 · 10-18-2008, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCISOLSTICE

I love the way my 2006 Sol handles. The car is not $60000 car.

But it can handle like a $60,000 car for about $1000.

We just finished it up yesterday and all I can say is wow. The car feels so much smoother now and is a night and day difference. Some of it might be due to the sway bars too, but overall, it is great.