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Post by tom400cfi on Dec 3, 2010 20:49:20 GMT -7
Well, I've finally started "getting after" the car some, chasing some of the worn items. First was the C5 brake upgrade, then recently added Hawk HP+ pads all the way around, along with the DRM bias spring. Unbelievable. The brakes make the car feel like a rock star. Super strong, no pulsing at all, great pedal and modulation. Wicked good budget mod. $500 for the rotors, calipers, abutment brackets, adapters, spring and pads. Transformed the car.
Same for the shocks. I agonized over which Bilstein to get; the HD or the Sport. I didn't want to get the Sport and have it ride too rough on my DD'ing Summit Park roads...and I didn't want to get the HD's and have it be "mush" out at Miller -which it would be. So I finally made a decision and bought 4 Koni sports. I can have both. OMG. Transformed the car! The shocks actually made the car's frame feel more rigid; solid. Amazing. They definitely cured a lot of problems that I thought were intrinsic to the C4. I had Koni's on my Camaro, and they transformed the 3rd gen too, so I was pretty sure they'd be a good purchase for the C4. They were.
Next up is a shifter and sway bars. I got some take off Z51 bars (my car has base susp) and I plan on installing them using fabricated heim joints for end links rather than the factory, double bushed end links.
None of this is probably that exciting to read about it, but it's fun to be working on my own car again and seeing some improvements.
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Post by tachout on Dec 3, 2010 21:04:34 GMT -7
Sounds great! Ther is a real sense of accomplishment when you can get out and do work on your own car, and then drive it and feel the changes you made. I have about half a day of work to do tomorrow, and then I am going to try to get out to the garage, start moving boxes and other items around and setting up the garage more.
Would be real interested in seeing pictures of your Sway bar and Shifter work. I am going to put an aftermarket shifter in my Coupe so seeing what you do is going to be very interested in reading about your swap.
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Post by Crossfire84 on Dec 3, 2010 21:06:52 GMT -7
Well, I've finally started "getting after" the car some, chasing some of the worn items. First was the C5 brake upgrade, then recently added Hawk HP+ pads all the way around, along with the DRM bias spring. Unbelievable. The brakes make the car feel like a rock star. Super strong, no pulsing at all, great pedal and modulation. Wicked good budget mod. $500 for the rotors, calipers, abutment brackets, adapters, spring and pads. Transformed the car. Same for the shocks. I agonized over which Bilstein to get; the HD or the Sport. I didn't want to get the Sport and have it ride too rough on my DD'ing Summit Park roads...and I didn't want to get the HD's and have it be "mush" out at Miller -which it would be. So I finally made a decision and bought 4 Koni sports. I can have both. OMG. Transformed the car! The shocks actually made the car's frame feel more rigid; solid. Amazing. They definitely cured a lot of problems that I thought were intrinsic to the C4. I had Koni's on my Camaro, and they transformed the 3rd gen too, so I was pretty sure they'd be a good purchase for the C4. They were. Next up is a shifter and sway bars. I got some take off Z51 bars (my car has base susp) and I plan on installing them using fabricated heim joints for end links rather than the factory, double bushed end links. None of this is probably that exciting to read about it, but it's fun to be working on my own car again and seeing some improvements. Congrats, I'll bet it is great to be working on your own iron, rather than the neglected junk of others. RACE ON!!! JIM
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Post by tom400cfi on Dec 3, 2010 21:31:38 GMT -7
You go that right, Jim! I actually had to leave work in the middle of the day today, to MAKE some time to bust some of this stuff out. First time in a while that I've had some 'personal time'. I did enjoy it. BTW, I did enjoy working on your car too. I enjoy all mechanic work, but with my own car, I'm moving the car in a direction, rather than simply doing a repair. So it's all fun, but yeah, I enjoyed what I did today quite a lot. Sounds great! There is a real sense of accomplishment when you can get out and do work on your own car, and then drive it and feel the changes you made. Would be real interested in seeing pictures of your Sway bar and Shifter work. I am going to put an aftermarket shifter in my Coupe so seeing what you do is going to be very interested in reading about your swap. Agreed. That is what makes a relationship with a car, great. For me at least. I can take shifter pics, but remember that mine is a stick. I don't know if my shifter work will apply to your cars.
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Post by kyrosnick on Dec 4, 2010 6:00:20 GMT -7
I got a set of DRM custom valved bilstein shocks on order. Suspension upgrades are great.
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Post by tom400cfi on Dec 4, 2010 8:57:13 GMT -7
Indeed. Especially on GM cars. I think they leave a lot on the table -especially in the damper department- as compared to other cars like VAG, BMW and Porsche. When you swap to a quality shock, you see a big improvement, which is nice.
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