# Stiff Rear End Project.



## KyleGT05usmc (Feb 28, 2009)

we all know the slop of the rear. so im going for cheapest route to tighten her up. 

going with 

mazda dragbags. Air Lift 60759 Air Lift Air 1000 Spring Kits
$80+easy install vs 275 for spring set. 

energy xframe bushings Energy Suspension 3-4125R - Energy Suspension Rear Subframe Bushing Sets - Overview - SummitRacing.com
$85 vs 200-pedders

diff bush 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO LOVELLS Differential Insert
$35 vs 80

inner CA bush Wretched Motorsports
$50

THIS IS WHERE I NEED HELP
shocks...
i like the KONI adjustables but 300 for the set,whew..
so looking at wretched i see the big bores but those are for lowered with less travel. but they also have Wretched Motorsports $150
i dont see many options really..

these look pretty decent to me, but says only 2 out of 10 over stock ride.. anyone have these shocks or feedback about them???

overall looking at roughly $400-450 for whole shibang and i can install myself on a weekend. and it should def help clean up the rear end. finally able to install my DOT slicks. 


FEEDBACK!
:cheers


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## badgoat91 (Jul 13, 2009)

konis are the way to go, they made more of a differenece then my eibach springs or energy suspension kit on my gto. plus a lifetime warranty , sounds great to me


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

I hate to say it but I agree you should just wait a little and save up for the Konis. You'll like it in the end. The rest sounds perfect altho I'd get the Lovells inner rear control arm bushing ($47) if for nothing more than saving on the shipping with the insert.


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## KyleGT05usmc (Feb 28, 2009)

i would prefer the koni's..but theyre literally double the price. just the idea of adjusting is amazing. 
if the pedder VRDs are decently stiff then i'd rather go that route. but i havent seen any reviews about them really. 
already going to do this in phases, phase 1 is shocks+bags. figure those are the meat and potatoes the bushings(phase2) are just the salt+pepper.

main goal is to be able to run my DOT drags without rubbing fenders. which i hope would get me around a 1.85 60' hopefully resulting in bringing me from 13flats to the 12.6 range?

wheres the best place for the koni's? ive found them only @ hensons Koni Adjustable Rear Shocks


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## GM4life (Mar 18, 2007)

You probably won't adjust them as much as you think you would. I like the idea of adjustablity too. But I came to the reality of how much would I really adjust them? not much. So I'm going to settle for Lovells or Pedders.


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## KyleGT05usmc (Feb 28, 2009)

well I scrounged up some money and I'm going with the pedders VRDs and mazda drag bags. 
I'm going to take pictures and all that of the install, and give some feedback on how the new rear end handles. 

and once i bolt up my stickies and hit the track ill post the times!


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## KyleGT05usmc (Feb 28, 2009)

Resurrecting this post. 

Finally got my suspension upgraded and I did a bit different than what I posted above. 

Today I finished installing

Eibach Springs (1" front 3/4" rear drop) from MarylandSpeed. 
and 
Monroe "Sensi-Trac" from Advanced Auto (210 for all around shocks/struts) with strut mounts/bearings(180ish total) from GM.

Youve probably seen some sh*t talk about the Eibachs. Don't listen. They are great springs for the price. And you also don't need to spend $500 on shocks. I went with regular Monroe shocks and they're fantastic. 

Springs - 250
Mount/Bearings - 180
Shock/strut - 210
TOTAL - 650 ballpark. Compare that to other brands and I could have spent 100s more. 
(I also installed new EBC Red pads all the way around - 160)

Project difficulty (my opinion) about a 6.5-7.0/10
Total time (in labor) approx 6 hours(over 2 days waiting for parts ORDER MOUNTS/BEARINGS! THE OLD ONES AREBAD!!!!)

some of the difficult points were:
-getting to the right rear shock bolt in the trunk, the filler tube to your gas tank is in the way. could remove that to ease installation but i didnt. 
-holding the shock/strut main shaft still while trying to tighten/loosen bolts. the little fitting on top isnt an exact wrench size, theres a special little tool thats supposed to come with it but mine was missing. 

tips:
-have a decent spring compressor
-have a extra set of hands
-disconnect the cv-axles at the differential not the hub despite what manuals say, to drop the rear (make sure to trq back to 37lbs)
-disconnect the rear sway bar from the middle bolt on the links to drop
-when reinstalling the front struts, make sure you get the sway bar link in the strut mount before putting the strut all the way up the tower
-make sure to set the spring in the front struts all the way in
-make sure to get an alignment after

You wouldn't believe the phenomenal increase in handling and stability from shocks/springs.
-You get a lot better acceleration as you have no wasted energy in saggy rear ends. I actually felt the inertia in my own neck while I was driving. And the wheel hop was non-existent. It feels like you gained 50hp.
-You get better deceleration from the nose not diving like a front loaded sled. With my new brake pads that car is stopping on a dime. It comes down from 80 effortlessly without having to smash the pedal
-You get tight responsive handling and a lot less body roll (sway bars next). the lower center of gravity is noticeable. you can put throttle down a lot earlier in the turn and not worry about the front sliding or rear coming around. 

I cant even describe it. Its like a whole new car that feels like it lost 500lbs. There was almost no sacrifice in ride comfort. you can feel the bumps a little bit more but its not uncomfortable. it generally feels more "grounded" and i feel a lot more confident at speed. no sloshy weight transfers and oversteering.
the stock suspension was so saggy that even though it was a lowering kit i literally stayed the same height in the front and barely dropped a fraction in the rear. 

go faster, stop faster, turn faster. you cant beat a good suspension. 
I was going to get a cam originally but decided on suspension first and im happy i did. 

I highly recommend at least shocks/springs to all GTO owners and you dont have to buy the high price items to get high performance. 


Ill post pictures tomorrow when the sun comes up =]


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## firebird (Feb 6, 2011)

question, did GM leave this play in differential housing for a reason?(when switching gears and it clanks) due to longer life of the differential....

By stiffening the rearend, by using GTO LOVELLS Differential Insert 35$, does it help to get rid of the clank noise?? by puting this insert, will it put more strain on differential or it will help in longer life? is this insert all the differential needs to get rid of clank noise? what about GTO Crossmember Mounts-PAIR, what do they do?


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