I like your approach, dislike that you have that Tien junk on your car. Air is actually very competitive if you've got the right damper to go with it. Blistein HDs with a revalve, Firestone bags, a leveler, and good management would have had you running circles around the same car equipped with the Tiens. Food for thought.

Otherwise, ****ing radical car! :thumpup:

I'll agree that Tein isnt the best coil-over out there for other cars, but for J-bodies it sadly is. Now there might be a possibility that WRX coil-overs will work with a "simple" IRS swap to the rear. Plus with the connections that a few of us have, that could open the door to some very nice suspension options.

Keep in mind that the aftermarket is small for these cars and is only getting smaller(Baer brakes just stopped making their big brake kits for us).

I see nothing wrong with your supposedly crappy Cavalier.. looking good!

Wow, this cavalier is hands down one if, if not the, nicest cavy I've ever seen! Good work, can't wait to see it up and running with the TVS!

It's coming along great man, I can't wait to see my kit installed on your car down the road!

Does Ground Control make a kit for your car? Does Bilstein or Koni make shocks for it? If they do, both could be better options if you want the car to be competitive.

GC's are just a sleeve and spring and Koni does still make yellows(inserts) for us. My one buddy has GC's and Koni reds(discontinued) on his. The handing is about the same, but the Teins ride ALOT better. STD just started offering their R5 kit for us. K&W(i havent heard any reviews on them) and B&G(looks like a nice unit) both make coil-overs for us, but you have to use stock strut mounts. That doesnt sound bad, but when they are notorious for going bad as often as you change you oil it becomes a deal breaker for me. Tein and STD are the only factory options for "pillowball" strut mounts with camber adjustment.

the teins aren't as bad as you make them out to be... I took 1st in SM in the NEPA region this past year running the exact same suspension he has on his cavalier.

he's really not that far off when he says it's currently one of the better options available. the std's and BG's are good choices as well but the BG's run stock strut mounts (which are horrendous on the j-body). nobody has spent the money on the k&w's as far as I know....

Unfortunately, they really are. Such a bummer that they are the creme of the creme for your platform. I guess it depends on what type of "performance" you want out of the car.

My main issues with Tien, Megan, etc: Their dampers do not have accurate adjustability, their valving is often mismatched for the spring rate, and more often than not, you couldn't get a shock dyno print out from any of those companies even if you asked pretty please with a buttload of sugar on top. Have you ever seen a shock dyno on a "matching set?" If you can actually make one appear, I guarantee it'd be laughworthy. Ksport, Megan, BG, D2, and Tien are all the same junk, just a different color.

KW is one of the suspensions to beat out there. The V3s hang with Ohlins and Bilstein, and the V1s, for the price, blow the competition away, but do not offer damper adjustability.

You don't have to believe me, but if you want a real world opinion, just check out what the big name Racing (Amuse, NASCAR, etc) companies/teams use, and what the big name auto makers use for their stock equipment on their performance models. I think you'll find that Tien and the others like them appear as stock equipment on BMWs or specifically on the Evo a good deal less than the companies I've named.

Please understand that I'm not picking a fight or bashing anyone's decisions, but proper suspension- and great suspension set-ups- are something I'm passionate about and have put a lot of research into. Often the main issue is that ride quality is effected, but just like other things we do to our cars (AC delete, solid/poly motor mounts, etc) it's something that you just either deal with, or don't.

Racing on air was something else I brought up, and shouldn't be easily dismissed either. If you've got some googling time, look up the Praxis air suspension for the Sti and the M3. There's also records of Porsche and F1 teams destroying their times buy switching from traditional suspension to air. Food for thought.

Anyways, I do like to be surprised, so I wish you well with what you're working with, and look forward to your results. :thumbup:

the main issue we have is the even attempting to piece together a proper setup, you rarely can find a spring that is matched to the damper. I ran Koni yellows/goldlines and I can tell you that the tein's were a big step up. the pillowball mounts alone made a huge difference in the handling of the car and the overall ride quality vastly improved. there is one company out there that is now making upgraded strut mounts but they haven't always been available and they have had some quality issues in the past (but they are improving).

quality strut options for us are koni yellows, kyb agx and gr2's, and tokico d specs. bilstein, ohlins, etc don't want to be bothered as it's a dead platform and frankly most of the owners are cheap skates and won't pony up for quality parts. (hell most won't even spring for proper struts to run lowering springs)

quality spring options are limited as well. coilovers are basically what has been mentioned.

the air ride setup you described earlier i'm sure would be a great setup but you'd be looking at alot of fab work to retrofit struts to work on the j-body. most air setups that j-bodies run are easy street's box kit.

honestly, as tinkles mentioned, i'm looking forward to the possibility of running wrx coilovers as it opens up a whole new level of quality. only downside is the IRS rear that will be needed to run them means a minimum of prepared classes in autox...

Old stock suspension parts.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...13587984_n.jpg

New parts are installed:
Refurbish subframe
Pontiac Grand Am/ Olds Alero aluminum control arms(lighter and 1/2" longer than the stock cavalier control arms)
Prothane poly control arm bushings
Moog ball joints
Baer big brake kit
Addco 25.4mm sway bar was swapped back in too.
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...30748265_n.jpg

With a wheel on.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...06405119_n.jpg

nice man cant wait to see the outcome...

I ended up replacing the outer tie rods with some nice Moog tie rods, tossed the wheels on it, and pushed it out of the garage for a few pics before i rip the rear suspension out of it.

http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/8551/gopr0336.jpg

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5968/gopr0333.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/5577/gopr0329.jpg

http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/4898/gopr0328.jpg

With the new control arms and big brakes the front end is noticeably wider than the rear now. Hopefully it wont be too much of a PITA to widen the rear to match the front.

I did get a bit done since the last update. But everything still currently at a standstill do to having trouble acquiring a 12" rear disc brake setup.

But i did get the old rear suspension torn out.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...90827309_n.jpg

Transferred the "sway bar" to the new trailing arm.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...95000011_n.jpg

And swapped onto the car with Delrin bushings and SS brake lines.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...52987370_n.jpg
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...87216602_n.jpg

After that it was just a few odds and ends.

Muffler reinstalled.
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...87448516_n.jpg

And "fabbed" up a "CAI". The inlet to the LS1 TB is 4" so i just went with it.
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...41475149_n.jpg
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...08040181_n.jpg


I ordered a 12" SSBC kit back in the beginning of March and was told that it would take a month to get built. Well April came and i was told "1 more month". Well now it is May and i was just told "1 more month". That isnt going to fly. I canceled the order and am going to use the refunded money to put together a kit myself using 95 F-body parts. I already have a set of used calipers and a rotor on the way to a friend to get a mounting bracket fabbed up. I also have 1 new and 1 reman PBR calipers on their way to me. Once i get my money back i'll order a set of Baer rotors and Hawk HPS pads along with all of the other little bits.

Nice!

Since "proper fitment" is the new in thing, here is how the cav is looking.

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/9134/dsc00010mu.jpg

http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/93/dsc00014kf.jpg

Being flush wasn't the goal. Widening the front and still keeping the tires under the fenders was. Not bad for not using any spacers.

Most of the rear brake parts are in. Im just waiting for the custom caliper brackets to come in from a buddy.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8789/dsc00028pz.jpg

Then earlier this week i got fed up with looking at the car on jackstands and no progress being made. Plus i got pretty damn bored.

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5617/dsc00030eh.jpg

So out came the fuel tank, pulled the tired stock pump out(~92k miles on it), and swapped in my Racetronix W-body pump(basically a slightly modded Walboro 255).

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8576/dsc00029je.jpg

I should be getting my body parts back in 2 or 3 weeks and hopefully the rear brakes will be figured out and working by then. I also have to finish installing the booster harness for the new fuel pump(ensures a constant 14v) and to do that i have to get to the backside of the alternator. That wouldnt be bad except that it is buried under the M62 and tucked against the intake manifold. So at the very least i have to pull the M62 off and since i now have fuel to support the Harrop HTV1320 it just seems dumb to toss the M62 back on just so i can pull it off again.

http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9858/dsc00059je.jpg

I think i'll be happy with the power this year.

The Harrop is fully installed and ready to be tuned. The lower 2 S/C to manifold bolts were a PITA. There is no room to get anything in there, but i finally got it. Also the front brakes/suspension are done and ready to be bled. I ended up replacing the "stock" PBR brake pads with a set of Hawk HPS.

I like this picture of the CAI.
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/9213/dsc00109ji.jpg


But aside from tweaking the fender/bumper mounting point, tweaking the support rods for the splitter, and tossing the fender liners back in, the front end is cosmetically done.
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/9043/dsc00115p.jpg

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/8659/dsc00118up.jpg

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/451/dsc00121u.jpg

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2076/dsc00123tq.jpg

The car isnt crooked, i just cant take a level pic at that angle.
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6451/dsc00124jj.jpg

The power goal is 270whp for now.

I like this and hate it, memories of my first car a cavalier ugh

to be honest, i've never been a fan of cavaliers... but i really like what you've done with this, and the direction you're heading!! this is one of the first cavaliers i really like