Increase Handling?

[sweefu]

Hi all,
I am looking on some pointers to increase the handling of my VS. I'm more than happy to tackle any work myself and i'm keen on doing things that will cost less but be more time consuming.
So far i have:
IRS
Pedders ultra low springs, kyb shortened gas shocks rear, fe2 swaybars
FE2 shocks/springs/swaybars front, whiteline hd linkpins & polyurethane bushes

What is the next step for me? Would the next thing be a strut brace? Or thicker sway bars? The car has FE2 as an option from stock.

Or, should i not bother considering how big the car is?..

Thanks, any help or pointers would be great.

[old mate]

well how does the car handle at the moment? well balanced or does it do some bad things?

strip the interior, that would help haha.

[strgas]

Get yourself a good rear camber caster kit/s

[sweefu]

Doesn't handle too bad, not great though.
strgas do you think taking the camber out of the rear wheels will be better than a front strut brace?

At present i have Federal 595 235/45/17 front tyre
rears are crappy chinese junk but have ordered Goodyear Revspec II 255/40/17
so that will be better.

[crazybiker]

Get the strut brace!

Get the strut brace!

I CANNOT insist more. I got one put on mine...and I love it. Honestly. Made the car COMPLETELY different to drive.

[old mate]

which end lets go? predictable?

its amazing how much better rubber does, and tyre pressures.

having a good set of tyres on will give you something to base other changes on too.

i read somewhere that getting commodores to go around corners is to get more caster in the front, i think it was someone on here but i cant remember who.

[danja]

Billies all round, suitable uprated springs but keep it at FE2-ish height, Whiteline adjustable sways, poly sway bar and castor bushes, good alignment and strut brace if you're bored (in for a penny in for a pound, some people say they are pointless, but then most money spend on cars is really).

Will handle like it's on rails.

[sweefu]

Thanks again for all the help.
Sounds like i'll keep an eye out for a ~$100 strut brace, from there i might consider changing sway bars to upper spec of fe2.
Its going in for an alignment once new tyres are on the rear in a few weeks too.

It handles pretty well, rear tyres are really killing it at the moment, getting some body roll thanks to my big boot install but i have change to shift the weight of the stereo a bit more forward of the rear axle, more towards centre of the chassis which would help alot i think.

[2DIE]

Get the strut brace!

Get the strut brace!

I CANNOT insist more. I got one put on mine...and I love it. Honestly. Made the car COMPLETELY different to drive.

I agree, I got one on my VN Calais year ago. Drives so nice now, when I jump in my bros VN Calais it handles like a bucket of sh*t compared to mine, but it was just like mine used to be.

[crazybiker]

I even noticed it to the point that, even within the first week of it being installed, the car got BETTER and BETTER every day as it pushed the strut towers back to where they should be.

[sweefu]

Sounds really good. Any perticular brand anyone has or adjustable/non adjustable?

I don't mean to disregard other posts, a strut brace is just the thing i can afford at the moment haha. Also something i've had my eye on for a while

[crazybiker]

I went to pedders and got mine from them.

[sweefu]

How much did that one set you back mate?

[strgas]

how hard you wanna go round corners ? how bigs your budget/wallet .
VN calias handle like butter on a hot plate at the best of times with factory spec suspension .

[sweefu]

I want it to handle well as i can get it to, but i don't have much money. i've already spent bit on it, plus its fe2 from stock and witht he new tyres all round it should be pretty decent

I'm just looking for something not too exspensive to try and make it handle bit better

Cheers mate.

[crazybiker]

How much did that one set you back mate?

$350 installed.

Not cheap, but now they're giving me trade prices. So it's works out good because I'll be spending a little more money there soon.

how hard you wanna go round corners ? how bigs your budget/wallet .
VN calias handle like butter on a hot plate at the best of times with factory spec suspension .

He's got the FE2 in it...Make it quite a bit better.

[Darren_L]

you've already replaced all the suspension bushes & upgraded shocks which is a great start.

As is upgrading tyres. You can have the best suspension setup, but if you don't have good quality tyres that stick to the road, then it's all a big waste of money.
if you have big speaker box/stereo setup in the boot, it won't help at all. Throws the balance of the car out, Commodores tend to oversteer as it is, throw all that extra weight over the rear wheels or even worse, behind the rear wheels is bad news.

If I have read your post right, you have FE2 springs in the front and ultra lows in the back ? Mismatched springs are no good. Fit matched springs front & rear, they are designed by the manufacturers to work together. And avoid going too low. Might look cool, but unless you have a reasonable amount of suspension travel on a road car, the car will just bounce over bumps, decreasing tyre contact with the road. Also keep in mind if you go too low at the front, you will increase the bump steer as the tie rods angle upward. Hence the reason why Commodore Cup cars raise the steering rack to compensate for the lower suspension height.

FE2 sway bars are fairly good when combined with FE2 springs. However, once you change your springs, you may need to determine if it has negatively affected body roll. Once again some body roll is crucial for good handling, as is using the right combination front & rear. Ask a suspension specialist what size sway bars would suit your combo.

I've yet to try a strut brace on my car, but plan on buying one soon. I figure reducing the flex between the strut towers has to be a good thing, always see it on the race cars. Make sure you a buy a decent one though. Cheap sway bar will probably flex as well.

Get a good wheel alignment. Talk to your suspension specialist about how much caster would be beneficial on your car. Later model Commodores are designed with far more caster angle than the earlier models, but the car is designed around it. So what works on a later model, may not work on your car. And as mentioned IRS Commodores benefit significantly from fitting a rear camber kit, particularly on lowered cars. Also improves tyre wear.

[Zeussy]

Why do you need to go so fast through corners anyway? Just drive slower...

And body roll is not really good to have, hence why the supercars have very minimal/if any body roll.

[soop]

Whiteline Automotive - performance handling and suspension products. car spring coil shock damper swaybar sway bar anti-sway bush bushes australia australian whiteline automotive performance road holding turn-in camber caster toe in vehicle hot 4 v8

if thats not the correct URL google Whiteline.

Had my old Subaru setup with whiteline goods front to rear, handles like a go-kart. I did front and rear sway bars, Bushes/endlinks and replaced all the struts with Bilstien goods.
FE2 isn't anything to write home about.
I'd suggest looking into some pedders items.

[Darren_L]

And body roll is not really good to have, hence why the supercars have very minimal/if any body roll.

actually it's an important factor in handling. The V8 Supercar suspension is setup differently for each track. Some tracks they back the sway bars right off to increase body roll.
Some body roll, is an important factor in maintaining tyre contact on the road. Watch the cars that are setup right and stick to the track. Instead of picking up wheels on the corners, the body rolls and maintains wheel contact. If the V8 Supercars weren't intended to have body roll, they would just use a solid steel bar as a stabiliser bar instead of an adjustable, spring steel bar.

[redvsberlina]

HEY DUDE

This is easy look at my car

First thing is whiteline sway bars i went thick as i could one mine cause i might hit tracks later on they will help with cornering and keeping the car stable
nolathane the whole car i did it some humps hate it i love it so what if you chop the odd one out just means its stiff
good shocks are a must and matched springs i ran the new gt gas sports which are suited to king springs
irs you need a camber kit too
i also we for a strut brace on the top and on mine i have the new nolathane adjustable strut tops they are mint but havent drive with them yet

[crazybiker]

FE2 isn't anything to write home about.
I'd suggest looking into some pedders items.

It's not anything Uber-fantastic, but it handles a million times better than the standard.

HEY DUDE

This is easy look at my car

First thing is whiteline sway bars i went thick as i could one mine cause i might hit tracks later on they will help with cornering and keeping the car stable
nolathane the whole car i did it some humps hate it i love it so what if you chop the odd one out just means its stiff
good shocks are a must and matched springs i ran the new gt gas sports which are suited to king springs
irs you need a camber kit too
i also we for a strut brace on the top and on mine i have the new nolathane adjustable strut tops they are mint but havent drive with them yet

The idea isn't to go a stiff as possible though. It all depends on what characteristic the car has, and what you want it to have...

Ideally, you'd be changing the whole suspension setup for every different road you go on, so you have to have a bit of give and take.

If you want the car to have a tendancy to oversteer, either soften the front bars or stiffen the rear. Vice versa to change the tendancy to an understeer.

[Zeussy]

When they jump over the ripple strips of course its bound to lift a tyre, body roll or not.
Compared to a street car/FE2 suspension, they have very minimal body roll...


And like I said, how fast do you need to take corners, unless its intended for a street/track car whats the point in doing it all?

[Reaper]

Billies all round, suitable uprated springs but keep it at FE2-ish height, Whiteline adjustable sways, poly sway bar and castor bushes, good alignment and strut brace if you're bored (in for a penny in for a pound, some people say they are pointless, but then most money spend on cars is really).

Will handle like it's on rails.

What he said. KYB aren't bad but are only a step above entry level. From experience Bilstein (and a few other brands) are the shit. I run Bilstein springs and shocks all round in my VP and it sticks to the road like shit to a blanket. If you are having balance issues (understeer/oversteer) then consider adjustable sway bars. If you are in Vic then visit Quadrant Bilstein in Berwick and they will valve the shocks to whatever you want (take their advice - they have decades experience with Commodores).

Gotta say that at best the strut braces commercially available are a placebo and you could argue that they are counter productive at the other end of the scale. I personally believe in the placebo end myself.

Reaper

[redvsberlina]

It's not anything Uber-fantastic, but it handles a million times better than the standard.




The idea isn't to go a stiff as possible though. It all depends on what characteristic the car has, and what you want it to have...

Ideally, you'd be changing the whole suspension setup for every different road you go on, so you have to have a bit of give and take.

If you want the car to have a tendancy to oversteer, either soften the front bars or stiffen the rear. Vice versa to change the tendancy to an understeer.

MY front sway bar is adjustable and so are the strut top for that reason