Best Budget Handling Upgrades?

[AidanDawn2000]

Hi Gang!

My '69 is look and running great but when the road gets twisty things pretty much fall apart
I was wondering what upgrades have the biggest impact for the money? Obviously I would love to change out everything but the front end alone would cost more than the car did in the first place

The current situation is this:

-3 out of the 4 shocks pretty much toast which i think is responsible for the fact that the car goes into this self perpetuating pogo-bounce whenever you hit a bump or dip...or turn the steering wheel
-stock springs front and rear
-stock sway bar.
-lower ball joints are not great but not terrible. uppers ok
-stock wheels

I'm looking for a good setup for aggressive backroad driving and AutoX down the road, ride comfort is not that important to me.

Currently I'm thinking new shocks and comp springs but I also have a line on one of the 23mm comp sway bars for $100. Is this a good price and is the comp sway bar a good upgrade or does it make for too much understeer?

As for shocks, Konis and Bilsteins, while amazing are probably too much $$$. I was looking instead at the full gas KYBs the "gas-adjusts" to be specific, i think they are a step up from the gr-2s but will they be robust enough to deal with comp springs? Or maybe put some used Konis up front and cheap KYBs in the back?

Front: https://www.amazon.com/KYB-KG4528-Gas-a ... B000C42RRI

Rear: https://www.amazon.com/KYB-KG5546-Gas-a ... B000C40T7S



Thanks in advance!

-Aidan

[#009]

This is base on my own personal experience and the order I did them.

-regular KYB ($120/set) I felt the difference coming from stock shocks.
-replaced upper and lower ball joints. Definitely felt how much tighter handling is.
-comp sway bar. Didn't notice a whole lot of difference.
-Mike Young springs. Felt the difference

You drove my car before and can compare it w/ your stock setup. Personally I'd address the safety factor first which are the ball joints. Then go w/ shocks and springs. New sway bar bushings are cheaper than getting the comp setup and will be better than stock ones.

Just my 2 cents. I'm curious what others have done so I can get some ideas on how to enhance my handling as well.

[Pjackb]

Sell the second roadster buy some Bilstein from JT

Ok, now that this is out of the way , keeping in mind you have a limited budget and want to do auto-x

I don't have a Roadster yet but common sense would be first to replace the worn shocks obviously not only is it a safety concern but any other upgrades is useless if that's not done.

second I would do the ball joints , not only will it help with handling but steering feel will be majorly improved and the car will feel much tighter

Third , Tires, tires, tires , this is IMO the single most overlooked handling improvement you can do , when I looked at roadster in general I'm always amazed at how many of them are on budget tires , go +1 and get a good set of performance tires in the right size , there are always cheap 15" wheels in your area on craigslist and eBay . not only will your car feel and handle Soooo much better but it will also brake that much better.
one note though always privilege lightweight first for wheels if you can and be careful not to overtire. I like 195/60/14 or 195/55/15

Fourth_ Springs I will let others chime in about which springs to get as I don't know them enough for roadster ( did notice the're fairly cheap to buy in general )

Fifth , get an alignment especially after an suspension work , again this is something that is way too often overlooked and it has major effect on how your car behaves, handles and steers.

Sixth_ Driving lessons _ once you've done all this you will have a very nice performing car so get some driving lessons you will find a whole new respect for your car then and will be surprised how much more "handling" she has into her

[Pjackb]

There is a nice set of Iron Cross wheels in Rohnert pk for $50, you could make these look good fairly easy
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/wto/d/ ... 15830.html

you could get some Falken Azenis in 195/60 but they might be too much tire for this car ( I had some on my Boxster Loved them)
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... mpare1=yes

[AidanDawn2000]

Sell the second roadster buy some Bilstein from JT

Ok, now that this is out of the way , keeping in mind you have a limited budget and want to do auto-x

I don't have a Roadster yet but common sense would be first to replace the worn shocks obviously not only is it a safety concern but any other upgrades is useless if that's not done.

second I would do the ball joints , not only will it help with handling but steering feel will be majorly improved and the car will feel much tighter

Third , Tires, tires, tires , this is IMO the single most overlooked handling improvement you can do , when I looked at roadster in general I'm always amazed at how many of them are on budget tires , go +1 and get a good set of performance tires in the right size , there are always cheap 15" wheels in your area on craigslist and eBay . not only will your car feel and handle Soooo much better but it will also brake that much better.
one note though always privilege lightweight first for wheels if you can and be careful not to overtire. I like 195/60/14 or 195/55/15

Fourth_ Springs I will let others chime in about which springs to get as I don't know them enough for roadster ( did notice the're fairly cheap to buy in general )

Fifth , get an alignment especially after an suspension work , again this is something that is way too often overlooked and it has major effect on how your car behaves, handles and steers.

Sixth_ Driving lessons _ once you've done all this you will have a very nice performing car so get some driving lessons you will find a whole new respect for your car then and will be surprised how much more "handling" she has into her

Good points! AutoX is going to be a pretty long way down the road but i defiantly feel that it would be good to push the car to the limit and past it in a safe controlled environment. just to get a better understanding of how thinks work out.

[fj20spl311]

Shocks, ball joints, tie rods, steering box, Idler arm up to spec. Then a comp. or larger sway bar.

[Daryl Smith]

My preference for the order of improvements, assuming everything else is in good order:

1) if the shocks are that bad, they are a safety hazard! I would also recommend the Bilsteins from JT, especially if you plan to autocross. Bite the bullet now, instead of buying shocks twice....

2) as said tires should be your next step. improves ride, handling, and braking, good tires are the most important part of improving your braking system!
I believe good 14" tires are getting harder to find. I went with 185/65/15 from the stock size and the improvement was very noticeable. Considering going to 195/60/15 when these are replaced.

3) with those two things done you will probably find the ball joints aren't as good as you thought they were...replace.

4) If you are going hard into the corners, you WILL notice the difference with the stiffer sway bar.

5) With the shocks, tires, and swaybar done, you may find the comp (front) springs aren't needed, maybe. I don't have them. I have considered them for a slightly lowered front end, but, like a softer ride. Admittedly, I've not compared the ride of said equipped car to mine. I do however like the Flexform monoleaf springs I have on the back @ 180 lb/in. BIG improvement in the ride!

6) Also as previously stated - Driving lessons - at any point after #2 above. Will improve your driving everywhere, not just on the autocross course!

There are other, more expensive ways to improve your suspension....these should get you most of the way there....

[bikermike]

On my car after I addressed shocks, tires and ensuring suspenion components were properly torqued, cleaned, greased and protected with new dust boots I found that getting an alignment with some negative camber helped cornering a lot. It required using longer bolts to accommodate the larger stack of shims between the upper spindle mounts and the frame.

You may be surprised to see how loose some bolts might be on your car if you haven't checked them since you bought it.

Adding a 23mm front swaybar made a difference too.

As noted by others, start by assessing the health of your components first. Torquing bolts is a pretty cheap 1st step.

[AidanDawn2000]

Great advise guys, thanks!

I probably won't get into wider wheels and tires right now as I'm really starting to like the "stock with white walls" look. Defiantly need to get under the car and double check that everything is torqued down.

[spyder]

My biggest improvement was an alignment after all the suspension parts were replaced.

[Linda]

+1 on greasing all the zerks, filling the steering box and idler box and tightening all the bolts .
Also wheel bearing maintainence helps.
It's all greasy work now

Linda

[AidanDawn2000]

+1 on greasing all the zerks, filling the steering box and idler box and tightening all the bolts .
Also wheel bearing maintainence helps.
It's all greasy work now

Linda

I did fill the steering box and grease all the zerks (i think i got all of them). Does the idler require gear oil too?

[2mAn]

PM sent Aidan

[Linda]

Aidan,
There should be a zerk on the idler box, and you pump it full of grease till it comes out the top.
The trick is to get it to go down, not just up...
Linda

[pebbles]

Shelve the tires and wheels. Get 4 260Z wheels and put 4 185/60/14 Direzza ZII star specs on them. 30 psi F, 28psi R.