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HANDLING MODS
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Well in order to make better use of the increased power the performance mods have provided, I’m sure you are wondering what I have done to increase the handling capabilities of the car.
Well the most obvious thing, which I’m sure you have noticed on the prior pages, is the rim and tire combination.
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RIMS & TIRES
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I bet you don't see these very often:
"Red stripes on the tires?!?," you ask.
Well, those are BF Goodrich Scorchers. (245/45 R17) They handle great on the road and look sweet too. The red in the tires match the body color perfectly!
OK speaking of tires, I bet you are curious about the rims:
17in Chrome Niche Serpents...
OK, what do you think?
You can see them quite well in this shot... It was a cool fluke that I parked and they were in the same rotation. Yes, they are wild and out there. I wanted to go with something that was more airy that had less chrome. Most of the other third generation (1982-1992) F-bodys (Firebirds & Camaros) were running around with stock rims, or a version of the current 5-spoke design. I had seen too much of them and wanted something totally different. That & they went well with the dragon theme I adopted for RAIF.
You might have noticed the lug pattern is 4 instead of 5. The rims had been discontinued by Niche about a year before I had decided on them. The only set I could get were for a Datsun/Nissan. Running a FWD rim meant I had to get billet spacers/adapters to get the correct offset, so is was not a big deal to incorporate the new lug pattern.
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SUSPENSION
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Well you have seen what I’m rolling on, but that’s only part of what goes into making a car handle.
Guess you noticed the red suspension pieces, as the items were replaced and upgraded everything recieved a coat of paint the same color as the body!
So lets start with one of the most important upgrades. Since RAIF is a t-top car, strength is something his unibody needed! Check out my Subframe connectors:
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Ok now to the front...
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We snagged a factory WS6 36MM front and 24MM rear sway bar & Z28 wonderbar. The stock a-arms have been swapped to tubular AJE Racing pieces with a coilover conversion kit, along with the Tubular K-member..
This is complimented with KYB shocks & struts and Eibach Pro-kit springs in the rear. And yes the KYB struts work perfectly with the coilover conversion. The coil over sleeves just fits over the strut.
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In the rear...
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For further handling RAIF has Granatelli Lower control arms with BMR relocation brackets, and a Herb Adams Adjustable Panhard rod.
Along with these upgrades, we went with polyurethane bushings all around. Now RAIF handles like he is on rails. This will come in handy when I start Autocrossing.
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BRAKES
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To be sure I can control him out on an Autocross course, RAIF finally received a disc brake rear swap and Earl's stainless lines. Silicone fluid was the choice replacement.
Up front I have drilled and slotted rotors!
Now with the coil over conversion...
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v v HANDLING MODIFICATIONS LIST WITH LINKS TO MORE DETAILED INFORMATION! v v
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PERFORMANCE HANDLING MODIFICATIONS :
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17-in Chrome Front Wheel Drive 4 lug (Datsun) Niche Serpents
Spacer/Adapter to fit FWD 4 lug rim on RWD 5 lug car
BF Goodrich Red Scorchers (245/45 R17)
Eibach Pro-Kit
KYB GR-2 Shocks & Struts (painted red)
Slotted & Drilled frt. Rotors (painted VHT red metal tint)
1984 Trans Am 3.73 disc brake rear end (painted red) w/ chrome diff. cover
Earl’s Hyperfirm stainless braided brake hoses
Brake Calipers (painted red)
1986 Z28 Steering Box (candy apple red)
Iroc Z28 Wonder bar
36MM front and 24MM rear Sway bars (painted red)
Energy Suspension red polyurethane bushings, torque arm, tie rod & ball joint
boots
AJE Racing tubular cross member
AJE Racing tubular front A-arms (red)
AJE Racing Front Coil over conversion Kit
Granatelli rear lower control arms (painted red)
BMR LCA relocation brackets (red)
Herb Adams adjustable Pan hard bar (painted red)
Spohn Sub frame Connectors (painted red)
BMR 3-point Strut Tower brace (red)
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Link to my handling site!
v v Links to more detailed information on my handling modifications on my dedicated handling site! v v
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01 Site Overview
02 Rims
03 Tires
04 Shocks & Struts
05 Lowering Springs
06 Panhard Rod & Lower Control Arms
07 Steering
08 Sway Bars & Wonderbar
09 Strut Tower Brace
10 Old PA Racing A-Arms: Failure
11 Old PA Racing A-Arms: Passenger side damage
12 Old PA Racing A-Arms: Driver side damage
13 Subframe Connectors
14 Underbody View
15 Brakes
16 AJE Racing: Tubular cross member
17 AJE Racing: Tubular A-arms and coilover conversion
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RAIF's Picture site!
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LINKS PAGE
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DIRECTORY FOR REDRAIF SITE
01 Home
02 RAIF's History
03 Exterior Modifications
04 Interior Modifications
05 Stereo Modifications
06 Engine Detailing
07 Engine Performance Modifications
08 Handling Modifications <<<
09 Show Standings & Publishings
10 My Club Affiliations
11 A Bit About Me
12 Guestbook comments!
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