So what's the 'low hanging fruit' on this fine Fairmont chassis to improve handling?
Tires and chassis stiffness play a huge role in these cars. Tires do EVERYTHING, accelerate, stop, turn, etc. So tire choice is very important. The stickier the better for dry, but not so much for wet and snow. The other thing is subframe connectors, weld in some good brand, have a compotent welder do the job.
A couple of things I've learned over the years...
1. rear CA, replace the lowers. Anything is better than stock, stiff bushings. Keep the uppers stock, replace bushings in diff if necessary.
2. rear swaybar, Cobra bar out back will help front grip quite a bit, front GT bar seems to work very well
3. springs, street use keep fronts up to 750lb IMO, track use up to 1000lb, progressives for street rears like about 250lb for either combo
4. shocks, adjustables are great if you know what you're doing, just research that they match the # springs you're getting
5. front CA bushings, stock is fine for the street, but track I'd go with poly or delrin
6. rack bushings, poly or delrin, offset if you need them, but go with a bumpsteer kit if you can
7. alignment, leave a track alignment for the track as far as negative camber, but make sure the car tracks straight
Now if you were to take a stock SN and do all this stuff in one shot you would notice a huge increase in NVH. Which may not be desirable to you on the street. Subframes, spring choice, and bushing selection will play a huge role in this.
Anyone else have any experiences with their setups? Post up!!
Tires and chassis stiffness play a huge role in these cars. Tires do EVERYTHING, accelerate, stop, turn, etc. So tire choice is very important. The stickier the better for dry, but not so much for wet and snow. The other thing is subframe connectors, weld in some good brand, have a compotent welder do the job.
A couple of things I've learned over the years...
1. rear CA, replace the lowers. Anything is better than stock, stiff bushings. Keep the uppers stock, replace bushings in diff if necessary.
2. rear swaybar, Cobra bar out back will help front grip quite a bit, front GT bar seems to work very well
3. springs, street use keep fronts up to 750lb IMO, track use up to 1000lb, progressives for street rears like about 250lb for either combo
4. shocks, adjustables are great if you know what you're doing, just research that they match the # springs you're getting
5. front CA bushings, stock is fine for the street, but track I'd go with poly or delrin
6. rack bushings, poly or delrin, offset if you need them, but go with a bumpsteer kit if you can
7. alignment, leave a track alignment for the track as far as negative camber, but make sure the car tracks straight
Now if you were to take a stock SN and do all this stuff in one shot you would notice a huge increase in NVH. Which may not be desirable to you on the street. Subframes, spring choice, and bushing selection will play a huge role in this.
Anyone else have any experiences with their setups? Post up!!