UPGRADE - PSS10, M030 sways, poly bushings, new tie rods - CHA CHING!
04-20-2008, 12:39 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
UPGRADE - PSS10, M030 sways, poly bushings, new tie rods - updated drop link topic
OK - I've been taling about this upgrade long enough and I decided to bite the bullet and buy a major upgrade. VB gave me a great deal on new PSS10, biger sways, and new tie rods. I also got the poly bushings from Chris W. and installed them during the upgrade. Huge difference!! 
New ride height is 120mm front and 110 mm rear measured from the standard points. I have not found any new curvey roads around our new house yet 
but the ride so far is superior to the stock setup. 
I'm running shock setting 5 in the front and 4 in the rear. My son and I did the work over a couple of days and got an alignment done at a local shop. Pics start with OEM setup and finish with Dad and James next to the new ride. Enjoy.
New ride height is 120mm front and 110 mm rear measured from the standard points. I have not found any new curvey roads around our new house yet but the ride so far is superior to the stock setup. I'm running shock setting 5 in the front and 4 in the rear. My son and I did the work over a couple of days and got an alignment done at a local shop. Pics start with OEM setup and finish with Dad and James next to the new ride. Enjoy.
Last edited by hyphenf15; 05-28-2008 at 12:03 AM. Reason: Additional photos
04-20-2008, 12:53 AM
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Looks great. I read poorly and was worried the top shots were 'afters.' It's truly amazing how much dialing in the ride height/tire/wheel ratio does for the looks of these cars....
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04-20-2008, 10:26 AM
#8
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Thread Starter
Thanks for all the kudos.
Chuck - The calipars were already silver when I bought the car. I understand that it was a factory option to have them painted that way. They need to be touched up, but that is a project for another day.
The ride quality is significantly improved over the OEM setup. Of course my OEM stuff was dead so that did not help my ride comfort. I've got the shocks set for on "medium" right now. I'll try some different settings in the future but I'm very happy with how the setup handles the pavement around town. It is certainly firm but very compliant and it feels sporty, if you know what I mean. I could not be happier and I'm glad I went with the PSS10 for more adjustablitiy than the HD option.
Stealth 993 - Do the front suspension first. It is the hardest to do and takes the most time. The rears will seem easy after you get done with the front end.
Front end work:
Getting the bushings off the sway bars is a real pain. We had to push/pull them from around the bar because the brackets won't come off. The brackets give just enough slack to slide the rubber bushing out but no more. We couldn't figure out any other way to make it happen so just be ready for that frustration. The poly grease made easy work of the bushings going back in. It does take some unique weaving of the sway bar to get the old one out and the new one in but it is not a problem with the struts out.
The front A arm bushing change was dirty work and took a while to accomplish. Chris W's write up is great and we used that to help us with that project. Just really nasty burnt rubber, lots of clean up, lots of hamering to get the old bushings out, etc etc.
We bought an O2 sensor remover, 21mm, from Autozone to get the bolts off and on the top hat of the front strut. It made that job really easy. Wish I would have done that for the rears but it requires a different size, 18mm I think, and we ran out of time. So the rears we did the old fashion way with an open wrench and it worked out fine.
We initially set the front height on the strut at 70mm per VB's recommendation. We decided after putting the car on the ground to lower the fronts another 1/2 inch. So, it really is based on what you want it too look like. I think there was too much space up front so I went lower realizing that I'm going to pick up a bit more tire wear but I'm OK with that.
Rear end work:
Sway bar off first and on last. We made the mistake of putting the sway back on before putting the caster bold back in and the caster bold won't go past the installed bushings. So, put the shocks on, hook up the lower arms, then bolt up the sway bar.
Other than that, the rear end was very easy in comparison. We went with VB's 74mm setup in the rear because that was as low as we could go with the M030 sway and drop link. I think it is perfect fit anyway and I like the look. So no additional adjustment was made to the rear end.
Hope this info helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Chuck - The calipars were already silver when I bought the car. I understand that it was a factory option to have them painted that way. They need to be touched up, but that is a project for another day.
The ride quality is significantly improved over the OEM setup. Of course my OEM stuff was dead so that did not help my ride comfort. I've got the shocks set for on "medium" right now. I'll try some different settings in the future but I'm very happy with how the setup handles the pavement around town. It is certainly firm but very compliant and it feels sporty, if you know what I mean. I could not be happier and I'm glad I went with the PSS10 for more adjustablitiy than the HD option.
Stealth 993 - Do the front suspension first. It is the hardest to do and takes the most time. The rears will seem easy after you get done with the front end.
Front end work:
Getting the bushings off the sway bars is a real pain. We had to push/pull them from around the bar because the brackets won't come off. The brackets give just enough slack to slide the rubber bushing out but no more. We couldn't figure out any other way to make it happen so just be ready for that frustration. The poly grease made easy work of the bushings going back in. It does take some unique weaving of the sway bar to get the old one out and the new one in but it is not a problem with the struts out.
The front A arm bushing change was dirty work and took a while to accomplish. Chris W's write up is great and we used that to help us with that project. Just really nasty burnt rubber, lots of clean up, lots of hamering to get the old bushings out, etc etc.
We bought an O2 sensor remover, 21mm, from Autozone to get the bolts off and on the top hat of the front strut. It made that job really easy. Wish I would have done that for the rears but it requires a different size, 18mm I think, and we ran out of time. So the rears we did the old fashion way with an open wrench and it worked out fine.
We initially set the front height on the strut at 70mm per VB's recommendation. We decided after putting the car on the ground to lower the fronts another 1/2 inch. So, it really is based on what you want it too look like. I think there was too much space up front so I went lower realizing that I'm going to pick up a bit more tire wear but I'm OK with that.
Rear end work:
Sway bar off first and on last. We made the mistake of putting the sway back on before putting the caster bold back in and the caster bold won't go past the installed bushings. So, put the shocks on, hook up the lower arms, then bolt up the sway bar.
Other than that, the rear end was very easy in comparison. We went with VB's 74mm setup in the rear because that was as low as we could go with the M030 sway and drop link. I think it is perfect fit anyway and I like the look. So no additional adjustment was made to the rear end.
Hope this info helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
04-20-2008, 04:15 PM
#12
Drifting
Great ride height! The new poly bushings will really stiffen the ride quality significantly, also having the suspension apart provides a good opportunity to clean up the wheel wells.
04-21-2008, 12:51 AM
#13
Pro
Thread Starter
VB is Viper Bob at Vortex. He is a sponsor on this forum and a great guy to deal with. His name is Bob Brooks. No affiliation etc, just a very happy customer.
05-27-2008, 11:39 PM
#15
Pro
Thread Starter
Drop link update
I was asked to post pictures of the drop links to the rear sway bar. Couple of photos attached. I need to refine the alignment just a bit more. I broke one of the original drop links already because I did not tighten down and align the bracket well enough on the initial install. I did the second alignment with wheels off and therefore weight off the suspension and it shifted slightly after it was back under load. The face of the drop link bracket and the face of the sway bar are almost parallel. I will make the final adjustments in a couple of weeks. So far it is holding together well with no broken drop links. It is probably close enough, but I'm a perfectionist so I will persue getting the alignment squared away. Hope this helps others with the install. I threw in another picture of the new ride height as well.