[FASTFATBOY]

I know you shouldn't do so many things at once.....but.

From .5 to 1.9 camber

From Carbotech XP20/XP10 pads to Raybestos ST47/ST43 pads

I drove it with the above changes 3 weeks ago and liked the car.

Then I went ahead with:

From 32/19 bars to 35/22 bars

From the black SLP axle snubbers with spacers to the white Z28 snubbers with no spacer.

From Nitto NT-05 tires to BFG R1 tires.

Any "surprises" I should look out for?

[mr.beachcomber]

First off, the best way to tell would be with the car's suspension flat on the ground at ride height. (Hard to take pictures that way, but easier for you to inspect.) With the car's suspension handing, unloaded there will be distortion from the natural twist of the sway bars as the suspension is in full droop. Back in my C2/C3 racing days when we had to use rubber bushings, we would tighten the sway bar mounting brackets until the rubber bushings just bulged enough to the edges of the retaining washers with the suspension at normal ride height. Here's my analysis of your bushings picture by picture where M = mushrooming (rounding of the bushing's contact surface due to normal movement), TT = too tight (bushing is bulging beyond supporting washer may be due to wear or twist of sway bar), and OK. If your rules allow it, I'd switch to nylon/delrin bushings. They're much more stable, last longer, and give consistent feedback.

Picture #1 - Upper sway bar (SB) frame bushing - OK; lower SB frame bushing - M, TT; upper SB bushing -TT, and lower SB bushing TT.

Picture #2 - Upper SB frame bushing - TT, lower SB frame bushing - TT, upper SB bushing TT, and lower SB bushing - OK

Picture #3 - Upper SB bushing - M, TT and lower SB bushing M, TT

Picture #4 - Upper SB bushing - M, TT and lower SB bushing M, TT.

Again, the distortion in some of the bushings may be due to the fact that the suspension is not a ride height which is the correct position for checking out the sway bar bushings.

Hope this helps! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[FASTFATBOY]

First off, the best way to tell would be with the car's suspension flat on the ground at ride height. (Hard to take pictures that way, but easier for you to inspect.) With the car's suspension handing, unloaded there will be distortion from the natural twist of the sway bars as the suspension is in full droop. Back in my C2/C3 racing days when we had to use rubber bushings, we would tighten the sway bar mounting brackets until the rubber bushings just bulged enough to the edges of the retaining washers with the suspension at normal ride height. Here's my analysis of your bushings picture by picture where M = mushrooming (rounding of the bushing's contact surface due to normal movement), TT = too tight (bushing is bulging beyond supporting washer may be due to wear or twist of sway bar), and OK. If your rules allow it, I'd switch to nylon/delrin bushings. They're much more stable, last longer, and give consistent feedback.

Picture #1 - Upper sway bar (SB) frame bushing - OK; lower SB frame bushing - M, TT; upper SB bushing -TT, and lower SB bushing TT.

Picture #2 - Upper SB frame bushing - TT, lower SB frame bushing - TT, upper SB bushing TT, and lower SB bushing - OK

Picture #3 - Upper SB bushing - M, TT and lower SB bushing M, TT

Picture #4 - Upper SB bushing - M, TT and lower SB bushing M, TT.

Again, the distortion in some of the bushings may be due to the fact that the suspension is not a ride height which is the correct position for checking out the sway bar bushings.

Hope this helps! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Thanks!

So I should loosen them all up a bit?

Some of the bushings did not get put back where they were removed from. And yes some of the distortion is from the way the bar is hanging.

I only DE the car, no "class" to run. Just trying to go faster, learn how to drive and piss off as many Porsche, Vette and BMW owners as I can.

[mr.beachcomber]

...So I should loosen them all up a bit?

Some of the bushings did not get put back where they were removed from. And yes some of the distortion is from the way the bar is hanging...

I would first try adjusting the torque on the sway bar linkage with the vehicle on the ground at ride height to see if the rubber bushings will return to the desired shape and fit properly. The problem that I've had with rubber bushings in the C2/C3 Vettes with similar mounting hardware is that the bushing distort over time to the point that they just won't fit properly. Usually a clear indication of the need to replace the bushing is the mounting hole is elongated allowing the bushing to slide from side to side, the contact surface has "mushroomed" (worn down such that the contact surface resembles a mushroom cap), or the free standing bushing resembles a wedge with one side compressed and the opposite side bulging outward. Any of these problems will only get worse over time and reduce the effectiveness of the sway bar itself. (I used to break the grade 8 front sway bar bolts on a fairly regular basis while racing on 10" wide slicks until I switched over to AN hardware.) Rubber bushings were good for about one season of racing, but YMMV.

BTW, excellent job on rolling the fender lips. You'd have a job offer is I still had my shop. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/drink.gif)