DeaconBlue
SHO Member
If you happen to subscribe to the SHOtimes list on Topica, this will be a repeat for you, but I wanted to share this with the rest of the SHOforum.
First of all I want to thank AutoXSHO (John V.). I gave him a call on Friday to let him know that I was going to install the rear 11.6" brake upgrade along with the GM tubular control arms and H-brace this past weekend at the shop here at work. Not only was John V. very interested in seeing the mods, he ended up spending 6 hours helping me wrench on the car. Heck, I think he may have done more wrenching than me! I just wanted to thank John V. for this, he helped turn a two day project into a one day job. Really cool! Thanks again John V.
Anyway all I can say is wow! I had first installed the 11.6" front brake upgrade two years ago, then further upgraded the front to the 13" Cobra/Baer/PBR setup last Summer and modified the rear load proportioning valve this past Fall, so I already know what better brakes feel like in an SHO. The rear 11.6" rear brakes work wonderful and look
great behind the 5-spoke 17" rims. The brakes seem very well balanced now and can scrub speed off FAST without any surprises. No problems over heating these 11.6" vented rear rotors, compared to the stock 10.1"
solid rotors. I don't have any installation pictures, but you can check out Brain Harris's site where there are pictures of these same mods done to any other SHO, who's owner's name shall remain namesless
http://sho.kythri.net/
The only draw back to the 11.6" rear brake upgrade is an increase of unsprung weight of 11.0 lbs on each rear corner. That's a LOT of extra weight! Using the 10.9" front rotors from the '94-95 SHO and '96-02 SLO
Taurus models would have saved about 1.6 lbs per corner and could have been a better choice in that regard. But you may not be able to mount the OE caliper mounting bracket low enough on the '93-99 hub with this style of adapter bracket. The two bolt hole ears on the hub and OE '89-92 caliper mounting bracket would interfere with each other. You would have to rotate the position of the rear caliper in relationship to the hub, which would cause all kinds of problems with brake flex line and emergency cable lengths. So a 10.9" rear brake upgrade may not be a true bolt-on possibility. You could cut the bolt hole ears off the hub and weld a steel adapter to the hub, but then that would not be a DIY job.
The GM or the so-called "Grand Prix GTP" rear tubular trailing arms (or as GM calls them lateral links) are truly assume. They are GM p/n 10262699 and are $67.08 list price each. These steel tubular trailing
arms are OE on; Buick '97-02 Century, '98-02 Regal, Chevy '95-99 Lumina, '00-02 Impala and '95-02 Monte Carlo, Olds '98-02 Intrigue as well as the Pontiac '97-02 Grand Prix, if I am not mistaken. If you decide to try and find them at a local salvage yard, make sure you try to find rust free examples where the steel threads in alunimum turnbuckle block
can still move freely and the rubber bushings haven't been beaten to mush. Or hit up your local friendly GM parts department. I got mine at 25% off list price or $50.31 each. That's better than the $35 each that the salvage yards were quoting for an unknown condition part. With the installation kit from SHO Nut Performance consisting of machined steel insert sleeves (to work with a smaller diameter Ford bolts) and special sized washers, this is truly a bolt-on mod. I also installed Nook's H-brace reinforcing bracket in the center H-box uni-body attachment point. This is a must with any type of tubular rear trailing arms setup.
I can't really describe the change in both character, handling and ride that this mod has made. When the suspension upgrades (Koni's, Eibach's, poly strut rod bushings, etc..) were done last Spring by Eric at Rickety Engineering, I had the 4 degree TRW eccentric bushings p/n 13235A installed in both the forward and rear trailing arms. Although this allowed for both camber and toe alignment adjustments, it remove most of
the compliance in the rear suspension as well, since these eccentric bushings are made of very hard plastic. The car really acted badly on rough pavement and small sharp suspension inputs were greatly amplified into the cabin. In fact because the H-box is not perfectly centered in
the uni-body of my car (surprise!) the stock trailing arms on the drivers side were actually coming into contact with the H-box at some point in their movement though the travel arch. The GM tubular trailing arms are much stiffer and stronger than the Ford stamped units, but weight the same 2.8 lbs each. They are adjustable in length and have
rubber bushings at both ends. This also allows for both camber and toe adjustments. The rubber bushings are cylindrical in shape with only 3/16" thickness between the center and outer steel sleeves, but that seems to be enough. There are no know polyurethane replacement bushing for these tubular control arms.
The handling is much improved with very linear response and the isolation is actually greatly improved and the noise
level in reduced. It's almost like a completely different rear suspension is now under the car, one that's taken a few dance lessons to boot
Along with the H-brace the whole rear end of the car seems much stronger and more solid. It's almost like driving a BMW or Mercedes sedan with their famed multi-link rear suspension systems. The car has a heavier more solid feel, yet it remains surprising nimble. Very different and yet VERY satisfying. I have to admit that some of this change in feel may also have to due with the added unpsrung weight of the 11.6" rear brake upgrade. Something like a mass dampening effect. No matter, I really like the change in character.
The old girl has found some new, very smooth moves
------------------
95 MTX
with a few mods
First of all I want to thank AutoXSHO (John V.). I gave him a call on Friday to let him know that I was going to install the rear 11.6" brake upgrade along with the GM tubular control arms and H-brace this past weekend at the shop here at work. Not only was John V. very interested in seeing the mods, he ended up spending 6 hours helping me wrench on the car. Heck, I think he may have done more wrenching than me! I just wanted to thank John V. for this, he helped turn a two day project into a one day job. Really cool! Thanks again John V.
Anyway all I can say is wow! I had first installed the 11.6" front brake upgrade two years ago, then further upgraded the front to the 13" Cobra/Baer/PBR setup last Summer and modified the rear load proportioning valve this past Fall, so I already know what better brakes feel like in an SHO. The rear 11.6" rear brakes work wonderful and look
great behind the 5-spoke 17" rims. The brakes seem very well balanced now and can scrub speed off FAST without any surprises. No problems over heating these 11.6" vented rear rotors, compared to the stock 10.1"
solid rotors. I don't have any installation pictures, but you can check out Brain Harris's site where there are pictures of these same mods done to any other SHO, who's owner's name shall remain namesless
http://sho.kythri.net/
The only draw back to the 11.6" rear brake upgrade is an increase of unsprung weight of 11.0 lbs on each rear corner. That's a LOT of extra weight! Using the 10.9" front rotors from the '94-95 SHO and '96-02 SLO
Taurus models would have saved about 1.6 lbs per corner and could have been a better choice in that regard. But you may not be able to mount the OE caliper mounting bracket low enough on the '93-99 hub with this style of adapter bracket. The two bolt hole ears on the hub and OE '89-92 caliper mounting bracket would interfere with each other. You would have to rotate the position of the rear caliper in relationship to the hub, which would cause all kinds of problems with brake flex line and emergency cable lengths. So a 10.9" rear brake upgrade may not be a true bolt-on possibility. You could cut the bolt hole ears off the hub and weld a steel adapter to the hub, but then that would not be a DIY job.
The GM or the so-called "Grand Prix GTP" rear tubular trailing arms (or as GM calls them lateral links) are truly assume. They are GM p/n 10262699 and are $67.08 list price each. These steel tubular trailing
arms are OE on; Buick '97-02 Century, '98-02 Regal, Chevy '95-99 Lumina, '00-02 Impala and '95-02 Monte Carlo, Olds '98-02 Intrigue as well as the Pontiac '97-02 Grand Prix, if I am not mistaken. If you decide to try and find them at a local salvage yard, make sure you try to find rust free examples where the steel threads in alunimum turnbuckle block
can still move freely and the rubber bushings haven't been beaten to mush. Or hit up your local friendly GM parts department. I got mine at 25% off list price or $50.31 each. That's better than the $35 each that the salvage yards were quoting for an unknown condition part. With the installation kit from SHO Nut Performance consisting of machined steel insert sleeves (to work with a smaller diameter Ford bolts) and special sized washers, this is truly a bolt-on mod. I also installed Nook's H-brace reinforcing bracket in the center H-box uni-body attachment point. This is a must with any type of tubular rear trailing arms setup.
I can't really describe the change in both character, handling and ride that this mod has made. When the suspension upgrades (Koni's, Eibach's, poly strut rod bushings, etc..) were done last Spring by Eric at Rickety Engineering, I had the 4 degree TRW eccentric bushings p/n 13235A installed in both the forward and rear trailing arms. Although this allowed for both camber and toe alignment adjustments, it remove most of
the compliance in the rear suspension as well, since these eccentric bushings are made of very hard plastic. The car really acted badly on rough pavement and small sharp suspension inputs were greatly amplified into the cabin. In fact because the H-box is not perfectly centered in
the uni-body of my car (surprise!) the stock trailing arms on the drivers side were actually coming into contact with the H-box at some point in their movement though the travel arch. The GM tubular trailing arms are much stiffer and stronger than the Ford stamped units, but weight the same 2.8 lbs each. They are adjustable in length and have
rubber bushings at both ends. This also allows for both camber and toe adjustments. The rubber bushings are cylindrical in shape with only 3/16" thickness between the center and outer steel sleeves, but that seems to be enough. There are no know polyurethane replacement bushing for these tubular control arms.
The handling is much improved with very linear response and the isolation is actually greatly improved and the noise
level in reduced. It's almost like a completely different rear suspension is now under the car, one that's taken a few dance lessons to boot
The old girl has found some new, very smooth moves
------------------
95 MTX
with a few mods
