IRS How to - Page 2 - Suspension and Brake Forum

Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.
Re: IRS How to
Friday, July 01, 2005 12:50 AM
mcmoney wrote:If you don't cut the trailing the wheel will hit the rear bumper thrust me I tried

here a side shot of the car
With all the cut and welding I have done, I have almost the same measure that before the swap

For the strut it's optional to cut the rod, I cut it to have a better ride slammed


Thank you for clearing that up for me, and thank you for the pic. Guess I will be doing some welding.



SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap


Re: IRS How to
Friday, July 01, 2005 7:08 AM
C.T.S wrote:Did your Antilock Sensors hook backup, do they work correctly?
I would think so since I've only ever seen Hall-Effect sensors used.


My abs light is off and I drive this setup since april so I guest that everything is fine



Location: Montreal, Quebec
Re: IRS How to
Friday, July 01, 2005 7:27 AM
so uhhhh how does it ride now?



happy happy joy joy

Re: IRS How to
Friday, July 01, 2005 9:44 AM
In retrospect, did you need to cut the links, or could they have stayed full length?
Also, could you have cut the center subframe, and shortened it 1" instead?


Re: IRS How to
Saturday, July 02, 2005 2:30 PM
so what parts cars were neccesarry for the total swap? I see alero, and buick mentioned for cables, but what is the subfrmame itself off of ?
woould a grand am work, and from which model years?
Re: IRS How to
Monday, July 04, 2005 1:34 PM
The years are 1999 and later. All Aleros and Grand AM GT's have rear disc brakes. Lower model Grand AM SE's and base models do not have rear discs. The entire rear assembly including the crossmember, four cross bars, two trailing bars, two struts, and two hub/disc assemblies are all from the donor car (in this case an Alero) except for the brake lines that were mentioned. Also, you may want to pay attention to the different suspension levels, since there are two or three options available. Your best bet is to stick with an Alero or Grand AM GT with the FE3 suspension package. They use slightly stiffer springs and matching struts, as well as a larger sway bars.
Re: IRS How to
Tuesday, July 05, 2005 9:32 PM
Would this work on the 2nd gens?
Re: IRS How to
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 8:05 PM
I know I've asked a similar question before, but:

I'm wondering if I could use struts meant for the front of our car, on the rear in this setup. McMoney used the stock struts off the Alero. Which obviously won't last long with a lowering kit.

Before I was told the valving was off. But what if you used AGX or Koni Yellow struts. Any glaring reasons that would not work?

I'm headed to the yard tomorrow or the next day to pick up all the stuff I need for this. I just don't want to do anything half-assed if I can help it.


Re: IRS How to
Thursday, July 14, 2005 8:15 PM
My next project will be to fit some koni insert.
Koni sell many model of strut insert.



Location: Montreal, Quebec
Re: IRS How to
Friday, July 15, 2005 12:46 PM
Any ideas on swapping the fronts to 5x115? I want to swap the 17" rims off a Grand Prix.
Could you just steal the hub off an Alero/GAM/Malibu?
Or how about swapping the whole front spindle?

The next time I have hold of my sister's car (a Grand AM SE) I'm gonna take some good measurements of her front spindles.
I like this idea the best. The GAM spindle is probably stronger than ours, and I plan some major HP improvements next year.
If neither of these work, does anybody have any other ideas??


Re: IRS How to
Friday, July 15, 2005 12:49 PM
You can do a GA front swap and get bigger brakes. I could very well be wrong but I think you may need the GAGT stuff.








Re: IRS How to
Sunday, July 17, 2005 12:09 AM
all 99+ Grand Ams, Aleros, Malabus use the same front brakes, have the same spindles.

I have the spindles off an Alero.

To run those spindles, you need to use the OUTER part of the CV shaft from the N body (once taken apart, it snaps right onto our axles). You also need to swap to the N body lower ball joint (the hole for it on the spindle is larger then our stock ball joint)

The N body wheel speed sensor is in the hub, but the plug is the same as the J body one, so it will work fine.




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

Re: IRS How to
Sunday, July 17, 2005 9:28 AM
SpeedRacerZ: Awsome! Exactly the details I wanted to hear!


Re: IRS How to
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 9:36 AM
Concerning the N-body front spindle swap:

You mentioned that they require N-body ball joints. Do the N-body spindles bolt up to the existing J-body struts?

Travis
Re: IRS How to
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 5:32 PM
yes they bolt up to the cav struts







Re: IRS How to
Thursday, July 21, 2005 12:25 AM
[quote=97cavie24ls(JDM cav sedan™)]yes they bolt up to the cav struts

yep




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

Re: IRS How to
Thursday, July 21, 2005 8:13 AM
What diameter are the Alero front brakes? I ask because you could possibly also use the Pontiac Bonneville spindles and have 11.5" rotors. They also use a 5x115 pattern. Thats my current setup, but I have a custom sleeve made to use the stock J bearing to retain the 5x100 pattern.





Re: IRS How to
Thursday, July 21, 2005 9:14 AM
id have to dig out and measure the 1's i got at home

the other plus is the ga uses a cast aluminum spindle , instead of cast iron







Re: IRS How to
Friday, July 22, 2005 12:44 AM
N-body and W-body have 11" fronts (up untill this years W-body, they have 12" I believe)




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

Re: IRS How to
Monday, July 25, 2005 1:14 PM
not sure on this but would a 2000 gtp suspension work

also i know its off topic but could i also use the front hub to have both 5X100 and larger rotors
Re: IRS How to
Monday, July 25, 2005 1:36 PM
Coop8392: No and No.

The W-body suspension is much larger than the N-body. N-Body is close enough to fudge, mcmoney's cavy is a testament to this. W-body would require more fudging to get it to work. Any suspension can be made to work, with enough time, money, and patience. But the N-Body is close to start with.

The larger rotors have a 5x115 bolt pattern. They would not fit on your 5x100 hub (without serious machining). And the 5x100 hub bolts from the front, the 5x115 N-Body hub bolts from behind. If you paired the 5x100 hub and N/W-Body knuckle, neither side would have bolt threads (so I've been told).

The difference between 11" and 12" is not that big, and the work required would be enormous.



Re: IRS How to
Monday, July 25, 2005 7:04 PM
ok thanks for the help
so i need to find a n- body (malibu, ga, alero) right, now is there any other cars and does it matter 4 or 2 door
Re: IRS How to
Monday, July 25, 2005 8:37 PM
2 door and 4 door doesn't matter. That's the whole point of the ?-Body system. Within a ?-Body the power-train, suspension, most of the exterior panels, and most of the interior pieces are be interchangeable (with varying degrees of difficulty/requirements).

Yep. The Malibu (only has rear drum brakes), GA (SE=Rear Drums, GT=Rear Disks), or Alero (only has rear disks) will all work as described in this thread.


Re: IRS How to
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 6:55 PM
cts thanks alot for the help
Re: IRS How to
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 10:40 AM
Well I have always dreamed of having independent rear suspension in my car,but I have to give mcmoney credit for doing it.
Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.

 

Start New Topic Advanced Search