I read in the IRS thread that the grand am GT has a larger sway bar and stiffer springs, but does anyone know if they sit any lower? I would like to avoid buying another set of lowering springs right now, especially since I could only use half of them.


Sig'less since '02!

They do not sit any lower, and I believe the stiffer springs is incorrect. They did get a stiffer sway bar, though.

You're going to have to do something about the rears. I'm actually fooling around with an extra set of GA rear struts right now to try installing the J-body rear perch onto the N-body strut (they're not the same diameter, so it's just taking a little creativity) and use the J-body springs.

or do the nwf-front swap and then have to use n-body front and rears. then just get the agx's and pro kit and upgrade the sway bars and call it a day(i've heard REALLY good things about this setup)

The NFW swap uses the J-body struts and springs, not the N-body ones.

hmmm....i could've sworn someone told me otherwise...oh well, guess i'm not educated on it enough. can you not use the n-body ones?

No. They're longer than the J-body ones, IIRC.

do you know by how much?

N Body Front Struts are identical to J Body Front Struts except for valving.
The external dimensions are the same though.
I believe several other GM cars are also the same or close enough to fudge it (W, H, and G all ring a bell, but I've been wrong before).

quote from cts in the thread about the front swap like 5-6 pages in.....so, what would the valving do to the handling? the irs uses the rear struts so the valving can't be all that different....or am i way off here?

6th page...like 3-5 posts down

Yes you can use n body struts, they bolt right in and have the same height or very close to it as a j body. I had them bolted in to my 95 Z, but I didnt have a motor in it to see actual ride height. Side by side both struts are basically the same height though.

How much different is the lower perch on the N struts? I'm guessing the upper mount bolt circle is the same as the J?

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Basically identical... you can bolt a n body strut into the front of a 3rd gen. Lines up with the strut tower holes and Im almost positive the 2 knuckle bolts also. I used n body knuckle too, but I am pretty sure I compared both.

But is the lower spring perch the same?

The strut to spindle bolts are the same for like every GM FWD car. J, L, N, H, etc. Which makes it really nice to do these kinds of swaps. If the lower perch on the N strut is at least close to the J, then it would open up a lot more options for springs and such.
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James Cahill wrote:The strut to spindle bolts are the same for like every GM FWD car. J, L, N, H, etc..

Actually, their not. I've got 4 different spindles from recent year GM FWD cars (2000+), and they are all different in bolt spacing, and some even in the width of the spindle where the strut attaches.

I am interested in more on the N-body perch, though. I might have to go grab a front spring/strut assembly from an N-body to check it out. I was sure that they were longer. If they are the same (perch-wise), then it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the front springs from an aftermarket set could be the same between the N-body and the J-body.

Im pretty sure the spring perch is a little wider on the n body. I cant confirm this since I sold the car I did the n body suspension on.

Quiklilcav wrote:Actually, their not. I've got 4 different spindles from recent year GM FWD cars (2000+), and they are all different in bolt spacing, and some even in the width of the spindle where the strut attaches.

Ah. I'm used to all the earlier setups, early 90s timeframe. What (if any) year did it change in the J? I've had 3rd gen struts attached to 2nd gen spindles before, and I currently have H body spindles with 2nd gen struts. Or are you only talking about the bigger FWDs?
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James Cahill wrote:

Quiklilcav wrote:Actually, their not. I've got 4 different spindles from recent year GM FWD cars (2000+), and they are all different in bolt spacing, and some even in the width of the spindle where the strut attaches.

Ah. I'm used to all the earlier setups, early 90s timeframe. What (if any) year did it change in the J? I've had 3rd gen struts attached to 2nd gen spindles before, and I currently have H body spindles with 2nd gen struts. Or are you only talking about the bigger FWDs?
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The 95-05 J spindles are all the same. AFAIK, they're the same as the yours except for the addition of the tie-rod mount for the steering.Spindles I have: 95+ J, 99+ N, 99+ Grand Prix, 05-07 Malibu (not Classic). As is already known, the N and J have the same strut mounting dimensions. However, the GP has closer hole spacing, and the Malibu has a narrower width as well as different hole spacing.

It's funny that GM started going to less universal with parts instead of more universal. From a manufacturing standpoint, having more interchangeable parts makes things less expensive to produce.

Let me know when you get that perch situation figured out


Sig'less since '02!