Performance parts to buy for the Trans-Am

TransAmDan

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Just been getting an idea of what next to get for the car. These things I'm planning on getting before Feb 2010.
I have plenty of power, ( I would say enougth power, but you can never have enougth). So with this power, its usless unless you can get it to the road, I have trouble with traction, so the next load of parts will be weight saving or handling parts. I have lowered suspention and adjustable shocks already.
Need to get the car ready for the drag race against Paul. The car has a little trouble with twisting and wheel hopping, so these modifications should help.


UMI Performance Non Adj. Panhard Rod & LCA's umi_swaybars.jpg This complete kit replaces your weak, factory stamped lower control arms and panhard bar with our heavy duty tubular setup. These direct bolt-on replacements minimize wheel hop, improve cornering while lowering ET's and helping track consistency. The panhard bar greatly increases rear stability, controls side movement and body flex while the lower control arms help to reduce unwanted wheel hop. Both items are constructed of Seamless DOM mild steel tubing, stronger and less flex then Aluminum made versions on the market. Control arms and panhard bar are both completely CNC machined and fully TIG welded featuring Energy Suspension? polyurethane bushings, zinc plated steel sleeves and ?on-car? grease able grease fittings.

Features:

  • Control Arms Built Using 1.625? x 0.120? Steel DOM Tubing
  • Panhard Bar Built Using 1.250? x 0.095? Steel DOM Tubing
  • Complete kit Features TIG Welded Construction
  • CNC Machined Zinc Plated Steel Sleeves
  • Energy Suspension Fluted Polyurethane grease able Bushings
  • Durable Powder Coat Finish
  • Uses OEM Hardware
$165.29
UMI Tubular 3-Point Subframe Connectors (Weld-In)subframe-connectors.jpg

Increase chassis stiffness, performance capabilities and overall drivability by adding UMI Performance's new 3-point style subframe connectors. This set up is designed to tie the front and rear subframes together while adding additional cross-bracing throughout the center of the vehicle protecting it to its fullest while keeping ground clearance issues to a minimum. This spider web affect greatly improves your car's handling ability while reducing t-top squeaks, dash rattles and quarter panel flexing, designed for auto-cross, road race as well as drag race set-ups. By connecting the front and rear subframes together this allows better weight transfer for improved traction and straighter launches. This subframe connector design is available in either a weld or bolt-in set-up, please see below.
P/N 2003: Weld-In Set-up- Identical to our bolt-in set up but requires welding and is available in standard powder coat colors of Bright Red or Gloss Black for no extra charge, touch up paint is required after welding. Detailed installation instructions and necessary hardware is included.
Features:

  • Tightest fitting 3-point design on the market. This design keeps ground clearance issues at a minimum.
  • Uses rear control arm mount for increased strength and insures proper installation.
  • 3-Point Spider Web design attaches to six major points through out the body for extreme chassis stiffness and handling benefits.
  • Tubular design allows for a tighter fit against the vehicles under carriage.
  • When weight is a concern 4130 Chrome Moly is available. (Please call)
Build Specifications:

  • Constructed of 1.750? x 0.120? DOM Mild Steel Tubing
  • 3-Point Brace uses 1.250? x 0.095? DOM Mild Steel Tubing
  • Front mounting points feature 0.250? Thick Mild Steel Mounting Plates
  • Mounting Plates Feature Precision CNC Machining to insure tolerances
  • MIG Welded Construction
  • Supplied with Brilliant Durable Powder Coat Finish (Red or Black)
  • Will not fit convertibles
$265.05
Fbody BMR Fabrication Front Sway Bar with Bushings (32mm)swaybars.jpg

If you are looking for increased cornering capabilities with decreased body roll, BMR sway bars are the answer. These bars are 32mm front(solid) and 22mm rear(solid) to replace the factory 30mm(hollow) and 19mm sizes and add stability to the F-Body platform. Made from cold formed steel to better resist torsional fatigue and retain their "memory" far longer than conventional hot formed bars. This front bar is over 40% more rigid than the popular 1LE swaybar. All packages come with Prothane mounting bushings and endlink kits. Available in Black Hammertone or red powdercoat.

$189.95
Things that I am thinking of getting but not for Feb 2010. Just a small shopping list of nice to have things.



LS1 BMR Tubular K-Member w/ LS1 Motor Mounts & Factory Rack-N-Pinion Mountsk-member.jpg

LS1 F-Body BMR Tubular K-Member w/ LS1 Motor Mounts & Factory Rack-N-Pinion Mounts BMR Tubular K-members are designed to provide a lightweight alternative to the factory K-member as well as provide additional clearance for aftermarket headers and turbo systems. Our unique design on our V8 models feature integrated frame stands that replace the factory cast iron frame stands. This additional weight reduction allows us to use larger diameter tubing and thicker mounting plates for additional strength over the competition. This means that you can use the K-member for street use, road race, autocross, or drag strip use. BMR K-members are built exclusively using larger diameter 1-5/8" x .120" and 1-1/4" x .095" tubing yet still remain up to 7.5 lbs. lighter than the competitions due to our integrated mount design. Using our tubular K-member and upper/lower a-arm set, expect a minimum weight reduction of 42 lbs. Combine this with a coil-over style spring/shock combo and a lightweight front brake setup and lose over 100 lbs. off the front end! Available in Black Hammertone or red powdercoat.
BMR also answers your requests with specialized versions of our K-members. We make K-members for manual rack conversions, high clearance variations for turbo downpipes, conversion K-members for traditional small and big block motor transplants, etc.
NOTE: While we sell this product as "streetable", it is still a race-inspired piece and may not be choice for an everyday driver.

? Larger diameter tubing than most competitors to increase durability.
? Equally at home on the street, road course or drag strip
? Lighter than other competitors K-members due to integrated motor mount design
? Additional 1/4" of A-arm adjustability provides up to 4 degrees of additional camber adjustment
? Works with stock A-arms or any aftermarket A-arms
The LS1 K-Member eliminates both cast iron motor stands by using a tubular integrated design. This unique design allows an even further weight reduction than anything our competitors have to offer. Total K-Member weight including both frame stands is 24.5 lbs, compare this to our competitors 29 lbs.

$489.95

Fbody UMI Performance Front Upper and Lower A-Arm Kit - Street
upper-and-lower-a-arms.jpg

UMI Performance tubular A-Arms are designed to outperform the stock setup whether it?s at the race track or an added improvement to your daily driver; they've been tested and improved to handle both applications. These A-Arms are designed to add front end rigidity, increased strength and to eliminate flex found with stock A-Arms. A-Arms are built using strong DOM steel tubing, 3/16? thick CNC machined ball joint mounts and are supplied with grease-able Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings. The lower A-arms are supplied with high quality spherical bearing rod end on one end of each lower A-arm. This design is to allow free movement and travel in the front suspension and prevents bushings bind. The factory GM A-Arm features a rubber pivot bushing in this area; this is designed to rotate up and down as the suspension travels. Replacing this bushing with a solid bushing such as polyurethane would not allow the suspension to articulate correctly and would cause front suspension bind. The rod end we use features a Teflon lined self lubricating race designed for a quiet operation. The lower A-arms also feature adjustment if needed while the upper A-arms are non-adjustable and feature an improved ball joint angle for lowered vehicles but work fine on a non-lowered vehicle. The lower A-arms feature new ball joints installed while the upper A-arms re-use the factory ball joint or new factory style ball joint.
When do you choose adjustable upper A-Arms? A question we get asked a lot is when do I need adjustable upper A-Arms for my application? Adjustable A-Arms allow the operator to make front end changes such as improved caster and camber. These changes are very crucial when high handling such as autocross or road race is present. This procedure may take time and involve extra cost. If your vehicle is exposed to street driving and/or drag racing these upper A-Arms are the perfect set-up for you.
Features:

  • Manufactured from 1.250? mild steel tubing
  • All tubing precision bent and CNC machined
  • New lower ball joints installed
  • ?? high quality chrome moly Teflon lined rod ends
  • Grease-able Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings
  • Brilliant, Durable and long lasting powder coat
  • Uses OEM Hardware
Chrome Moly- Chrome Moly version uses 1.250" x 0.095" 4130 Chrome Moly steel and fully TIG welded. The Chrome Moly construction adds increased strength while reducing product weight by 2-1/2 lbs.

$729.48
 
there give you same nice handling
 
Yep, I'm hoping for better handling, the car used to have the WS6 sports suspension pack. Have changed to Bilstein lowing springs and Koni dual adjustable shocks, that helped quite a bit. Have the rear shocks set to 3/4 hard, and when I launched I didn't get any tail dip, but it lit the tyres up easier, so have softened that a bit, I get the dip but a bit better grip. Cornering was better than standard.
I found a small crease in the body work near the back window about the rear passenger side wheel, looks like its caused by the car twisting so I'm going to stiffen the car up underneath with the weld in sub frame connectors.
The lower control arms will help with grip too, as the standard ones on the car will flex as its only stamped out metal. These replacements wont flex.

My wish list of K-member and A arms would mainly be for weight reduction. Not really sure how much the car weights now, but the engine is Aluminum and most of the body panels are plastic or fiber glass apart from the rear quarters which are metal. The weight of the car from the shipping information said 1350kg, which sounds a bit light. I'm thinking more like 1500kg. The K-member and A-arms and a few other bits could save me around 50kg, which is like tossing a small adult from your car. :O)
 
there is a Vehicle Weigh station in Hedge End we done the Econoline there she was just under 3t
 
Thanks for that, knowing the weight of the vehicle will help some of my calculations. I'll ask for directions nearer the time.
 
Dan, You are already lowered so be sure to make sure your torque arm is adjustable. If you are running the stock one your pinion angle will be horrible.
Also, I think your running Eibach springs? If so they have a spring rate that is far to low for the car and your handling will be compromised. Check the BMR lowering springs advertised as a 1.25" drop. May not be as low as you are now, but you will LOVE the handling. The spring rates are far better suited.
 
Just found this thread from over 10 years ago.

That has taken me a while to buy most of those parts. They are in the attic,, they will migrate to the garage and I'll get these on. :)
 
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