Stage 2b – Shocks, bushings, wheel bearings, big brakes, cv halfshafts (finished but no better…)
Done! I have replaced all the stuff listed in the heading right there. And you know what? The car is still old. But now I can REALLY drive it hard. In so doing I found that the car will lift the inside rear in turns. And I mean LIFT. Like Joan Rivers’ face. It is really that dramatic. And nearly that horrifying.
I need me some stiffer springs. And some shocks that aren’t Bilsteins. I just hate ‘em. The entire ‘02 community loves them, and I still think they suck. Too much compression damping, not enough rebound damping. If you don’t believe me – try this easy test.
Put on Bilsteins. Drive over some train tracks, or maybe frost heaves on the freeway. Pick your teeth up off the floorboards. Put them in a cup with some tea leaves, shake it all up, pour it out in front of you, and then KNOCK THAT CRAP OFF. Tea leaves. Come on. Ridiculous.
In any case, that part about the teeth falling out is real. The shocks are valved for maximum harshness over sharp impacts, and maximum floatiness over everything else. Isn’t that a little backwards?
Ah, forget it.
My Brembo “big brake kit” from a well-known parts house that I will call “Fighting Irish Engineering” has finally come together. But not without some serious interference issues. Check the pics – them be some tight tolerances. And that is AFTER I took a hand file to the calipers. They simply wouldn’t fit without some tweaking. Awesome.
My brake adjustment is equally great. The first wheel to lock up – passenger rear. Exciting. If I had teeth, hey would be all a-chatter with fear. (Stay with me. The Bilsteins, remember?)
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