I was thinking about fabricating my own front strut brace, but then I realized that it would cause more understeer. Not something I want. I'm looking to stiffen up the rear suspension, sway bar would be preferred as subs are in the way of a brace.

Anyone?

 

Whats your reasoning to stiffen it? I am currently having custom springs made by custom spring specialties to counter the weight from the system i have.. Bassically stock springs +1000 pounds but you can make them change whatever you want.. I got really quick responses and they are easy to get a hold of so i am pleased thus far.. Just waiting on the springs to be finished!

 

I installed the front strut brace & rear strut brace , I have no problem driving my Monte., It feels tighter in the turns..

 

I also have a front and rear strut brace. I also lowered the car and put Bilstein struts on the front. Went to 18x9 wheels and tires. All together made a noticable difference.

 

I guess I should have said what I was wanting to change, whoops.

The body roll in this car is ridiculous, always has been. I'm looking to tighten it up a bit so it doesn't feel like such a boat. I could also look into springs, but I could fabricate the braces myself.

The issue I have (other than the bad battery I just discovered) is that the sub box is stupidly large and in the way of a rear brace. I could just brace the front without doing the rear, but that will create even more understeer which this car already has plenty of.

Another option is sway bars because they mount underneath. I'm not sure what the setup is from the factory hence me asking what others may have done. I could possibly try to create my own, I just need a reference, like how an aftermarket bar would be routed.



My goal - reduce body roll and understeer
Body roll can be reduced via braces (in the car) or sway bars (underneath), but to counter understeer you need to tighten up the rear. At least that is my understanding. Sound correct? So my option right now is a sway bar setup due to my subs being cumbersome.

 

My Monte SS came stock with front & rear sway bar..But no strut brace,
That's why I installed front & rear strut brace..It feels tighter in turns now..

 

I have added ZZP front and rear sway bars. I feel those helped the wheels track on the road better. I also have UMI performance trailing arms with poly bushings, this just helps a little on the forward launch.
I have added Energy Suspension font swap links and front sway bushings (no change to note).
I don't feel I have any issues with body roll. But if I did, I'd look into (in this order):
- The Energy Suspension rear sway bushings
- Stiffer rear struts and coils
- BMR or equivalent lateral braces
- GMPP sway bars (if they are still manufactured)

Now everything I listed is for the '00-'05 Monte, but I assume it all fits the '06-'07 models.

 

How is your tire pressure? Low pressure in the front tires will increase understeer. Running a couple lbs more air in the front versus the rear will help to reduce understeer. Has the vehicle had an alignment lately? Increasing negative camber and toe-in will help to reduce understeer. How much room do you have above your box? Maybe you could fabricate a rear stb out of flat bar stock?

 

Even if it doesn't, it will give me a starting point which is what I need at the moment.

30 psi all the way around - I don't have excessive understeer at the moment, I just don't want to increase it at all.

The car went to the body shop today so I'll have limited access to it for awhile. Anyone have a photo of the rear brace in the car? I'm not sure how different the 6th gen is from the 7th, but I'll look at both.