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2010 Chevy Camaro SS Suspension Upgrade - Prescription 4 Performance
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On our baseline testing the stock Camaro managed a best average speed of 45.7 mph through the cones, while on the skidpad the car was good enough for .84 g's-pretty stout numbers for a stock hot rod. After installing the Detroit Speed suspension components, and keeping the stock tires and wheels in place, we put the Camaro through the paces once more. On the slalom course, the speed shot up to 48.1 mph. This is an impressive improvement over stock. While the skidpad numbers showed a small improvement at .87g's, it was obvious the stock tires ran out of lateral grip well before the suspension's abilities. We don't attribute this to the actual softness of the tire, but more to the lack of contact patch. Once we get more meat on these wheels, things will certainly improve. Now, testing is all about the numbers, and that's a great guide for the mathematical performance, but getting the car on a road course is where the fun really comes into play. In a previous issue, we talked about how well the car did in stock trim on the GingerMan Raceway in Michigan. Recently, we had the opportunity to open up the car once more; this time at Buttonwillow Raceway with the upgraded suspension. We're excited to report that the handling improved dramatically over stock. The stiffer springs and sway bars kept body roll to a minimum, yet the car felt compliant and much lighter throughout the course, especially in segments like the esses. Throughout the day, our '10 Camaro easily kept up with many of the lighter, more nimble cars on the track, even while sporting the stock tires and wheels (there's not much left of the stock tires, by the way). As important as performance is at the track, getting there was also part of the test. With Buttonwillow being over 160 miles away, the Camaro would have to deal with a long stretch of California's underfunded highways-not the smoothest by any means. Although concerned that the stiffer suspension might make the drive slightly less comfortable than with the stock stuff, that wasn't the case. The new springs managed to deal with the highways like a champ. Sure the ride was slightly stiffer, but we just used it to our advantage and kept the hammer down while making our way over California's notorious Grapevine (a section of the northbound 5 Freeway that get's you the hell out of Los Angeles). A by-product of the suspension upgrade is the newly acquired stance. Even though the springs lowered the car only about 2 inches, it now has a much more aggressive appearance. After all, looks are almost as important as performance ... almost.  Moving to the rear of the...  Moving to the rear of the Camaro, we found another pair of struts. We just hoped it would turn out as easy as the fronts.  Rather than a single bolt...  Rather than a single bolt through a strut tower, the top of the rear strut is anchored to the Camaro by way of four bolts and a frame mount. We loosened them, but didn't remove them quite yet.  With the top loosened, we...  With the top loosened, we then unbolted the bottom of the shock from the lower arm.  The 18mm bolt securing the...  The 18mm bolt securing the lower arm to the rear upright was then removed. This allowed us to swing the arm down, freeing up the strut. With that done, we finished removing the four upper strut mount bolts.  Here's the factory strut and...  Here's the factory strut and spring assembly. Unlike the front, this spring felt like it had some tension on it. The question was how much. We took it over to our local alignment shop where we found out there was almost no tension at all. Better safe than sorry when dealing with springs.  Again, the Detroit Speed rear...  Again, the Detroit Speed rear spring was noticeably shorter than the OEM unit, and according to Detroit Speed, it also has an improved spring rate to help control the heavy Camaro's roll, yet still maintain good ride quality.  We then assembled the rear...  We then assembled the rear strut and spring assembly. Again, the factory isolators were retained. This is only possible because Detroit Speed went through the effort to make sure the new springs began and terminated the same as the stockers they were designed to replace.  The new assembly was then...  The new assembly was then slid into place and loosely bolted in to the Camaro's chassis.  The lower arm was then pivoted...  The lower arm was then pivoted up and bolted to the end of the OE strut.  We finished up by re-attaching...  We finished up by re-attaching the rear upright to the lower arm.  Lastly, we secured the upper...  Lastly, we secured the upper mount to the body of the Camaro. But before we put in the last bolt, we installed this drop limiter supplied in the kit. The limiter prevents the rear spring from leaving the spring seat when the suspension is in full droop. The bolt was then torqued to 43 lb-ft.  With the springs done, it...  With the springs done, it was time to tackle the sway bars. The factory bar runs above the exhaust system, but was fairly easy to unbolt and remove. Since the pillow bushings are part of the bar, it did put up a little bit of a fight, but once we found the right angle, it slid out. Before we installed the new Detroit Speed bar, we made sure to coat the new bushing with some of the lubricant provided. The stabilizer shaft (i.e., endlink) was torqued to 36 lb-ft, while the bushing bolts were twisted to 16 lb-ft. The rear bar is also adjustable with two different endlink mounting points. Per Detroit Speed's recommendation, we used the more aggressive one.  Turned out that we saved the...  Turned out that we saved the best for last: the front sway bar. This convoluted bar of steel was real tricky to remove. After trying on our own for a while, we called Detroit Speed to find out if there was a trick to getting out the stock bar. They said that it needed to be twisted in just the right way, and that GM recommends disconnecting the tie rod from the upright, but that they had managed to remove the stock bar without doing so. After battling with the bar for a bit longer we decided to cut the stock bar in half. Hey, it was just going in the dumpster anyway.  Since the bushing blocks aren't...  Since the bushing blocks aren't integral to the new sway bar, like they are on the stocker, it was much easier to slide into place and secure using the same torque specs as the rear.  The install was incredibly...  The install was incredibly simple, even with the stubborn front OEM sway bar, and only took a leisurely four hours to complete. But we still needed to align the car. We took the Camaro over to Wheel Warehouse in Anaheim, California, where the Detroit Speed recommended specs were dialed into the Camaro's suspension. With this done, we were ready to hit the track for a little post-op testing.
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