i went RWD and love how the car feels a bit wilder , but after i upgrade the suspensions -from springs to H&R clubsport and rear sway- i decided to go back to AWD.
handles so much better and turn out is so much faster with tons of grip.

when i'm ready with LSD thats when i most likely be converting fully to RWD

 

^ while i have yet to change out my suspension from the mo30's w h&r's w gt3sways since i feel it's working for me.. i'm toying with the idea of finishing the process *properly* with the gt2/3 uprights/coilovers and stubbing the axles etc. i still have yet to notice any downside, or possibly my rather staid driving style/conditions haven't yet shown me the error of my ways lol so just rwd with the wavetrac might well be enough for me and my needs. it certainly feels that way now after the better part of a year going rwd. so i'm not even sure what i'm missing - coilovers!

btw. you are welcome to blast my car up/down a malibu mtn if you're ever nearby, should you wan't to a/b one w and w/out an lsd. it made all the difference in the world as i also went with just the cardan removed initially. the lsd is the key with the rwd set. of that i am certain.

 

The GT2/3 uprights won't make a difference on the street in my opinion. The difference really isn't apparent until you get into the nitty gritty of fine tuning the suspension at the track.

 

what if you can get a set of gt3 uprights for under 400$?

 

that has to be why i notice nothing lacking. thx.

 

speed shop here where i do all my *major* work that can't be done hillbilly style up on jacks myself quoted me 3k for uprights/stubbed axles AND used gt3 coilovers. installed. i must be penny wise and pound foolish not to have grabbed em. but i wanted to drive the car rwd w the wavetrac first and *so far* i'm glad i didn't spend the bread. actually.

 

That's a good deal. They are about $450 each if I recall. Like I said, if you're not a track guy chasing the last few tenths then the change won't be apparent. The uprights really come into play once you have your spring rates, sway bars, and all the other stuff dialed. Fine tuning the handling to me is much more important than more power so the uprights are a no brainer for me as a properly sorted suspension will make the car faster than any amount of additional power ever will.

Keep in mind that the uprights are just one item that will need to be changed. You will also need new tension bolts, new brake rotors, new 6 piston calipers or spacers for your stock 4 pot calipers, new upper mounts, new coilovers if you're not already running JRZ, Moton or MCS. You will also want to install OEM GT3 sways front and rear to give you the ability to start fine tuning the set up. Spring rates will also be a part of the equasion. I went through 4 sets of springs before I settled on what ultimately hit the bulls eye for me.

 

i actually have a lift in my garage but when i removed my coil overs i could have just as easily done it on jackstands. i removed the entire spindle the first time not knowing i could have just removed the steering linkage to lower and swing out the spindle to remove the coil over. it took less than 2 hrs to completely remove everything. ( i am already rwd so the axles weren't an issue)


pwdrhound i doubt ill make the change as all my suspension is set for 996tt and would have to change way to many things. i may grab these and see if the market thinks they are worth selling

 

^^ that's because you know what you're doing lol. btw when i said "hillbilly style" that wasn't directed at you! my peoples descended from a straight up kentucky holler lol but either way, i can't even imagine doing all that sh*t on jacks. that's some southern ingenuity, no doubt

 

ha! i wish i go with your route and doing the lsd first. I go up and down the crest every weekend, sometimes twice in a weekend, i didnt know how much the coilovers and sways make a lot of difference in canyon driving, sweeping turns that i ussually felt like i've pushed the car too much doing 50s, now i can do 60s without feeling pushing the car. Gaining this kind of difference makes it easy to notice the areas that can be improved, one of them is turn out speed. With the cardan shaft off i'm having a hard time getting traction leaving the corner -of which i solely blame the lack of LSD-

I also had to go the long route of doing sways, i found the hard way that without doing fully RWD conversion you won't be able to run front GT3 sway upfront properly. From the handling stand point I feel with the softest setting on the GT3 front and hardest setting on H&R the car still understeer a little bit, I was hoping that'd be the most oversteer setting i could have.

With those feedback, i decided to switch back to stock front sway and putting the power back to the front axles.
I only had one run after going back to AWD, but the car is pretty well balance now and i get the fast turnout leaving the corner back, just pulls away from the turn with plenty of traction.

I know once i have LSD I ll have to start from scratch
btw thx for the offer, i'd love to know how much different the car feels with lsd.

 

i equated hillbilly style to backyard mechanic! my lift was no higher than the jackstands as i was sitting on a stool doing the work. the entire upright is actually quite easy to remove. what was even easier was the way the coil over came off. all i read had you disconnecting the tie rods, links etc. all i had to do was swing the caliper out of the way disconnect the steering link and unbolt the coil over. press down and it swings out from the fender and off the the upright. took less than 20 min once i figured it out.

believe me when i tell you i still have no real idea what I'm doing! i subscribe to the idea that I'm 100% sure i can tear it apart and i have a 50/50 chance of getting all back together!!

 

word.

i neglected to mention that i am running the gt3 sway rear only, for reasons you mention! stock fronts. test run offer stands.. anytime

 

ya, maybe but i always knew you were in a different league than me when you mentioned even the possibility of installing the wavetrac yourself

my yard is good only for stuff that bolts on/off. no modding lol

 

its easy to do it like i do. look at the car, look at your wallet, wrench !!

 

Swapping the uprights is a very straight forward job easily done on jack stands. If you can get the uprights for a good price they'll sell quick on Rennlist which is more of a track forum.