Well hello everyone, this is my first official post in the jbo site, but I have been following, saved and screen@!#$ted a lot of posts throughout the forum for research and future references. I have done some searching but don't really have the exact answers to the questions plaguing my mind. So this is what's up, I bought this car with the intention of just turning it into a dirt oval car after I got bought a better daily, but I fell in love with it for some reason, and before I knew it I started blowing money and time, buying and machining go fast parts. Bought the car with 165k, rebuilt the top end at 170k and it just rolled over 203k this year. I figured I've spent enough time focusing on the engine and have forgotten what's the point in going fast if I can't control it effectively. Now, here's the thing with what want to do is lift it 1.5in just for a little more ground clearance in the winter. Ive read about swapping stock struts with either the Montana struts or Lumina struts, and have talked to a couple guys around the dirt track scene about 90s Monte struts fitting; but I've also thought about leaving it at stock height but going with a better suspension setup for better handling, and keeping the center of gravity it has now. I guess what I'm trying to get at is, are there options with aftermarket parts to achieve the better ground clearance I'm looking for? What are some better choices for springs and coilovers/struts, front/rear; and also sway bar setups? Any ideas or helpful insight would be greatly appreciated.
There was only one company that ever made lift springs for the J-body, and they stopped production about 10 years ago at least.
If you want to retain stock height and get a slight improvement, get a good quality performance strut, like Tokico D-Specs or HP Blues.
If you want a stiffer spring that's stock height, look at the springs for the Lumina or Montana or any other mid-size GM vehicle of the same era, and see if any of them will properly seat on the J-body strut, and if they will give you a lift, or maybe a stock height with a little more stiffness.
Bottom line is that it's going to take some research. There isn't going to be an easy answer on this one.
Good luck!
