has anyone done these swaps? i read the faq on them and am now really interested. is it worth the time to do it? what year of car am i shooting for? say if i was to swap malibu stuff, what year i mean? thanks for the help
2004 Cavalier, 2.2 ecotec, 5spd getrag
do you ever notice that the ones who talk the loudest have the least to talk about?
you sure you read the faqs on the front suspension swap because right under the very first part where it says lists of parts. it says what year car its off of
as for the parts i meant for the i.r.s. i think i found them tho. sorry i just skimmed the faq but yes i saw the list on the front swap
2004 Cavalier, 2.2 ecotec, 5spd getrag
do you ever notice that the ones who talk the loudest have the least to talk about?
I would like to hear more (I have read most of the stuff), but for the front I see no real need in this swap. Seems like a real waste of time and money.
FU Tuning
^Bigger brakes, also with the GA alum. CAs this could give the same effect as tubular CA's but that has yet to be confirmed.
I did just the N body IRS and the N body front knuckles and 11" brakes on my fire .... I noticed a huge braking difference with just that ... now add to that 12" discs and 2 piston calipers and it would be insane. As for differences with the IRS ... I noticed better more stable handling and no more "shimmy" when you hit bumps with the rear tires. No more beam axle to send bumpiness to the other wheel.
All in all 2 of the best upgrades ever.
Jay
Hmm... let's see... I kinda pioneered both of them (the control arms in the front, I mean.. not the brakes..) ... *me pats self on back... hee hee... but I digress... I wasn't the first to actually put either on my car... anyway...
The rear... for $300 (what I paid for the parts), I got the full rear off an 04 Alero... with 30k kms on it... so new, barely rusty at all... just had to replace one bent bar (the tow trucks like to hook onto the bars, bending them). Before the IRS swap, I had a Baer rear disc kit, which I bought used for $800 cdn... the IRS swap gave me smaller discs, which complimented the Cavalier a little better than the massive 12" rotors in the Baer kit. Plus, for less than half the cost, and an easier install, I got a full independent rear as well. With the left over money, I got proper N-body Eibach Pro-kit springs, and an upgraded sway bar from Parts For Your Car...
As for the front.. bigger brakes for a third of the cost of the other brake kits... and much more readily available... this car will stop on a dime now...
The bolt pattern, luckily for me, simply uses the other holes in my rims... and now matches front and rear... plus I get a bigger spare in the trunk
Dollar for dollar.... if you can "do it yourself" using swaps from other cars... you can save a lot of $$$ over bolt-on kits. Sure, they're prettier out of the box... but if you're competent with paint or know a powder-coater... you're good to go!
hey Lenko you didnt shorten anything did you? You went for the extra inch of wheel width? Was there any welding?
Whats up people?
I've got 10k or so on the rear IRS swap.. no welding, just four bolts. I'm riding on N-body KYB GR2's (probably upgrading to the AGX soon) and Eibach Pro-Kit, so it's not THAT low... rubbing isn't much of an issue but if I'm hard in the corner it does rub. I'm looking to roll the fender wells a bit still.
As for the front, I'm in the middle of the L67 engine swap... so I don't have the front together yet. IF the J-car steering rack has the extra 1/2" in the steering arms that I need to bring the toe back in (to match the 1/2" wider control arms), then I'll stick with the wider stance and adjust the fenders and liners as necessary.... if not, I'll probably look for an N-body rack with the extra width I need. Not sure yet.... but I do want the wider track.
No welding yet... unless you're talking about the subframe I built for the L67 swap
lenko you got the irs for 300 so im guessin the yard that quoted me 250 is a good price he said everythings included left side of car to the right, everything, so i guess come summer irs swap ftw
thanks for the info Lenko. Just a heads up I will probably email you more towards summer a for more info if i need to.
Whats up people?
John Lenko wrote:I've got 10k or so on the rear IRS swap.. no welding, just four bolts. I'm riding on N-body KYB GR2's (probably upgrading to the AGX soon) and Eibach Pro-Kit, so it's not THAT low... rubbing isn't much of an issue but if I'm hard in the corner it does rub. I'm looking to roll the fender wells a bit still.
As for the front, I'm in the middle of the L67 engine swap... so I don't have the front together yet. IF the J-car steering rack has the extra 1/2" in the steering arms that I need to bring the toe back in (to match the 1/2" wider control arms), then I'll stick with the wider stance and adjust the fenders and liners as necessary.... if not, I'll probably look for an N-body rack with the extra width I need. Not sure yet.... but I do want the wider track.
No welding yet... unless you're talking about the subframe I built for the L67 swap
Could I transfer over my KONI yellows from my J for this swap and use them temporarily until my AGX's arrive in the summer by chance ?
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
Nope, the J-body struts won't work with the N-body IRS. You need to use N-body struts.
^This is true......the only thing keeping me from this swap goes by the name of Tein SS
Damn it Lenko, where were you when I was buying my suspension, you could have slapped me.....sigh
cant wait to get mine on....... I need to get some AGX struts (the stockers suck), new rotors (the ones on my irs are shot), and some new bushings...... to bad I cant find any place that sells just bushings (GM sells the arms/bushings as one piece).
I have the 12" rotors and 2 piston calipers on the front...... the aluminum arms are next, along with McMoney camber plates.
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