Handling Mods

[1987cp]

its good, means they are V rated

:jawdrop: And I scored this set for $200 including rims??? :golf:

[torquelover]

Weirdness!

BTW, I checked my sidewall again and it's the designation "97V" the guy was commenting on. That was his first question about the tires, "Are those 97V's? Yep, they are." Anyone know what that means?

V-rate: Good up to 149 MPH, all day long.
97: Your load rating, and it's pretty high.

[1987cp]

V-rate: Good up to 149 MPH, all day long.
97: Your load rating, and it's pretty high.

High load rating too, huh? I've definitely got to compare these to your Kumhos if we get a chance, then!

[P72Ford]

The best handling tires I ever had were a set of Firestone Firehawk PV 41's, in 225 70 15. I had them on my '88 P72, and it handled significantly better once I put them on. They were V rated, and were in the neighborhood of $175 each. But, I didn't buy them. I scored my set at a police auction for $100; they still had the stickers on them.

Despite their superior grip, they were horrendous for wear; they lasted 12K miles, and then I had to change them. They weren't totally done, but they had been pretty much eaten up; and it wasn't because of brakestands (I rarely did those with those tires, since I liked them so much). I wanted to buy another set, but at the going rate, it just wasn't happening. The regular Firehawks didn't hold candle to the PV 41's, so I went to Michelins. I believe the PV 41 Firehawk is dicontinued at this point; but it was a good performance tire, thats for sure.

[gadget73]

Yep, sticky tires usually have soft compound. Its just the tradeoff you have to deal with.

[1987cp]

Oh, Nate_in_CT: I noticed in the PoTM thread that you're running Avid S/Ts currently and not the Michelins you speak of. What do you think of your Yokos so far?

[P72Ford]

The Yoko's have been on since last summer (except for the winter). For 80 ea. they seem to be a decent tire. Unfortunately, they are discontinued; I'll have to buy BFG's next time, and turn the RWL to the inside...

Foolishly, I burned one of my rear tires down pretty low last year. Damn kids telling me I can't do a burnout (it was a good one too; we got it on film and everything). I had to rotate it to the other side to keep it from wearing too fast.

BNut, overall, I like the tires, the tread, and the performance. They are great for what I need

[91waggin]

Where I live it rains 9+ months out of the year, and that's what I have to base my tire choices on. For straight up passenger car use, I love Michelin HydroEdges. 80k warranty, but they sure stick well for that long of a warranty.

[theredlineboss]

Colin-
Though I don't have any useful info regarding tires, I will say that replacing my '15 steelies with '16 wheels was the best handling upgrade for the money. I scored a set of '16's for $200, with nearly-new RSA's.

The next real handling upgrade, at least for my car, was to replace the control arms, shocks, and springs. A good suspension rebuild can go a LONG way; my car feels much more solid/controled now (though I did upgrade my swaybar at the same time).

-Rob

[Archangel]

The next real handling upgrade, at least for my car, was to replace the control arms, shocks, and springs.

Why the fuck you gonna fuck with the fuckin control arms? lol You wanna change the bushings man, the control arms need no change unless you're going for bug brakes or you're trying to alter suspension geometry entirely (in which case, God help you). Bushings, springs, shocks, brace the frame, should be good to go.

And since I mentioned bracing the frame - as y'all know I have a pretty nasty axial frame twist, where would you suggest adding meat to the stock frame to help stiffen it up? (don't think I've asked that question already, but if I have, forgive my short attention span)

[Lincolnmania]

big brake conversion for a 96 is cake, all you need is 98-02 hub bearings, rotors, calipers, brackets and hoses

[Archangel]

I meant big as in Cobra big or something equally insane but nice to have

[gadget73]

The 98 brakes are only about 1/2" smaller than Cobra brakes, and I think its the same caliper. There isn't much difference in size. 12.4" vs 13.1" or something. There were pics on cvn a while ago with the parts side by side.

[theredlineboss]

Why the fuck you gonna fuck with the fuckin control arms? lol You wanna change the bushings man, the control arms need no change unless you're going for bug brakes or you're trying to alter suspension geometry entirely (in which case, God help you). Bushings, springs, shocks, brace the frame, should be good to go.

Dude, I think that we have some sort of misunderstanding here. I'm guessing that the control arms for boxes were obsoleted some time ago, meaning that installing new bushings is likely the only option when rebuilding the suspension. However, for my '96, new control arms are easy to come by, wether you want NOS or aftermarket.
Due to time constraints, I decided to purchase and install OEM-spec control arm ASSEMBLIES, complete with new bushings and ball joints. That's why I wrote: "A good suspension rebuild can go a LONG way." I was not specifically saying Colin should buy new arms; it is just what I did for MY car as part of the rebuild process.

And since the topic of brakes was brought up...Colin, if you wind up rebuilding your front suspension, I gotta recommend that you do the big brake upgrade at the same time. It's worth it. :headbang: Although, admittedly, it is a lot easier to install on a '95-97 than on a box....

-Rob

PS: If anyone's interested, you can see what I did with the front suspension Here.

[Archangel]

Rob, the control arms are just a big piece of stamped heavy-gauge sheetmetal, and as such rarely need replacement, if ever - you replaced yours based on the convenience factor, however that was physically not necessary. Also, I run the ENS poly bushings, best DANA ball joints you can find (stronger than what 1-ton Chevy trucks got from the factory), 1050lb/in coils, and Afco 1020 shocks - for what I want what I can get as assemblies just ain't gonna cut it. No big deal tho, for me tinkering with cars is a great way of killing spare time so putting the suspension together piece by piece works out great, I'd imagine if you actually have a life your situation is different and you value your time more than I do mine

Also, ain't the LCAs actually the same all the way up to 2002? I know the uppers are different for the Aeros and the Whales, but those LCAs you put a picture of look damn close to what I pulled from and then reinstalled in my Townie.