Today I had the opportunity to really drive my GT4 since the suspension rebuild. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=189851 It was aligned this past Tuesday. All I can say is..... WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about a way to put that "1st day of ownership" SMILE back on your face!. The very first thing that I noticed was how responsive the steering wheel was. The Superperformance 2.5 turn rack is a MUST HAVE for any 308, especially the GT4. This has made a remarkable difference. There is ZERO off center play and it is very smooth and responsive. Makes for some very nice cornering! Next, I noticed that the car felt very 'planted' to the ground. It is as if I put on considerablly wider tires. Hard to explain, but it really does feel more connected to the road. The suspension is very firm, but not obnoxious. It rides smooth on straight roads. It is a little harsh over wide expansion joints/uneven pavement, etc... but it was prior to this. The difference is that the whole car does not shake, its just a little jolt. I had the alignment shop set up the car to the Hunter specs that were in their computer for my SN# EXCEPT I had them dial in 1deg. negative camber in the front. This is probablly responsible for a lot of what I described above. This car flat out ROCKS!!! I took the car on a 45minute run through some of the better twisty roads in this area (there aren't many...). I thought my little Dino was pretty awesome before, but now she is a very different car. Initial turn is is very crisp/precise. It's just point and shoot, whereas before I felt like I had to "set up" for an approaching corner. I was also taking corners that I've frequented in the past MUCH faster with this set up! I did not realize how much body roll there was in my car previously. There is very little now. The car corners very flat! I took some pictures at dusk to show the ride height. I had just lowered it a tad all around. I think it's where she's going to stay. Sorry for the quality of the pics. I was playing around with camera settings and just could not hold the thing steady while it did its thing....I'll post more on the next nice day around here. If you have a GT4 or any 308 and you are toying with the idea of new shocks....DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This will totally transform your car!!! Here is my shopping list for this project: Shocks QA1 HAL-DR4855p (Front) $165.99/ea from Lane Automotive (All QA1 items were from LANE...THEY ARE EXCELLENT!) QA1 HAL-DR5855p (Rear) $165.99/ea QA1 #9029-165 Aluminum 1" extension for REAR shocks. $16.69/ea QA1 10-300 springs (Front) $36.99/ea QA1 12-300 sprints (Rear) $36.99/ea QA1 788-109 Thrust Bearing kit w/ spanner wrenches. $52.99/ea. Unobtanium Supply Paperweights with poly bushes and shock bushing kit $357.25 Ball Joints (upper/lower) Kit from MaseratiSource (Ebay) $390.00 Tie Rod Ends (Ebay) $40 MISC: Superperformance 2.5turn steering rack...$695 (From an FChatter who did not need it) Bushings for steering rack, swaybars and A-Arms...~$300 A-Arms, brake dustcovers, spindles, grilles powdercoated....$200 2 New suspension bolts from GT Car Parts...$45 (Previous one were stripped... ) While I was in there, I had the lower fiberglass underbelly repaired...$200 Milling of front spindles for new dustcaps...$15.00 (Friend did it for free...paid him in beer!) New pair of dustcaps for front (T.Rutlands)...$40 Total WITHOUT the Fiberglass work= $3018.53.53 (Man it adds up quick, but WELL worth it!!) So that's it in a nutshell. This has been a great DIY project and I would HIGHLY recommend it. The results have exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to put another several thousand miles on this car. It's going to be fun!!!!!!!!!!!! JIM Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congrats Jim on a job well done! And I told you you'd like your QA-1's . I can only confirm your observations, it's like getting a new car. Much flatter, much more planted, highly recommended! I'll follow in your footsteps regarding the bushings and steering rack. Nice job for next winter, once I've got my workshop set up properly. For now, lets go out and have some FUN!!!! Hans
Nicely done. Paint, check. Suspension, check. Engine rebuild and upgrade,,,, Interior refinement,,,, You're well on your way to having one of the best GT4s out there anywhere. ps, I don't see a sway bar listed up there. Status of that?
Nice I'll bet doing the work yourself really adds to the satisfaction. Now drive and enjoy that thing for awhile. You've more than paid your dues..time for some dividends.
The rear awaybar was one of those 'etc...' Items that got powdercoated. I could not get the front one out as the spare tire well was blocking it and I did not want to pop off all those rivets to get it out. I did use the newer style drop links on the front, however with new poly bushings. The set up is sweet!!! You can bet that I'd its dry in the AM, ill be driving somewhere!!!!! Jim
sweet car! I am right behind you but waiting for custom made rear A-Arms from Norwood. That is the cleanest GT4 I have ever seen. Cheers
Suspension work and related parts: $3000+ Driving the car and absolutely LOVING it: Priceless!! Congrats on the job well done, and enjoy the heck out of your car.
Nice project. Gorgeous car. So what does the 2.5 turn steering rack upgrade do to steering heft. Mine is already a Nautilus machine when parking. Hal
It helps a little, however, I would not buy the rack for that purpose. If I'm at a dead stop, the wheel is hard to move, but with any fwd or rear motion, it lightens up considerably. JIM
I just picked up mine after having the rear suspension bushing replaced. The aches & groans the car had are gone. the drifting over bumps is gone. The shocks (put on a month before) helped, but the bushing made a significant difference.
I had some issues with "drifting" over bumps pre-steering rack. Now its gone. I got a surprise in the mail this week. I'm going to go out and install it now, take some pics and a long drive now. JIM
Thanks for all of the nice replies! I just went on a 1hr drive on some very twisty roads at a fairly good clip. WOW is all I can say!!! I had a buddy with me and he cannot believe that my car was made in 1974. He kept saying that over and over again. This suspension set up is the way to do. On a related note, I did lower the rears about 1/4" and the front about 1/8 to 1/4. Between myself and a different buddy who weighs in at ~265or so, the front tires did slightly scrape the wheel wells on a high speed dip. It only happened once. I'll raise it a touch the next time I"m under the car. JIM
