I've been combing through the site and have gleaned quite a bit of information. I'm a converted drag racer and was a top fuel wrench for almost ten years. I picked up this 2002 ws6 m6 car with the hopes of rekindling my interest in motorsports. I sold my 555 powered dragster but kept my 32' enclosed trailer its quite useful for just about anything.
This is going to be a weekend canyon carver, see a few autoX events, and 6-10 track days at high plains raceway east of Denver.
The car is pretty much dead stock right now. My first changes were going to be either koni sports or bilstein hd shocks on strano springs along with hawk pads up front. Next would be stranos 35/22 sway bar kit and panhard. The next pieces will either be a torque arm or ways link and scrap the panhard. I'm gonna but a set of dedicated track wheels and appropriate tires as well.
How does this parts progression look?
What all does everyone bring with them to the track? I assume a set of spare rotors and pads, anything else?
I imagine I'll trailer the car to and from the track it's an hr or so away, I'd hate to break and have to travel all the way back to get a trailer that I could have just brought the first time.

What about shifters? Mine still has the UPS truck stock long stick in it. Are aftermarket short throws worth the money or is it close to just installing a short stick and new knob into my stock shifter?

I have an MGW and really enjoy it. I believe Hinson has a new one out as well that looks similar to the MGW race shifter they are offering for newer cars.

Top fuel wrench? That sounds like an interesting way to spend your time. Cool stuff.

Do the bars first, or at least the 35mm bar (then the PHB). It's (both are) cheap and easy to do and it makes a HUGE difference in the car. Then do springs and shocks. I really recommend the Koni shocks over the Bilstiens....it's well worth the money.




I HATE the Pro 5.0 shifter (I know there are guys who like them, all of them I've used are notchy and seem to work better if you constantly tear them down and pack them with grease) and I've run the B&M Ripper (I think it's now the "Sport shifter") in virtually all of my 6 speed cars. It's a nice upgrade.

Ya, the fuel car deal was a pretty good time. Of course it's single young mans game for sure. It's 265-280 days a year on the road. Once you get married and have kids it pretty much squashes all of that. None the less it was a great 9 years. I work with Alan Johnson at AJPE, mike green at DSR, and a handful of other notable tuners throughout those years. I had a pretty good job building fuel engines during the week and pulling cylinder heads on race day.

Do you feel like the rear aftermarket sway is not necessary on the SS/ws6 cars?

You'll want the rear bar. But the 35mm makes a HUGE difference in the car. The PHB is another great improvement. The rear bar works with the springs and you can add it now or later. You'll want it on there at some point.

As these cars roll (body roll), the front upper control arm on the outside is pushed "out" over the front tire. This reduces camber on the front outside tire (lifting the inside edge of the tire and reducing grip). The 35mm bar limits body roll and therefore helps to keep the tires "flat" (flatter?) on the ground to improve the footprint of the tire and increase grip. That's why the front bar is so important. And it's an easy mod (no alignment needed) and not too pricy, so we usually tell guys to do it first (just toss it on one day and try it out). Then you go from there. You can do it all at once. We can set you up a car that works very well. Or call Sam Strano (you mentioned his springs) and have him ship you the goodies. He's going to send you what I'm going to tell you to buy anyway....lol.

Right on, I'll get the front sway and phb on the way and start getting shock and spring money rounded up....a grand for shocks is pretty painful, but if that is what goes fast then that's what will go on the car.

And I recommend the 35mm solid bar. I've always felt like these cars could use something even stiffer than that, but the solid is the best option (it's heavy, but stiff). The 35mm hollow bars are about the same as a 33.5mm solid bar (give or take) and bar stiffness is based on the diameter to the 4th power, so seemingly small amounts make for huge changes in stiffness.

Just crawled under the car, it has founders non adjustable rear lower control arms and panhard. Poly bushings in both.

What are you doing about safety?

C5 front brakes are a very nice upgrade. Either way, brake cooking ducts are a must.

Car also has trans tunnel and strut tower braces.
What all is involved with the vette brake upgrade? I assume a bracket to mount our caliper onto a c5 rotor? Does anyone make prefab brake ducting that looks nice for our cars? I'm very hesitant to have a roll bar installed as we still run the car around town and my kid rides in the back seat. Are bolt in roll cages as hokey as they sound? I ve never heard of such. I know there's a few that are actually nasa and nhra certed.

Personal safety wise I plan on running my impact carbon helmet, /5 fire suit, neck brace, and arm restraints. I would like to find a way to install 5points in the car as well. Maybe a removable race day seat.

Man, I always figured that wrenching for a Pro class team was a LOT of time on the road, and I was right. Sounds like a fun and educational gig for a while. Oh, the stories you can probably tell.

Why mess with a replacement panhard bar if you are even thinking about a Watts link? Just do the Watts and never look back.

Pick up a use panhard for nothing, or save up for the Watts, but that's just me thinking out loud. I LOVE the Watts on our Firebird.

And yes, good shocks & struts are expen$ive, but drop the dime and enjoy. You'll regret cheaping out on those.

Ya, the best stories are the ones I can't tell, lol. It was quite a time for sure. I imagine I'll run the panhard I have until the watts goes in after the shocks, springs, and bars.
Is there anything to be gained on an adjustable torque arm or is the stock unit sufficient?

What is everyone doing as far as track rims and tires?

I ran a stock torque arm on my 4th gen (autocross/street car). My 3rd gen had the T56 conversion crossmember and torque arm kit from Spohn on it. Both worked very well for me.



Everything from a spare set of Camaro SS wheels to Corvette wheels to CCW's or Weld race wheels.

Agree with this 100%. Take the weight penalty of the solid bar. I've run both the 35 hollow and solid back to back. The car rolled far too much with the hollow bar.

Thanks for the heads up, I was going to go hollow. I'll change that. Is everyone running a 22 or 25 rear?

My old set up was a Hotchkis front bar, Strano rear bar, Strano springs, and Konis. It worked very well for HPDE in my full weight 97 SS. It was still a bit loose if anything. My new set up will be a 35mm front bar, 750 lb front springs, 250 lb rear springs, and this time I'm going to try either a 21 mm or 19 mm rear bar. This time I've done a lot of weight reduction also, so we'll see.

I had seen where a ccm car that was for sale, had won slot of races here locally, was on 750/200 springs

Yeah I took a guess at the rear spring rates based on what CMC cars were running. I'm probably going to bring a set of 200# springs with me to the track in case the 250's are too stiff. I've got a stock 21mm rear bar on there now and I'm also going to bring the 19mm with me.

Ordering konis, springs, and bars on Monday.

Good starting point. While you are in there, replace any worn out bushings with Moog problem solvers.

But one big thing: BRAKES! Get some fresh rotors if needed, some stainless braided lines, and some track capable pads up front. The most important thing is fluid. You really need some high temp capable racing fluid. Lots use the ATE type 200, I've had great luck with the Motul RBF600. Brakes are the most important part of the car on track, specifically fluid. You can feel pads begin to overheat and fade. If you back off a little the brakes will start to come back. However, if you boil fluid, you will have no brakes at all. You can't feel it coming, they just stop working and won't come back until you bleed some fresh fluid through.

With the suspension mods you are doing, and the power even a stock LS1 makes, you will be going pretty quickly on track once you have some seat time. Want to make sure the brakes work well so you stay safe out there.

Thanks TA

One additional note related to brakes- once the front hubs wear out you can get a good amount of play, and you'll have pad knockback. So practice the pre-brake pedal tap. I don't wanna load you up with too many things, but that can happen. With stock sized (275) tires it won't happen as quickly as say 315's up front. But F-bodies have a way of wearing down hubs (poor factory design), and there are several threads regarding hubs and replacements (I had a near miss on track specifically). So just keep an eye on them.
You could also consider some brake ducts to aid cooling too, in ref to 79/TA's comment.

Stainless brake line kit, power flusher, new pads and rotors are on the list as well