I just had front and rear Prothane swaybar bushing sets, four-wheel PowerSlot rotors, and front Hawk pads installed on my Holden.
Wow. Big difference. Those front & rear Prothanes have really stiffened up the car, It was already tight but now feels positively taut. The nose-dive on braking has been substantially arrested, and the car remains very flat and composed when accelerating. Nice. No degrade in ride quality, though there may be a very slight increase in cabin noise. It hits bumps in the pavement like my old Bimmer did now, with a very solid feel....the difference when hitting some of the larger whoop-de-dos on the I-5 at speed is incredible-- much better, more quickly damped. Steering response is definitely quicker as well. I think I'll go ahead and do the control arm bushings next. Highly recommended.
I also got The Power Slot slotted rotors. As most of we 2004ers know, the Goat already has rotors that are too small for the car, and I obviously cooked at least one already. I warped it by doing a major "Woah Nelly," having to put my foot into it from ~120mph to a deal stop. Slots should help disappate heat somewhat. I was just going to have the OEMs turned, but got a good deal on the Power Slots. I also upgraded the brake pads up front to Hawks per PowerSlot's reccommendation. The difference is striking...and that rather slight (yet disconcerting) one-per-rev vibration is gone. The Power Slots look better than OEM as well...they are cad plated and thus shouldn't get that nasty patina of rust.
With my larger wheels, I have room for larger rotors, but not the budget for a whole new caliper / rotor system (obviously the optimal solution). I can't afford that right now. A pair of decent Baers or Wilwoods or Brembos will run at least $1200 in the box. I got four new rotors and upgraded pads (and noticiably more positive braking) for ~$600 installed. Gotta balance performance per dollar here-- my car isn't a show car or hangar queen, after all.
Like I said, the new rotors just look better as well. I've also purchased a high-temp two-part brake caliper paint-- wait until I paint the caliper housings yellow! :cool
BTW with the help of the guys at the shop I was able to confirm that lowering her isn't really an option...those 18" Dunlop SP Sport FM901s are substantially wider / taller than OEM and even with my rolled fender lip will rub if I drop it any more that say, 1/2". Not worth it.
That's good...more money for other stuff.
Wow. Big difference. Those front & rear Prothanes have really stiffened up the car, It was already tight but now feels positively taut. The nose-dive on braking has been substantially arrested, and the car remains very flat and composed when accelerating. Nice. No degrade in ride quality, though there may be a very slight increase in cabin noise. It hits bumps in the pavement like my old Bimmer did now, with a very solid feel....the difference when hitting some of the larger whoop-de-dos on the I-5 at speed is incredible-- much better, more quickly damped. Steering response is definitely quicker as well. I think I'll go ahead and do the control arm bushings next. Highly recommended.
I also got The Power Slot slotted rotors. As most of we 2004ers know, the Goat already has rotors that are too small for the car, and I obviously cooked at least one already. I warped it by doing a major "Woah Nelly," having to put my foot into it from ~120mph to a deal stop. Slots should help disappate heat somewhat. I was just going to have the OEMs turned, but got a good deal on the Power Slots. I also upgraded the brake pads up front to Hawks per PowerSlot's reccommendation. The difference is striking...and that rather slight (yet disconcerting) one-per-rev vibration is gone. The Power Slots look better than OEM as well...they are cad plated and thus shouldn't get that nasty patina of rust.
With my larger wheels, I have room for larger rotors, but not the budget for a whole new caliper / rotor system (obviously the optimal solution). I can't afford that right now. A pair of decent Baers or Wilwoods or Brembos will run at least $1200 in the box. I got four new rotors and upgraded pads (and noticiably more positive braking) for ~$600 installed. Gotta balance performance per dollar here-- my car isn't a show car or hangar queen, after all.
Like I said, the new rotors just look better as well. I've also purchased a high-temp two-part brake caliper paint-- wait until I paint the caliper housings yellow! :cool
BTW with the help of the guys at the shop I was able to confirm that lowering her isn't really an option...those 18" Dunlop SP Sport FM901s are substantially wider / taller than OEM and even with my rolled fender lip will rub if I drop it any more that say, 1/2". Not worth it.
That's good...more money for other stuff.
