Guys,

Popped the Hotchkis sway bars on today in about a couple hours and my first impressions may or may not be the same as those of you that also have them on your CTS-Vs.

Quality of the bars and the hardware Hotchkis includes are top notch.

The sway bars are quiet and they do a great job making the car feel very comfortable on smooth surfaces. During lower speed cornering, the tires seem to want to break loose much easier which means the bars are doing their job. I didn't have a problem with this at all.

Maybe I am used to more aggressive suspension set-ups or maybe I am just used to driving C5s and C6s, but I just wish the Hotchkis bars were beefier and offered a more aggressive flat cornering feel during hard driving on turns.

I guess I was expecting the bars to make the car feel immediately like a race car or a coupe. I think it's just me as a driver. I understand the car is a Cadillac and most aftermarket manufacturers want to keep the car as civilized as possible, but this is my mere observation.

Hopefully the car will handle better after we corner weight it.

To those of you that have the Hotchkis bars, how do you like them? Do you wish they were more aggressive?

Shawn

During lower speed cornering, the tires seem to want to break loose much easier which means the bars are doing their job. I didn't have a problem with this at all.

Put mine in over Easter and like them a lot. Maybe it's because of my maggie but I'm definately breaking loose A LOT easier in low speed cornering.

JUST got them in...

I like them alot I managed a sustained .94 on an offramp which i usually dont do cause at .90 the car leans and then I know its just a matter of time till total rear lost.

BUT. The car started leaning alot at .94, i thought it would be flat all the way then give...

I wish too my V was more vette like.

I didn't notice any road noise or roughness, so all and all it you want a stiffer ride without giving up anything else its perfect...

Personally I think coil-overs are in my future.

Edit:

Special Credit to Homer and forgot vendor already for putting this together!

I have had mine in for a while now (pre-group buy). I had Hotchkis bars on previous cars and always liked them. For the driving I do, they are perfect, not too much and not too little - but I don't track my V. Just canyons and on-ramp drags etc.

I was looking to keep a somewhat "civilized" ride.

Marty

I have had mine in for a while now (pre-group buy). I had Hotchkis bars on previous cars and always liked them. For the driving I do, they are perfect, not too much and not too little - but I don't track my V. Just canyons and on-ramp drags etc.

I was looking to keep a somewhat "civilized" ride.

Marty

:yeah:

For the 99% of street drive time I will do in the V, these bars are perfect. For the track, obviously street comfort goes out the door and we all wish it handled on rails. The reality is, we can't have both. Unless we went with one of those electronically adjustable, on the fly, type suspensions. Then, you could have the best of both worlds.

I'd say lets wait for the Ground Control coilover kit. We will be able to dial in our V's our way with that kit.

Bump,

Whoever Doesnt have these get em...

Boy I have been having fun...

The rear doesn't tail out on me anymore no matter how hard I push her.

Put mine in over Easter and like them a lot. Maybe it's because of my maggie but I'm definately breaking loose A LOT easier in low speed cornering.When tightening up the suspension and adding beefy sway bars, one is asking A LOT more of its tires. With this setup, you will be able to achieve higher g readings much more quickly. And therefore, if you don't have stout performance tires, you will seem to break them more quickly, when in actuality, you are just able to get higher g levels more quickly and easily.

With every suspension mod, tires are more and more of the game.

When tightening up the suspension and adding beefy sway bars, one is asking A LOT more of its tires. With this setup, you will be able to achieve higher g readings much more quickly. And therefore, if you don't have stout performance tires, you will seem to break them more quickly, when in actuality, you are just able to get higher g levels more quickly and easily.

With every suspension mod, tires are more and more of the game.

I'm running Potenza S-03 Pole Positions in stock size. Not much tread left on the back (just slightly more than the wear bars). Falken 615's or 452's are in my near term future (unless I can convince the Firestone dealer that he should warranty the S-03's)

Agree...Hotchkis wasn't aggressive enough...so put on Eibach coils, rear anti wheelhop brace, and heavy duty rear toe rods...made the RS-A EMTs totally inadequate and squirrelly, now "cured" with Toyo Proxes T1rs.

I put them in last week and I love them. The car is more composed and it finally corners FLAT, just the way I like it. Couldn't be happier with them. Thanks Homer!

My Hotchkis should be here Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. Will probably put them in on Wednesday ... can't wait to see what you guys are talkin' about. :bouncy:

I agree with thebigjimsho that suddenly the limiting factor becomes the tires, now, real fast.

Ques: Is having both the Hotchkis AND the Ground Control kit redundant? (I guess I'm showing my ignorance about the GC kit. :duck: )

My Hotchkis should be here Monday, or Tuesday at the latest. Will probably put them in on Wednesday ... can't wait to see what you guys are talkin' about. :bouncy:

I agree with thebigjimsho that suddenly the limiting factor becomes the tires, now, real fast.

Ques: Is having both the Hotchkis AND the Ground Control kit redundant? (I guess I'm showing my ignorance about the GC kit. :duck: )



No I don't think so. Sway bars control body roll and to some small degree depending on front thickness of the bar front end diving under hard braking. Springs lower the center of gravity and depending on spring rates also body roll. Please remember if you go too stiff you'll get the rear to break loose which already can slide depending on skill level and throttle control? That's what I had planned on doing with my V. I still may go that route after I've taken my V to the track and discover it's characteristics while still stock. How many of you take your cars to a road course or plan to? I've done Streets of Willow (cars) and California Speedway big road course on my motorcycle (Ducati 999S) (160 on the straight) :eek: I still haven't had the opportunity to take the V there (California Speedway) yet!


I've gone this route before although with a different vehicle. I did something similar with my 96 Mustang Cobra. Stiffer springs (Eibachs), and sway bars (Saleen), also had a panhard bar (Griggs), lower control arms, subframe connectors (Griggs), and of course tires which were Michelin Pilots. The car handled great on the road course and on the rare occasion when the street was smooth and clear of cars, or obstacles,etc. Sometimes when you start doing all this stuff to your car do it can become unforgiving on the street on big bumps or dips or rough roads?You can't have it both ways or can you?
:stirpot:

blown black caddy-I agree with you with what you are saying about stiffer springs in the rear and breaking loose much easier. Do you or anybody know why on the thread about the group buy for the ground control kit everybody wants 500 in the front and 550 in the rear?

On my Z06 I have a VPP suspension kit and it is 850 in the front and 750 in the rear. Makes sense since you have more weight in the front and the rear on a vette is already light. Handles great.

Is there somthing much different with the CTS-V? I am just trying to gather info as I have interest in the ground control kit. I replied on that forum but never really go an answer.

I just finished a drive with some highly modified M3's and a few other euro cars. The roads weren't perfect. There were ruts, dips, and in a nutshell, the roads were rough. Many twisties and some really nice straight aways. I didn't know how the V would fair on tight twisty backroads. Most of my high speed driving is on road courses. There aren't too many twisties back to back.

My V is on stock FE4 struts/shocks/springs with hotchkis sways. I didn't have any problems driving on the roads we went on. The car was predictable. Just when I thought I might have come into a turn a bit too hot, the car stuck the turn. I don't know if the staggered 235/35/20 front and 275/30/20 rears had anything to do with it but, the car was remarkeable. The M3 guys which thought would leave me in the dust were in :aww:. They couldn't believe the car had such potential. If it wasn't because I didn't know where we were going, I would've went right past them.

Either way, the car handled great on my current setup for rough roads. If I was going to be on a road course, getting the ground control springs and adjustable collars would make more sense. I just wanted to share this with you guys that are unsure what to do with your suspensions. Stock is fun for aggressive street driving, when permitted, and if you have the ability and skill to take it to its full potential. Once you are beyond that, I say go for a more aggressive suspension depending on your goals.

Mark today as another one for the V. Thanks Hotchkis. :thumbsup:

They are a significant improvement over stock and a good compromise between full-on performance and average driving needs. I would definitely not want to go too stiff in the rear. (Someone will have fun with that last sentence!) And there's about 900 more pounds of mass in the Cad compared to the 'vette so I don't know if we can get a meaningful comparison using the same components.

I stabbed it on a turn today. Definetly easier to throw out. The ride is a touch stiffer as the oem bars are more compliant. No noise, perfectly quiet. Corners much flatter. I like them, it was a good transparent mod, nothing adverse.

LAPD,
Often times, the Hots bars are right on the money for some. For others, those that want....more, perhaps to dodge cones or cut apexes at roadcourses, a stiffer bar would be nice.

There is one name of a sway-bar designer that comes to mind for stiffer bars...Sam Strano. Sam Strano, a man not unfamiliar with SCCA SoloII National championships, has done a fantastic job having sways bent for F-Bodies and recently the STIs. Pretty much all the National-level drivers of both camps use his bars with high regards. Perhaps he can do something for "those who need more". Good luck.

-ace

LAPD,
Often times, the Hots bars are right on the money for some. For others, those that want....more, perhaps to dodge cones or cut apexes at roadcourses, a stiffer bar would be nice.

There is one name of a sway-bar designer that comes to mind for stiffer bars...Sam Strano. Sam Strano, a man not unfamiliar with SCCA SoloII National championships, has done a fantastic job having sways bent for F-Bodies and recently the STIs. Pretty much all the National-level drivers of both camps use his bars with high regards. Perhaps he can do something for "those who need more". Good luck.

-ace

Here is another one on the extreme end of things..
http://www.yearone.com/leader_ads/herbadams.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=366058

I had this guys bars on another car. Would almost pull a wheel on a turn. Too much for me, I pulled them off.