Myotis1134 Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 (edited) Hey guys, it's been a while since I've posted, and my situation has been upgraded a tad since the last post. I'm currently in the 3rd week of the North Slope job I finally got, and I'm feeling a bit dizzy with the money I'm making up here. So far I'm being good and following my 2 year plan to throw the majority of my finances at student loans, but being single and no kids, I'm hoping to be able to blow about $1,000/month on the Lumina over the next year to accomplish the pimping. That's approximately $12,000 on my 1991 Lumina Euro - covering suspension, wheels and tires, brakes, body and engine. I've got a 3.4 sitting in the '92 Z34 I found in a junkyard, and will be working on that in the near future, but the Euro is my DD when I'm in the real world, and I want to complete the suspension upgrade before starting anything else. My ultimate goal for this car is to firstly - force each and every member of my family, and friends who have repeatedly told me to sell the thing over the years to admit it's a f****** beast, and second - improve the suspension to near bulletproof so I can drive it down for a tour of the lower 48 next year - and not overly worry about how much I'm racing it. I'm hoping to wring as much power as possible out of the 3.4, and I'd like to have a suspension that laughs at the g-forces, but gives a decent ride as well. I will of course be doing, and have done a lot of research on 'traditional' upgrades, but I haven't seen a lot of threads covering what you all would attempt if money wasn't a deciding factor. I don't get a lot of free time while I'm working, and I'm hoping for some ideas that I can pursue and set in motion, to be completed or installed over my R&R. I don't care if we're talking about conversions, modifications, bolt-on, or whatever. If you've ever had a "It would be so badass to do _________" moment, I would very much like to hear about it. I've got the inclination, and now, luckily, I've got the finances to pursue it if it's feasible. Hell, even if it's not feasible throw it out there. Thanks in advance p.s. I get to write off any tools I purchase, so specialized tools aren't a problem. Edited September 29, 2014 by Myotis1134 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_e777 Posted September 29, 2014 Report Share Posted September 29, 2014 There was a guy who fused a Z34 to a WS6 Firebird chassis. Something similar might be done with a C4 or C5 chassis, I have not researched into either idea. Numbers could be to far out of wack to work. In the hypothetical situation that someone fused a C5 and W-body then one might look into that magnetic suspension from Cadillac and see if that could work. Again not researched. Given the lack of time and maybe experience why not just do the mods that have been proven to work and last vs R&D something you plan on road tripping in? To have a system that G-Forces laugh at you really need to reduce your gravitational mass by oh say 89%? Then weight and horsepower/torque is completely irrelevant. I wouldn`t presume to speculate on how you do it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myotis1134 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the idea rich. Magnetic suspension looks promising, and from the 10 minutes or so that I've looked into it, not terribly complicated in theory. Made by Delphi, consisting of 4 monotube dampers, an ECU, and sensor set. If it's a stand-alone system, or can be modified to be stand-alone, then I may make the attempt. I'm sure there's much more involved than harvesting some parts from a salvage yard, but it's a high-performance system which can be tuned if using the right components. This is the direction I want to head towards anyways. Given the lack of time and maybe experience why not just do the mods that have been proven to work and last vs R&D something you plan on road tripping in? The short answer to this is that I probably should do the tried and true mods, but I'm a sucker for the path less taken, and learning the hard way. I'm not a complete slouch in the garage, and I don't want to screw this up, so I'll be constantly evaluating my limitations in the knowledge and experience areas. If anything I decide to try is outside of my capabilities, I'll learn how to do it or find someone who knows how. I'd honestly rather educate myself in matters concerning my vehicle, but I understand that sometimes you need an expert - because some things you can't learn by reading a book. However, I'm willing to learn how to do things, and I'll have 2 weeks off at a time to do it if necessary. But thanks for the idea. I think it's a good one, worth pursuing. p.s. I'll be incorporating a lot of carbon fiber, and evenly distributing weight between the front and rear - as much as possible anyways. I'm not sure what's possible yet, but I'm working on the mass problem. Edited September 30, 2014 by Myotis1134 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myotis1134 Posted October 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 While searching for information on Delphi's Magneride system, which is what went into the Cadillac STS, I stumbled across carbibles.com. The suspension section lists a host of various types of suspension schemes, including the Magneride system - which employs ferrofluid or magneto-rheological fluid dampers to change the viscosity of the fluid via a dynamic electromagnetic field - which alters the characteristics of the damper according to road conditions or the driver's whim. Below the Magneride section, is the linear electromagnetic suspension - developed by Bose. This system is fluid free, using electromagnets in place of shock absorbers. The electromagnet creates a repelling force against the wheel when a bump is encountered, which is also used to regenerate the system - like the green braking schemes. The interesting thing about this system is that it is intended to be a bolt-on modification, for use with a modified MacPherson strut type setup, which could make installation simpler... if there is such a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_e777 Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Intradasting... Im to far deep into what I mentioned in the last paragraph of my last post but I`ll look into both of those setups, eventually. I don't have my car anywhere near me and have lost a lot of info on a previous HDD so my F7U project is on hold, well I suppose I could give some springs another coat of stuff. I still drop in just cause off the people here, good group. I like the idea of the fluid free system vs the other but I do not know the pros and cons to each system. I`d also check out other members rides and see some of the things they have done. Also what sort of gains are you looking to get, is there a car model out already you are trying to compete with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quaraxkad Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Below the Magneride section, is the linear electromagnetic suspension - developed by Bose. This system is fluid free, using electromagnets in place of shock absorbers. The electromagnet creates a repelling force against the wheel when a bump is encountered, which is also used to regenerate the system - like the green braking schemes. The interesting thing about this system is that it is intended to be a bolt-on modification, for use with a modified MacPherson strut type setup, which could make installation simpler... if there is such a thing. The Bose system is ancient but never materialized. You can watch video demonstrations of it on Youtube though, and it was incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myotis1134 Posted October 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 (edited) http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/automotive/bose_suspension/index.jsp I'll shoot them an email and see what's up with this... I'm in day 2 of attempting to get the hell off the slope, and am currently sitting in an airport in Deadhorse, AK. I only mention this as context to when I say I'm fairly exhausted and might be getting this wrong, but don't really have the motivation to hit the bookmark and check... but if memory serves, I think the Bose system info stated that no sway-bar was necessary with their setup. That's all. Edited October 15, 2014 by Myotis1134 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 If money were no object, I'd look into something like this. [video=youtube;dTrupjf-QFQ] Although instead of an add-on controller, I'd like an indash touchscreen with a picture of the car that you raise and lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imp558 Posted October 16, 2014 Report Share Posted October 16, 2014 I always thought if I had the money I'd take a pair of A-Arms to a fab shop and have them quot making tubular adjustable ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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