Daniel's handling tips, and OEM Rim fitement guide

[LordDurock]

That's because the G platform was the A platform prior to our cars being made.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_A_platform_%28RWD%29

i know why i just hate that some one can update the system with a 78-81 a-body + 82-87 G-body. that way the system can but tell that a 82+ a-body is not a 82+ g-body

[Duke George V]

Something else I forgot to mention. If you want a quicker ratio steering rack (you do), I'm pretty sure you can specify one for a 2000-2005 Impala. I've heard it's a direct bolt-in.

[CamoDeafie]

you forgot....the one year only, maybe 2 year only, 1986 and maybe 1987 Buick Century GS could have had the 15" wheels similar to the LeSabre T Type... BigNastyGS should be able to confirm?

also; for the JA1 platform, X body wheels will fit just fine; if you have JA1 and steel wheels, and it happens to be a Chevy Celebrity, the X-11 wheels will look awesome on them...anyone know if they ever used JA1 with Eurosport Alloy wheels at all at least between 82 and 87?

[86euro]

Yes, there were the X-11 wheels as well as early style JA1 aluminum wheels. The only difference was the X-11 wheels had "CITATION" on the outer lip, while the Celeb wheels just read "CHEVROLET" on the outer lip. Then of course, there was the JA2 version, which I think the X-11 also used in '85.

[lemons bob]

not sure if the eurosport ever had ja1s(although I think they did since JA2 wasn't necessarily part of the eurosport package.) but I know the olds rally wheels did come in ja1 also the rally wheels came in 13". I see a car around here that has them in 13" in light blue, looks kind of weird to me since it has so much sidewall compared to my 14"

[86euro]

There were lots of Eurosports with JA1

[CamoDeafie]

Eurosport package also does not necessarily mean always V6 and 4 speeds, I've found lots of them with the 2.5/3 speed combo as well.

[86euro]

Yeah, the ONLY things the package included was the black/red trim, springs, swaybar, and quick rack.

[mechanizeddeath]

Wow lots of good info here man, thanks

[thebaron]

Something else I forgot to mention. If you want a quicker ratio steering rack (you do), I'm pretty sure you can specify one for a 2000-2005 Impala. I've heard it's a direct bolt-in.

Has anyone done this yet?

[86euro]

Has anyone done this yet?

I think it's just the same ratio as the Eurosport rack.

[Duke George V]

If you want an even faster ratio, you could look into a Corvette steering rack. The Fiero community has a kit to install it in their cars. It may be possible to adapt that kit to fit ours. I'm just brainstorming though. I have no hard evidence.

[Blueberries]

I just got done winding through some country roads and i still cannot believe how much different the car handles with the strut-braces ... and i still dont have the front sway-bar yet ....

[JB1]

Hello, I have a '95 wagon that I have put Pontiac 16x6.5 wheels on with 205/55s up front, and 215/60s on the rear. They have 52mm offset so that should be about 5.7" backspacing give or take. The front tires clear the struts by the thickness of my house key, so they are an extremely tight fit. Also, with that much positive offset the steering effort is about half what it was with stock tires even though the tread is much wider. It's almost twitchy at highway speeds. I promise you, don't sneeze at 80+, you will at least change lanes if you don't change which side of your car is up! There appears to be plenty of room to put 1" thick bolt-on spacers in the rear, and 3/4 inch up front. My ideal set-up would be 205/50-17 or 205/55-17 up front on 17x7.5"x40mm rims, and 225/50-17 rear on 17x8x33mm. Air struts from airbagit.com would allow the 55 series front so the front and rear tires would be 25.9" I also have airlift 1000 bags in the rear (p/n 60797), and they made an astounding difference in the handling! I put separate valves on the bags so there is no side-to-side air transfer. With about 20psi, I can stuff it into a corner pretty well, but the right rear tire rubs on hard u-turns. Considering a rear sway bar is $200, and I got the air bags and a K&N style air filter for just over $100, I think I did really well. Right turns at intersections at 25-30mph barely even gets me any tire squeal.
I have a wagon because I have 4 kids under 5 years old. My 4y.o. yells at me if I don't say "hang on tight" before a fast corner, and also tells me "Turn fast Daddy!"

[Duke George V]

I think it's just the same ratio as the Eurosport rack.

My point is you would be installing a new piece, instead of something you got from the yard that might fail in 20 miles.