SS #670 Suggestions

SS #670 Suggestions

Based on my experience making modification and changes to SS #670, here are suggestions on things to do to a LS1. I've listed them in order of importance.

Disable CAGS
If you have the six speed MM6 transmission, this is a must. To me, there's nothing worse than reaching for a gear and not being able to engage it.
Alignment
I regret not having my alignment done earlier than I did. When I finally did take SS #670 to Roger Kraus Racing, we discovered that I had +0.2° left and +0.5° right camber and +0.13" total toe; my technician referred to this as "a typical factory alignment." He set me up with -0.3° left and right camber and 0.0" total toe. This is a comfortable setup that doesn't wear out the inside tread too quickly.

Roger Krous Racing

After about 60K miles, handling became somewhat twitchy; straight line stability was starting to suffer. We tried putting a little toe back in which helped for awhile but eventually I upgraded the front control arms to polyurethane bushings. During installation, I discovered a split bushing on the driver's side lower control arm which was allowing the front end to toe out while moving. Rather than go back to zero toe, we opted for +0.13" total toe which is a nice compromise with predictable handling.
Shifter
The biggest problem with the factory shifter is that it has a rubber isolator between the shifter and the stick. I had an OEM Hurst shifter (RPO BBS) but later upgraded to the Hurst billet plus. The throw is about the same but the billet plus has stiffer bias springs. And the stick that comes with the billet plus is angled back and to the left; this takes a little getting used to but in the long run is a win. But the main feature is that it does not have that annoying rubber isolator.
I think the factory Hurst shifter would be fine if you swap out the stick for one that does not have an isolator. I think I would also find the SLP shifter acceptable.
Sway bars
I've yet to drive a car with a stock suspension that had stiff enough sway bars for my tastes. Stiffer sway bars keep a car flatter in the turns and more stable at freeway speeds.
I suppose you can go too far with stiffer sway bars but I suspect to do so you would have to have them custom made.
Subframe connectors
Welding in subframe connectors made a bigger difference than I was expecting. You'll definitely notice the difference when taking a driveway or speed bump at an angle.
I had mine installed almost immediately; my reasoning was once I installed SFCs body flex would be reduced and the chassis wouldn't loosen up as much over time. And since I planned on installing them eventually, sooner was better than later.
An extra bonus of having SFCs is that they give you a lot of extra places to jack your car from.
Panhard bar
An aftermarket panhard bar gives you two things. First, it eliminates panhard bar flexing. Second it reduces bushing play by replacing the factory rubber bushings with smaller diameter polyurethane bushings.
Shiftlight
The combination of the lazy F-Body tach and rapid speed with which the LS1 can spin up makes a shiftlight a handy addition. It wasn't until after I installed one that I realized how much I needed it.