anyone have a DSE Front suspension speed kit

[lutzy]

Was looking at the dse front suspension kits for a bbc..wasnt sure what kit I should go for..its gonna really just be a street car..they have 3 different kits. Anyone have any input? thanks

[cmraman]

Was looking at the dse front suspension kits for a bbc..wasnt sure what kit I should go for..its gonna really just be a street car..they have 3 different kits. Anyone have any input? thanks


For what car? I have the Speed Kit 3 for a GM A Body and I have a BB Olds 461 cid. It works very well with the big motor. What exactly are you trying to find out?

[CamaroAJ]

i had speed kit 3 on a '67 camaro. i liked it a lot. handled well and rode very smooth.

[lutzy]

Its for a 69 camaro..just trying to figure with what kit to go with. I'm going to do street driving mostly

[cmraman]

Its for a 69 camaro..just trying to figure with what kit to go with. I'm going to do street driving mostly

Personally I would do kit 3 because you get all new steering components and if you upgraded it later, you'll be spending more. It's acutally cheaper to do it this way. Coil overs also allow you more precise ride height options. The 12:1 box is really nice and just as precise as a rack and pinion.

[lutzy]

Anyone install the front speed kit 2 on the first gen camaro. Was wondering if its all bolt in.

http://www.detroitspeed.com/1967-1969%20Camaro-Firebird-Products/031301-speed-kts-001-pp.html

[redfire69]

I have not installed them, but kit 2 and 3 are not bolt in. You'll need to cutoff the factory top shock mounts and weld in the new units using the alignment jig supplied. Hope this helps.

[slenning]

I have a Speed Kit 3 in my 69. Wasn't too bad to install, just take your time cutting. It rides and handles real well. But I am seriously thinking of replacing mine with a full DSE subframe real soon. I track mine and would really like to get bigger rubber on the front. A 245 tire is about all you can do on the stock subframe.
Heres a pic showing everything fit prior to welding. You can see the upper control arm plate bolted to the jig that you get with the kit. It bolts into the motor mount stand holes.
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9477/house018.jpg (http://img84.imageshack.us/i/house018.jpg/)

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Heres one all done in primer
http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/7691/img3175n.jpg (http://img811.imageshack.us/i/img3175n.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[Vegas69]

Steve, you lose quite a bit of turning radius with the DSE sub in comparison to stock. You may be able to run more camber and run some steering stops to run a 275. JMO:D

[Devil Dog]

Anyone install the front speed kit 2 on the first gen camaro. Was wondering if its all bolt in.

http://www.detroitspeed.com/1967-1969%20Camaro-Firebird-Products/031301-speed-kts-001-pp.html

You also have to remove the engine in order to install the jig before any welding can be done.

[Ron Fox]

Steve, you lose quite a bit of turning radius with the DSE sub in comparison to stock.
Why is this Todd? Does this cause any driving problems in general?

Thanks.

[Vegas69]

It has the turning radius similar to a full size truck. It's tricky on tight autocrosses.(which I hate anyway) It's due to the increased front tire width.

[Ron Fox]

It has the turning radius similar to a full size truck. It's tricky on tight autocrosses.(which I hate anyway) It's due to the increased front tire width.
Is this with the largest size tire...275 or larger?

[Vegas69]

Any tire, it's the rack and steering arm.

[ItDoRun]

Call up Blake at Speedtech about the Chicane coil over kit. That's another option for you. You still have to cut and weld on your subframe with either kit.

[strtlegal]

I did the Speedtech Chicayne kit, just because everything was already in the car. The other nice thing is I dont have to pop my lower ball joints to make ride height adjustments.

Not sure if you have ATS spindles or not but the DSE stage 3 kit has a built in Guldstrand mod. This "might" give you a little to much negative camber.

[redfire69]

I think the OP has already pulled the trigger on a DSE kit: http://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?76786-Tubular-arm-clearance

[lutzy]

Yeah.. I just went with the speed kit 1 which are the upper and lower arms & sway bar.. I'm gonna buy the QA1 bolt in coil over shocks. I didn't want to start cutting and welding...

[MrB]

Does anyone have recommendations on whether or not to spend to bucks on the ATS tall spindles added to the DSE setup?

[HotRod68Camaro]

It has the turning radius similar to a full size truck. It's tricky on tight autocrosses.(which I hate anyway) It's due to the increased front tire width.

Todd, your talking about their entire aftermarket rack? Any idea if this is the same for the other subs like AM and Speedtech?

[MODO Innovations]

Does anyone have recommendations on whether or not to spend to bucks on the ATS tall spindles added to the DSE setup?

I'm not 100% about this but, I think you will use the stock height ATS spindles if you use the DSE 2 or 3 set up.

[Jay Hilliard]

You will need to use stock height spindles as, DSE relocation of upper control arm mount changes front roll center.

[Devil Dog]

Yeah.. I just went with the speed kit 1 which are the upper and lower arms & sway bar.. I'm gonna buy the QA1 bolt in coil over shocks. I didn't want to start cutting and welding...

Hey Lutzy,
This is why I was looking ino the Global West P/N GWK-67693 kit. It is less expensive than the DSE Stage 1 kit and comes with QA1 Bolt in Coil-Overs.

I really wanted to go with DSE due to their reputation but didn't think the Lower Control Arms matched up with the QA1's (?).

[johnny68]

[QUOTE=slenning;330337]I have a Speed Kit 3 in my 69. Wasn't too bad to install, just take your time cutting. It rides and handles real well. But I am seriously thinking of replacing mine with a full DSE subframe real soon. I track mine and would really like to get bigger rubber on the front. A 245 tire is about all you can do on the stock subframe.

Carl Casinova runs a 275 front tire with a stock subframe his site is below
john
http://www.geocities.com/casanoc/

[Bmf5150]

How is the ridetech front end versus the DSE ??