The sixth-gen Camaro is by far the most advanced Camaro that General Motors has ever produced with GM claiming that 70-percent of structural components in the latest Camaro is unique to the car. However, even with all of the improvements in technology through the years, the enthusiast has found its limitations. Fortunately, BMR Suspension has come to the rescue making a great vehicle even better. We are going to take a look at the top five sixth-gen suspension issues and the solutions from BMR Suspension.
1. Wheel Hop
Wheel hop is a nasty condition that generally occurs when the tire struggles for traction, bites, then breaks loose again repeating a vicious cycle. The result is a violent shaking of the suspension, which is hard on every component and can result in broken axles, a broken differential housing, and control arm damage.
Several things can cause wheel hop like additional power than the tire can’t handle, incorrect shock valving, and bushing deflection in the suspension system. In the case of the sixth-gen Camaro, bushing deflection is a big problem. The factory rubber bushings allow for enough movement in the rear suspension for the tire to load and then unload in an untamed cycle at a high rate of speed.
On the left is the BMR BK063 - Bushing kit for the rear cradle lockout. On the right is the BK060 - Aluminum bushing Kit for the differential lockout.
BMR’s cure for this ailment is their rear cradle lockout bushing kit (PN BK063) and their differential lockout aluminum bushing kit (PN BK060). These parts work together to eliminate excessive movement in the rubber bushings of the rear cradle and the differential.
These bushings are designed for street performance, drag race, and handling applications. These 100-percent bolt-on kits use existing bolt holes and hardware, allowing for easy installation with hand tools. After the installation, you will see an 80%-90% reduction in fore/aft and lateral cradle bushing deflection which includes launching a car at 7,000 rpm on drag radials.
2. Lack Of Stability
Another problem that the sixth-gen Camaro possesses is the lack of stability during acceleration and braking. The factory trailing arms flex under a load. Due to weak trailing arms and soft factory bushings — which result in a large amount of deflection — will leave you with inconsistent handling and poor performance characteristics.
To alleviate this problem, BMR offers its non-adjustable upper control arms (PN UTCA061), non-adjustable lower control arms (PN TCA059) and the (PN UTCA058) non-adjustable trailing arms. These BMR units will eliminate any control arm flex, giving you better driveability while accelerating and braking on the street or around the racetrack. Both the upper, lower and trailing arms include BMR’s polyurethane bushings which are designed to provide a pleasant ride but strong enough to hold up to the rigors of racing.
If you are looking for more adjustability in the suspension, BMR also offers On-car adjustable lower control arms (PN TCA061), On-car adjustable trailing arms (PN UTCA060), and On-car adjustable upper control arms
(PN UTCA063). The units are manufactured from heavy-duty 1.25-inch DOM steel tubing and TIG-welded chrome-moly tube adapters. They also feature a zinc-plated two-piece, X-series, heat-treated, chrome-moly, self-lubricating, Teflon-lined rod ends with 304 stainless steel, custom designed rod end spacers.
3. Ride Height & Stance
It’s pretty apparent why cars are not lower than they are from the factory. With varying road conditions all over the US, you can imagine how many vehicles would be damaged from potholes, speed bumps, and people that have no idea on how to properly drive a lowered vehicle. Most owners pay thousands of dollars for creature comforts and a smooth ride. We want a car that looks and handles like a race car but rides like it’s stock.
BMR has designed a set of lowering springs (PN SP041) springs for the street performance enthusiasts who use their cars for multiple applications. These springs will give your Camaro that killer stance you want in combination with a fine-tuned spring rate for exceptional handling and a smooth ride. To keep the Camaro perfectly level in the corners, BMR utilized a linear spring rate offers an abundance of support for the car.
4. Body Roll & Car Balance
The sixth-gen Camaro is not a lightweight by any means. While lowering springs will help the heavy car in the turns, adjustable swaybars will also help while reducing body roll and giving the vehicle better balance. The BMR sway bars offer increased rates to decrease body roll when cornering. BMR offers a non-adjustable unit like the (PN SB049) and adjustable units like (PN SB054). The adjustable sway bars give the driver the ability to change the balance of the car to suit your driving style. The result is a tunable suspension system that can be tailored for any track condition.
5. Factory Sway Bar End links
Like the rest of the sixth-gen suspension, the sway bar end links are weak and can bend or break under extreme conditions. It’s important to replace this part on the car even if it’s in stock form if you are doing any performance driving. It’s crucial to upgrade these end links if you are running a beefier sway bar because the factory units can’t handle the added force.
BMR offers its sway bar end link (PN ELK015) kit. This product includes front and rear end links which will allow pushing the boundaries of your suspension without concerns of end link deflection. The units are CNC-machined billet aluminum hex bar stock for the front and billet steel bar stock for the rear. Ball joints allow for great articulation and the front ball joints are greasable. The rear end links are also greasable and feature 95-durometer polyurethane bushings which ensure a prolonged life.
While the sixth-gen is arguably the best Camaro platform that GM has produced, It still needs some suspension improvements to make it excellent. Luckily, sixth-gen Camaro owners can count on BMR for all of their suspension needs.
For more information on these products and others, check out BMR Suspension’s website.
