03 ride/handling change with Eibach coil overs

[bigx5murf]

First off, the butterfly brace can't be installed without an exhaust shop modifying the downpipe and midpipe.

I have a roll bar, fm frame rails, and the fender braces together.  As for worth installing, I'm still not sure.  The doors feel different now, they close with more of a thunk, but the handles feel strange, the door lines line up great with the body, so not sure if it needs adjusting.  The difference in chassis stiffening is significant, the car currently feels like a s2k in that regard, very solid.  Turn in even at normal driving speeds feels more immediate.  I haven't had a chance to autox with them on yet though.

[cagypsy]

Thanks
For a strictly street car, I'm in the "no helmet, no roll bar" camp, unless it can sit low enough and far enough back not to be an issue. The position of the NC oem bar is a good placement and height, if less substantial than ideal. Hence my ambition for the Butterfly Brace, which a little exhaust pipe bending seems a small inconvenience for what I assume will be a big improvement in chassis rigidity. I've owned a 98 Camaro since 2002 with a welded in set of frame connectors, jacking rails and a Kenny Brown triangulation kit that looks just like the center section of the FM Butterfly. (This car does have a roll bar but it sits low where the rear seats used to, welded to the SFC's, plus F+R shock tower braces) Even if raw handling isn't improved by chassis rigidity increases, the precision with which the car can be driven sure does, and the perception is of a car all of one piece. F-bodies are notoriously weak, but once installed the car is unmistakably more rigid, able to pick up three wheels with a floor jack and open/close the doors without binding. Never happen on a stock one. After the coil overs go on, the chassis is next. More immediate turn in alone would make it all worth the effort,given the solidity upgrade.