Parts from the third-gen F-body kit offered by Heidts. Components pictured for both front and rear of car.

When it comes to tacking you car to a race track that has twisty turns as part of the course, an independent rear suspension systems (IRS) truly is beneficial. Unfortunately, if you are one of the many enthusiasts using a third-gen Camaro as your weapon of choice, the availability of a direct-fit IRS system has been onl a dream, until now. Thankfully, the folk’s at Heidts have remedied that situation.

Not only did Heidts put together an impressive IRS system, they commissioned Hawks Motorsports of Easely, South Carolina, to put it through the paces. Hawks is a leader in the 1982 through 2002 third and fourth generation F-body performance aftermarket. The two companies teamed up to install the IRS on  a third-gen Camaro called Silver Streak.

We reached out to both Hawks Motorsports and Heidts to get some more information on this long awaited addition to the Camaro IRS lineup. We first talked with Scott Deidrich at Heidts, where he explained some of the design basics, “We design our kits to be installed by anyone from professional shops to the weekend warrior in their garage,” Deidrich detailed. “The average time it takes to install our IRS kits is around 20 to 30 hours. While most of our IRS kits will bolt in, this one is a weld in unit.”

Since this is a weld-in kit, the actual welding does require a little more skill to install than the standard bolt-in design. For some more input on that front, we talked with Bruce Hawkins, the owner of Hawks Motorsports, and got his thoughts about the install process, “This kit is not for the beginner. If you aren’t familiar with a spot weld cutter or fabrication, it may be a bit of a challenge,” Bruce continued, “Before you can begin the install, you need to remove a lot of the original structure of the car. The kit fits like a glove going in, and the most difficult part is drilling out the original body-panel pieces.” 

“It’s definitely not a weekend job,” Bruce said, “It takes a good solid week to get it installed correctly. Although it is a lot of work, the end result is satisfying.” The Heidts IRS system in a third-gen Camaro is definitely worth the effort it takes to install, but what is it about this kit that makes it great? Deidrich detailed a little bit of that for us as well, “This IRS kit is an all-new unit, designed specifically for the 82 through 92 Camaro and Firebird,” he explained. “We were not able to modify and use any of our existing platforms to begin with, due to the location of the gas tank and space requirements.”

“Heidts makes the only IRS system for the third-gen F-body market,” Deidrich continued, “An independent rear suspension system delivers amazing handling on the track, and a smooth ride on the street. Our IRS kit offers modern sports car performance at a fraction of the price of buying a new car.” After a year of design work and fabrication, this system was released at SEMA in 2015, and is available in two versions; one for high-horsepower cars for track use, and one for standard-duty street use.

Do you like where this is going? There is a lot more to the kit than what we’ve talked about here, and we really want to get into the nitty-gritty of what this IRS is all about, but don’t worry, there is a lot more information on this kit coming your way soon enough.