Formulals187

iTrader: (3)

So I have had the unfortunate opportunity to drive a brand new vette and now i am very disappointed with how my car handles, I already have an airbag spring in the back right corner of the car. I am in college so budget is 500 bucks, I am considering doing the sway bar set from spohn
http://www.spohn.net/shop/1998-2002-...32mm-22mm.html
or a torque arm (i know a torque arm won't help with handeling) anyone have any other suggestions or any information on the best sway bars for these cars.

Mojave

iTrader: (4)

Good shocks is a great place (probably the BEST place) to start. Stock shocks = crap.

Konis are great shocks for the money, but they are a bit out of your price range. I'd save up and get them.

ae13291

iTrader: (8)

if u want to be on a budget. KYB AGX, new springs to your choice, panhard bar. also front and rear sways make a big differance as well but can get pricey

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Shocks, then springs!

JD_AMG

Seriously don't bother doing anything else until you fix the biggest problem, the stock shocks.

CranMaro99

iTrader: (10)

100 percent agreed.

Grimes

iTrader: (3)

If you are on a budget, you can try the Bilstein revalves that strano sells, or you could give tokico's a try. I have them, and like them a lot.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Shocks are most important. And fwiw, there are other shocks other than AGX's that fit the budget. Bilstein's are $425 a set. Tokico's are an option too @ $390 a set (but really for the price difference Bilstein's are better built). But you do get what you pay for performance wise with shocks, with little exception. And Koni's are the absolute best on that front.

Bars are a great tool for making a car roll less and be balanced well. Many companies have bars, and there are sets of various sizes. But most folks don't turn corners. I do. A combination of bars @ 32/21 or 32/22 is to rear biased. I use a 22mm rear bar most of the time (there are exceptions) but use a much stiffer 35mm front bar. You get more roll control, and a car that's better balanced and easier to drive quickly.

There are always many ways to attack a setup. Most have preferences and I'm not different. However often the preferences are based on very little experience. I can guarantee that I've been on more different setups than anyone else, and I know how the suspension of these things work.

You want it to handle better, and that's great. My first question on a phone call between us would be "in what way". The answer needs not be a super complex one with engineering terms. I want to get a sense of what you dislike about the car. I know from experience that most complaints stem from the shocks, and that's why I generally start there.

ThumperNC24

iTrader: (1)

side question

I have the mods in my sig, will upgrading to your sway bars still be a big handling advantage for me? I am considering doing them this winter...

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Well, only if you want to increase your front roll stiffness about 45% and the rear by about 33%.

You get a lot less body roll.

Formulals187

iTrader: (3)

for people that have already put bars on their cars how have they like them, anyone have a 32/22mm setup?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Your stock bar is 32mm.... and it's 10 pounds lighter than a solid bar is. And don't buy the claim a solid one is a lot stiffer, it's not. Some, but not very much.

Let me put it to you this way. 94+ 1LE's had 32/19 bars (your bars). Only '93 1LE's had 32/21 bars (the front one being your, a hollow one, the rear solid). But were like that because that year car did not get the stiffer 1LE rear springs so they ran more bar to counter that.

In short, 32/19 on stock springs or most lowering springs is a great balance. And in fact I use a 35/22 because it maintains a very similar front to rear bar ratio as the 32/19 setup.

JD_AMG

I have Sam's 35/22mm bar set. I installed the front bar first, and drove around for a week or two like that, then bought and installed the rear bar. After seeing the difference the 22mm rear bar made I would not want to pair it with anything under 35mm solid or not, your car will oversteer.
Again I'm going to urge you to forget about any other piece before you get better shocks. Both the front and rear bar combined didn't make the difference that the Konis did. If I had a choice between driving my car with just konis on otherwise stock suspension, or stock shocks with upgraded swaybars and springs I wound't hesitate to go just with just the konis, yes, they make that big of a difference and the car wouldn't drive/feel/be nearly as stable or controlled as without them.
Your car probably feels sloppy and fat compared to the vette right? Doesn't give much feedback? Snap-oversteer, twitchy, and unnerving at the limit because its hard to feel whats going on right? Am I right?

Formulals187

iTrader: (3)

What are yalls thoughts on the KYB agx adjustable shocks, how easy are they to adjust when they are on the car? I want adjustable because the car is a daily that does track and auto x

JD_AMG

Adjustable is good, you can tune to your liking.
This is a good question for Sam to answer, he can explain in detail what you need to know, give him a call.
For me, I chose konis over the KYB's because:
1.) They don't warranty their shocks with lowering springs, which sounds kinda fishy to me. Koni has a life time warrenty (to the original shock buyer).
2.) From what I've seen on the forum they have some quality issues. I saw a few occasions which the piece that mounts the shock to the rear end physically snapped off. Its one thing to have a shock blow itself out, but this is just dangerous.
3.) They adjust compression with rebound. When you adjust for more rebound you automatically get more compression, whether you want it or not. Koni's adjust rebound independently from compression.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

a lot of people don't trust it, but i bought a lot of my suspension stuff used.

i did
-a 32mm front bar(mine stock was 30)
-revalved bilsteins/hypercoils in the front
-slp bilsteins/slp eibachs in the rear
-poly endlinks
-autox alignment

all for well under $400. could have saved another $100 by swapping the struts myself but i didnt feel like going out and buying a spring compressor and possibly messing it up hahah.

Formulals187

iTrader: (3)

anyone know the factory sway bar sizes for a 2000 formula

JD_AMG

Should be 30/19 front/rear.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

They are a workable option, as long as you understand that you get what you pay for on the quality/design side.

Adjustable they are, and that can be used to tune things to your needs. However the overall quality of the damper is not as good, the level of control is not as good, and the ride quality at the levels of rebound control suffer.

Just last week I had a customer get and install some Koni's in place of his AGX's. The KYB's were set @ 8 all around (that's full stiff). He complained both of a lack of damping, where the car would not just take a set, and a harsh ride. The Koni's (by his report) are better in both ways (and they should be), and he's nowhere near running out of room to adjust up should he want more control.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

your sig says your car is a ws6, in which case you would have a 32mm front bar.

another way to find out for sure is to look near the side of the swaybar there's a tag(may have fallen off) labeled either KAB or KAC(i think).

i know KAB is 30mm, and the other(again i THINK KAC) is 32.