Northwest Members - Suspension Specialist needed

Are there any super good suspension shops/guys in the local area of Portland that one of you may recomend? I've been chasing some issues and would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks

Are there any super good suspension shops/guys in the local area of Portland that one of you may recomend? I've been chasing some issues and would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks

What car do you have. There is a shop called Charlies Drop Shop off of Columbia BLVD, that is real good at suspension systems. They are a drop shop but know their stuff. Also there is Matts alignment up in Vancouver that is good.

What's wrong with the car? What's it doing?

Steering wheel shimmy at hgwy speed. Only certain types of pavement though. Sometimes its smooth. Got new rims and tires and lugnuts, also front end alignment. Car was hit while parked and shoved into a curb. It was always smooth prior to that. Also, feel it in the seat. Its aggravating. Also, it really hates ruts in the road and wants to dart away from me pretty firmly on ruts. That's probably just the 40 and 30 sidewalls. The rear end is suppossed to be dialed in.

I took it to a couple places with some pretty good guys. Seems like the answer is to just blindly throw money at it and hope for the issues to go away. The lasers at Les Schwab show good, in spec data. I do have hubcentric adapters for the C6 rims on it. I've double checked them for accurate fit. A real head scratcher. The car honestly isn't fun to drive above 50mph. Ahg

do you have any aftermarket parts on the front? like control arms ect..

Take your car to a real alignment shop :judge:

Mine felt like that after lowering and the c6 wheels but after installing the panhard bar it all went away. But I remember you telling me you already have a phb. Are you runnin spacers in the front? still got the run flats on the rears?

I'm using hubcentric adapters. Spacers ;) never. The front suspension is stock. The rear has adjustable trac arms and panhard bar. Maybe the phb is loose? I get bad tail wag when passing another car. Specifically, when I pull back into the lane after passing. I know that's not right. So, who's a real alignment shop?

The poopy runflats are gone Steve. I just put some tires on there about 2 weeks ago.

And yes, there are adapters up front too.

go to the guys at Line-Up Shops Inc. they aligned my SS and did an awesome job

the number is (503) 252-3407

located in NE portland

Thank you. ;)

Before you throw more money at an alignment shop, I'd higly suggest you get the car on a frame rack. If it's been hit and shoved into a curb, it's hard to say what is jacked up with it. The frame or Kmember could be bent etc... Most body shops won't even put it on a rack for less than $200.00 but at least you'll know you're not just wasting your money on alignment issues.

My .02.

Mike

Before you throw more money at an alignment shop, I'd higly suggest you get the car on a frame rack. If it's been hit and shoved into a curb, it's hard to say what is jacked up with it. The frame or Kmember could be bent etc... Most body shops won't even put it on a rack for less than $200.00 but at least you'll know you're not just wasting your money on alignment issues.

My .02.

Mike

That's a good point, when I got ran off the road it bent the k-member and I had to get a new one.

I'll take it to Line-up and go from there. I know the frame is cool.

If the k-member is bad I will be pulling mine out as soon as I get an engine puller over here.

Just some things to check...

Rack bushings? Sometimes they are hard to diagnose, and will still show "In spec" on an alignment rack. A lot of times, they are easy to diagnose...but sometimes not.

One other thought might be that you have a slightly warped/bent front hub. Pull the front wheels, and check to make sure that the hub flange spins true to the bearing/knuckle. Maybe it was slightly bent in the impact when it was hit and slammed into the curb?

Thanks SmokinPonco, if I need a kmember ill let you know. I appreciate all your responses guys. ;)

If it happens to be the hub let me know I think I may have an extra laying around, I will try and find it

Nice. Thanks Tyler. I'll probably know a bit more Friday.

Turns out my left front tire is "out of round" and the aftermarket trac bar and trailing arms already have worn out joints. No fix for that. Do any of you guys have spare trailing arms with the bushings? New they are 141 bucks a piece.

By trailing arms do you mean A-arms? If so I will be replacing mine soon with tubular ones.

They are straight arms in the rear that bolt to the rear axle housing and the body/frame.

Oh ok, I was thinking it was front end issues, I would buy aftermarket units, stronger and can be adjustable.

My aftermarket ones are worn out with less than 1,000 miles of use. I'm negotiating a price now with a guy parting out cars.

On the highway, it feels like a cop is giving me the PIT manuver.

Found some stock trailing arms in LS1 classifieds with bushings and bolts. :)

I have a set of trailing arms with the delrin ball/pivot/polyurethane front bushing....less than 500 miles on them. $100 if ya want them. I went to adjustable arms when we swapped in the new rear.

EDIT: Looks like prices on these have come down, so I'll let 'em go for $75 if ya want them. Here's a link to what they are:

http://www.hotpart.com/shop/index.php?l=product_images&p=42

I think the issues are resolved. Lineup shop may be a good shop for most, but they are not performance suspension smart. My adjustable setup turns out to be "A okay". I had ordered some new KYB shocks because I needed them. So, since I'm learning a lot about suspensions recently I was dancing all over due to trusting Lineup shops advice. I feel a bit silly here. The issue is the factory original rear shocks. They're totally done. Live and learn

That's awesome that you don't need new lca or anything like that.

I think the issues are resolved. Lineup shop may be a good shop for most, but they are not performance suspension smart. My adjustable setup turns out to be "A okay". I had ordered some new KYB shocks because I needed them. So, since I'm learning a lot about suspensions recently I was dancing all over due to trusting Lineup shops advice. I feel a bit silly here. The issue is the factory original rear shocks. They're totally done. Live and learn

Bummer about the shop, they've always done a good job on my stuff, I had fully adjustable suspension front and rear and they did a great job aligning it. Maybe someone else owns it now lol.

Glad you got it figured out though. So it was the shocks causing the issues?

Bummer about the shop, they've always done a good job on my stuff, I had fully adjustable suspension front and rear and they did a great job aligning it. Maybe someone else owns it now lol.

Glad you got it figured out though. So it was the shocks causing the issues?

I believe so. I got with Chuck at K&C Performance in Hillsboro. I'll be changing out the poopy original shocks friday with some KYBs. Wanted Bilstiens, but budget budget. The original shocks look like something drug up out of a swamp. I let him drive today for a intense test drive. I think the impact of the crash did the "last straw" on those shocks. I still feel silly, but we'll see how it is after i put in the new shocks. Hopefully, these kinda threads help someone else out.