TcMcDaniel

So I know import guys are crazy about coilovers. I know they are available for muscle cars as well but I don't know many people who run them, and the ones that do don't hook well, and don't ride well either. I plan on going the Strano and Koni route myself, but two of my friends have recently traded in their cars for muscle cars. (EVO for a 6.0 GTO) (STI for a Mustang Bullitt) and they are both saying they want coilovers. I always try to help my friends make smart choices when putting together their parts lists but I am not very well versed in the ways of the coilover. Any pros or cons I should be aware of in particular? Am I just an ignorant d-bag? These cars are daily drivers that typically race from a roll but obviously are going to want to be able to hook at the track.

2000TransAmWS6

iTrader: (12)

I have coilovers on all 4 corners of my TA and the car rides very well. Mine are adjustable QA1s, and I dialed the ride in the way that I like it, and at the track I can adjust the shocks again and it will hook very well.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Your on the right track, stick with the Strano/Koni combination, and you car will handle, hook, and ride better than your friends cars probably ever will.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

It's ignorance.... plain and simple.

"Coil-overs" are dampers and springs. They happen to give ride height adjustment (and fwiw, on those cars and this one the rears aren't actually coil-over either). Some will give you damping adjustment, some don't.

I carry coil-overs, the most common set we sell for various cars are KW's (available for all cars mentioned above btw).

If you want the ride height adjustment, ok.... but that's the only benefit and it's not a cheap option compared to a killer set of dampers like Koni's and a properly developed set of lowering springs. Remember those items, dampers and springs, do the same job regardless of if they are height adjustable, and it's those things that matter in how the car acts. Another point, not all cars are happy being slammed to the ground, in fact old double a-arm Honda's are one of the few that could work decently like that with good shocks and such. Not the case here, not the case with a GTO and a Mustang. FWIW, I do a LOT of S197 Mustang work, and in fact more than half the National Championships I've won have been in S197's, the rest in F-bodies (3rd and 4th gen).

TcMcDaniel

So then my question to you Sam, is what would you recommend from your store for the S197. He really wants to get the stance down low, but he also keeps saying how much he loves his factory ride quality and I keep telling him he's gonna have to find a nice compromise in the middle. I also keep trying to explain to him if he wants to go that low hes going to want an adjustable panhard bar and possibly upper control arm. Admittedly I am not very knowledgeable in suspension, especially when it comes to Mustangs. He wants to lower the car bad though, so I'm just trying to be the voice of reason and help him make good decisions like starting out with the supporting mods first and have a good set up when he lowers it rather than lowering it and playing catch-up.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

I wish I could do what most other places do and be ok just recommending something. It'd be easy.... trouble is getting folks on parts isn't how I see my job, getting them on the correct part for their wants is my job. Issue there is everyone says the same thing, basically. I want my car to handle better, and I want it to ride well. That's not really helpful, everyone wants that in theory, just like we'd all like to "be rich"

If he would like some help, and is willing to have a discussion with me, I'm happy to help. But I will ask him questions about certain things, and sometimes they aren't easy to answer.. but I need the answer to do the best job I can.

And for what it's worth, there is no free ride. Physics is in play, and suspensions that have no working travel, don't work very well. That's what happens when you lower the car, the more you go, the more compromised the ride will likely be. Mild drops with great dampers can actually ride better in terms of impact harshness. Slammed cars, 2" and down won't no matter how good the shocks are. Just not enough travel left.

TcMcDaniel

I will most definitely be giving you a call when I start the suspension on my SS. I will be strongly encouraging both of my friends to do the same. I would hate for them to buy random parts because "the cars looked good in the pictures" and then their launch and cornering suffer because of it. I appreciate your input and the mini crash course on coilovers lol

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

The bottom line is lots of folks can talk, not as many can show you how the stuff works (hence the reason I put some videos on my website), and they don't give those Championships away either.

Happy to help, as long as we can work together. Some folks get all bent out of shape when I ask questions they can't answer without actually thinking (instead of assuming, or guessing, which doesn't help me help them).