dadstransam

Hey guys,

This is my first time in this forum and I'll admit up front I'm not much of a car guy. My dad had a 98 Trans Am and after he passed away I got it. I love the car but for me it is my daily commuter car and for him he used it for racing. So he had it lowered and once you combine that and the rough roads here in California it makes my commute rough. I'm talking hitting my head on the roof rough if I catch the right pot hole.

I'm hoping to get any ideas on getting a better ride out of it. Is it as simple as replacing the springs? The car has 115,000 miles so should I do shocks as well? Are these items that are easy to do myself or should I just take it somewhere?

Thanks for the help.

Roxas

iTrader: (88)

Go back to the stock springs and switch out the struts to some Bilsteins. Tire rotation, wheel balance, and alignment will help as well.

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

Welcome to LS1tech!

If you're the least bit unsure of doing this job yourself, I would take it to a professional. Removing the springs from the struts can be very dangerous, and you could easily get hurt if something were to go wrong.

Sorry for your loss. I just went through this earlier in the year with my own Father, so I know how it feels.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

If the springs are stock, keep them. Replace the shocks with Bilsteins. If the shocks are original, the car must ride horribly.

That being said, my one complaint with f-bodies is the harsh ride. Good shocks and proper springs help, but they only go so far. Compared to my wife's G8, the ride's brutal. But I continue to put up with it for all the other virtues LS1 f-bodies have in abundance

dadstransam

Thanks for the help everyone. One question because some of you mentioned shocks and others mentioned struts. This might be a dumb question, but what is the difference and what does this car take?

I did change the rear springs back to original awhile back but was a bit nervous about messing with the front as they seemed more involved. Plus the care appears to be slightly higher on the driver side when looking from the rear. It appeared this way before and after I changed the springs back.

DrEvyl

iTrader: (5)

I put SLP Bilsteins and Strano springs on my Formula, and it was damn comfy with that combination, and handled great.

JD_AMG

4th gens have shocks all around, coilover shocks in front, regular shocks in rear. Its commonly (incorrectly) called struts in the front, 3rd gens and 5th gens have struts, 4th gens do not.
Regardless don't buy autozone replacement garbage, as you will be left with a still terrible ride (the valving is what counts, doesn't matter if a shock is new or not if its valved/setup shitty) and now even less money in your pocket.
Look into getting some SLP Bilstiens:
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=20&ModelID=7

dadstransam

Sounds like the Bilstiens are the way to go. Anyone ever replaced the front shocks? I can handle the rear but I'm not sure how much more is involved in the front.

Thanks again,