Initial Impressions Strano Springs/Koni 4/4s -- Long
01-25-2009, 10:53 AM
#1
Initial Impressions Strano Springs/Koni 4/4s -- Long Ok, so this seems to be the most recommended setup I've seen on the boards so I went a head and made my purchase last week. I got all my parts in before the weeked so I could do the install yesterday.
As promised by Sam he talked with me on the phone for at least an hour and he walked me through some intial setup stuff (if you buy from Sam, this is definitely worth it). Incredible customer service.
Ok, took about a full 8 hour day to get everything done, but part of that was waiting for a new passenger front shock mount, my old one was rusted to the original decarbon shock and broke when it came off.
Look:
Got everything on and immediatley noticed the lowered apearance was exactly as expected...I measured the car before I did the springs at 27 inches ground to fender and sitting with about 24 psi in the front tires (I know too low). After the spring and 34 psi it came out right at 26 inches. So I think that's right at the advertized 1.2" drop.
Sound:
Believe it or not this was one of the things I was looking forward to most about getting new springs/shocks. The stockers were just so irritiating. I was very excited to hear virtually nothing from my suspension, sounded like a new car, it really did.
Feel:
Well, obviously night and day, but that I think would be expected considering I went from 130000mile stockers to this setup, so let me be a bit more descriptive.
Sam gave me the initial setup of 4 sweeps softer then full stiff on the fronts and 1/2 turn stiffer then full soft on the rears. I drove it home from where I did the work and only got to play on a couple corners, but the difference in those was dramatic. The first is a 90 degree right with a some noticeable banking. The second is a 90 degree left that is noticeably off camber.
First Corner:
So I was being a little more cautious then normal (in case I screwed something up on the install) but still hit the turn hard enough for a comparison. With the stockers I definitely would have had a litle tire noise, with this setup up, nothing, the car felt like I could easily get around the corner much faster, no body roll to speak of and the rear end just felt like it was glued into the corner. The car stayed very planted and neutral. The stockers always felt like I'd get a tocuh of understeer in that corner and the rear would bounce somewhat as I began my exit from the corner...but nothing like that here.
Second Corner:
Ok, since this is off camber, I've never been able to push this on the stocker because the oversteer was ridiculous. So I was a bit cautious, but not quite as much as the first corner and probably hit this one about 90% as hard as I ever had. Mostly the same results as the first corner, the car was very stable through out and incredibly neutral. Most impressive was I couldn't even tell the coner was off camber, the rear end just stayed perfectly planted and the car was smooth through out the corner.
Road Driving:
Ok, since this is my DD, I wasn't buying this setup just for carving corners, so the feel on the road is very important to me. Here the difference was not quite as dramatic. My initial setting on the Konis are just a bit too soft for my liking I think. No bouncing at all, but the rise and fall is just a little to much and too quick. So, I'm going to adjust the rear 1/2 turn more firm and the fronts 1 or 2 sweeps more firm and give that a shot. I'll post up results.
G-Meter:
Ok, so I have a gmeter in the car and the best I was able to do on the above two turns with the stock suspension was a 1.02g on the first and a .92g on the second. I get to hit those turns 5 times a week coming home from work, so next week, I'll give it my best and see what I can do with the new setup, I'll post results.
Overall:
Great setup + great customer service = Great Deal. I'm very satisfied already and I'm confident a few adjustments on the Konis is going to really get the Ride where I want it. The only thing that even slightly sticks out as a negative, is my right rear sits just about 1/4" higher then my left rear, but I'm going to check and make sure I don't have the spring in funky. The other thing is I have a 10" stealthbox subwoofer on the left side (I seem to remember the stock being a little lower as well), so that may explain the difference as well.
Hope this is usefull info to others, I'll post up more this week.
As promised by Sam he talked with me on the phone for at least an hour and he walked me through some intial setup stuff (if you buy from Sam, this is definitely worth it). Incredible customer service.
Ok, took about a full 8 hour day to get everything done, but part of that was waiting for a new passenger front shock mount, my old one was rusted to the original decarbon shock and broke when it came off.
Look:
Got everything on and immediatley noticed the lowered apearance was exactly as expected...I measured the car before I did the springs at 27 inches ground to fender and sitting with about 24 psi in the front tires (I know too low). After the spring and 34 psi it came out right at 26 inches. So I think that's right at the advertized 1.2" drop.
Sound:
Believe it or not this was one of the things I was looking forward to most about getting new springs/shocks. The stockers were just so irritiating. I was very excited to hear virtually nothing from my suspension, sounded like a new car, it really did.
Feel:
Well, obviously night and day, but that I think would be expected considering I went from 130000mile stockers to this setup, so let me be a bit more descriptive.
Sam gave me the initial setup of 4 sweeps softer then full stiff on the fronts and 1/2 turn stiffer then full soft on the rears. I drove it home from where I did the work and only got to play on a couple corners, but the difference in those was dramatic. The first is a 90 degree right with a some noticeable banking. The second is a 90 degree left that is noticeably off camber.
First Corner:
So I was being a little more cautious then normal (in case I screwed something up on the install) but still hit the turn hard enough for a comparison. With the stockers I definitely would have had a litle tire noise, with this setup up, nothing, the car felt like I could easily get around the corner much faster, no body roll to speak of and the rear end just felt like it was glued into the corner. The car stayed very planted and neutral. The stockers always felt like I'd get a tocuh of understeer in that corner and the rear would bounce somewhat as I began my exit from the corner...but nothing like that here.
Second Corner:
Ok, since this is off camber, I've never been able to push this on the stocker because the oversteer was ridiculous. So I was a bit cautious, but not quite as much as the first corner and probably hit this one about 90% as hard as I ever had. Mostly the same results as the first corner, the car was very stable through out and incredibly neutral. Most impressive was I couldn't even tell the coner was off camber, the rear end just stayed perfectly planted and the car was smooth through out the corner.
Road Driving:
Ok, since this is my DD, I wasn't buying this setup just for carving corners, so the feel on the road is very important to me. Here the difference was not quite as dramatic. My initial setting on the Konis are just a bit too soft for my liking I think. No bouncing at all, but the rise and fall is just a little to much and too quick. So, I'm going to adjust the rear 1/2 turn more firm and the fronts 1 or 2 sweeps more firm and give that a shot. I'll post up results.
G-Meter:
Ok, so I have a gmeter in the car and the best I was able to do on the above two turns with the stock suspension was a 1.02g on the first and a .92g on the second. I get to hit those turns 5 times a week coming home from work, so next week, I'll give it my best and see what I can do with the new setup, I'll post results.
Overall:
Great setup + great customer service = Great Deal. I'm very satisfied already and I'm confident a few adjustments on the Konis is going to really get the Ride where I want it. The only thing that even slightly sticks out as a negative, is my right rear sits just about 1/4" higher then my left rear, but I'm going to check and make sure I don't have the spring in funky. The other thing is I have a 10" stealthbox subwoofer on the left side (I seem to remember the stock being a little lower as well), so that may explain the difference as well.
Hope this is usefull info to others, I'll post up more this week.
Last edited by z28ss4me; 01-28-2009 at 11:03 PM.
01-25-2009, 12:37 PM
#2
Ok, made my adjustments (2 sweep from full stiff on the fronts, 1 full turn from full soft on the rears) and WOW what an amazing ride it is now. I took it up into the twisties near my house and really pushed the car...or so I thought, never really could get it to the edge of traction. Never even heard the tires screech and I was definitely pushing it harder then I ever could with my stock suspension. Crazy the difference in the handling. I'll try and get it out somewhere where I have a little more visibility for on coming traffic and little less of a drop off on the shoulder and try and find the edge of the envelope, but this car handles simply amazing!!
Thanks Sam for an amazing ride, it's like a new car and I'm really starting to question whether I'll want to buy the new Camaro for a DD because I can't imagine it feeling any better than this does.
I'll still post up my G numbers next week when I have them.
Thanks Sam for an amazing ride, it's like a new car and I'm really starting to question whether I'll want to buy the new Camaro for a DD because I can't imagine it feeling any better than this does.
I'll still post up my G numbers next week when I have them.
Last edited by z28ss4me; 01-25-2009 at 12:48 PM.
01-25-2009, 12:40 PM
#3
The only thing that even slightly sticks out as a negative, is my right rear sits just about 1/4" higher then my left rear, but I'm going to check and make sure I don't have the spring in funky. The other thing is I have a 10" stealthbox subwoofer on the left side (I seem to remember the stock being a little lower as well), so that may explain the difference as well.
Last edited by z28ss4me; 01-25-2009 at 12:48 PM.
01-25-2009, 06:49 PM
#6
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I tried many others, even mixing and matching. The only ones that came close were a solid 35mm/solid21mm combo, and that added lots of weight (not ideal if not necessary).
Believe it or not, a properly designed hollow mild-steel front 35mm swaybar is then envy of the F-body corner carving community. From my experience, it added just enough roll stiffness without adding too much weight to an already stock front heavy car. His 22mm rear is a significant weight saver over a 21mm solid rear.
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01-27-2009, 10:03 PM
#9
G-Meter Update So I was out sick yesterday and didn't get a chance to run the corners I talkd about above. So got my first shot at them today and I was being pretty conservative. Here's the results:
1st Corner: 1.05g
2nd Corner: .95 g
So that's a .03 g increase in both diretions already and the car definitely had a lot more, in it, still didn't here a single screech out of the tires yet.
I had absolutely zero oversteer in both corners and if anything I was a litle too slow coming out of corner 1 (expecting some oversteer) and the fronts hooked so much that I had to correct my line or go off the road to the inside of the turn.
I'm starting to really get a better feel for the car and think I can get the turns even better tomorrow.
1st Corner: 1.05g
2nd Corner: .95 g
So that's a .03 g increase in both diretions already and the car definitely had a lot more, in it, still didn't here a single screech out of the tires yet.
I had absolutely zero oversteer in both corners and if anything I was a litle too slow coming out of corner 1 (expecting some oversteer) and the fronts hooked so much that I had to correct my line or go off the road to the inside of the turn.
I'm starting to really get a better feel for the car and think I can get the turns even better tomorrow.
01-27-2009, 10:49 PM
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Ok, so this seems to be the most recommended setup I've seen on the boards so I went a head and made my purchase last week. I got all my parts in before the weeked so I could do the install yesterday.
As promised by Sam he talked with me on the phone for at least an hour and he walked me through some intial setup stuff (if you buy from Sam, this is definitely worth it). Incredible customer service.
Ok, took about a full 8 hour day to get everything done, but part of that was waiting for a new passenger front shock mount, my old one was rusted to the original decarbon shock and broke when it came off.
Look:
Got everything on and immediatley noticed the lowered apearance was exactly as expected...I measured the car before I did the springs at 27 inches ground to fender and sitting with about 24 psi in the front tires (I know too low). After the spring and 34 psi it came out right at 26 inches. So I think that's right at the advertized 1.2" drop.
Sound:
Believe it or not this was one of the things I was looking forward to most about getting new springs/shocks. The stockers were just so irritiating. I was very excited to hear virtually nothing from my suspension, sounded like a new car, it really did.
Feel:
Well, obviously night and day, but that I think would be expected considering I went from 130000mile stockers to this setup, so let me be a bit more descriptive.
Sam gave me the initial setup of 4 sweeps softer then full stiff on the fronts and 1/2 turn stiffer then full soft on the rears. I drove it home from where I did the work and only got to play on a couple corners, but the difference in those was dramatic. The first is a 90 degree right with a some noticeable banking. The second is a 90 degree left that is noticeably off camber.
First Corner:
So I was being a little more cautious then normal (in case I screwed something up on the install) but still hit the turn hard enough for a comparison. With the stockers I definitely would have had a litle tire noise, with this setup up, nothing, the car felt like I could easily get around the corner much faster, no body roll to speak of and the rear end just felt like it was glued into the corner. The car stayed very planted and neutral. The stockers always felt like I'd get a tocuh of understeer in that corner and the rear would bounce somewhat as I began my exit from the corner...but nothing like that here.
Second Corner:
Ok, since this is off camber, I've never been able to push this on the stocker because the understeer was ridiculous. So I was a bit cautious, but not quite as much as the first corner and probably hit this one about 90% as hard as I ever had. Mostly the same results as the first corner, the car was very stable through out and incredibly neutral. Most impressive was I couldn't even tell the coner was off camber, the rear end just stayed perfectly planted and the car was smooth through out the corner.
Road Driving:
Ok, since this is my DD, I wasn't buying this setup just for carving corners, so the feel on the road is very important to me. Here the difference was not quite as dramatic. My initial setting on the Konis are just a bit too soft for my liking I think. No bouncing at all, but the rise and fall is just a little to much and too quick. So, I'm going to adjust the rear 1/2 turn more firm and the fronts 1 or 2 sweeps more firm and give that a shot. I'll post up results.
G-Meter:
Ok, so I have a gmeter in the car and the best I was able to do on the above two turns with the stock suspension was a 1.02g on the first and a .92g on the second. I get to hit those turns 5 times a week coming home from work, so next week, I'll give it my best and see what I can do with the new setup, I'll post results.
Overall:
Great setup + great customer service = Great Deal. I'm very satisfied already and I'm confident a few adjustments on the Konis is going to really get the Ride where I want it. The only thing that even slightly sticks out as a negative, is my right rear sits just about 1/4" higher then my left rear, but I'm going to check and make sure I don't have the spring in funky. The other thing is I have a 10" stealthbox subwoofer on the left side (I seem to remember the stock being a little lower as well), so that may explain the difference as well.
Hope this is usefull info to others, I'll post up more this week.
As promised by Sam he talked with me on the phone for at least an hour and he walked me through some intial setup stuff (if you buy from Sam, this is definitely worth it). Incredible customer service.
Ok, took about a full 8 hour day to get everything done, but part of that was waiting for a new passenger front shock mount, my old one was rusted to the original decarbon shock and broke when it came off.
Look:
Got everything on and immediatley noticed the lowered apearance was exactly as expected...I measured the car before I did the springs at 27 inches ground to fender and sitting with about 24 psi in the front tires (I know too low). After the spring and 34 psi it came out right at 26 inches. So I think that's right at the advertized 1.2" drop.
Sound:
Believe it or not this was one of the things I was looking forward to most about getting new springs/shocks. The stockers were just so irritiating. I was very excited to hear virtually nothing from my suspension, sounded like a new car, it really did.
Feel:
Well, obviously night and day, but that I think would be expected considering I went from 130000mile stockers to this setup, so let me be a bit more descriptive.
Sam gave me the initial setup of 4 sweeps softer then full stiff on the fronts and 1/2 turn stiffer then full soft on the rears. I drove it home from where I did the work and only got to play on a couple corners, but the difference in those was dramatic. The first is a 90 degree right with a some noticeable banking. The second is a 90 degree left that is noticeably off camber.
First Corner:
So I was being a little more cautious then normal (in case I screwed something up on the install) but still hit the turn hard enough for a comparison. With the stockers I definitely would have had a litle tire noise, with this setup up, nothing, the car felt like I could easily get around the corner much faster, no body roll to speak of and the rear end just felt like it was glued into the corner. The car stayed very planted and neutral. The stockers always felt like I'd get a tocuh of understeer in that corner and the rear would bounce somewhat as I began my exit from the corner...but nothing like that here.
Second Corner:
Ok, since this is off camber, I've never been able to push this on the stocker because the understeer was ridiculous. So I was a bit cautious, but not quite as much as the first corner and probably hit this one about 90% as hard as I ever had. Mostly the same results as the first corner, the car was very stable through out and incredibly neutral. Most impressive was I couldn't even tell the coner was off camber, the rear end just stayed perfectly planted and the car was smooth through out the corner.
Road Driving:
Ok, since this is my DD, I wasn't buying this setup just for carving corners, so the feel on the road is very important to me. Here the difference was not quite as dramatic. My initial setting on the Konis are just a bit too soft for my liking I think. No bouncing at all, but the rise and fall is just a little to much and too quick. So, I'm going to adjust the rear 1/2 turn more firm and the fronts 1 or 2 sweeps more firm and give that a shot. I'll post up results.
G-Meter:
Ok, so I have a gmeter in the car and the best I was able to do on the above two turns with the stock suspension was a 1.02g on the first and a .92g on the second. I get to hit those turns 5 times a week coming home from work, so next week, I'll give it my best and see what I can do with the new setup, I'll post results.
Overall:
Great setup + great customer service = Great Deal. I'm very satisfied already and I'm confident a few adjustments on the Konis is going to really get the Ride where I want it. The only thing that even slightly sticks out as a negative, is my right rear sits just about 1/4" higher then my left rear, but I'm going to check and make sure I don't have the spring in funky. The other thing is I have a 10" stealthbox subwoofer on the left side (I seem to remember the stock being a little lower as well), so that may explain the difference as well.
Hope this is usefull info to others, I'll post up more this week.
I know this setup is designed more toward handling but I'm looking into the exact same setup but holding myself back because I would like good times at the track as well as good handling on the street.
01-27-2009, 11:18 PM
#12
I would definitely be interested in your 60' times are after all the new suspension mods.
I know this setup is designed more toward handling but I'm looking into the exact same setup but holding myself back because I would like good times at the track as well as good handling on the street.
I know this setup is designed more toward handling but I'm looking into the exact same setup but holding myself back because I would like good times at the track as well as good handling on the street.
01-27-2009, 11:21 PM
#13
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I'll let you know, I don't think it will be to bad, the rear springs are actually a tad softer then the stock one and I guess if I soften the damping on the front and rear shock, it should allow some weight transfer. But I've never been overly concerned with track times. I run street tires and my current best ET is with a 2.1 60' so I guess it can't really get much worse.
01-28-2009, 02:04 AM
#16
So I was out sick yesterday and didn't get a chance to run the corners I talkd about above. So got my first shot at them today and I was being pretty conservative. Here's the results:
1st Corner: 1.05g
2nd Corner: .95 g
So that's a .03 g increase in both diretions already and the car definitely had a lot more, in it, still didn't here a single screech out of the tires yet.
I had absolutely zero oversteer in both corners and if anything I was a litle too slow coming out of corner 1 (expecting some oversteer) and the fronts hooked so much that I had to correct my line or go off the road to the inside of the turn.
I'm starting to really get a better feel for the car and think I can get the turns even better tomorrow.
1st Corner: 1.05g
2nd Corner: .95 g
So that's a .03 g increase in both diretions already and the car definitely had a lot more, in it, still didn't here a single screech out of the tires yet.
I had absolutely zero oversteer in both corners and if anything I was a litle too slow coming out of corner 1 (expecting some oversteer) and the fronts hooked so much that I had to correct my line or go off the road to the inside of the turn.
I'm starting to really get a better feel for the car and think I can get the turns even better tomorrow.
01-28-2009, 04:21 AM
#18
I can induce a little very controllable oversteer in mine with a touch of throttle before the apex of the curve. Kind of unatural feeling at first but once you get the hang of it you feel like your were shot out of a slingshot when you come out of the corner. I have scared the $h!t out people doing this with no warning to the passenger
01-28-2009, 04:34 AM
#19
I just hope it's useful to others trying to make the same decisions, I know it was tough for me trying to decide what to go with and the more information I was able to find the more confident I was in my decision. Of course, driving is ultimately what made me happy about the purchase.
