Smoke Em

can you use your stock front springs with the qa1 single adjustable shock or do you need to buy one of their springs?

Cool28

iTrader: (2)

I used stock springs on my last car and it worked fine

Smoke Em

ok just checking would anyone happen to know what # springs are the stock ones?

JD_AMG

Stock LT1 front springs are 310lbs/in rate.
Don't you need a special spring cup for the front springs to mount to the QA1s? (which btw you may want to search and dig up some info about those shocks before you buy).

Das Nic

I recently installed QA1 coilovers all around, the spring cup you're talking about comes with the shocks. Granted, I have the QA1 springs as well but they seem to be the same diameter as the stock springs so they should work with the supplied spring cup.

As far as the quality of them, I can't complain about the fronts. They work really well with the 325lb springs. I have the double adjustables in the front and singles in the back because I got a great deal on the front DAs.

The rear coilover setup is pretty nice as well, but its definitely not as tight as I would have liked, but that's probably also due to the 130-250 progressive rate springs I got with them (slightly regretting that at the moment, but I haven't played around with the shock settings fully yet).

When it really comes down to it, I bought them over the Konis for two reasons:
1) I got a good deal on them.
2) I wanted the fully adjustable ride height.

They're not a bad shock, but if you're aiming for road race handling I would get Konis over QA1s because they're only a little more expensive.

BMR Tech2

iTrader: (5)

You can use original springs or aftermarket lowering springs with the QA1's but you need a spring adapter to do so. The QA1 springs that are sold with their shocks are specifically tapered on the bottom to fit the adjustable shock collar. An OE spring or aftermarket lowering spring is the same ID top and bottom and will not fit the QA1 spring seat without the adapter. BMR machines our adapters from 6061 T6 aluminum and we keep them on hand, ready to ship! If interested, they sell as Part # SA001 and can be ordered HERE.

JD_AMG

If you are buying a drag shock (like QA1s) over a sport handling shock (like konis) and your not solely drag racing then you are just wasting money and hurting your back. Its an apples to oranges comparison, the konis are not only lightyears better for handling, control, stability and feel, but they will ride significantly better and are a much better street shock (because they are more comfortable, and more stable/planted).

Smoke Em

are the konis adjustable like the qa1s? where u can lower the car if i wanted too?

JD_AMG

The konis have 2 spring perches, 1 for stock height and 1 that will lower the car 3/4". They are not fully height adjustable like the QA1s, but they don't have to be, fbodies have lowering springs that aftermarket companies make

Das Nic

I have a weak lower back, but these QA1s ride way better even on the street than the stock shocks and springs I had. I don't see how these could hurt your back if adjusted properly for street driving and I have 325lb/in springs in the front and progressives in the back.

If you're buying these for retail price (which I didn't) and want handling over weight transfer for drag, then I would say go for the Konis as well, but they still perform much better than stock shocks and springs on the street.

Also, only the front Konis have adjustable perches (stock and 3/4" lower), the rears aren't adjustable. So take that into consideration when choosing your springs as well.

Smoke Em

ok i was wondering if the qa1s rode better than stock and the last post told me what i needed to know, i mostly drive the car on weekends and take it to the drag stip a couple times a year.

im not looking to lower the car, but i like the fact that i can lower it if i wanted too with the qa1s. I was only looking to get the front two shocks for now. im looking for the car to handle a little better than stock but im not gonna be road racing it

JD_AMG

Thats not hard to believe considering how crappy the stock shocks are.
I thought my buddies car with 300# springs on QA1s rode pretty shitty (like an old buick, floaty and bouncy, but it was also jarring and skipped over uneven surfaces, very unstable).
And when adjusted for "handling" they become overly stiff, yet still floaty and disconnected.
Im running 550lbs/in lowering springs in the front with konis and my car definitely rode better (less jarring, not to mention 10000x more stable and planted) than the QA1 car did.

Whether you want weight transfer, ride quality or handling konis are still the better choice. There was a guy that switched from QA1s to konis because he was sick of the shitty ride/handling and ended up cutting a better 60ft with the konis:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...-60-konis.html
And if you want to go cheaper you could get bilstiens or KYB AGX and still outperform QA1s no problem.