juSStin4171

iTrader: (2)

Taking a chance here... I couldn't read another FUBAR-ED thread about this stuff looking for answers.

In an attempt to build a thread that JUST MIGHT become "Sticky Worthy" I'm looking for information about different set ups and what they do relative to their cost. This might save some of our sponsors a few phone calls a day regarding the same info. This is intended for 4th Gen F-bodies (specify LT1 or LS1 when posting please)

Thread "RULES" (If I may)
1. We all know there are Bad, Good, Better and Best type set ups that range in cost - DON'T BASH A SET UP just because you went with "x" and it's better than "y".
2. If you are posting about "x" set up - list what shocks/struts, springs, sway bars etc you have and try to give objective insights to how it rides, handles, takes pot holes, rubs, squeaks etc. AND THAT'S IT!!!

juSStin4171

iTrader: (2)

Pictures of the stance with "x" set up are welcome too, but NOT the focus of the thread.

DarkblueTA

Great idea.

My setup in my signature.

Springs: Strano
PHB is a double adjustable with rod ends.
Sway bars are stock (32mm front/19mm rear) with poly bushings and end links
RLCA, FLCA, FUCA, K-member and Torque Arm are bone stock

Alignment: Left-Right
Caster 4.5-4.6
Camber 1.0-1.1
Toe: 1/32in - 1/32in

Brakes: Currently not known. All I know as they bite hard and dust like crazy. I will eventually upgrade down the road.

Overall, the ride is a little more firm than stock, but still rides very well. Easy daily driver even for my Wife who has had back issues. Best part is bumps are settled right aways. Very little if any lean in a turn and the car just sticks like glue. Very little brake dive even stomping on the brakes. The car even launches surprisingly well with zero wheel hop.

I can take turns much faster than stock without the tail happy rear end as the car will rotate really well. I am enjoying this setup a lot.

Pics: I know they're not the best, but I just snapped them off in my driveway.




Cruise Pics from Vegas ~> Kingman ~> Laughlin ~> Vegas.

94LT1TA6spd

OP, great idea!

juSStin4171

iTrader: (2)

I just hope this thread will fill up with useful posts and not a lot of banter. I'm about to order new shocks/struts to go with a pro kit (for now) and I spent two days trying to read threw post after post of arguing, name calling, slamming and bragging without much USEFUL info... so this is worth a shot!

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

springs: stock
shocks: stock
panhard: stock
rear lca's: stock
swaybars: added 32mm ws6 front swaybar

REVIEW: The swaybar made a small difference in body roll, really not very noticeable unless you were really paying attention


springs: hypercoil in front, slp eibach in rear
shocks: Bilstein
panhard: stock
rear lca's: poly/poly tubular
swaybars: 32mm ws6 front swaybar

REVIEW: Better in terms of body roll, decent ride, springs were too much for the shocks, especially in the rear


springs: hypercoil in front, hotchkiss in rear
shocks: Bilstein
panhard: stock
rear lca's: poly/poly UMI tubular
swaybars: 32mm ws6 front swaybar

REVIEW: Same as last setup with hotchkiss in the rear, definitely better but still wanted more shock


springs: hypercoil in front, hotchkiss in rear
shocks: Bilstein in front, Koni in rear
panhard: poly/poly Spohn
rear lca's: poly/rod tubular
swaybars: 32mm ws6 front swaybar

REVIEW: Koni shocks made a huge difference in controlling the rear over bumps, also switched to poly/rod control arms which were a mistake IMO for a street car


springs: 600# coilovers in front, BMR in rear
shocks: Koni
panhard: poly/poly Spohn
rear lca's: stock with 1le bushings
swaybars: 35/21

REVIEW: After the Koni in rear I decided I needed Koni in front, also discovered how much nicer linear springs feel. I don't like the initial dive with progressive springs, although they arguably ride a little bit nicer. Swaybars made a HUGE difference in body roll, 1le control arm bushings were a great compromise in the back.


springs: stock
shocks: stock front, Koni rear
panhard: poly/poly Spohn
rear lca's: 1le bushings
swaybars: 35/21

REVIEW: After probably hundreds of thousands of miles my very used front Koni's had it, I bought them used so no warranty. I had to go back to stock up front (essentially brand new front decarbons) because I had 0 money. Still handles okay, but really doesn't ride all that well.

98z8uup

iTrader: (7)

This sound like a good idea

nascarnate326

iTrader: (1)

Full weight 1996 Z28 M6
Springs: LT1 Pro Kit
Shocks: Monroe Sensa-Trac (not the cheaper gas-matic)
LCA & Relocation Brackets: Founders
Tires: New Nexen N3000
Brakes: Front LS1 with AC Delco rotors/pads, Rear LT1 with AC Delco Rotors/pads.

For a cheaper setup I couldn't be happier. Stops well, turns well, and launches great. Under hard braking the nose dives as expected although its controlled and not belligerent. Cornering is exceptional with minimal body roll although some does exist. Aggressive hard turns from 5-45 are quite fun because the car just goes where you point it. Once the speed increases past 50 the car loses its edge and becomes like any other performance car. Its not a Corvette and never will be. Launching the car is effortless and I have ZERO wheel hop. It either spins or ***** and gets. It is a very on/off kind of launch. I have a tendency to launch with two much RPM and spin them, not a drag racer. Car could be daily driven in Michigan without any major issues. Cant make it over speed bumps without my long tubes dragging but even in this pot hole ridden state its not horrible. My rear springs do sag a little more than I wanted, not that big of an issue to me. I have my rear isolators and have no heater hose.

Overall I am very happy with the suspension package that I have put on my car. It was affordable and works perfect for what I do: driving around town.

I'm not going to put down any other kit but of all my friends that have springs on their car, mine looks the best and rides damn well on the street.

Word of advice: don't expect new springs with cheapest shocks, warn tires, and crappy ball joints etc to make your car handle like a race car, it won't.

DarkblueTA

Nate, your car looks great and your advice is spot on.

JD_AMG

Not to be the negative nancy of the thread, but honestly I don't think you searched hard enough. There are a TON of reviews out there.
Biggest problem though is its all relative to what you know/have experienced. I've read on here people loving the bone stock setup because they are used to driving trucks and such, and others think their ebay/autozone setup is the great because they have nothing to compare it to. Then same scenario as above, yet they do have something to compare it to, but brush the fbody off thinking its the car that handles bad and that there is nothing more they can do, and its not their cheap/unbalanced/compromised setup <- this seems to happen the most often.
But heres from a quick search anyway:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...installed.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...cs-review.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...1-27-12-a.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...w-raceway.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...pressions.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...view-long.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...ml#post8344345
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...t-happier.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...installed.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...uspension.html

nascarnate326

iTrader: (1)

I hope Sam pay you or hooks you up with parts..

My6speedZ

iTrader: (18)

I have to agree with JD_AMG there is a ton of threads about set-ups, every set-up you can think of has been talked about on here extensively, no need to be a crybaby and accuse him of being a Strano leg humper, that right there is what turns all the threads in this section to ****.

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I admit that I was also skeptical about the potential of this thread, but I think posts like therealcreeper's above have value. JD AMG, I know you have had a number of setups, and a review of how different ones have worked for a given user can be instructive. It would be hard to garner a lot of setup comparisons from individual users by searching, I think.

juSStin4171

iTrader: (2)

JD AMG - you're right, there are loads of threads. I was just trying to have a CLEAN thread that could/would be free of all the BS that most of them get. That's all.

To everyone else reading this - Just stick to reviews here.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Well that didn't take long.

For the record, JD is just a happy customer. I've never given him a part, I've never asked him to do me a favor. His responses are his own. My guess is if he hated me, nobody would accuse him of having an ulterior motive, only when he says what he thinks. Shame really.

JD_AMG

Hey I just like to promote what actually works (and has actually proven to work). You don't have to do any kind of racing to want a taut, composed car that also rides well. The only thing Sam has given me was good customer service and solid advice on here.
Ok so I've done a few dozen write ups before, why not another? Maybe you'll see why I push the things I do.
-All stock WS6 + stock good year eagle F1 tires, stock alignment, ~40,000 miles:
The grip was always there it was just hard to use and the car always felt a little nervous, and unpredictable, non connected. The rear end definitely liked to come around without any notice first. Ride was meh, a little unnecessarily harsh over bumps, yet not taut or stiff, more loose and floaty, especially at higher speeds. Got fed up with having a 350hp performance car that didn't feel stable, so I searched on here (being a noob, thinking SFC's were the solution). Read into shocks, I wanted adjust ability (independant rebound and compression)- koni SAs were the cheapest option for that. From the reviews of how much of a difference they make I didn't mind spending the money (~$700 at the time).
-All stock, same as above + STB
No noticeable difference. I actually forgot I had this and reedited the post...
-All stock, same as above + Koni SA's 4/3 (front a few sweeps from full hard, rear 1 turn from full soft)
Had a shop put them in as I wanted the alignment checked and I didn't want to mess with a spring compressor at the time. In a few words to describe the change the shocks made, I guess "holy f**king ****" would be it.
I immediately felt a difference pulling out of the parking lot, there was a dip that I *though* the car flexed on originally, nope, not flex, shitty stock shocks... Car remained rock solid. Hitting bumps/potholes in the road, same thing, car was super solid, composed yet not overly stiff and never jarring. There were not anymore vibrations from after hitting a bump, no looseness, no bouncyness, just a cush yet firm bump then move on. Those interior rattles? Gone. The ride was, dare I say, BMW-like. (for reference I've been in an E36 M3, 328i, and E39 5 series). - Also was similar (but more taut) than my dad's 1st gen CTS with the sport package - which I couldn't hold a candle to in corners originally, but now with just shocks its completely the other way around)
On the highway just doing the speed limit driving in a strait line there was a noticeable change, the car was just glued to the road and ridiculously planted. Onto an entrance ramp, whoops, didn't even realize I was going 70+ on a ramp that I didn't like to push past 50 because the car used to feel nervous and the rear end may break loose and swing around. This time the car was flat, ridiculously stable and compsed and was begging for more speed. I could come out of the ramp, go WOT and the car would stick and just go, no more fishtailing.
As I got more used to it I was doing 4 wheel slides like they were nothing, the car just drove it self and was SO planted and neutral. Before this would end up in easily loosing it and doing 50 donuts.
I got hooked and wanted more, didn't realize an Fbody could feel like this, so off to LS1tech again.
-Same setup as above + strano 35mm front bar
No noticable change in ride quality at all, but steering response is drastically increased, and some nose dive was decreased. Car was very easy to toss around, but when pushing the car hard it was blatantly obvious the rear bar was too small compared to the front, and the car would understeer and the rear felt like it was just trailing behind in comparison (hard to describe).
-Same setup as above + strano 22mm rear bar
Neutral balance is back again, car is further more a cornering monster. Staying much flatter in turns, still just as easy to push, but now flatter with higher limits. Nose dive lessens more as well.
I do remember there being a slight decrease in ride quality in the rear, it was simply stiffer.
-koni 4/3s , strano 35mm/22mm swaybars / strano springs / UMI adjustable PHB
I think I got the adj. PHB a little after the springs, regardless I don't remember there being a noticeable difference other than centering the rear end.
The difference the spring made were very similar to what the swaybars made. The car was even flatter, and the limit was even higher, damn near no roll or dive now.
Ride quality went down a little, car is more firm, rarely ever jarring (takes biggest road imperfections to make the ride "hard") - expected from a lowering spring.
-Nitto NT05s (275/40/17 all around
Good tire IMO, MUCH more grip than the factory good years. Road noise is minimal, sidewall is a little stiffer so the ride got a little stiffer.

-added UMI relocation brackets
Was getting some wheel hop every now and then, and wanted to give these a try (I don't want my 10 bolt breaking).
Noticed in the lowest hole it minimized wheel hop for the most part, but the rear felt kinda weird in the corners, it didn't want to turn/respond as sharply. Middle hole still had less wheel hop, but the cornering still felt a little off like above. I may get take these off sometime and drive around a bit to feel the difference.
-added UMI full length toque arm
Further helped wheel hop, no noticeable change in ride or noise, slightly less nose dive maybe. No noticeable handling change.
-added Fays2 watts link
This is a neat little piece. Install was kinda a PINA (but would be easy to do it again after doing it once).
I played with a few settings (roll rate adjustment) and am still not completely decided where Im gonna stay at. Simply put, it can change the feel of the rear of the car, and how much understeer/oversteer the car has.
You can tell the PHB is gone as the rear doesn't move side to side anymore, and its also more planted/balanced/feels like there is more usable grip back there. I want some track time before I really review this. Car is already at such a high limit that I would be doing 90+ on tight backroad turns to really test the limits.
-added UMI rear roto-joint LCAs (also oehweels C4 Zr1s 17x9/17x11)
After adding the 17x11s to the rear with NT05 315/35 the tire was really close to the stock rear LCA, wasn't a fan of this, plus I did want to try out some LCA's to see if they were worth it. [ Staggered wheels are not ideal for handling(you can tell this with street driving-expect understeer!), but I love the look, and I may get a set of from 17x11s to match the rear for auto-x.]
For the LCAs, ride stiffness went up a little, road noise is minimal (for whatever reason its a little noisy when cold, then silent when it warms up). Car seems to hook a little better maybe, no noticeable handling gains though.
-added UMI 3 point bolt in SFC's
I wanted to give these a try for an easy jack point, and to personally debunk if these make a difference (they do not, but read on).
Kinda Funny story, my friend went to jack the car up from one of the jack points to set the car up on ramps, and to his surprise the whole side of the car went up (he was just expecting that corner to come up). He gave me a funny look and was like "WTF", I had to sarcastically reply with " Boy these cars flex so bad they sure to need SFC's...)
We bolted them on (suspension loaded) and went for a test drive, and no surprise I felt no difference. While im here though I have to comment that the friend (a vette owner) went along with the test drive and kept commenting on how well the car rode and handled.
added UMI 3 point bolt in SFC's welded
Surely I didn't feel a difference because they were just bolted on and not welded right? Wrong. I went back to said friends house, we put up on the ramp (suspension loaded) and welded them. Same result again, no noticable difference. Ive since auto-x with them as well and couldn't tell a difference
-my summary: many of the parts that sponsors push as a "must have" did little to nothing, where as the parts Sam pushes made massive changes in the way the car drives.

96z28_lt1

iTrader: (3)

ive got some suspension goodies coming in here shortly but for now this is what im running

spring: bmr
shocks: kyb agx
LCA: poly tubular bmr

besides that everything is stock and came on the vehicle when i bought it. This setup feels great. there is some body roll and im sure the agx shocks are getting tired. I've only had one case of wheel hop in reverse. Thhat being said i ordered a fays2 watts link and strano sway bars from sam about 2 weeks ago. Also lca relocation brackets and subframe connectors from founders. I will be putting these on once my car comes back from getting some body work and report how it feels then. Nect year id like to get some konis on it as well.

My6speedZ

iTrader: (18)

I didn't want to quote your whole post, but excellent review. Really show cases the difference between parts houses and a seller that has developed his packages from true experience (where it counts). Your review makes me want to buy another F-body for a well handling street car.

DarkblueTA

JD,

Most of what you wrote I agree with. I have a double adjustable PHB with rod ends. Although they make noise, the rear end stays planted a LOT better in turns than a stock PHB with poly bushings (on the car when I bought it).

The rear seems to articulate better now then when I bought the car. Even with stock control arms with rubber bushings. I know...crazy

LILWS6

springs: strano's
shocks: qa1 single adj
panhard: umi on car adj. POLY
rear lca's: poly tubular
swaybars: Stock

I like the way it handles and love the stance but too bouncy for my tastes looking to pull out the qa1's and put either koni's or some bilsteins