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Make my ride SMOOTHER!!!

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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 11:28 PM
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Default Make my ride SMOOTHER!!!

Ok I just put in some Koni SA's and Strano Springs. I dont want to say its a rough ride because it isnt but alot of bumps are still pretty harsh. First of all I have the shocks set at: (Front - 4 1/2 from full soft and Rear - Full soft) What kind of setting would gain me the VERY best ride quality. I dont care about 1/4 mile times etc etc. I do enjoy turns tho but would much rather have a better riding car.

Also right now Im riding on 18's all the way around. Would switching back to 17's improve my ride quality ALOT? or not even noticeable?

Is there any other parts that will make the car ride better? SFC? Sway Bar Links? Tranny Mount? Sway bars? What exactly makes the car ride nicer?

Last edited by my01ws6; Nov 24, 2007 at 11:35 PM.
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by my01ws6
Ok I just put in some Koni SA's and Strano Springs. I dont want to say its a rough ride because it isnt but alot of bumps are still pretty harsh. First of all I have the shocks set at: (Front - 4 1/2 from full soft and Rear - Full soft) What kind of setting would gain me the VERY best ride quality. I dont care about 1/4 mile times etc etc. I do enjoy turns tho but would much rather have a better riding car.
You might want to put the front shocks 4 turns from full hard.
Since its really cold out make sure to turn your tire pressure down to around 32psi- front and rear (Ive read as low as 29psi rear).
Otherwise give Sam Strano a call fro advice.
Is there any other parts that will make the car ride better? SFC? Sway Bar Links? Tranny Mount? Sway bars? What exactly makes the car ride nicer?
All of the above will give a harsher ride.
BTW, didn't you come from sportline spings? Tell us how you like the new setup compared to your old one.
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Old Nov 24, 2007 | 11:50 PM
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I came from brand new sportline and bilsteins. There is definitely a noticeable difference. I would not recommend the sportline/bilstein setup on any car. Heres a list of what makes this particular set upbetter.

-The Koni/Strano out handles it BY FAR.
-You feel 100xs less bumps in the road.
-Your not constantly bouncing up and down like a bobble head figure.
-The car doesnt jerk side to side when I hit bumps.
-The car stay FIRMLY planted on all fours.
-Very little to no body roll
-The car now feels like it glides down the road, thats the only way to describe it.
-Did I mention taking turns at almost twice the speed now .
-This setup makes me LOVE my car again!!

I am definitely 100% satisfied. BUT I still wish I could make my car ride like a Caddy

Last edited by my01ws6; Nov 25, 2007 at 12:06 AM.
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 12:34 AM
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Making this car ride like a caddy is probably really hard to do. A caddy doesn't handle nearly as well as the fbody for one.

Did you actually get the strano/koni's in yet?
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 01:01 AM
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Yeah they are in. Thats what the first line in my 1st post says LOL.
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 01:51 AM
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Originally Posted by my01ws6
I am definitely 100% satisfied. BUT I still wish I could make my car ride like a Caddy

Then you need to go back to stock setup, it will take you closer to the caddy feeling.
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 02:31 AM
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Originally Posted by vikingramair
Then you need to go back to stock setup, it will take you closer to the caddy feeling.
or at the very least, put the stock springs back in.....i would not put the stock shocks back in there....
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 02:39 AM
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Nah.....I dont like the 4x4 look. Im fine with the ride right now. Im just wondering what I can do to better it.
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 03:22 AM
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I am lowered on hotchkis with koni SA's. I have my koni's set to full soft and the ride is pretty good. I had 18's for awhile lowered but went back to 17's and the ride did get better.
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 11:01 AM
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Koni SA and Strano bars here (275 / 40 17 Cooper Zeon tires)
The front shocks are 3 sweeps from minimum.
The rear shocks are 1/4 turn from minimum.
I don't like to adjust them from the maximum because that point is somewhere in the middle of the sweep. The minimum is at the left beginning of the sweep.

My goal is to have the smoothest ride with enough stability. My settig are to my opinion a good compromise.

For a sporty ride (good for auto-X or some German highway) I put it at 5 sweeps from the min. in the front and 1/2 turn from the min. in the rear. But this is too hard for my daily home to office travel
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Old Nov 25, 2007 | 05:17 PM
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I find that 5 sweeps from min. on the front w/ strano spring is right. Any softer and the ride gets harsher. 1/2 turn from full soft is what I like in the rear. 0 is too soft IMO, but 1/4 is probably best for ride quality.

Tire pressure is very important for both ride and handling and grip. W/ strano springs I dropped the tire pressures down from my stock setup. 32-33psi front is all you need and 28-30 rear is good. Those pressures are at 70 deg. Any higher will cause the ride to be harsh on the street, especially when it's hot out.

Also I found that the shocks break in and after the first few thounsand of miles and actually feel better.
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Old Nov 26, 2007 | 01:49 AM
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How much of a difference will switching to 17s make?
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Old Nov 26, 2007 | 03:32 AM
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From my experience with everyday driving and the occasional track with several F-bodies, 275/40/17 on 17x9.5 have performed most optimal to my taste. For more "agressive closed course" driving, I prefer the 315/35/17 on 17x11.

I spent more money on rims and tyres of several larger diameters just to end up with increased lap times, increased rotational mass on each wheel, reduced "ride comfort", and increased possbility of snap oversteer (though mostly due to the live rear axle, not so much with the fronts), and sometimes increased weight (manufacturer claims of lighter weight aren't always guaranteed to be lighter than OE, or at least not much lighter for significant gains in ride quality and/or performance).

Just my 2 cents worth.
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Old Nov 26, 2007 | 06:04 AM
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Well I just changed the fronts to 5 sweeps from min. and 1/4 sweep from min. in the rear. I took it for a quick drive and I think it feels a little bit better. I need to drive it for a couple days. I may change it around a few more times to see the differences.

I want to try 3 sweeps from min in the front and I want to try 1/2 and full sweep from min on the rear.
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Old Nov 26, 2007 | 12:52 PM
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Originally Posted by my01ws6
I came from brand new sportline and bilsteins. There is definitely a noticeable difference. I would not recommend the sportline/bilstein setup on any car. Heres a list of what makes this particular set upbetter.

-The Koni/Strano out handles it BY FAR.
-You feel 100xs less bumps in the road.
-Your not constantly bouncing up and down like a bobble head figure.
-The car doesnt jerk side to side when I hit bumps.
-The car stay FIRMLY planted on all fours.
-Very little to no body roll
-The car now feels like it glides down the road, thats the only way to describe it.
-Did I mention taking turns at almost twice the speed now .
-This setup makes me LOVE my car again!!
man do i wish i had some koni's.... this is exactly how my car handles with the pro- kit
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