qa1's are a drag shock like said 100X times in the past.

 

You will not be disappointed, keep us informed and tell us how you like them.

 

I'll do that JD, your description of what it did for your car is alot of what helped me decide, so I appreciate it. I'll give you a good break down of how it was compared to the QA1s on the street. Maybe we can settle this once and for all to see how they really stack up on the street.

 

Well the Konis are in!
I just got done with finals and I'll have a block of time to work on getting them in sometime this week!
Probably have to take some pictures and do a long review of the differences.

Anyone have any ideas as to how I can make a test with proveable, repeatable results to test the differences b/w QA1 and Koni on the street? I think if we can all agree on some criteria to test on, we can make a good thread on these two setups.

 

Nice, keep us updated.
I say adjust the QA1's to the "handling setting" and go find some back roads, bumpy/rough roads, on/off highway ramps etc. etc. to get the feel. Then do the same with the Koni's on.

 

Well I did it.....
I worked on it last night and tonight. The install was pretty straight forward.

I went back with stock springs after a little research. I have the fronts set two turns from full hard (seven sweeps) and the rears at one turn (three clicks) from full soft on the rear.

i did some baseline driving (very hard driving) on my QA1s around some long smooth curves and I would always want to back off because i couldn't feel what the car wanted to do. I can honestly say however with the QA1s there wasn't much body roll. I think the car was too low to actually lean anywhere. It still dipped and dove as it hit bumps. The steering felt slow and the car was harsh, everything squeaked and made noise. To verify what I thought I had a friend of mine drive my car while I drove his (still on SLP package) and he had a quite different opinion and he drove the wheels off of it. Bottom line in the end he thought is was uncomfortable as well and that it definitely thought it wasn't ideal for the street.

Okay on to the Konis....... I want to squash this once and for all!
After I removed the first QA1, I played with it for a minute because here recently I learned alot more about suspensions (necessity after wanting to try something else as far as suspension) I took the QA1 and with it on "handling" settings I grabbed the piston and it took a little effort but no strain to pull the piston out. Now for the kicker. I push them down (I remember being able to do this when I was installing them as well) and nothing happens. The shock doesn't push the piston back up. The Konis however were much different. I would push them down and they would make a nice return. Okay settings and comparisons to ANY OTHER SHOCK go out the window. Why? because other shocks DAMPEN things. The QA1 Just moves and stays there!!!!!!! So that means the whole time I really might as well been riding on a damn spring.

SO A QA1 SHOCK DOESN"T DO ANYTHING ON THE STREET! NOTHING for some reason this has been mentioned in technical terms. I saw Sam even said that in this very thread, but I didn't get what he was saying. Regardless of how hard I set the QA1s I could still push them in with my hand and pull them out as well. So the 3500 lb car didn't seem to care what setting it went on. It just bounced a little more when stiffened.

So I installed the konis and I want to shoot myself for buying QA1s. My kidneys feel great too! Seriously, just backing out of the drive way was incredible as the usual thumping wasn't there. I got more excited as I drove and took it easy at first. About two blocks later, I winced when I hit a bump I know pretty well on reaction, because I normal bash my car against it. Wow all I heard was a light thud like someone hit the car swinging a pillow. It's a great feeling! The car is much smoother, but here is the real fun. Taking corners is increbile at speed. Even with stock springs I could take corners at over twice the speed without flinching because the car was predictable. The steering was smoother and more responsive as well. The car hooks and moves like a pro football player. I'm completely hooked.
It is really late for me and I'm delirous. just wanted to post up. I'm going to get an alignment tomorrow. I'll re read my post and edit/proofread and finish trying to get my point across. Thanks for all the help everyone, this is just what i wanted and better than I expected. I'm highly skeptical of things that are shared on here. Especially things that seem subjective like "how something feels" But this was spot on.

 

I'm going to save this thread for the next time someone wants a comparison and can't believe that cheaply built and valved shocks are anywhere near the equal of real dampers.

Thanks for the write up, most especially the details about how the ride improved along with the improvment in response and reaction. I'm just sorry we couldn't have gotten to you before you go the QA1's. Then again, you'd have not been able to compare without them either.

Enjoy, and remember if you have any questions, as is the case with all my customers--feel free to call and ask!

 

Great writeup

 

well everything sapper says about the qa1's is my same reaction and how i feal with them on my car, its to the point i dont even want to drive it cause the car jerks all over the place. On the other hand the do allow me to launch the car so i just might keep the front qa1's. The rears are definately getting changed to koni's.. Question, what ones did you get as i see there are 2 different ones.

 

Awesome, I'm happy for you. This is exactly what I expected.
So what do you have to say to those who think that Koni's are a waste of money, and you can get by with Strange, QA1 or other drag shocks?

 

Buddy, don't mix match, trust me its not worth it. Get the front and rear together, you can adjust the front softer for better weight transfer if you want. After you take a ride with them on you won't care about a tenth (if that) of a second in the 1/4 mile.

 

I say that if you don't get Konis you are are retard and should be slapped!

No seriously, I get it if you are a drag guy, but there isn't a comparison to how these feel. The only thing that could come close is what came from the factory.

Apologies to all about the sloppiness of this thread. I will come back and edit some of my posts over again, but right now I'm outside finishing up changing some brake rotors and tightening a few things up. Got my wheels checked for balance today....uh not sure if this is possible but I think a combination of rough (QA1s) and low ride height (ride heights posted earlier in thread) caused me to bend a rim slightly or at least cause something to go out of round somehwere. After the alignment today I felt a little shake in the steering wheel took them off and went up to the tire shop and three of them were off by more than an once (bad balance job I would think) and then one of the tires did have a little wobble to them. I gotta get back to work but for now here are the alignment specs:

Caster 6 1/4"
Toe in 1/16"
Camber L -1/8" R -1/4"

 

Like JD said, not sure that is a great idea because the rides are SO different, you would get some kind of see saw effect that would probably make you puke..... just my opinion

 

Im going with qa1's myself, yes i know i will not handle like a corvette but thats not why i bought this car for.........the lost of control you felt was because the weight of the car transfers more easy with drag shocks, which helps you get a better launch

you never did state your spring rate with the qa1's, and unlike you im going to beef up my sway bars, install weld in boxed subframe connectors,phb,lca's, experiment with different tire compounds/pressure, and do even more weight reduction

 

Good luck!
He stated he had 300lbs springs in front.
Can I ask you something? Why are you getting bigger sway bars (im assuming you mean front too) when its just going to hurt weight transfer (you are making a drag car right)?

 

the crappy ride has nothing to do with weight transfer and everything to do with compression and rebound which qa1's DON'T controll. So when your going over normal bumps your car is going to be thrown around like an out of balance washing machine. I have just about every suspension mod on the car and it makes no difference going over bumps. If the roads were all smooth,no bumps/dips and such it wouldn't be so bad. I too started out with the intention of having a car that launched great but still have the adjustabilty to make it handle well on the street. Turns out i drive my car more on the street and theses shocks, no mater how hard you make them, dont controll the rebound at all and you get tossed around in the car instead of the car just going over the bumps..

If your so set on qa1's(which i might add are an excelent TRACK shock) then i could sell you mine. I have to have the backs rebuilt(yes they are rebuildable, and have been on the car for 6 years, the fronts have been on the car for 1.5 years with 300lb springs) I would say that these shocks are better suited to the people that go to the track often,that remove their front sway bar(i know i wouldnt remove my front swaybar-handles like ***-but some guys have no problem with removing it ) Since i mostly drive on the street, live in jersey with crappy roads these things are going..

 

yeah sounds great but the QA1s don't have rebound dampening, like you stockers do. Stick with what you have now they will probably work better for the street/track stuff you want to do. The biggest problem on the street is that you are going to have a difficult time entering and exiting a corner. It's bad man really bad. But when it comes to these cars, everyone has to learn what they like by trying it out themselves. Its funny too though people are cutting 1.8s on the same Koni shocks as well.....

 

Good to see another person has come to the dark side. I was blown away at the difference the Konis made. If you liked the change in handling, I suggest you pick up a set of Sam's swaybars. The two mods complement eachother quite well.

 

do you have the qa1 stocker stars? in the front?......i just bought a few things for xmas and dont have money right now but im definatly intrested can u pm some pics


oops i meant a rear anti roll bar.....and i remove the front sway bar when i run the car

 

Yeah well after not listening and buying QA1s I'll probably take you word for it. No since in being hard headed twice.