What are the current strut/shock options for our V1's?
10-01-2014, 05:26 PM
#1
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What are the current strut/shock options for our V1's? I'm not a huge fan of the Eibach springs with Qa1 shocks & struts on my 05 V, but seems like we don't have many options for new springs & dampers? Coilovers are out of my budget, so what is out there as far as shocks & struts are concerned these days? I don't even see new FG2's or FE4's on the market at an affordable price, & it seems those don't even last that long anyhow. What's out there for the V1's? Thanks in advance 
Last edited by EPIK; 10-01-2014 at 05:34 PM.
10-01-2014, 05:38 PM
#2
I really like the stock suspension. I have stock springs and the basic shocks (the standard ones without the dotted lines on the label). All I did was swaybar bushings. For a commuter its a good mix of ride and response and the ground clearance is appropriate for western pa roads and winters.
10-01-2014, 05:40 PM
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I really like the stock suspension. I have stock springs and the basic shocks (the standard ones without the dotted lines on the label). All I did was swaybar bushings. For a commuter its a good mix of ride and response and the ground clearance is appropriate for western pa roads and winters.
10-01-2014, 07:28 PM
#4
What don't you like about the qa1's? I was reading the following quote the other day and was thinking about getting some, potentially with a ground control kit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by demang View Post
look up ocshocks.com They rebuild them and sell them.
Them what? The Bilsteins that the two posts prior to yours were talking about? Or QA1s?
Yup should of said that i was talking about the QA1s. They take them and actually will re-valve them for the cts v. At least they did for me. I have mine on 11 of the 20 settings or clicks with some 650/600 Hyperco springs. My wife likes the ride better than hers with the stock suspension.
Quote:
Originally Posted by demang View Post
look up ocshocks.com They rebuild them and sell them.
Them what? The Bilsteins that the two posts prior to yours were talking about? Or QA1s?
Yup should of said that i was talking about the QA1s. They take them and actually will re-valve them for the cts v. At least they did for me. I have mine on 11 of the 20 settings or clicks with some 650/600 Hyperco springs. My wife likes the ride better than hers with the stock suspension.
10-02-2014, 12:27 AM
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What don't you like about the qa1's? I was reading the following quote the other day and was thinking about getting some, potentially with a ground control kit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by demang View Post
look up ocshocks.com They rebuild them and sell them.
Them what? The Bilsteins that the two posts prior to yours were talking about? Or QA1s?
Yup should of said that i was talking about the QA1s. They take them and actually will re-valve them for the cts v. At least they did for me. I have mine on 11 of the 20 settings or clicks with some 650/600 Hyperco springs. My wife likes the ride better than hers with the stock suspension.
Quote:
Originally Posted by demang View Post
look up ocshocks.com They rebuild them and sell them.
Them what? The Bilsteins that the two posts prior to yours were talking about? Or QA1s?
Yup should of said that i was talking about the QA1s. They take them and actually will re-valve them for the cts v. At least they did for me. I have mine on 11 of the 20 settings or clicks with some 650/600 Hyperco springs. My wife likes the ride better than hers with the stock suspension.
I would like to see how they feel revolved, but don't want to spend the money & have them feel the same as before, also can't have my car down that long, it's my DD at this time.
Last edited by EPIK; 10-02-2014 at 12:37 AM.
10-02-2014, 03:57 AM
#6
I know you said they are out of your budget, but...... Coil overs are WELL worth saving for! Made a huge improvement in the handling of the car and are fully adjustable. For as heavy as the car is they will allow you to really push the limits of the car even while running street tires. Just my opinion.
10-02-2014, 07:48 AM
#7
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if you're replacing shocks and springs, coilovers are going to cost about the same amount of money if you go with D2 or ksport. given that you want KW you'll be a little short.
Last edited by Bio248; 10-02-2014 at 08:21 AM.
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10-02-2014, 07:57 AM
#8
What don't you like about the qa1's? I was reading the following quote the other day and was thinking about getting some, potentially with a ground control kit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by demang View Post
look up ocshocks.com They rebuild them and sell them.
Them what? The Bilsteins that the two posts prior to yours were talking about? Or QA1s?
Yup should of said that i was talking about the QA1s. They take them and actually will re-valve them for the cts v. At least they did for me. I have mine on 11 of the 20 settings or clicks with some 650/600 Hyperco springs. My wife likes the ride better than hers with the stock suspension.
Quote:
Originally Posted by demang View Post
look up ocshocks.com They rebuild them and sell them.
Them what? The Bilsteins that the two posts prior to yours were talking about? Or QA1s?
Yup should of said that i was talking about the QA1s. They take them and actually will re-valve them for the cts v. At least they did for me. I have mine on 11 of the 20 settings or clicks with some 650/600 Hyperco springs. My wife likes the ride better than hers with the stock suspension.
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Find a Quality alignment shop near you!
10-03-2014, 11:55 AM
#9
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I'm just really under the impression that these QA1 shocks/struts are no good to begin with, not much info online about a lot of V owners running them, & the discontinuance also points to them not being very popular. Why are there no Bilsteins or Konis available for these cars? I know V1s are sort of rare, but there are enough V1s on the road to warrant a reputable company to make some stock-like replacement dampers. I'm sure many or most of the V1s on the road likely need new dampers by now... I'm not looking for something that will make my V a better track car, I want a setup that will make my car ride smoother on the street than it does with my current setup. Sounds like expensive coilovers are my only option?
On another note, I can't even find out any specific info on my eibach springs either, like what spring rate are they front & rear, & how do they compare to the stock springs. I've never driven a stock V, so I can't compare, but I would imagine they rode much better than my V does, or I would hope so.
On another note, I can't even find out any specific info on my eibach springs either, like what spring rate are they front & rear, & how do they compare to the stock springs. I've never driven a stock V, so I can't compare, but I would imagine they rode much better than my V does, or I would hope so.
10-03-2014, 01:16 PM
#11
epik where do you live? In my setup i forgot to mention that i have the gc kit. I replaced the springs with hypercoil springs. 600/650 rides great. Like i said before wife prefers my car over hers. I do track a few times a year and so far ( knock on wood ) no problems. It also serves as my kid hauler and he loves it too. Falls asleep with no problems. The qa1 that i got from ocshocks were re-valved by them. They didn't come from qa1 like this. If your close to south fl i can give a ride. I had another v owner comment on how he loved the responsiveness of my setup.
10-03-2014, 02:22 PM
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epik where do you live? In my setup i forgot to mention that i have the gc kit. I replaced the springs with hypercoil springs. 600/650 rides great. Like i said before wife prefers my car over hers. I do track a few times a year and so far ( knock on wood ) no problems. It also serves as my kid hauler and he loves it too. Falls asleep with no problems. The qa1 that i got from ocshocks were re-valved by them. They didn't come from qa1 like this. If your close to south fl i can give a ride. I had another v owner comment on how he loved the responsiveness of my setup.
10-03-2014, 02:23 PM
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10-06-2014, 11:21 AM
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A couple/few weeks ago the Pick-n-Pull got a 2006 CTS, the first one that I've seen in the yard. It had the (I assume) base FE1 suspension. Holy cow, those dampers are tiny in comparison to the FG2s I've got!
On the Feal front, I wonder if they'd be willing/able to do FE4s and FG2s? This is certainly a topic that comes up frequently, and there really aren't any options on the market other than coil-overs in varying degrees of $$ and quality. The CTS-V market is pretty small, but I would think if Feal (or anyone else) could offer a rebuild/refresh option for the OEM dampers they'd get some business.
On the Feal front, I wonder if they'd be willing/able to do FE4s and FG2s? This is certainly a topic that comes up frequently, and there really aren't any options on the market other than coil-overs in varying degrees of $$ and quality. The CTS-V market is pretty small, but I would think if Feal (or anyone else) could offer a rebuild/refresh option for the OEM dampers they'd get some business.
10-06-2014, 12:17 PM
#15
I have the FG2s and would prefer a better shock. In my setup, they don't seem to provide enough damping.
I have exchanged a couple of emails with Odi but I don't know if he will be willing to put the Feal CTS-V specific kit together. He was checking into it but did mention that he no longer offered the setup and there was no market for it. I encouraged him to market here and other Cadillac specific forums. We'll see where it ends up. In the meantime I will stay on the lookout for a reasonably priced KW V3 setup (if they would offer to let me select my spring rates I would have already purchased a set - it is just too expensive for me to feel good about buying them and then throwing out the springs and spending $$$ for new springs - same reason I don't have the creative steel or GForce rear ends).
I have exchanged a couple of emails with Odi but I don't know if he will be willing to put the Feal CTS-V specific kit together. He was checking into it but did mention that he no longer offered the setup and there was no market for it. I encouraged him to market here and other Cadillac specific forums. We'll see where it ends up. In the meantime I will stay on the lookout for a reasonably priced KW V3 setup (if they would offer to let me select my spring rates I would have already purchased a set - it is just too expensive for me to feel good about buying them and then throwing out the springs and spending $$$ for new springs - same reason I don't have the creative steel or GForce rear ends).
10-07-2014, 07:48 AM
#17
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i've been emailing with odi as well. he said he can for sure revalve D2/ksport.
he also said he'll look into availability of parts and see what he can figure out. should be an answer on that by next week.
if the worst case is buying a set of D2/ksport and getting them drop shipped to him so he can work them over and replace with swift springs of your choosing, that puts you into a decent coilover for cheaper than KW, but it won't be a stainless body.
he also said he'll look into availability of parts and see what he can figure out. should be an answer on that by next week.
if the worst case is buying a set of D2/ksport and getting them drop shipped to him so he can work them over and replace with swift springs of your choosing, that puts you into a decent coilover for cheaper than KW, but it won't be a stainless body.