shock/spring questions
#1
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shock/spring questions
alright so I have a 99 SS w/ stock shocks and springs and as far as i'm concerned they leave ALOT to be desired as far as handling goes. It kinda has the boat effect. I've done searches and cant find any usefull info. I want to know what I can do to stiffen the ride quality without lowering my car (i have an sts turbo kit so clearance is already an issue). Any help is MUCH appreciated.
#2
a good set of shocks will help you out a lot. especially if you have a lot of miles on your car. koni's are almost unanimously the best. i have bilsteins on my car since i have no $ and they're working out quite well. the HD's are valved for the stock height. don't know of many stiffer springs that don't drop the car though.
springs and shocks aren't the only thing that give the car a floaty feeling though. getting some better swaybars with poly endlinks along with some sfc's and lca's will help out too. i used to have some poly/poly lca's and they made the car feel stiffer. keep searching. there's a ton of info on here.
springs and shocks aren't the only thing that give the car a floaty feeling though. getting some better swaybars with poly endlinks along with some sfc's and lca's will help out too. i used to have some poly/poly lca's and they made the car feel stiffer. keep searching. there's a ton of info on here.
#3
TECH Senior Member
You didn't search hard enough then, the is a ridiculous amount of info on this forum. FWIW [good] Shocks are the single best thing you can do for these cars, the stockers are the reason for the "boat like" or floaty feeling (assuming nothing is broken).
Something as simple as Konis and strano swaybars and you won't believe its the same car.
Info:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/643950-suspension-mods-real-world.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/513475-canyon-carving-street-suspension-setup-review-long.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....21&postcount=8
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...light=handling
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...light=handling
Something as simple as Konis and strano swaybars and you won't believe its the same car.
Info:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/643950-suspension-mods-real-world.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspension-brakes/513475-canyon-carving-street-suspension-setup-review-long.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....21&postcount=8
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...light=handling
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...light=handling
#4
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (41)
As was mentioned, your complaint is coming from the shocks. Specifically a lack of rebound damping control. Depending on what's on the car (brand, age, mileage) your perspective about what's good vs. great will vary.
A set of Bilstein's would be an improvement, no doubt. However, I prefer a more crisp and taut car, and so I use Koni's (which also allow you to tune the amount of damping). There are other options, but those are the two best quality wise.
You could also do any number of other things to firm the car up. But other parts work in different ways and most don't understand the pro's vs. con's of those parts and while changing parts that aren't the root of the problem might help, they aren't curing the underlying cause.
Good shocks are the single most critical part to making these cars drive correctly. Nothing is more important, and that's largely because GM didn't screw anything else up so badly....
A set of Bilstein's would be an improvement, no doubt. However, I prefer a more crisp and taut car, and so I use Koni's (which also allow you to tune the amount of damping). There are other options, but those are the two best quality wise.
You could also do any number of other things to firm the car up. But other parts work in different ways and most don't understand the pro's vs. con's of those parts and while changing parts that aren't the root of the problem might help, they aren't curing the underlying cause.
Good shocks are the single most critical part to making these cars drive correctly. Nothing is more important, and that's largely because GM didn't screw anything else up so badly....
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www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450
Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion