Lime

iTrader: (5)

Alright, so I took my TA off the road last fall because I can't drive it in Boston winter, and It needs some work.

It has 185k miles on the stock suspension. for miles 80k to 180k, it was driven 80 miles a day commuting. last 5k it was a weekend car, with like 6 autocross events. You can imagine how it rides.

So now i'm trying to figure out where to go with the suspension. I'm sure i'm sitting lower than stock right now, so a small drop isnt going to be an issue, i don't think. the driveway I park in right now i'm scraping a tad coming in and out, so I don't want a drastic drop.

Its mostly going to be my fun, weekend car, with some autocross here and there. Stiff ride, I'm not going to mind, as long as it handles well. Drag racing isn't a concern, as its a stock LT1, and I like the twisties far too much to go with a drag suspension.

I have an adjustable panhard bar in the car now, but thats it. where should I go from here? Shocks, springs, sway bars...? What am I going to need? I know how to fix and replace parts, but setting up a suspension is not something i am familiar with.

Car? 1996 Trans Am, 6 speed, and other than the adj panhard and 17x9.5 hopsters, stock.

Thanks for any help.

99FormulaM6r

iTrader: (2)

Well, what's your budget? Ask around on these forums, and the general consensus for cornering is Koni's/Strano shocks/springs, adding a set of Strano or UMI sway bars (anything with a 35/22 or 35/21 combo is pretty good). However, to save money, some people go with the SLP Bilstein shocks, but Koni's offer adjustability, tighter ride, and more durability especially with lowering springs. Also, adding in other pieces, such as LCA's or new bushings for the old ones, along with a full length torque arm and relocation bracket will just help more, but the big things are shocks, sways, and springs.

So, I suggest:
-Koni 4/4's
-Strano springs
-Strano sway bars
-1LE LCA bushings, or new rod/rod, poly/rod, poly/roto, roto/roto ended LCA's (you should have at least one end a rod or roto joint for correct rear articulation)
-Full length adjustable torque arm (helps with nose dive, also helps you hook, but that doesn't seem to be a priority with you)
-Torque arm relocation bracket (takes the load off of your tail shaft)
-Think about switching your PHB for a watts link

So, top 3 make the biggest difference, but the rest are listed in case you want to improve it even more!

Lime

iTrader: (5)

How much better are the Koni's over the SLP Bilsteins or the KYB AGXs?

If I buy either one other than the Konis, I save enough where I can get the sways and some rod/poly ended LCAs. Its almost a 500 difference between the 4/4s and the AGXs... and 450 between the SLPs. Thats the cost of the sways + LCAs.

If the KYB's are absolute crap, and the SLP's are really that much worse than the Konis, I'll go with the konis, but if all i'm sacrificing is adjustablility and durability, how much durability are we talking about? Adjustable I'm not too worried about, but what are we talking about when you say less durable with lowering springs? am I going to be replacing them at twice the rate or what?

Figure I do the Shocks/Springs/Sways/LCAs for now, and then down the line do subframe connectors, torque arm and relocation, and maybe a watts link.

Do are shock tower braces that beneficial?

transwiz

iTrader: (26)

The Koni sa 4/3 or 4/4 shocks are far better than the other brands.I installed koni 4/3
shocks on my t/a. On the 4/3 shocks the rears are adjustable off the car.I didn't need to
have the adjustability on the car feature.Shocks are the single most important thing to start with on you suspension.Spend the extra money for the koni's.You will be glad in the end.The ride and handling is amazing.Start with the shocks and then get the sway bars.
Call up Sam Strano at Strano performance and talk to him about this stuff.He is the man when it comes to suspension.

therealcreeper

iTrader: (37)

if you are going with lowering springs Koni's are worth the extra money over Bilsteins. I've owned both. it was not easy for me to cough up that much money for them but it was well worth it. keep in mind if you do bilsteins and sways now because that totals out to what Koni's cost, you'll never have anything to really upgrade in the future. if possible, do Koni's now and swaybars a few months down the road or something.

Lime

iTrader: (5)

Thanks guys, that's all I needed to hear. I wanted some real world advice on them. So I'll get the shocks and springs done now, and then sways and LCAs this summer. At this point I just want the car on the road... Haha.