Hello. I'm wanting some info on why my suspension sucks so bad. The car is a 1998 Z28. I've replaced shocks front and rear, new ball joints, upper and lower, new tie rod ends, outer, new sway bar end links, poly ta mount and tranny mount. Everything else is stock. The problem is everytime I hit ANY bump in the road, the car is all over the place. Going around corners, I pray everytime that I don't hit a bump mid corner. Because I fear it'll bounce all the way to the other lane. Its really that bad. I just can't figure out why. Stock ride height. And don't get me started about accelerating hard around a corner. I don't even bother. I wait to hit a straight. I have 10 spoke SS wheels with 255 40's in the front and 275 40's in the rear. This has got to be the worst riding car I've ever driven. I had a lowered 2003 Mustang GT that rode better than this. At least it wasn't all over the road on every bump. Can someone give me an idea on where to start? I'm not sure how much more money I want to put into this because I'm thinking of getting an F150 Lightning. But if I decide to keep it, I definitely want it to ride better. This is driving me nuts!!!

 

What shocks did you put on there?

 

Have you had it professionally aligned?

 

Yes, what shocks did you put in it?

 

I had a similar problem.My car would hop sideways when I hit a bump,even when going straight .When I put in my new rear end and suspension I found I had a bent panhard bar and control arm. They were barely bent not enough to notice at a glance but once they sat on a flat floor you could tell they were bent. After new pieces installed problem went away.
Just something you might check.

 

Is everything torqued down the way it should be? what did you torque the ball joints to?

 

What brand shocks, what size sways? Stock springs? Anyhow, start with some Koni adjustables and Strano sways -- if you want a good baseline.

Welded SFRs will help with making your car feel more rigid over bumps, but won't necessarily help this specific issue.

 

I had it aligned professionally by a local shop with the electronic alignment machine. I put some eBay shocks in. I think they were called stagg performance. Can't remember what the bj's were torque to but it was to spec.

 

The way you describe it sounds like how my car rides on blown stock shocks. I would investigate a set of quality shocks before you write the car off. A set of bilstiens are like $400 and thats a good quality if you're not lowered. If you can't even remember the ebay brand thats not a good sign

 

I'm having the same issue. About to order new springs/shock setup for it

 

Along with what the others have said check and make sure nothing is bent (like LCA or panhard bar), and your swaybars are tightened down.
Also FWIW on stock 10 spoke SS wheels you should be running 275/40/17 tires on the front...
If you can't find anything wrong with the suspension its more than likely the cheap shocks you have, shocks can make a total night and day difference in handling (especially on less than ideal road surfaces).

 

Yea but if you go Bilsteins, do Bilstein HDs not the SLP versions if you want more than 90 days warranty. HDs have a lifetime warranty, just like Konis -- made the choice a no-brainer for me.

 

i had the same problem...my sfc's solved it; even on stock everything else the sfc's nearly completely solved mid-corner bump issues, and with the addition of strano springs, sways, kyb shocks and umi phb i have no problems at all.

i would definitely consider some sfc's.


oh and im sure the ebay shocks arnt helping the situation...

 

Your shocks are probably playing a huge part in these issues..

 

A little late to the post but it seems like most everyone agrees that it's shocks. Poorly valved shocks won't dampen the springs properly and will cause the suspension to bounce over the slightest irregularities. As you have found, it is very unsettling when these irregularities just happen to show up while your going around a corner at speed! If you keep the car, go ahead and spend some money on a set of Bilsteins or Koni SA's and you won't be disappointed.

 

Hey thanks for that info!! I was going to order the SLP's....now I'm definitely going to get the HD's now.

Thanks!!