Praise for Sam Strano
10-22-2010, 10:30 PM
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Staging Lane
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Praise for Sam Strano Since this is my first post here, I must say “thank you” to all of the people who have made this a great website. The amount of knowledge and the number of people on here who help each other is awesome.
The story of my car (I will post some before and after pictures of my car tomorrow):
After having my car a few days, I flushed all the fluids, to ensure they were all good. Then I started thinking about mods, and not much time went by before I had to get new brakes.
So first things first, I put SSBC brake pads and slotted rotors on my car (since the stock rotors were warped really bad after 15,000 miles.) The new brakes made a huge difference in my confidence driving, knowing that I could safely stop if I needed to.
Second, I wanted to get some good shocks/springs such as Koni shocks with some kind of lowering springs, but wanted to spend as little as I could to get something that was good, in order to have more money for other mods. I got the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup and paid someone to install it, and hindsight being 20/20, with the money I spent on the parts and the installation, I could have just gotten the Koni/Strano setup and installed it myself. It was a slight improvement in performance and ride over the stock shocks/springs, but I was not really happy with the performance, as I thought they would make my car more stable when cornering, changing lanes, driving at high speeds, etc. With the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup, I never felt confident driving aggressively or even casually.
I got UMI 3 point bolt-in subframe connectors and a strut tower brace, and they helped tighten the handling a little bit.
After being unhappy with the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup for a few months, I told myself that if I could not get my car to handle well, I was not going to put another dime in it, and save up for a corvette. Because I love my Camaro, I decided to put some more money into her. There were a lot of positive reviews for the Koni/Strano shocks/springs, so I decided to order the Koni 4/4 shocks and the Strano springs and, other than the SSBC brakes, it was the best thing I could have done for my car.
The installation was not exactly a piece of cake, mostly because it was only my second time putting new suspension in a car, and it was the first time I had done it in a home garage using jackstands, a spring compressor from Autozone, and no air tools. It was definitely not the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life, and I am sure that if I had to do it again, it would be much easier the second time. I have to give credit to Mr. Strano for answering what probably seemed like endless questions from me, many of which to him were probably questions with painfully obvious answers, but he always treated me with respect, and honestly answered all of my questions, and his help/advice was a huge factor in my successful selection and installation of the suspension components.
When I was removing the Bilstein/Eibachs, both of the front sway bar endlink bolts broke, which was probably a blessing in disguise, since I wanted to eventually get the Strano hollow 35/22 mm swaybars, and when the bolts broke, I had a good reason to just go ahead and get rid of the factory swaybars and endlinks, and get the Stranos.
I also got a UMI dual roto joint panhard bar. All of the components are very high quality, and I am very confident that they will last a long time.
The installation of everything took me about 12 hours total, about double the time AllData has listed for the work, but I would rather spend some extra time getting it done right the first time, and have the peace of mind in not worrying that something got messed up from rushing through it.
The difference in handling after I installed the Koni/Strano setup is unbelievable. The only way to understand how much of an improvement in handling over the factory shocks/springs or the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup is to drive a car with the Koni/Strano setup. I had an ear to ear smile on my face after getting on an on ramp a few hours ago at about double the speed I normally would (not that I would recommend for anyone to do that), and the car felt like I could have gone much faster than that. Changing lanes on the interstate felt like I was driving a different car. The stability when driving at highway speeds is incredible. The bump steer was almost completely eliminated with the Koni/Strano setup, and I am sure that once I fine tune the alignment, the handling will be even better.
Of all the people I have talked to regarding technical assistance or just talking about what would be best for my car, Mr. Strano is definitely in a league of his own as far as customer service goes. His knowledge and advice definitely saved me some money, in that he told me straight what would be worth installing on my car and what would not, which says a lot about his character. His advice also saved me a lot of time and energy, with accurate and honest information on everything I needed to know to get everything working right.
The story of my car (I will post some before and after pictures of my car tomorrow):
After having my car a few days, I flushed all the fluids, to ensure they were all good. Then I started thinking about mods, and not much time went by before I had to get new brakes.
So first things first, I put SSBC brake pads and slotted rotors on my car (since the stock rotors were warped really bad after 15,000 miles.) The new brakes made a huge difference in my confidence driving, knowing that I could safely stop if I needed to.
Second, I wanted to get some good shocks/springs such as Koni shocks with some kind of lowering springs, but wanted to spend as little as I could to get something that was good, in order to have more money for other mods. I got the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup and paid someone to install it, and hindsight being 20/20, with the money I spent on the parts and the installation, I could have just gotten the Koni/Strano setup and installed it myself. It was a slight improvement in performance and ride over the stock shocks/springs, but I was not really happy with the performance, as I thought they would make my car more stable when cornering, changing lanes, driving at high speeds, etc. With the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup, I never felt confident driving aggressively or even casually.
I got UMI 3 point bolt-in subframe connectors and a strut tower brace, and they helped tighten the handling a little bit.
After being unhappy with the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup for a few months, I told myself that if I could not get my car to handle well, I was not going to put another dime in it, and save up for a corvette. Because I love my Camaro, I decided to put some more money into her. There were a lot of positive reviews for the Koni/Strano shocks/springs, so I decided to order the Koni 4/4 shocks and the Strano springs and, other than the SSBC brakes, it was the best thing I could have done for my car.
The installation was not exactly a piece of cake, mostly because it was only my second time putting new suspension in a car, and it was the first time I had done it in a home garage using jackstands, a spring compressor from Autozone, and no air tools. It was definitely not the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life, and I am sure that if I had to do it again, it would be much easier the second time. I have to give credit to Mr. Strano for answering what probably seemed like endless questions from me, many of which to him were probably questions with painfully obvious answers, but he always treated me with respect, and honestly answered all of my questions, and his help/advice was a huge factor in my successful selection and installation of the suspension components.
When I was removing the Bilstein/Eibachs, both of the front sway bar endlink bolts broke, which was probably a blessing in disguise, since I wanted to eventually get the Strano hollow 35/22 mm swaybars, and when the bolts broke, I had a good reason to just go ahead and get rid of the factory swaybars and endlinks, and get the Stranos.
I also got a UMI dual roto joint panhard bar. All of the components are very high quality, and I am very confident that they will last a long time.
The installation of everything took me about 12 hours total, about double the time AllData has listed for the work, but I would rather spend some extra time getting it done right the first time, and have the peace of mind in not worrying that something got messed up from rushing through it.
The difference in handling after I installed the Koni/Strano setup is unbelievable. The only way to understand how much of an improvement in handling over the factory shocks/springs or the SLP Bilstein/Eibach setup is to drive a car with the Koni/Strano setup. I had an ear to ear smile on my face after getting on an on ramp a few hours ago at about double the speed I normally would (not that I would recommend for anyone to do that), and the car felt like I could have gone much faster than that. Changing lanes on the interstate felt like I was driving a different car. The stability when driving at highway speeds is incredible. The bump steer was almost completely eliminated with the Koni/Strano setup, and I am sure that once I fine tune the alignment, the handling will be even better.
Of all the people I have talked to regarding technical assistance or just talking about what would be best for my car, Mr. Strano is definitely in a league of his own as far as customer service goes. His knowledge and advice definitely saved me some money, in that he told me straight what would be worth installing on my car and what would not, which says a lot about his character. His advice also saved me a lot of time and energy, with accurate and honest information on everything I needed to know to get everything working right.
Last edited by NeoLoco; 10-23-2010 at 12:00 AM.
10-22-2010, 11:01 PM
#4
Staging Lane
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It sounds like you are trying to imply something. Why don't you just say what you mean? COME ON MAN.
There are reasons why he has the reputation that he does.
There are reasons why he has the reputation that he does.
10-22-2010, 11:13 PM
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Staging Lane
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10-23-2010, 10:32 AM
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Always. Or maybe others looking to get customers to there shop thru free advertising? Its whatever. As long as the buyer is happy in the end. If not then do it all over. Its not about the money either.
10-23-2010, 11:15 AM
#12
Staging Lane
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There are a lot of posts here on Ls1tech where people are trying to help each other, and I figured I could help some people by sharing my experience with the different suspension setups I had, and the help of Mr. Strano to get my car running well.
Last edited by NeoLoco; 10-23-2010 at 11:55 AM.
10-23-2010, 11:21 AM
#13
Staging Lane
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I didn't even know there is a sponsor feedback section on here. My post was describing my different suspension setups that I had and my experience with dealing with Mr. Strano.
10-23-2010, 01:30 PM
#14
TECH Senior Member
I hear ya. I was happy with my car in the end and it's not all about the money. To me, time and energy are a lot more important than money (unless it's my life savings or something like that), because I can't get back the time and energy spent on something that I'm not happy with.
There are a lot of posts here on Ls1tech where people are trying to help each other, and I figured I could help some people by sharing my experience with the different suspension setups I had, and the help of Mr. Strano to get my car running well.
There are a lot of posts here on Ls1tech where people are trying to help each other, and I figured I could help some people by sharing my experience with the different suspension setups I had, and the help of Mr. Strano to get my car running well.
If you had a good experience keep recommending then, there are way too many sponsors on this site that have an "auto reply" button them push with "Hello, I see you are having a problem with X, please buy a bunch of crap from me!" Without explaining anything, or why a certain part is recommended over another, or at all. Sam is the only sponsor on here I've ever seen actually give real reasons for something.
The haters should get out on an auto-x track and mention his name, you will hear nothing but good praise, not because hes a good driver, but because he is such a helpful down to earth guy.
10-23-2010, 06:19 PM
#16
Neoloco, I have just gone through the same process of upgrading from SLP/Bilstein to the Strano stuff. My impressions are pretty much the same on the new setup! Congrats, BTW, you've flushed out a couple of haters just from posting your excitement about your new suspension! I wonder how my (similar) post is going? Oh yea, THEY found ME too!!!
10-23-2010, 06:36 PM
#19
We disagree on the approach and resolution of issues and I don't care for his quarterly "I love me" thread.
But that's about it.
10-23-2010, 06:36 PM
#20
Staging Lane
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Neoloco, I have just gone through the same process of upgrading from SLP/Bilstein to the Strano stuff. My impressions are pretty much the same on the new setup! Congrats, BTW, you've flushed out a couple of haters just from posting your excitement about your new suspension! I wonder how my (similar) post is going? Oh yea, THEY found ME too!!!