stock at 100k
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From: Romeoville, Illinois
stock at 100k my suspension is stock and feels very spongy. im at 100k and just wanted to know what i can do to make it feel better to drive without breaking the bank. it wont see the strip a lot. maybe every other year for a day. so getting grip on launches isnt critical. so mainly just a mustang killer when one pulls next to me. any ideas? my buddy said coil overs would be best bang for the buck. any ideas? new to fbodies and modding. all my old cars i swapped for factory parts when things failed. not used to changing before its broken yet....
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Elgin, Il
new shocks (anything BUT decarbons) and bigger front sway bar. Start there and see how it feels. Unless you just want the look, you don't have to lower an F body to get great handling, and lowering makes everything more expensive, because you need adjustable rear lower control arms, adjustable panhard bar, adjustable shocks, etc to do everything right. Staying at stock height with some bilsteins and a strano front sway bar will do WONDERS for handling. Also make sure you have good tires on the car!
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From: Romeoville, Illinois
OK thanks! was planning on talking to strano about a setup. i do have lowering springs that will lower it 2" that i got from my buddy but dont think i will be putting them on...i dont think these look like "monster trucks" at stock height. so how much does a setup usually run? was hoping to keep it under a grand...but dont know if thats realistic. just bought a trans rebuild kit today too...
If you want the car lower than stock but want it to drive better, I'd also recommend the Strano/Koni setup. A set should run right around $1k, maybe slightly higher or lower (can't quite remember, but around there). It's also a good idea to get an adjustable PHB when you lower to recenter your rear. Adjustable LCA's are NOT necessary on a lowered vehicles unless something is way off, but you should be just fine there.
Also, it might be good to check your bushings/tie rod ends/ball joints/etc. to make sure everything is in good shape. Finish things off with an alignment and you should be good to go!
Also, it might be good to check your bushings/tie rod ends/ball joints/etc. to make sure everything is in good shape. Finish things off with an alignment and you should be good to go!
just for a different opinion from what a previous poster stated:
A bigger front swaybar with the stock out back will cut a ton of body roll, but the rear feels slow and lazy to react that way. I've tried it, and I really did not care for it. If you're going to do swaybars (which are a great upgrade) definitely get a nice matched front and rear set. When I added the rear bar with the front 35 it felt worlds better than with the stock bar out back.
Also as posted, no you don't need adjustable lower control arms. If you do, something is wrong. And no you don't absolutely need adjustable shocks. I've run bilsteins with lowering springs and would rate them as decent. Koni's are the way to go if you have the money, but bilsteins are okay.
If you don't care about lowering, bilsteins and strano or UMI bars (front AND rear) is a very good setup
A bigger front swaybar with the stock out back will cut a ton of body roll, but the rear feels slow and lazy to react that way. I've tried it, and I really did not care for it. If you're going to do swaybars (which are a great upgrade) definitely get a nice matched front and rear set. When I added the rear bar with the front 35 it felt worlds better than with the stock bar out back.
Also as posted, no you don't need adjustable lower control arms. If you do, something is wrong. And no you don't absolutely need adjustable shocks. I've run bilsteins with lowering springs and would rate them as decent. Koni's are the way to go if you have the money, but bilsteins are okay.
If you don't care about lowering, bilsteins and strano or UMI bars (front AND rear) is a very good setup
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If you're trying to keep it under a grand, many people would recommend getting the best shocks you can afford, either Koni if you can swing it or Bilstein if money is tight, skip the springs and change/replace any wear parts, and get a good alignment. Obviously if you don't have a good set of tires, that should be part of any upgrades. I decided it was better to go with the best set of 16" instead of lower line 17" tires.
I just got my Bilsteins from Strano and I can't wait to put them on. I had KYB AGXs on my previous Camaro and it made a huge difference from the stock DeCarbons with 60k miles, so I'm expected a bigger difference with the Bilsteins replacing the stockers on my 100k mi. LS1.
I just got my Bilsteins from Strano and I can't wait to put them on. I had KYB AGXs on my previous Camaro and it made a huge difference from the stock DeCarbons with 60k miles, so I'm expected a bigger difference with the Bilsteins replacing the stockers on my 100k mi. LS1.
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As some have mentioned, you can skip springs at first and just do shocks to save some money. You have mentioned that you want to drop it some, and one option you could do is go with Koni shocks first and use the lower perch/heater hose mod (or a member on here makes new drop isolators for the rear if you want to do that) for a .75"/.5" drop now and save your money for springs later, while having the best shocks you can get for said springs so you don't have to worry about replacing yours later. I can definitely say that Koni's on stock springs (what I'm running now) makes a huge difference, good ride quality with a big difference in stability and cornering.
