Suspension Newb
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 171
Likes: 0
From: Norfolk, VA
Suspension Newb Hey so I am new into this field but am heading on over to a performance shop near me to check put their products for suspension... which ones are poor, good or the best??? I don't know much at all when it comes to suspension and lowering a camaro.... I use to have an old set of Eibach springs which sat underneath my bed for a year and eventually sold them because I just never had the money at 16 to do it... But now that I have a career in the Navy I can finally afford too! The time has finally come and all of that deployment money that I haves saved up, well its time to dress out the new Arctic White SS!
Is this fairly a cheap mod to do??? What all can you do or need for a smoother ride??? Setup wise? Just springs? I live in Virginia Beach and the roads here are HORRIBLEEEEEE... What would you suggest on height/inches in dropping it??? I want to make it look clean, but yet not slam into the floor with every pot hole that I hit or bumb in the road once my headers go in or bang the crap out of my under carriage!
Thank you and any POSITIVE feedback will be greatly appreciated!!
Is this fairly a cheap mod to do??? What all can you do or need for a smoother ride??? Setup wise? Just springs? I live in Virginia Beach and the roads here are HORRIBLEEEEEE... What would you suggest on height/inches in dropping it??? I want to make it look clean, but yet not slam into the floor with every pot hole that I hit or bumb in the road once my headers go in or bang the crap out of my under carriage!
Thank you and any POSITIVE feedback will be greatly appreciated!!
Hey so I am new into this field but am heading on over to a performance shop near me to check put their products for suspension... which ones are poor, good or the best??? I don't know much at all when it comes to suspension and lowering a camaro.... I use to have an old set of Eibach springs which sat underneath my bed for a year and eventually sold them because I just never had the money at 16 to do it... But now that I have a career in the Navy I can finally afford too! The time has finally come and all of that deployment money that I haves saved up, well its time to dress out the new Arctic White SS!
Is this fairly a cheap mod to do??? What all can you do or need for a smoother ride??? Setup wise? Just springs? I live in Virginia Beach and the roads here are HORRIBLEEEEEE... What would you suggest on height/inches in dropping it??? I want to make it look clean, but yet not slam into the floor with every pot hole that I hit or bumb in the road once my headers go in or bang the crap out of my under carriage!
Thank you and any POSITIVE feedback will be greatly appreciated!!
Is this fairly a cheap mod to do??? What all can you do or need for a smoother ride??? Setup wise? Just springs? I live in Virginia Beach and the roads here are HORRIBLEEEEEE... What would you suggest on height/inches in dropping it??? I want to make it look clean, but yet not slam into the floor with every pot hole that I hit or bumb in the road once my headers go in or bang the crap out of my under carriage!
Thank you and any POSITIVE feedback will be greatly appreciated!!
You can pick lowering which will firm up the ride, "read more harsh", or you can try and make the car ride as comfortably as possible. You can't have both, and doing either comes with compromises.
If you lower, put wide tires, and nice 18" wheels on it, it will look great, and depending on the spring/shock combo handle well. However, it will ride hard. The worse your roads are the more you'll notice it. It's hard for springs to decelerate unsprung weight in a shorter distance, and shocks can only do so much.
On the flip side, if you go for ride quality it won't look as a nice, and probably won't handle as well.
This topic has been beaten mercilessly for the 10+ years ls1tech has been around.
Here's a post about ride quality:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...mooth-all.html
Hey there, and welcome to LS1tech!
To start things off, if you're looking to do springs, there are indeed a few steps that should be taken to truly do it correctly. Shocks, springs, adjustable panhard bar, and possibly relocation brackets.
Some people just swap in springs and keep their factory shocks. This can present a few problems as the reduced travel can quickly wear out the factory shocks - especially the DeCarbons - resulting in a poorly dampened ride and discomfort. Because of this, it's generally a good rule of thumb to go ahead and swap the shocks at the same time. It's general consensus that Koni 4/4 and 4/3 shocks are overall the best shocks for the car. They are a little expensive, yes, but we actually offer them in a package with our springs for a $250 discount - essentially getting free springs. The next step down would be Bilstein shocks or Tokico. The Bilsteins are the most common because of their stellar ride and price while Tokico doesn't gain much traction on the forums, every customer who has ordered them has loved them. Tokicos are going to be a little more harsh than the Bilsteins.
Finally, an adjustable panhard bar would be the final, essential part to complete the swap correctly. The factory panhard is a set length for the factory springs/ride height. When the ride height changes, the panhard still stays the same length and causes the rearend to move toward the driver's side to compensate. In extreme cases, it can distort bushings and the shocks and make the car track incorrectly. The easy solution is to install an adjustable bar and shorten it to the correct length for your ride height.
If there is anything I can help you with, let me know. We have plenty of packages available and I would love to go over any questions you may have for them.
- Kevin
To start things off, if you're looking to do springs, there are indeed a few steps that should be taken to truly do it correctly. Shocks, springs, adjustable panhard bar, and possibly relocation brackets.
Some people just swap in springs and keep their factory shocks. This can present a few problems as the reduced travel can quickly wear out the factory shocks - especially the DeCarbons - resulting in a poorly dampened ride and discomfort. Because of this, it's generally a good rule of thumb to go ahead and swap the shocks at the same time. It's general consensus that Koni 4/4 and 4/3 shocks are overall the best shocks for the car. They are a little expensive, yes, but we actually offer them in a package with our springs for a $250 discount - essentially getting free springs. The next step down would be Bilstein shocks or Tokico. The Bilsteins are the most common because of their stellar ride and price while Tokico doesn't gain much traction on the forums, every customer who has ordered them has loved them. Tokicos are going to be a little more harsh than the Bilsteins.
Finally, an adjustable panhard bar would be the final, essential part to complete the swap correctly. The factory panhard is a set length for the factory springs/ride height. When the ride height changes, the panhard still stays the same length and causes the rearend to move toward the driver's side to compensate. In extreme cases, it can distort bushings and the shocks and make the car track incorrectly. The easy solution is to install an adjustable bar and shorten it to the correct length for your ride height.
If there is anything I can help you with, let me know. We have plenty of packages available and I would love to go over any questions you may have for them.
- Kevin
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 709
Likes: 2
From: 336 NC
The roads do suck in Va. Beach. I would get Koni shocks and use the stock springs on the lower perch in front and the heater hose mod in the rear. Look it up, several members on here have this combo.
Hey so I am new into this field but am heading on over to a performance shop near me to check put their products for suspension... which ones are poor, good or the best??? I don't know much at all when it comes to suspension and lowering a camaro.... I use to have an old set of Eibach springs which sat underneath my bed for a year and eventually sold them because I just never had the money at 16 to do it... But now that I have a career in the Navy I can finally afford too! The time has finally come and all of that deployment money that I haves saved up, well its time to dress out the new Arctic White SS!
Is this fairly a cheap mod to do??? What all can you do or need for a smoother ride??? Setup wise? Just springs? I live in Virginia Beach and the roads here are HORRIBLEEEEEE... What would you suggest on height/inches in dropping it??? I want to make it look clean, but yet not slam into the floor with every pot hole that I hit or bumb in the road once my headers go in or bang the crap out of my under carriage!
Thank you and any POSITIVE feedback will be greatly appreciated!!
Is this fairly a cheap mod to do??? What all can you do or need for a smoother ride??? Setup wise? Just springs? I live in Virginia Beach and the roads here are HORRIBLEEEEEE... What would you suggest on height/inches in dropping it??? I want to make it look clean, but yet not slam into the floor with every pot hole that I hit or bumb in the road once my headers go in or bang the crap out of my under carriage!
Thank you and any POSITIVE feedback will be greatly appreciated!!
Secondly, a great combo is Strano lowering springs, UMI adjustable PHB and whatever shocks you can afford via Strano. Koni's are the gold standard but he also can sub a less expensive set (realizing there may be a slight performance difference).
Thirdly, the budget lowering mentioned by SS01 is popular and allows you to save money for the Koni's. Realize the ride will actually be the same as before, the car won't feel as "sporty" as with the Strano's, and the lowering won't be as far. Any lowering benefits from a UMI PHB.
ramey
Shocks have the biggest effect on the ride harshness. Bad shocks make for a terrible ride, even with stock springs... that much worse on lowering springs. The flip side is really good shocks with lowering springs, while giving a firm result, are usually much less harsh and crashing than old toasted stock shocks.
That said, if you want the BEST ride you can get and still improve the handling, then you want the best shocks you can afford (Koni first, Bilstein second, you'd be nuts to run anything else... and I sell anything else too). Then add a *good* matched set of swaybars to help the roll stiffness.
That said, if you want the BEST ride you can get and still improve the handling, then you want the best shocks you can afford (Koni first, Bilstein second, you'd be nuts to run anything else... and I sell anything else too). Then add a *good* matched set of swaybars to help the roll stiffness.
__________________
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
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
