LunaCHRIS

Hi, my name's Chris. .

I've been lurking the boards for around 10yrs now, and finally decided to sign up... Here's a little about myself.

I'm 29, my first car was a 90' eclipse, my buddies first car was a 96' z28, he later got an 02' SS. I quickly learned the way of the f body. Since then I've always wanted a camaro. I've driven some decent cars over the years, NOT MINE, my buddies 96 ' once, his 02' ss once. Then, once I got to drive two Vettes, an 01 Zo6 with 435 to the wheels, and 315's out back. And an 03' Zo6 with an STS kit making 620hp to the wheels on stock rims, that was a night to remember.

Well, I finally got a 98' Z28 about 2 months before I left on the deployment I'm currently on. I'm in the Navy, and currently the view is 360 degrees of ocean.

This brings me to why I'm signing up, and the questions I have.
Like I said I'm deployed, about half way through this deployment, I'd like to order some things from Strano so that when I return home it's waiting for me.
The order policy, as some of you may know, is that you place the order, then someone will call you to verify and get payment info. That's the obvious problem. I've decided to place the order, then email my wife all the info, and give her phone number so she can take care of that for me.

My one concern is that I've emailed Strano parts twice with no reply. I even titled the second email, " Would like to place $2000 order have questions "
with no reply. So I know from reading here, that Strano is reputable and has great prices and quality parts. But, is that still the case? I'm sure it is, I'd just like some reassurance before I pull the trigger. So if you've placed an order Recently I'd like to here about your experience.

I've also provided a list of what I'd like to order, so if some of you could take a look at that, and tell me what you think I'd appreciate it.

The build plan (longterm) for my Z is suspension first, then a rearend (mosier 12 bolt), then a new built tranny, like a Performabuilt stage 3 or something similar. Then last will be work on the engine (450 - 500hp goal)

And now a suspension question: In the list below I've got 2 PHB/LCA packages listed, which would you recommend for this list? Do i need the adjustable LCA's or not. The car will not be at the stip, it's my daily. Dollar amount is not the concern between the 2, functionality is.

Thanks in advance, for any replies.

The list:

Chassis Stiffening Package 4
Part #: CSP4
Brand: Stranoparts
Price: $429.00

-UMI 3 point Bolt-in Subframe Connectors
-UMI Chrome-Moly Shock Tower Brace

Handling Package 3
Part #: HP3-CLS1
Brand: Stranoparts
Price: $1009.00

1 set of 4 (2 front, 2 rear) KYB AGX Adjustable shocks
1 set Strano Performance SP141 1.2" lowering springs
1 set Strano Performance Hollow Sway Bars

Lower Control Arms & On-Car Adjustable Panhard Bar Kit
Part #: 201529
Brand: UMI
Price: $219.00

*OR*

LCA/PHB kit--Poly bushing/rod-end
Part #: 201621
Brand: UMI
Price: $280.99

Lower Control Arm Relocation Brackets - Bolt-In
Part #: 2012
Brand: UMI
Price: $99.00

sjsingle1

iTrader: (1)

dont fret because sam did not jump on a reply......he may be busy right now and many here can vouch for his "good guy" status....myself included.....he will be along as soon as he can to reply

2QuikTA

You will not be disappointed with any of Sam's stuff

99zee

iTrader: (4)

Sam is a one man shop. He is very busy and like stated above, is definetly worth the wait to talk to him. He posted just last week in another thread about this same subject. Give him some time and you won't be disappointed.

RAMPANT

iTrader: (17)

I agree with the above.

Sam has set me up with 90% of my suspension and I am awaiting a few more.

A good guy to deal with, but he is busy.

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

+1 on the positive Strano reviews. His springs, bars, shocks and knowledge is awesome. And thanks for including UMI on your list. 4th gens work great with Strano/UMI.

Don't worry on the reply time. I'm sure you're in the queue.

Ramey

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

Oh, and I'm on mobile now. I'll review your UMI parts and give you my ideas on your part question.

Thanks

Ramey

LunaCHRIS

Hey, thanks for the reassurance, and I'm sure Sam will appreciate all the kind words as well. I'm gonna go ahead and order sometime this coming week.

Thanks for taking a look at the list Ramey, I've got one question for you, also.
In addition to the UMI suspension components that I plan on getting, I also plan to get your solid aluminum motor mounts as well as prothane tranny mount. These will not change the height of the motor correct? It will be mounted as if stock mounts were in place?

Once again thanks to all who replied.

3 pedal SS

iTrader: (1)

I would definitely change your shock choice from KYB to Konis. I am sure Sam will tell you that too.You dont need the adj. LCA's either. He is a great guy to deal with. And welcome to the world of Fbody addiction.

vatechguy3

iTrader: (4)

+1 for the konis
big difference.
just wait for sam to get back to you when he can.

tony

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

He runs his company by himself, so while response time might be a drawback.. the pros are much more and make it worth it to go through Sam. You'll get a more personable experience with him being a smaller company.

And thank you for serving our country

UMI Sales

iTrader: (1)

Adjustable LCA's are nice when you are changing rear housings often or running ultra high speeds and want your thrust angle perfect. Otherwise, non's work fine.

Our k-members and/or mounts keep everything in factory location.

Thanks for considering UMI!

Ramey

STFU racing

iTrader: (13)

I've made 2 orders recently and received products within days. He does take a few days to return phone calls but he has always called me back. I plan on making another order once I hear from him again. I like him because he is blunt and to the point. You could mistake him for being rude like some do but oh well.

LunaCHRIS

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LunaCHRIS

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LunaCHRIS

So, I ordered all the things listed above. Minus the adjustable LCA's, got solid.
And instead of getting Stano's handling package 3, i got handling package 7. Which is his springs, hollow swaybars, and Konis instead of the KYB's. Hopefully all goes well, and it's waiting for me when I get home. The 2nd half of deployment, I think, will go alot slower now that I know that stuff is waiting for me.

Thanks again everyone.

cemlsx

+1 I can vouch for Sam , he even shipped my parts all the way to Cyprus back in the day .. He helped me make up my mind about the parts and has a lot of knowledge about setting up the suspension in these cars ..
I love my koni`s too

jbridwelltransam

iTrader: (12)

I called him recently, I believe he said he wouldn't be reachable for a few days. He knows his stuff and I can guarantee you he will advise you to swap from kyb's to konis. It will surely be worth the money. He is very busy but certainly worth the wait.

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

He might be a knowledgeable guy but he sure doesn't know how to speak to a potential customer. I called Strano today because I had ordered a Russell kit previously from another vendor and one of the lines had a hairline crack in it. I called Russell when I saw this while bleeding the brakes and they sent me a replacement line but the fitting that sits against the caliper is clocked differently.



I have been trying to get this sorted out with Russell, but I am in a time crunch and came across the Strano site.

All I wanted to accomplish with my call was to briefly explain my issue and see if I could either order a replacement brake line from him since he lists the Russell pt# on his site if the ones he carried had the fitting clocked properly or buy a techna fit one with the same length and fitting orientation as the Russell orientation.

I saw the message below on his site so I wasn't sure if he made custom lines there or if it meant the Techna Fit company itself could do it. Just a simple honest question I had.

"All of Techna-Fit's assemblies are assembled in-house, to stock or custom specifications, meeting D.O.T. Certification."

Instead all he did was cut me off and talk to me like I had no clue what I was talking about. I'm no brake expert that is a given but I can clearly explain the problem I'm having and even provide pictures of the issues to see if there is any possible solution that he might be able to offer.

All I got was I don't know send it back to Russell or sell it all and start over with a new kit which I was willing to do but again he got an attitude when I simply asked if knew if the threads on the fitting of the braided line that I guess would normally connect to the "factory line" would be the same on a techna fit line compared to a russell line. My only reason for asking this was because I had the factory line that runs on the kmember remade because I'm running a tubular kmember. Just trying to determine if I might have problems screwing them in together.

Maybe he was just busy or having a bad day. I guess I will just deal with Russell and hopefully they can send me the right line this time.

LunaCHRIS

Well, I'm sorry you're having complications with your project, and hope you get it all sorted.
Maybe he was just having a bad day, you never know. I just hope that when he calls to verify my order, he has some patience and is somewhat respectful, as he'll be calling my wife for that. I'm on deployment, so he can't call me, so I emailed the wife the order checkout with everything I ordered on it. She may not know exactly what everything is, but she can verify the order and address, and provide payment info.
I'm just hoping Sam comes through, I'm sure most here would say he will.