Alright so the T/A is getting an LPE 427 w/ Mast black label heads, beefed up T-56, and MWC 9in, SFC, panhard bar, and lower control arms. For now, it's getting 17x9's up front with a 275 and 18x10.5s in the rear with a 315. It's currently in the shop. I've already ordered QA 1 single adjustable shocks at all 4 corners. I now need help with spring selection, and I'm completely uneducated on the subject.

The car is a dedicated street car, full weight, with 47K miles. Never say never, but I have no desire to road-course it (at least not consistently), and 1/4 mile times are not my focus. Just a fun, fast, street machine. That being said, I like the twisty Arkansas roads, and want the car to hold well (better) in the corners. It's not a DD year round, but it gets driven most days that the weather is nice and above 45 degrees, so I'm willing to compromise ultimate grip for some ride comfort. I do not want to lower the car, as it's hard enough to get my 6'4 *** in and out of the thing, and any lower will keep me from getting in and out of my driveway. I'm kinda looking at, and torn between, the QA 1 300lb vs the 325lb springs for the front, and leaving the stocker springs on the rear. I'm not brand loyal, and open to any suggestions, including a rear spring upgrade. My rear end is still being built, and spec'd for the stock shock/spring setup. I'm not opposed to doing coilovers in the rear (if I don't need to buy different shocks) if there is a huge improvement to be had. I still have time to make changes to the rear end that will accommodate a coilover setup.

Thanks in advance!

 

I realize you dont want to lower it but honestly Strano or BMR springs will probably be the best compromise between comfort and spirited street driving. Stranos will lower the car roughly 1.25", BMRs closer to 1.5"

 

Yeah, I just don't know how bad that would hurt me. I used to scrape the exhaust tips even if I was just barely over idle getting into the drive way, with a sharp angle. I've since done away with tips all together, opting for turn-downs at the muffler. If I go any lower, I think I'll scrape the headers.

 

Hey Jake. Which QA1's did you order (P/N-wise)?

I'd go with the 325's and factory rears until you see how the car performs.

After you figure out the handling balance we can tune it via spring rates and sway bar sizes.

ramey

 

Cancel the QA1 order if you can, if you want to corner ordering non-gas charged drag shocks is the last thing you want to do. There is no "right way" to set these up, no matter the setting you are left with a LOT to be desired in both ride and handling.
It'd be like putting skinnies on the rear and then trying to "set up" the car for drag.
For best ride: stock springs + good shocks (not drag shocks).
For best "off the shelf" handling shock to go with your stock springs: Koni SAs hands down. http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=21&ModelID=8
Easily the best money you will spend on your car.

Coilovers in the rear will do nothing for you but complicate things. And hopefully those rear LCA's you have don't have poly bushings...

 

Fronts: GS502
Rear: TS704

I was leaning toward the 325s. They're not that expensive if I don't like them. I will have to look to see if I actually optioned sway bars from MWC. I ordered back in March, and I'm wanting to say I did, but I've ordered a ton of stuff, been extremely busy, and had a lot to drink since then. Things are a little fuzzy.

I stayed away from their shocks labeled specifically for drag racing. Another guy I work with went with the 2 way adjustable, and he doesn't drag race. He said they were great. I just couldn't justify 2 way adjustable, even with the budget I have. I think I'd spend forever dialing them in. Right now we are discussing sticking with the factory rear springs. Just wanted to ping the board here and see what the opinions were.

 

Is there any particular reason you went with the QA1 on a dedicated street car? I ask this because I ran the single adjustable for about 4 years and the double adjustables for two years after that and it completely destroyed the driving comfort of my car. I ran the 300lb spring up front with our lowering spring in the rear. This match delivered a killer stance, but the shocks just weren't good at absorbing the imperfections in the road. Each bump seemed to transfer into the car, into the seat, and into your spine! The compromise was to soften them down until the car almost felt like it was floating - not ideal for controlling a car around a corner. I wasn't pleased at all so I pretty much sucked it up and ran them kinda firm all the time which eventually stopped bothering me. Thankfully, it was my race car, so I was always out having a blast in the thing and not really concerned with its comfort - sounds like you may be.

Your spring options are going to be 300 - a light spring ideal for weight transfer on an LS car with close-to-factory weight on the nose, and 325 - ideal for weight transfer on an LT1 or an LS with increased weight from a blower or turbos. Neither of them are going to provide an acceptable spring rate to give you the handling for twisty roads you're looking to do. They're both going to feel sloppy in those scenarios.

If you're dead set on the QA1 shocks, then I would suggest running a lowering spring on them and modifying the shock settings to work with the rates. We offer an adapter that won't break the bank and allows you to run a standard lowering spring on a QA1 or Strange coilover front shock. You can run this with our lowering spring and use the front adjuster to level your ride height with the rear ride height which should come to around 27-inches (ground to top of fender) with the rear spring isolator in place. This would be approximately a .25-.5-inch drop in the front with the rear leveling out to give that handling stance of an even ride height.

But, with the post you've made, I would say that going with the QA1 springs will leave you unhappy, let alone the shocks, as you'll be driving around on a full-blown drag racing shock and spring setup and not be able to enjoy your car around corners like you desire.

Let me know if you have any questions!
- Kevin

 

All QA1's for our cars are non-gas charged drag shocks, it doesn't matter what the vendor labels them as.
Your buddy likely has nothing to compare it to, and/or doesn't know the difference. I've been in a car with QA1s and the handling was a joke.
Honestly it sounds like you are talking to the wrong shop to set a car up for handing and are going to be spending money twice to get things right...

 

Hmm...interesting. I'm not dead set on anything...I just already bought the QA1s. They haven't been installed, they're just here and paid for, lol. As far as being more concerned with comfort, that's not exactly the case. I have the car to drive it hard, which is why it's getting the upgrades it's getting. The highways around here are rough, and I live kinda out there, so it sees those roads anytime it leaves the house. Also, I have to travel a ways to get in to the really fun roads, so most of the time I'm not letting it all hang out, if ya follow me. If I had to pick one or the other, I'd definitely pick handling. I was just wondering what the give and take may be.

I didn't really ask the shop that is doing all the work about suspension, so I can't fault them. I wanted to try a good set of shocks first, and see what I got there before I went with springs. But, the fronts won't work with the factory springs, so here I am. My coworker has had his car for 12 years, and it has over 100K on the clock, so he's been through a few sets of shocks. I've had mine 4 years and only put 15K on it, so I haven't needed to do anything. He just said he was impressed with them and felt they were worth the money. And you may have a good point...not sure what he has run in the past.

 

While you have them take one and compress it by hand, let go and see what happens.
Watch this little vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz9lvFVsetU
Being not gas charged the shock oil foams and you loose dampening, and the QA1s already have **** poor dampening to begin with, imagine driving on it...
Those shocks are made to do one thing, let weight transfer really quickly for good launch. They throw the "adjustments" on there to dial the launch in.

The thing is you can have both, better ride and handling, but not with a drag shock (which does neither).

Heres a good direct comparison:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/8344345-post26.html

 

There's a lot of truth being told here!
I've tried the HALs/QA1 S.A. and the D.A., they'll NEVER ride or handle as good as a set Bilsteins or Koni's. Save yourself the trouble and don't even put the QA1 shocks on your car!

Your stock springs with a set of Bilsteins and Strano hollow swaybar set will ride and handle very good!