Strano vs Spohn sway bars (updated 11/27/12)
11-30-2012, 12:57 PM
#81
Haha you get bent out of shape easily.
I'll make this easy for you:
I hung up on you, yep.
I called to get your opinion on a rear spring rate to start at out. Im no suspension expert, thats why I ask others. I spoke with over a dozen companies who were all able to at least give me a ballpark.
i want to run a 2.5" diameter spring in the rear to give more clearance for a 345 tire. It is WELL known that doing this increases the room for tires, along with a mini-tub and moving the control arms in. You told me it wasnt possible. (although there are probably a couple hundred cars with this mod) You obviously have no experience in this area.
Here, I'll help educate you:
i was patient and continued to explain thats what i was doing, and asked what spring rate would be a good starting point. You said, "I cant tell you anything, if anyone tells you any number, they are literally guessing" Your attitude was the worst i have ever encountered by a manufacturer.
you then asked "how much suspension I had", (a vague question), I said its fully built, with mostly BMR parts. You asked what sway bar. I said it had the 25mm and you said, "well thats not going to work" I listened to your explanation and said, ok, and then you continued to tell me that my combo wasnt going to work, and questioned why i was bothering with all this in the first place.
i was getting very frustrated with your attitude until you cut me off mid sentence and said, "well come on, lets hear the rest of it" in a annoying, cocky tone. Ive been trying not to cuss so much, and i was soo pissed, i had to hang up the phone before i gave you an earful.
Your customer service is, has been, and probably always will be appalling. You should be ashamed.
and btw, I dont sell anything, i just dont want anyone buying from you and getting the same treatment.
So the rest of you, buy the hellwigs, they are close to the same, and you dont have to deal with a cocky attitude to get em.
Have a nice day sam, and dont forget to check your bloodpressure
I'll make this easy for you:
I hung up on you, yep.
I called to get your opinion on a rear spring rate to start at out. Im no suspension expert, thats why I ask others. I spoke with over a dozen companies who were all able to at least give me a ballpark.
i want to run a 2.5" diameter spring in the rear to give more clearance for a 345 tire. It is WELL known that doing this increases the room for tires, along with a mini-tub and moving the control arms in. You told me it wasnt possible. (although there are probably a couple hundred cars with this mod) You obviously have no experience in this area.
Here, I'll help educate you:
i was patient and continued to explain thats what i was doing, and asked what spring rate would be a good starting point. You said, "I cant tell you anything, if anyone tells you any number, they are literally guessing" Your attitude was the worst i have ever encountered by a manufacturer.
you then asked "how much suspension I had", (a vague question), I said its fully built, with mostly BMR parts. You asked what sway bar. I said it had the 25mm and you said, "well thats not going to work" I listened to your explanation and said, ok, and then you continued to tell me that my combo wasnt going to work, and questioned why i was bothering with all this in the first place.
i was getting very frustrated with your attitude until you cut me off mid sentence and said, "well come on, lets hear the rest of it" in a annoying, cocky tone. Ive been trying not to cuss so much, and i was soo pissed, i had to hang up the phone before i gave you an earful.
Your customer service is, has been, and probably always will be appalling. You should be ashamed.
and btw, I dont sell anything, i just dont want anyone buying from you and getting the same treatment.
So the rest of you, buy the hellwigs, they are close to the same, and you dont have to deal with a cocky attitude to get em.
Have a nice day sam, and dont forget to check your bloodpressure
And as for the spring thing. You don't need to move your springs to get 345's on there, I kept trying to tell you that. You went on and on about your 2.5" mini-tub kit blah, blah, blah... Then told me you have 315's already. Well, do the math moron. That's 30mm more per tire. Last I checked 1" is 25.4mm. You are adding about 1.2" of width, but supposedly with a 2.5" mini-tub and the 315's already fit. You don't seem to get that, so how the f*ck am I supposed to help?????????????
Your solution to "teach me a lesson" is to do this... that's very adult of you. You aren't the youngest to go 200. You are the most immature to do it.
__________________
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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
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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
Last edited by Sam Strano; 11-30-2012 at 01:02 PM.
11-30-2012, 01:28 PM
#83
I don't know Korry... I've got terrible customer service and all. You must be a complete idiot to not have noticed over the years. 
__________________
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
11-30-2012, 02:01 PM
#85
Dude. You didn't have the stones or the humility to stay on the phone. You hung up because you couldn't answer a god damned question I had with any level of detail, at all. Your answer to what is the setup was "it's fully built". Well, goody for you.
And as for the spring thing. You don't need to move your springs to get 345's on there, I kept trying to tell you that. You went on and on about your 2.5" mini-tub kit blah, blah, blah... Then told me you have 315's already. Well, do the math moron. That's 30mm more per tire. Last I checked 1" is 25.4mm. You are adding about 1.2" of width, but supposedly with a 2.5" mini-tub and the 315's already fit. You don't seem to get that, so how the f*ck am I supposed to help?????????????
Your solution to "teach me a lesson" is to do this... that's very adult of you. You aren't the youngest to go 200. You are the most immature to do it.
And as for the spring thing. You don't need to move your springs to get 345's on there, I kept trying to tell you that. You went on and on about your 2.5" mini-tub kit blah, blah, blah... Then told me you have 315's already. Well, do the math moron. That's 30mm more per tire. Last I checked 1" is 25.4mm. You are adding about 1.2" of width, but supposedly with a 2.5" mini-tub and the 315's already fit. You don't seem to get that, so how the f*ck am I supposed to help?????????????
Your solution to "teach me a lesson" is to do this... that's very adult of you. You aren't the youngest to go 200. You are the most immature to do it.
P.s.
Have you ever hit a large crack in the road at peak torque at 180mph, It tends to shake the tire around a lot. Enough to cut into the sidewall of my tire, which could have killed me at those speeds. So yes, I do need the extra room to put a wider tire and make it sit lower. You might know a lot about autoX, but it's very apparent you don't know anything about standing mile, and probably drag racing. You just need to learn to admit that, instead of telling me something that's false on the phone. And I know exactly what parts are in the car, and you're the idiot if you think otherwise.
I'm done wasting my time here. Enjoy getting all pissed off and ranting about this for the next few days. I won't be responding to any more of your unprofessional and equally immature posts! Thanks for the phone "help" though.
11-30-2012, 04:00 PM
#88
I was on the cover of GMHTP too... If that's your measure of performance, ok. I've been on the cover of other magazines too, with very different cars as well. Personally, they want to sell magazines so what goes on the cover is what folks think is cool. And yes, you went 200mph. I'm sure you spent a stupid amount of money to do it, and it has no practical use in the real world, unlike a suspension that works.
As for how your car acts at 180 when you hit a crack in the road... maybe it's because your fully built suspension has lousy shocks.
And I told you already that the last thing you want is a really stiff rear bar because that will make the car more oversteer prone. You still don't get it, and I'm sure never will.
Keep talking, doesn't bother me. I'm a *****? Because I called you to pile my free advice on? Oh, no... that's not how it happened. You called me to pick my brain, and then couldn't answer even basic questions. BTW, it's not lost on me that you ignored the little details about the tire fitment and the tubbing..... typical.
I'm sure I've pissed other people off. That's ok. I'm not stupid enough to think you can please everyone, certainly when you don't pander to their every want. I'll add you to the list. But as for how many think that.... well, seems to me that in this thread, you are pretty well out there on your own in how you feel. I'm shocked!!!!!
And as for what I know and don't know.... You have no clue because you can't get past the basics to get into a real discussion of how things work. Thing about speed the way you make it.. it takes a lot of power. You are going straight, hopefully. There are far fewer dynamics at work. Drag and power are pretty much it..... straight lines are for fast cars. Curves are for fast drivers.
As for how your car acts at 180 when you hit a crack in the road... maybe it's because your fully built suspension has lousy shocks.
And I told you already that the last thing you want is a really stiff rear bar because that will make the car more oversteer prone. You still don't get it, and I'm sure never will.Keep talking, doesn't bother me. I'm a *****? Because I called you to pile my free advice on? Oh, no... that's not how it happened. You called me to pick my brain, and then couldn't answer even basic questions. BTW, it's not lost on me that you ignored the little details about the tire fitment and the tubbing..... typical.
I'm sure I've pissed other people off. That's ok. I'm not stupid enough to think you can please everyone, certainly when you don't pander to their every want. I'll add you to the list. But as for how many think that.... well, seems to me that in this thread, you are pretty well out there on your own in how you feel. I'm shocked!!!!!
And as for what I know and don't know.... You have no clue because you can't get past the basics to get into a real discussion of how things work. Thing about speed the way you make it.. it takes a lot of power. You are going straight, hopefully. There are far fewer dynamics at work. Drag and power are pretty much it..... straight lines are for fast cars. Curves are for fast drivers.
__________________
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
11-30-2012, 04:19 PM
#89
TECH Senior Member
I've lost a lot of respect for you, you sound like the typical rich kid that never hears "no", and once you hear it you flip out.
You have your setup listed on your site in your sig, and if its up to date, yes, it sucks ***** for handling compared to what you could have.
You have paper weights for shocks in the front (although Im sure youll say you had them revlaved) they are still not gas charged. Your rear bar is too big (already covered this) and you have poly bushing in places that can bind.
Yet you are calling vendors for (free) advise on making it better...
All im hearing is "im the youngest person to put this kind of money in a 4th gen to compete in the standing mile".
You sure this wasn't from the PHB pushing the axle over? Im betting the drivers side outer side of the tire scraped, and the passenger side inner side of the tire scrapped.
You have your setup listed on your site in your sig, and if its up to date, yes, it sucks ***** for handling compared to what you could have.
You have paper weights for shocks in the front (although Im sure youll say you had them revlaved) they are still not gas charged. Your rear bar is too big (already covered this) and you have poly bushing in places that can bind.
My setup sucks? Yeah that's why I'm the youngest person to go over 200mph at my event, why I'm on the cover of gm high tech, why I've been in numerous online articles, and now im going for the 220+ mph class next to compete with million dollar cars. It's sucks pretty bad huh...
All im hearing is "im the youngest person to put this kind of money in a 4th gen to compete in the standing mile".
P.s.
Have you ever hit a large crack in the road at peak torque at 180mph, It tends to shake the tire around a lot. Enough to cut into the sidewall of my tire, which could have killed me at those speeds.
Have you ever hit a large crack in the road at peak torque at 180mph, It tends to shake the tire around a lot. Enough to cut into the sidewall of my tire, which could have killed me at those speeds.
11-30-2012, 06:36 PM
#90
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Amazing. Just amazing.
1. I've never made any effort to hide that I have Hellwig make my bars for me. Do you think that people think I stand in my garage and twist lengths of steel around some pipe????? I'm sure some do that, but I'm smart enough to go to a company that makes quality products to have things made to my specification (please note that part).
2. That is a complete dick move, I'm sure for some purpose (Maybe you want to sell them Hellwig production bars????)
3. My bars aren't exactly the same, and fwiw they never made a hollow bar for this car until I commissioned them to do so for me, AND they never made a 35mm front bar for these cars at all before I commissioned it either. FWIW, I choose to run different wall thickness and a few other little details that I'm certainly not going to tell you about because or #2 above.
4. I keep the bars in stock, and I sell them for a very prices, considering I'm the one who developed them and they got to just come along for the ride with some changes to details. In fact this is not the first time folks have borrowed things I've developed, at least here this is the company that makes them for me. Thought I originally developed my bars with another company, who I left due to quality control and availability issues.
5. I'm a sponsor here. I'm active, and I try and help folks here. Hellwig is not, you are not. And the fact you seem to care not a lick about that, but only about publicly stating something you think I'm trying to hide (that Hellwig makes my bars for me) tells me all I need to know about what kind of person you are.
I'm more than a little disappointed, but I'm not surprised by actions like this anymore. And you guys wonder why I get pissed off at times? Here you go, sadly this is what you get these days. And bear in mind it's often folks like this that want to sell you parts. I wouldn't trust this guy to be honest about anything if he's inclined to pull a move like this for no reason.
Well maybe there is one reason. I'm betting I know exactly who you are... the guy who hung up on me the other day when you trying to pick my brain about some stuff and didn't like my answers (you know the ones you got completely for free and all..... If it's you, and I bet it is, how's your "fully built" suspension? He asked why a 25mm bar is too big in the rear for a standing mile car (see, this is why I'm sure this is the guy)... I said because it's too much rear roll stiffness and that makes a car more loose. The absolute most stable is a big front bar with a small rear. See what I get for trying to help a stranger..... I guess I know why you were upset, because I wouldn't accept "fully built" as an appropriate description of anything to help you with a combination that works, so the response was *click*. Yeah, that's what I get for trying to help. And if that's not you, well.... I've love to hear your defense for shitting up this thread, because frankly there isn't one.
1. I've never made any effort to hide that I have Hellwig make my bars for me. Do you think that people think I stand in my garage and twist lengths of steel around some pipe????? I'm sure some do that, but I'm smart enough to go to a company that makes quality products to have things made to my specification (please note that part).
2. That is a complete dick move, I'm sure for some purpose (Maybe you want to sell them Hellwig production bars????)
3. My bars aren't exactly the same, and fwiw they never made a hollow bar for this car until I commissioned them to do so for me, AND they never made a 35mm front bar for these cars at all before I commissioned it either. FWIW, I choose to run different wall thickness and a few other little details that I'm certainly not going to tell you about because or #2 above.
4. I keep the bars in stock, and I sell them for a very prices, considering I'm the one who developed them and they got to just come along for the ride with some changes to details. In fact this is not the first time folks have borrowed things I've developed, at least here this is the company that makes them for me. Thought I originally developed my bars with another company, who I left due to quality control and availability issues.
5. I'm a sponsor here. I'm active, and I try and help folks here. Hellwig is not, you are not. And the fact you seem to care not a lick about that, but only about publicly stating something you think I'm trying to hide (that Hellwig makes my bars for me) tells me all I need to know about what kind of person you are.
I'm more than a little disappointed, but I'm not surprised by actions like this anymore. And you guys wonder why I get pissed off at times? Here you go, sadly this is what you get these days. And bear in mind it's often folks like this that want to sell you parts. I wouldn't trust this guy to be honest about anything if he's inclined to pull a move like this for no reason.
Well maybe there is one reason. I'm betting I know exactly who you are... the guy who hung up on me the other day when you trying to pick my brain about some stuff and didn't like my answers (you know the ones you got completely for free and all..... If it's you, and I bet it is, how's your "fully built" suspension? He asked why a 25mm bar is too big in the rear for a standing mile car (see, this is why I'm sure this is the guy)... I said because it's too much rear roll stiffness and that makes a car more loose. The absolute most stable is a big front bar with a small rear. See what I get for trying to help a stranger..... I guess I know why you were upset, because I wouldn't accept "fully built" as an appropriate description of anything to help you with a combination that works, so the response was *click*. Yeah, that's what I get for trying to help. And if that's not you, well.... I've love to hear your defense for shitting up this thread, because frankly there isn't one.
All of this "rich kid" stuff gets old. I can't tell you how many nights I've seen Killer-LS1 slaving over his car himself, with his own money, in order to achieve a life goal of breaking 200mph. And you know what he did it. On his own dime. With his own literal blood and sweat. With that being said, he sought advice to help him reach his next goal. Sadly, help was not found with Sam. This is literally the most annoying section of Tech because people and Sam fanboys just spew nonsense 90% of the time.
BTW, my Spohn bars kick ***.
11-30-2012, 07:13 PM
#91
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First of all, Sam has right to come in and post to stick up for himself. The kid couldn't even answer simple questions, why would Sam wanna help this kid?
Second, if he has a built suspension what is he looking to improve? If he started with this Sam would be more then willing to help, like was with me and hundreds of other customers.
Third, lets quit the **** and get back to the topic at hand. In my case the Spohn bars were **** compared to Stranos plain and simple. You get a much better balance feel and it's lighter. If you wanna actually go around corners his bars are the way to go.
Z28- definitely a win win!
Second, if he has a built suspension what is he looking to improve? If he started with this Sam would be more then willing to help, like was with me and hundreds of other customers.
Third, lets quit the **** and get back to the topic at hand. In my case the Spohn bars were **** compared to Stranos plain and simple. You get a much better balance feel and it's lighter. If you wanna actually go around corners his bars are the way to go.
Z28- definitely a win win!
11-30-2012, 10:36 PM
#92
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Anyone can get the car to have enough power to push 200mph. (See sig, much more on 16#) It was fun for a few months, but got old quick. Especially driving it on the street and having to get the car basically lined up coming out of a turn before applying the throttle, otherwise the rear wanted to come around.
killer-ls1, you need to soften the rear suspension of the car, just enough, so it doesn't jar the living day lights ouf the car, making the transition from lower speeds to higher speeds easier.
You didn't want to listen to Sam on this and then come on here acting like a know-it-all. Sure...good luck when the rear end hits and keeps cutting tires and gets out of control.
killer-ls1, you need to soften the rear suspension of the car, just enough, so it doesn't jar the living day lights ouf the car, making the transition from lower speeds to higher speeds easier.
You didn't want to listen to Sam on this and then come on here acting like a know-it-all. Sure...good luck when the rear end hits and keeps cutting tires and gets out of control.
12-02-2012, 09:41 AM
#93
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So...Hellwig it is!
All of this "rich kid" stuff gets old. I can't tell you how many nights I've seen Killer-LS1 slaving over his car himself, with his own money, in order to achieve a life goal of breaking 200mph. And you know what he did it. On his own dime. With his own literal blood and sweat. With that being said, he sought advice to help him reach his next goal. Sadly, help was not found with Sam. This is literally the most annoying section of Tech because people and Sam fanboys just spew nonsense 90% of the time.
BTW, my Spohn bars kick ***.
All of this "rich kid" stuff gets old. I can't tell you how many nights I've seen Killer-LS1 slaving over his car himself, with his own money, in order to achieve a life goal of breaking 200mph. And you know what he did it. On his own dime. With his own literal blood and sweat. With that being said, he sought advice to help him reach his next goal. Sadly, help was not found with Sam. This is literally the most annoying section of Tech because people and Sam fanboys just spew nonsense 90% of the time.
BTW, my Spohn bars kick ***.
12-03-2012, 01:28 PM
#94
So...Hellwig it is!
All of this "rich kid" stuff gets old. I can't tell you how many nights I've seen Killer-LS1 slaving over his car himself, with his own money, in order to achieve a life goal of breaking 200mph. And you know what he did it. On his own dime. With his own literal blood and sweat. With that being said, he sought advice to help him reach his next goal. Sadly, help was not found with Sam. This is literally the most annoying section of Tech because people and Sam fanboys just spew nonsense 90% of the time.
BTW, my Spohn bars kick ***.
All of this "rich kid" stuff gets old. I can't tell you how many nights I've seen Killer-LS1 slaving over his car himself, with his own money, in order to achieve a life goal of breaking 200mph. And you know what he did it. On his own dime. With his own literal blood and sweat. With that being said, he sought advice to help him reach his next goal. Sadly, help was not found with Sam. This is literally the most annoying section of Tech because people and Sam fanboys just spew nonsense 90% of the time.
BTW, my Spohn bars kick ***.
Please by all means go by Hellwig's version, because that is an attitude I don't want to have to deal with.
The most telling thing about this post is when you say "BTW, my Spohn bars kick ***." That's very in depth and every bit as good a comparison to the OP's comparison and contrast of Spohn vs. Strano bars. It's any wonder you think 90% of what I "spew" is nonsense because you clearly can tell the difference without comparison. I agree 90% of what you see online is nonsense. But I tend to think the nonsense comes from people who make statements like that, without a basis for comparison. Maybe I'm nuts.
__________________
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
03-12-2013, 04:03 PM
#95
Honestly I read through this whole thread and I had planned on ordering new swaybars at the end of this coming summer (turbo setup and all of that is getting worked on right now). After seeing peoples responses, Sam's attitude, as well as other stuff in this thread. I think its safe to say Sam's earned my business. I like a business thats not afraid to tell a customer exactly what they think even at the cost of the customer buying their part. Sam seems to have gone out of his way more than a lot of vendors have on here. That speaks highly of him! Not to mention customers that have ordered from him are loyal and keep coming back. Which to me says all I need to know!
(btw also a 275/315 tire sized car...)
(btw also a 275/315 tire sized car...)
03-14-2013, 10:18 PM
#99
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If you have something Sam does not like you are stupid and wasting his time he will tell you how he knows every part on the market. Yet I told what I had I was stupid not to know the exact part number like a non manual bmr k member he stated they made twenty different ones. Really I got all the part numbers but I have not called back because of the attitude.
Sorry I know I am a little customer. I wanted Penske shocks, springs, and sway bars! Yes I want to do more than a autocross track, I would also do standing mile sugar hills run optima challenge
Wow I have had cars featured in many kinds of magazines for many years. Probably before you started
Sorry I know I am a little customer. I wanted Penske shocks, springs, and sway bars! Yes I want to do more than a autocross track, I would also do standing mile sugar hills run optima challenge
Wow I have had cars featured in many kinds of magazines for many years. Probably before you started