DarkblueTA

^^^Truth. Just talk to Sam, he will do you right.

(From Bloomsburg myself, so I feel your pain about the roads in PA.)

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

Best for what purpose? Drag? AutoX? Road Racing? Street driving? All around awesomeness?

All-around, the Koni SA shocks do very well. You can launch into the 1.4s with them, handle road course work well, and they are very streetable.

More of a drag/street shock would be the Viking Double Adjustables. The stock suspension with good drag shocks would work well at the track and be very nice on the street.

So, I'd either do the Viking Coilovers in front and DA shocks in the rear with the stock sways, everything else, or move to the Koni SA shocks and then look at sway bars if you were more about handling. The Vikings are the same price as the Konis... so from a best bang for the buck perspective, you spend about $1k and you are set up pretty well in either direction with those purchases.

rabbit320

iTrader: (11)

shocks should be your first mod, bar none. for road handling, second is to go with sway bars. there is a lot that goes into lowering our cars properly and not having issues with them (and any future plans for long tubes/exhausts etc) springs, adj. panhard, brackets, etc. other than shocks the biggest/best "feel" i got after doing a mod was a torque arm. I am lowered on BMR's

**and as mentioned, bushing types can have as much effect as the part itself...

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Disagree. The "need" for LCA's, brackets, even to a lesser degree adjustable PHB's is the most overhyped thing ever. You do not NEED to do those parts. There are times and places you might want to, but it's 100% absolutely not true that you have to have them or else you are gonna have a problem.

I guess my definition of need is different. The car NEEDS gas, it needs oil. We need water, etc. Are some of those parts nice to have? Sure, sometimes they are. But you know, maybe I'm nuts... and that's fine if you think I am. But I see parts no different than medicines. If you ain't sick, you don't need the pill. If the car has no wheelhop issues, or the way the body sits after lowering doesn't bother you, and it drives nice (and with shocks and springs and all that it tends to drive a lot better... if you used decent stuff), then no... it's not needed.

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

I replaced the LCAs and PHB because I had already invested in the PHB relo kit to clear my duals and I have 315s on the rear. And the Founders LCAs (with Poly Joints) I installed were only a few bucks more than the 1LE bushings, and the rear bushings looked pretty bad and squeaked pretty awful.

So no, you don't need those parts... stock springs, stock LCAs, stock PHB... with good drag shocks can launch a car great. And with the right Koni/spring combo and sways, can handle well. Of course, then you get into other items like the Watts Link to improve handling even more.

But, if you need them for some reason, then it's not a bad call. Just be careful with adjustable everything. The more places you have adjustments, the more chances you have to ruin the suspension. Adjustable LCAs should only be run if you're running 28s and for some reason you're rubbing the fender and need to center the rearend.

redracer1

iTrader: (2)

To answer your ? the best updrades are #1) Shocks #2)Springs and that includes Sway Bars. These work together to give you a great handling car. How great depends on the parts you choose to replace your stock parts. Obviously budget comes into play as the better the parts get the more expensive they get. Sam Strano has parts to go from mild to wild. But if you want a great handling Fbody just check out at my sig. Only other peice of advise is decide if your going shocks and springs as you'll only want to do the fronts set up once...rears are cake to change.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Also worth mentioning that the Koni Sports, well let's just say you are looking at saving some money if you buy them in the near future. More to come.

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

Yay another Koni sale!!!

Baconz28

How do yall guys like founders performance suspension parts that they offer?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

I know nothing... until around March 1st. Then maybe I know something.

pewterformula

iTrader: (2)

March 1st... I need to start saving my pennies.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

If your pennies add up before then, call me. I might be able to help. If nothing else I can take a pre-order and just let it rip when things get rolling

DeLaRosa25

iTrader: (10)

Love them. Very great quality and you cannot beat the price.

Baconz28

Good deal^^^^ Look like I'll be calling them soon.

00Z28dmarks

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the input guys! If love to do koni's but they're soooo expensive... I've been looking at the KYB AGX adjustable's for that reasons. If I decide to go with these what spring should I get? Keep in mind I don't really wan my car any lower then what it rides now. If I decide to shell out the extra cash for koni then what's a good spring combo? I also have a question, is it possible and okay to run koni's in the front and KYB's in the rear? Or is that a bad idea?

Platinum WS6

iTrader: (6)

Hang on there, I would do some more searching on this forum about those AGX shocks. I have no personal experience with them but its mainly because of the bad reviews. I have seen many that bought them only to take them back off because they weren't any better or worse than the stock shocks. Koni and Bilstein seem to be the way to go and Sam's springs were built around the Koni's as well. I am in the same boat as far as the money goes. I really want the SA's but I never race my car, ever and I only sling it around the corners on the streets, on ramps...etc. I love to DRIVE it around here but its not a track car. However I keep reading about how the Bilsteins don't last that long with the Strano springs, which I am going with regardless. I am going to just call Sam once I get the money saved up and go from there. Keep doing some research. I am all for doing it right for the last time, which kind of makes me want to save for the Koni SAs...

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

I carry most of these shocks we're talking about. I've used them all too on various cars. I can tell you that AGX's are NOT a preferred option.

Yeah, Koni Sports are not what we'd call cheap. A big reason is they aren't "cheap", if you get my meaning. And it's relative. It's funny to me how many guys will spend $1500 on headers, or buckets of money on heads and cams, or $1K on wheels but then balk at this. It's funny because of all those things, the shocks give you the most benefit and do it pretty much all the time (as opposed to when you are just floored for instance).

DarkblueTA

Had KYB AGX on my TA. They were great....at least I thought. Until I had Bilsteins. It's not even a comparison. If you can't afford Koni's, Bilstein is the only choice IMHO.

John James

Starting to build stock 96 Z28 convertible for street weekend driving. Think Watkins Glenn vs drag or circle track, but on a mountain, or not. Not involved in autocross but may try later. Really want setup ideal for long sweeping mountain roads w some good straightaways and an occasional hairpin. Want suspension right before I get into engine. UMI strut tower brace “feels good,” and was a good cheap start. Already have aftermarket dual exhaust.

Looking at Koni Str.t. What springs should I get, or do even want to do that? Car has 90k miles. I don’t expect to be tuning it in for performance, as it is a convertible and will never be a real racer. Just want it to run with some respect when it runs. A nice aggressive Sunday driver.

“Pan-hard yes, no, maybe” is all over the place it seems and about as controversial as climate change. Any suggestions other than shocks and springs?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

This is what I specialize in. The STR.t is an option, but far from the best one. Aside from better shocks and springs, things like sway bars. Appropriate tires. A watts link. Frankly a better seat than the stock piece of junk which has absolutely no lateral support. The list can go on and on and on.

Brakes are easily upgraded. Hell even a master cylinder brace like the SP 9302 that I make has a tangible difference in the way the car feels when you drive it and that's what you're looking for.

It's not all that hard It's just the right combination of parts, in conjunction with the knowledge to help get you there.