hooker2007

Did my brakes on my 2002 Camaro SS. The shocks were all orange, but they didn't look OEM ...

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Yep, those are the OEM deCarbon's.

hooker2007

DeCarbons? Are the Z28 and SS suspension identical?

z-maro

iTrader: (18)

They would have the same shocks unless the car was ordered with the Bilstein level II suspension package. IIRC this package when added to the Firehawk's (likely the same for SS's) included Bilstein shocks, SLP/Eibach progressive rate springs, larger sway bars, and 1LE LCA bushings.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

What z-camaro said. Aside from the Bilstein package, one was able to get the "1LE" suspension package which included Koni's. Most SS's, though, simply came with the base suspension which was identical to the Z28 aside from a 1mm larger front sway bar.

hooker2007

This is my DD I use for both city and highway driving... I don't want to lower, and this isn't a drag car, but what are suspensions mods that would boost performance without sacrificing comfort?

z-maro

iTrader: (18)

Both the cars in my sig pic have the bilstein shocks, and I think they have good ride quality.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

I, too, went with Bilstein's.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Another happy Bilstein user here.

Midnight02

iTrader: (8)

A set of Bilsteins will prove to be a GREAT enhancement in both ride quality and performance and it's tough to beat the cost!

hooker2007

Any site sponsors carry them?

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Yeah, Strano does, WS6store does, probably a few others.

hooker2007

Is this a do-it-yourselfer for a guy comfortable with most regular maintainence? Looks like a set would be atleast $400 on sale... What would labor cost be if a shop did it?

Killer_Z

iTrader: (1)

look at the koni str.t, on back order but id venture they would b worth the wait.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Depends. Rears aren't too bad to do. Fronts require dropping the whole shock/spring assembly and using a compressor on the spring to disassemble everything, and pretty much can be guaranteed you'll need to cut the mount off the top to get the spring off, and get new mount pieces. And make sure when you put it all together you have it lined up right.

Mostly attention to detail, with a little bit of hard work involved.

You can also probably take the parts to a shop and pay them a few bucks to do the spring swap for you, while you still do all the rest to keep the overall cost lower. Or depending on your location maybe a member who has done it before may be willing to help you out for a case of beer. I would, I've done shock/spring assembly swaps several times now.

Midnight02

iTrader: (8)

I'm in Atlanta. It cost me $200 labor for a shop to do the front and rear springs and shocks. As noted above, the rears are really easy -- most of the labor and time is spent up front.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

Definitely consider new strut mounts -- or at least having new ones on hand -- should you have difficulty removing the strut nut. It gets nasty-rusty on the mounting plate even if the only time the car sees water is during a wash.