im curious what others are using on street setups with high HP f bodies (particularly iron block setups), and how they feel about the components used.

I took a pretty lengthy hiatus from this site after finishing my build, and ive lurked around for a bit in the past several months and it seems like there are so many more options than when I did mine. So like I said im curious what others have used as their setup for a street car.

Thanks

 

What are your goals for the car? Street/strip?

 

Mine is already done with the exception of considering a coil and shock change, currently running mostly umi parts ( my setup was bought through Mizfit Motorsports when they were still around)

Im more curious what others are using and I'm not limiting the discussion with a goal other than saying if you have a round the 500hp street car (ie you drive it to work or its a weekend toy that sees the streets and some cruises) I'm curious to see what others are using. I mean by all means they can say my setup is a drag/autocross/roadcourse setup if they do some part time duty for that purpose, but im mainly curious about Street setups

Example

My car has a UMI Kmember, upper and lower adjustable A-arms, STB, adjustable torque Arm with DS loop, Sub frame connectors, 32mm sway bar in front and 18mm in the back, adjustable panhard bar, BMR adjustible lower control arms, and Qa1 single adjustable coil overs in the front (will have to look for the spring rate), with eibach sportline rear coils and qa1 singe adjustible shocks.

I used to drive a truck as a daily and always thought the bird was a good ride (view is a bit skewed as the car was a V6 before all the upgrades though I did install the rear qa1'a before the swap. Recently aquired a GTO as DD. Im the 3rd owner and im not sure whats been done to this car besides longtubes and borla if anything and I havnt been under it yet, but its been kind of an eye opener as to the faults of my current setups ride quality.


so im curious what others are doing in that similar range with some primarily street cars

 

I'm planning on a 500rwhp setup (not sure how to get there and pass smog yet) that I can drive to and from work plus auto-x and the occasional Friday night drags. I'm planning on doing Koni 4/4's with strano springs here real soon.

 

So its seems you're mostly interested in ride quality?
If that's the case, having sportlines and QA1s is just about the worst possible setup for ride (or handling). QA1s are drag shocks with shitty dampening and sportlines are too low for their own good with too soft of spring rates to compensate for the drop.
Does off the line traction matter to you? The more you setup the car for drag racing the less friendly its going to be on the street. Certainly will still be drivable, and everyone has their own limits on what they can tolerate, but a drag setup will not ride as well as a handling/street setup.
If this car is a majority drag car then something like the new vikings might work for you. If the car is mostly a street car and you really care about ride quality then the best ride will be from a sport shock like bilstiens or Konis and stock springs. If you insist on being lowered then springs like Strano springs, Hotchkiss, BMR or maybe even the optional SLP eibach springs (1" drop, will be the least drop out of lowering springs available) would be more ideal for ride.

Ill go though:
Im making 433RWHP/420ft.lbs mild H/C setup
Koni SAs / Strano springs / Strano swaybars
Fays2 wattslink / UMI rotojoint rear LCA + relocation brackets
UMI full length torque arm / UMI 3pt SFC's
OE wheels LLC ZR1 knockoff wheels (17x9.5" + 17x11") Nitto NT05 tires (275 front, 315 rear). Wheel/tire setup being staggered causes the car to understeer when pushing to the limit, so its not ideal. On a square wheel/tire setup the car was super neutral and ridiculously well balanced.
Love the setup on the street and even more when auto-xing. Ride is excellent, reminds me of a cross between an M3 and a C5 Z06. Very firm yet very solid,super tight, REALLY planted yet not jarring unless hitting a really large pothole or something.
Been in other setups (bilstien/eibach, QA1, other cheapo autozone no-name shocks).
The QA1s reminded me of a combonation of a dumptruck and a really old stereotypical buick/cadillac. Car just felt heavy, disconnected, unstable really sloppy but jarring on bumps, yet would transfer weight really well and stick from a dig. Woud'nt want to drive this on the street, felt like crap IMO, even with various adjustments.

 

Dug up my paper work and oddly enough on the packing slip which is from 06 BTW, it says qa1 front coil over kit (325lbs spring) firm ride and gread handling.....HA

Was there a different opinion on their stuff back then??

I dont think ride quality is where im at, Im okay with feeling bumps, but sometimes this setup makes me thing im on a riding in lawnmower. Id still like to do coil overs, I like being able to play with the height as I switched from 17 to 18 inch wheels with a 35 series tire, so I know its not going to be smooth ride and I'm okay with that. Id rather it feel tight in the turns, but I think I need to be clear that I dont autocross or road coarse or drag race it. I have thought about it but I'd rather just have a toy to drive around (which I know makes very little sense to build a 500hp with no purpose other than to drive it)

I feel like when the car was a V6 with the eibachs and some of the suspension parts above ( stock k member and a arms and no panhard bar) it felt more nimble and connected .


reading back through this it comes accross as kinda scatter brained and not sure if it actually makes sense or not?

Since I want to keep coil overs atleast in the front, I am interested in the the viking double adjustable setups. From what I have read it comes across as a well balanced setup and not just a drag shock.


Kinda shocked more people didn't share their thoughts?

 

The Viking shocks will work great for what you are doing, and give you the adjustability you are wanting. Do not let biased opinions on a particular type of shock that is being stereotyped as a "drag shock" all the time sway your decision.

There are proven results, and you will get *opinions* from the internet "experts" here that commonly nut swing one or two specific brands that are the 'only way to go' items that are on their car because that's what said person purchased and feels is the best thing since sliced bread. One should be very careful to bash any particular product with NO experience of installing or testing those items, whether it be a camshaft, clutch, suspension items, or shocks.

Give us a call and we will be very happy to give you the correct info, and not biased opinions on what is right for you. If we feel that the items we offer are not right for your needs, there will be no issues referring you to someone that can.

 

I think the Vikings will work for you. If you were planning on Road racing or Auto-X I'd say either Koni or even bilstein. If you wanted road racing and were dead set on coilovers, ridetech or KW would be very good options. Call me an internet expert or whatever, but I'm not going to put a non-gas charged shock on a car designed to go around corners sure you can increase the spring rate, but is that what the shock is designed for?

I know, I know, UMI is using Vikings on their test vehicle, but even that was due to budget restrictions (per their thread). Vikings, Afcos and qA1s are great at the strip, and fine of the street depending on your spring rate. I just don't feel that the information I've been able to find on them compares well to the established brands who have turning on their minds.

That's my $.02, your mileage may vary.

 

Andy you're fine here and all opinions are valid, though there are others that are extremely one sided.

Your statement is correct and the brands mentioned for the purpose built handling cars are standouts for sure in that market. I would suggest the same thing to someone that has a car with that intended purpose.

 

Nope, nothing has changed.
The "firm ride and handling" is according to QA1 and how they marketed their product (which was a non-gas charged drag shock with adjustments that have no effect on piston speed, and springs which are barely stiffer than what stock 4th gens came with (292lbs/in factory V8 springs, the GM handling 1LE springs were 360lbs/in - came with Koni DA's too...)
The guy who made QA1 shocks left QA1 and started a company you may have heard of: Viking. Using the same marketing strategy as before("pro-touring" coilovers), and essentially making the same shock...
You are not the first, and wont be the last tricked into buying drag shocks and being disappointed when finally being in another setup. Old thread, typical results:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...ml#post8344345
- you can probably tell this bothers me, as I was almost tricked into buying drag coilovers years ago by the salesmen on here for a handling setup, fortunately I listened to guys that have actual experience and bought a proven setup.

I know the feeling (been on QA1s), its shitty dampening.
I feel bumps too with my setup, but they are cushioned and the car still feels totally solid and planted(again think M3 like).
Shitty shock dampening will lead the car feeling disconnected and floaty, even if turn-in is seemingly quick and sharp (which many confuse for "better handling"). The car can feel stiff, yet disconnected and sloppy at the same time (again, shitty shock dampening.)

You can certainly try the Vikings, Im not trying to knock them at all just calling them out for what they are. Like what you have now you may be happy because you don't know the difference, but I'd bet money that you'd be happier with something like Konis.
If you want a bolt-in coil over you can look into ridetech, or KW. While both are more expensive then the Vikings, there is a reason for that (the way they adjust for example).
Sales men can call be biased all they want, yet those are the same guys that years ago would try and sell you QA1s telling you they handle and ride well, so why trust them now?
Also gotta love the "well our customers don't complain" attitude as if that justifies anything. This particular customer didn't know to complain until he rode in a different car...

 

Just wanna throw this in here:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/suspensio...used-drag.html


Unless you plan on putting down some serious power, handling-oriented shocks will perform just fine at the track, and be much nicer to drive with on a day to day basis.

 

I misewell state my opinion here as well and actually defend the typical drag shocks here. First of all let me say that I run Strano/Koni SA's on my car personally and I like it. That being said I was riding in an 8 second F-body with front QA1s with 275lb springs and strange rear shocks, pulling consistently low 1.3x's in the 60 foot. Guess what, the ride was nice and smooth much better than my setup. But then I figured it out, where the 8 second car was located, the roads there were pristine compared to the roads I drive on, making the impression on me that the drag shocks handled the car better than others. But I was wrong, if you would bring that car down to where I live and run the same roads I drive on, I can almost guarantee you the car would handle the roads unexpectedly jittery and scary compared to Koni shocks. Perspective makes a large difference in the way something feels, it just depends on what you're looking for. Yes drag shocks are for drag applications and not that well in handling/everyday driving. Handling shocks are for handling applications, also suited OK for drag racing. It all depends on where you live, the conditions you drive in, and how you're going to drive when you do drive your car. You can make do with drag shocks on the street provided that you don't have terrible roads and you don't annihilate your corners. The average street car will welcome Koni's better than QA1's, that being said you can determine your own limits and driving conditions to suit what will complement your style the best.

 

why couldnt I have found that thread before, It needs a different title haha

He explained how my car feels exactly, when the car was a 6 cylinder I felt very comfortable taking a turn at high speed. This setup I have never felt comfortable in a turn. I honestly attributed it to the weight of the ironblock making the car feel so different, but then again I did so much to the car at the same time so I think my perception was skued. The car was garaged for 2 years while I replaced the motor and harness, all the front suspension, converted to a manual, put a 9" rear end and replaced the rest of the suspension components on the rear. I expected it to feel better than before and have more power, but what I got was exactly what you and the other member described.....

If the Viking shocks are anything like the QA1's I want NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM! Assuming that to be true it sounds like the solution for them was to add a heavier front spring to the same shock under a different name to address the shock's lack of functionality for a street car.

I really like my current stance so that is where my want for coilovers come in more than an actual need for adjustments, I think I could take or leave them for the rear as I have no intention of making anymore major mods to the car aside from maybe bigger brakes.

I put far more value on the words of someone who has been in a car with a similar setup and felt the same ...... discomfort or maybe dissapointment is the word I was looking for.

I've delt with Chassisworks for some other setups and they have always used verishock for their pro-touring setups. Since UMI now offers the upper perch for the front that allows for a different mounting setup, I may reach out to them and see if we cant come up with something that can be converted before I ditch the coil overs completely

I definetly feel there arent enought threads with the correct title for people to search about customer opinion about qa1's on a street car.


I do want to be clear about one thing though, I never consulted anyone at UMI about purchasing this setup so any of this post/thread really has nothing to do with them. Just wanted to make that clear since in my first post I said all of my suspension came via a different vendor.

 

I have Vikings on my car. I have no problems with the ride quality on the street and my roads suck alot better than the stock WS6 setup by far. Car is not jittery or without confidence on bumbs or on horrible roads, but also I'm not driving like a COMPLETE MORON at 120 MPH on public roads. Its no Caddy, but its not suppose to be. I don't need a cushioned suspension. I'm not 80 years old to worry about the bumps causing my dentures to fall out. The Viking coilovers met all my needs:

1. Affordable.
2. Adjustable.
3. Allows for height adjustment.
4. Driveable on the road with good handling.
5. Great Quality.

I don't need to expensive koni set up to meet my needs and would be overkill for my needs and budget. I'm 100% sure there are No sharp turns in my 1/4 miles passes. Don't get caught up on WHAT suspension one thinks is the BEST. Get what suits your needs. A top fuel dragster engine at 4000 HP may be better than my LS1 motor, but it sure doesn't suit my needs.

For a STREET car or a 1/4 mile car the Vikings are perfect and more than enough. I'm not going to be taking any turns at 100 MPH on the street. Car handles great for the street. If your doing autocross then thats a new ball game and a different set of requirements . You have an IRON block so I'm guessing autocross isn't your focus. Everyone has their opinion and needs for shocks. If I wanted a car to handle on turns... I would of kept the VIPER.

Sorry for the rant... in summary your all right. Just buy what you need.

 

IMO for a pure street car I would do STR's before I do vikings. If you demand adjust-ability though they are probably the cheapest in the game. But do you need to adjust the height? Or do you set it once and leave it alone? Do you need to adjust he rebound and compression or do you set it and forget it? For most of us in our best case 13 year old cars, I'm sure any new shock and spring setup would feel better than the worn our stock stuff. When I had my s2000 I felt a need to drop decent money and wait a long time for a set of Ohlins, but that car had a really good setup from the factory, lets face it the stock decarbons are pretty horrid and 200k in mileage is only going to exacerbate the issue.

 

So a lot to learn from this.
As you can tell it does NOT matter how many "adjustments" a shock has if its not valved right in the first place - it will never feel "right". - Sure is a good sale pitch though isn't it?
And just because you add some aftermarket suspension doesn't mean the car will do all things (or any things) better than before. Certain parts will do certain jobs and many will make other attributes worse than before, but you won't get told that by the sales guy.
Its about getting the right part for what you want to do and decide on what you can compromise on.
If you care more about how the car actually drives on the street than if it can go fast in a strait line for a few seconds then drag shocks are not for you, period (again, number of adjustments are irrelevant, as you have experienced). You will likely want a gas charged sport shock that will ride, feel and handle 1000x better (even with stock springs) that what a drag shock can offer.


Im pretty sure that Viking didn't come up with that 550 lbs/in rate, rather they stuck with the typical ~300lbs/in rate and other vendors added 550lbs springs for people who wanted a more sporty feel.
Unfortunately thats not how it works though, and now you have a pretty stiff spring paired with a shock that will struggle to damp it and you are left with the same disconnected feel now just with a stiffer springs and likely more bounce because of it.

I would really suggest trying to find some who has been on both Konis (or another sport shock) and vikings to get their opinion. I know Sam Strano has driven cars with both so you can pick his brain about actual differences to see if you can tolerate them.

 

...adding a UMI tunnel brace mounted Torque Arm........everything else is in sig.

Handles grrrrrreat.......

.

 

dont get me wrong I wasnt expecting all the components I added to magically make the car handle like a high end sports car. Since i really didnt change sway bars post v6, excluding the qa1 coilovers the front suspension was done mostly to help balance out the added weight of the ironblock, and with the exception of the torque arm the rest of the rear was done to adjust the rear end to get it centered under the car, and I had the rear qa1 shocks in the back before the swap as well and honestly never felt they were an issue like the fronts are. What I really would like to do is find someone in my area whose f body I can drive and get a feel myself for how a base v8 should behave and kind of go from there.

What is probably the most frustrating part is if i go back to a shock, I have to by front springs as well and maybe even the mounting cup for spring that goes onto the shock body since I have none of that stuff anymore. All adding to the cost making it more justifiable to me to just go with a higher end coilover since I would still like to retain ride height adjustments.

Maybe I dont know what I want, but I do know i dont want another drag shock setup.

 

my setup is budget friendly. It rides fairly good, but my car does need better shocks and a strano rear swaybar
hotchkiss springs
junkyard kyb gas a just struts/shocks
umi panhard bar
junkyard competition eng rear lca
used strano front sway

 

I would like to thank everyone who shared here, I appreciate the insite


sold my QA1's yestarday BTW