my review of vikings, not good
10-25-2018, 03:13 PM
#122
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Originally Posted by A.P.D.
... so who makes the best coil over system ?? ... Street driver but looking for that well balanced Corvette feel, not too harsh either ...
10-25-2018, 06:16 PM
#123
i have the strano afco up front, and koni sports with strano springs out back. the reason for this was because i have a fab 9 out back with larger axle tubes. larger axle tubes means the springs will sit higher. i prefer my fbodies about .5 to .75 lowered. i think anything over that puts the wheel well to tire gap closer than the gap on the front and rear of the tire.i like when the tire gap sits evenly all around the tire. i took a guess that his springs on the larger axle tube would sit right for my tastes, meaning i wouldn't need height adjustability, meaning no real reason to spend roughly 4-500 more when i dont to adjust. strano was familiar with the koni valving and said his shocks would work well with the konis. i was right, perfect ride height for me in the rear and i adjusted the fronts to match.
anyway, again im no expert, my opinion is the strano coilovers are designed to be an autocross/road course shock with a few additions that make it perform ok on general street scenarios. like proper length springs, and the awesome bump stop on the shocks (seriously the bump stops are a great addition). the reason why i believe that these "competition" shocks perform ok on the street, is because a good street shock and a good competition shock both need 100% control over the spring at all times. thats where the viking warriors fail miserably on the street, because they are a drag shock, which doesnt really need to control the spring that much. if they did control the spring, then they wouldn't accel on the drag strip. so how in the hell can they be marketed as a do it all shock? they cant be, not rocket science. the sad thing is these sponsors who pushed them actually believed this.
back to the strano/afcos. i assume that these were still designed as primarily a competition shock. educated guess, because i now that strano being as heavy into road course as he is wouldn't ever put his name on something that wouldn't be an all star performer at the track. we also know that sacrifices have to be made when we mod anything on our cars, and no 1 part can do it all. between those 2 comments, i would say in my opinion the strano afco coilovers are 70% competition 30% street shock. maybe even as high as 80% competition 20% street. i wouldn't call them harsh, however they are borderline harsh in certain situations. over small and small medium bumps they are amazing. once you hit medium large and large bumps, they are really flirting with the firm/harsh boundary. again, are they harsh, no, but they are really pushing that fine line between firm and harsh.
i have no experience with ridetech/fox shocks, but after some more educated guessing, im goona say they are roughly a 50% street 50% competition shock. im guessing this because we are mostly likely talking about the HQ coilovers
from ridetechs website
HQ Series -- Stands for "Handling Quality" -- Suitable for most high performance applications. HQ Series coilovers offer rebound adjustment to help you fine tune ride quality and handling.
TQ Series -- Stands for "Track Quality" -- Intended for cars and trucks that participate in competitive autocross, track days and road racing. TQ Series coilovers offer rebound adjustment, plus high and low speed compression adjustment as well as remote reservoirs.
the HQ run 1700 for all 4 and the TQ run 4100 so again, assuming we are trying to compare the HQ to the strano. after seeing that they clearly are focused on ride quality, that tells us that they will be less of a performer on the track, back to that whole to gain in 1 place you lose in another statement we all have heard in the past. and after inferring earlier that strano wanted a shock that was a performer, we can come to the conclusion that the ridetechs will be more street friendly in terms of ride quality than the strano/afco will be, but the strano will most likely be a much better performer on the track. strano and umi (keep forgetting to give them their credit in this) were definitely going for an affordable performance coilover that will suit 95% of us, and in my opinion, they definitely accomplished that. no arguments on that from me. i personally think that something like the ridetech hq would suit my needs more. i did get a good deal on a used KW variant 3 so will be swapping those on next year sometime to see if those are little more "squishy" for me.
bottom line, the best "affordable" track inspired coilover out there for our cars is the Strano/UMI/Afco setup. i mean the only other ones out there are really penske and ridetech/fox. and as stated, north of 4000 bucks. the KW kit is endorsed by strano as well, but those are 2400 i think vs the 1850 for strano coilovers, i think they are on sale and are less than that right now. if you want something corvette feeling, than the stranos may be a little more firm than you may like. the real test here is viking crusader track valving vs strano umi afco
. those 2 i believe are very close in price to each other and are both advertised to be competition ready. i would really enjoy seeing those 2 duke it out, but i would have to assume the afcos would be better, due to knowing how seriously UMI and Strano take their products and quality/performance. i have no knowledge on crusader valving.long rant im sorry.
Last edited by Floorman279; 10-25-2018 at 06:27 PM. Reason: blah
10-25-2018, 06:45 PM
#124
it will be cool when i get the kw variant 3s installed, because who else can say that they unfortunately had the opportunity to try 3 different coilover setups with a little bit of seat time.
disclaimer: i didn't get the KW setup because i was dissatisfied with the strano setup, and felt i needed something else. had the ridetech shocks been on sale used on here i would have bought them as well for comparison sake. i plan on having an fbody for a long time so why not try different setups when opportunity comes your way. i definately will be keeping the stranos for a while tho even after i take them off, in case i decide the stranos are better after some KW seat time
disclaimer: i didn't get the KW setup because i was dissatisfied with the strano setup, and felt i needed something else. had the ridetech shocks been on sale used on here i would have bought them as well for comparison sake. i plan on having an fbody for a long time so why not try different setups when opportunity comes your way. i definately will be keeping the stranos for a while tho even after i take them off, in case i decide the stranos are better after some KW seat time
10-25-2018, 07:06 PM
#125
TECH Addict
Just a observation, I see lots of talk about height,, not much about weight.
If your not starting your adjustment process on the scales for a cornering car,,,
Your wasting time and money.
Height is for looks. a properly balanced car could easily have .5 to a full inch of gap or more difference between all 4 wheel wells.
You spring and shock package, cannot be stiffer than the chassis will tolerate.
Example,, a Touring BMW M3 can run 1200 lb springs, but its got solid bushings, 14point cage,, etc.
Go to a dirt track race, look at how Sprint or midget cars tune, its an education, a sprint is a
cornering car that uses the dynamics of a drag car to hook up..
Nothing for a decent car to have 4 to 8 sets of shocks. Maybe a dozen sets of torsion bars,
different snubbers on the shocks. And their track changes dynamically as they drive..
Way harder to go fast on a 1/8 - 1/4 mile oval than folks often realize..
In a 1400 lb car with 7 or 8 hundred horsepower,, watch wingless sprints to see the real tuners..
Or wingless Midgets, they are so twitchy a 1/4 turn on spring can make or brake you..
If your not starting your adjustment process on the scales for a cornering car,,,
Your wasting time and money.
Height is for looks. a properly balanced car could easily have .5 to a full inch of gap or more difference between all 4 wheel wells.
You spring and shock package, cannot be stiffer than the chassis will tolerate.
Example,, a Touring BMW M3 can run 1200 lb springs, but its got solid bushings, 14point cage,, etc.
Go to a dirt track race, look at how Sprint or midget cars tune, its an education, a sprint is a
cornering car that uses the dynamics of a drag car to hook up..
Nothing for a decent car to have 4 to 8 sets of shocks. Maybe a dozen sets of torsion bars,
different snubbers on the shocks. And their track changes dynamically as they drive..
Way harder to go fast on a 1/8 - 1/4 mile oval than folks often realize..
In a 1400 lb car with 7 or 8 hundred horsepower,, watch wingless sprints to see the real tuners..
Or wingless Midgets, they are so twitchy a 1/4 turn on spring can make or brake you..
Last edited by pdxmotorhead; 10-25-2018 at 07:22 PM.
10-25-2018, 07:30 PM
#126
it will be cool when i get the kw variant 3s installed, because who else can say that they unfortunately had the opportunity to try 3 different coilover setups with a little bit of seat time.
disclaimer: i didn't get the KW setup because i was dissatisfied with the strano setup, and felt i needed something else. had the ridetech shocks been on sale used on here i would have bought them as well for comparison sake. i plan on having an fbody for a long time so why not try different setups when opportunity comes your way. i definately will be keeping the stranos for a while tho even after i take them off, in case i decide the stranos are better after some KW seat time
disclaimer: i didn't get the KW setup because i was dissatisfied with the strano setup, and felt i needed something else. had the ridetech shocks been on sale used on here i would have bought them as well for comparison sake. i plan on having an fbody for a long time so why not try different setups when opportunity comes your way. i definately will be keeping the stranos for a while tho even after i take them off, in case i decide the stranos are better after some KW seat time
10-25-2018, 07:39 PM
#127
Are you keeping the koni sports with strano springs out back when you switch to the KW up front? If you wanted to have the same ride height you have now but be even MORE street friendly, what rear setup would you go with? Looking forward to your feedback on the KW setup.
10-25-2018, 07:46 PM
#128
Just a observation, I see lots of talk about height,, not much about weight.
If your not starting your adjustment process on the scales for a cornering car,,,
Your wasting time and money.
Height is for looks. a properly balanced car could easily have .5 to a full inch of gap or more difference between all 4 wheel wells.
You spring and shock package, cannot be stiffer than the chassis will tolerate.
Example,, a Touring BMW M3 can run 1200 lb springs, but its got solid bushings, 14point cage,, etc.
Go to a dirt track race, look at how Sprint or midget cars tune, its an education, a sprint is a
cornering car that uses the dynamics of a drag car to hook up..
Nothing for a decent car to have 4 to 8 sets of shocks. Maybe a dozen sets of torsion bars,
different snubbers on the shocks. And their track changes dynamically as they drive..
Way harder to go fast on a 1/8 - 1/4 mile oval than folks often realize..
In a 1400 lb car with 7 or 8 hundred horsepower,, watch wingless sprints to see the real tuners..
Or wingless Midgets, they are so twitchy a 1/4 turn on spring can make or brake you..
If your not starting your adjustment process on the scales for a cornering car,,,
Your wasting time and money.
Height is for looks. a properly balanced car could easily have .5 to a full inch of gap or more difference between all 4 wheel wells.
You spring and shock package, cannot be stiffer than the chassis will tolerate.
Example,, a Touring BMW M3 can run 1200 lb springs, but its got solid bushings, 14point cage,, etc.
Go to a dirt track race, look at how Sprint or midget cars tune, its an education, a sprint is a
cornering car that uses the dynamics of a drag car to hook up..
Nothing for a decent car to have 4 to 8 sets of shocks. Maybe a dozen sets of torsion bars,
different snubbers on the shocks. And their track changes dynamically as they drive..
Way harder to go fast on a 1/8 - 1/4 mile oval than folks often realize..
In a 1400 lb car with 7 or 8 hundred horsepower,, watch wingless sprints to see the real tuners..
Or wingless Midgets, they are so twitchy a 1/4 turn on spring can make or brake you..
i know height is mostly for looks, but obviously there is plenty of performance gains to be had with lowering.
im not sure what your knowledge of advanced suspension techniques has to do with street cars and basic handling characteristics, which is basically what this thread is about. again, i promise im not being an ***. i appreciate all contributions to my threads, the internet makes everything sound dickish