Suspension & Brakes Springs | Shocks | Handling | Rotors

Shock/Spring combo

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Old Nov 27, 2005 | 10:35 AM
  #21  
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ok, well whatever i go, i wont lack on the good shocks, ill go Koni SA's and Ground Controls. Now i have a question on this set up..... So i can change my ride height with the ground controls...... Lets say starting from stock height, how much can i raise and lower it? I can also set up these shocks to perform great cornering if id like and also, can i set these up to get great traction at the track? Thanks!
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Old Nov 27, 2005 | 11:45 AM
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ok, well whatever i go, i wont lack on the good shocks, ill go Koni SA's and Ground Controls. Now i have a question on this set up..... So i can change my ride height with the ground controls...... Lets say starting from stock height, how much can i raise and lower it? I can also set up these shocks to perform great cornering if id like and also, can i set these up to get great traction at the track? Thanks!
Okay ill have to get back to you on the exact height limits for the coilovers that or maybe someone else may know but yes you can raise and lower the car with the coilovers. Yes, the shocks are designed to be great shocks BUT you cannot have the best shock for both street and drag at the same time because its opposites. The koni's are a happy medium. When you drag you want the weight transfer from the front to the rear so the rear tires will grip where in street racing its just the opposite you want the front to be strong to help prevent nose dive which is where springs come in. Springs play a very important roll in drag and street racing. The ground control springs are eibach (non progressive spring) which are better for street racing but will work for drag. Based on what you said the car will be mostly used for, street mostly/seldom drag, the best way to go is the koni's and ground control setup. If you were mainly interested in drag id say get the QA1's which are made to improve weight transfer but they arent a good street racing setup.

In a nutshell the koni's are the best shocks/struts for good performance both at the strip for traction and the street for handling.

Just remember there are many other suspension parts you will need to have optimum traction: torque arm, LCA's, larger sway bars, panhard rod, etc... Also as you may have already heard with a lowered car your going to need to get some lower control arm brackets and an adjustable panhard rod.
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Old Nov 27, 2005 | 11:57 AM
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Yea thanks a lot. I got my answer from this thread, you were a great help. I jsut made a new thread which was stupid of me but check it out, i have a few more questions on basic suspension parts that you can prolly help me with! Thanks a lot man for your time!
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Old Nov 27, 2005 | 12:16 PM
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ya i actually just checked it out and made a couple responses hope they help. Also i just talked to GotV-8 hes got the ground controls on his car (which looks sweet!) and he says hes got it lowered almost 2 inchs and that hes almost sitting on his rims and that the coilovers can go much lower so they will definitly do the trick.

Thanks a lot man for your time!
No problem man, anytime thanks for saying thanks!
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Old Nov 27, 2005 | 05:54 PM
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I have Koni SA's and the Ground Control coil overs.
Best suspension mod I've done besides the Strano 35mm front and 22mm rear sway bars.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...highlight=koni
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Old Nov 28, 2005 | 01:05 PM
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Do not buy koni shocks. If u do a 2" drop they will not work. I have a 3/4 inch drop that is best for handling. If you want a 2" drop u will need a spring rate that is 600 or 700 lbs if u want to do any kind or driving. No shock but the koni will work for that rate. Konis have to much rate for a drag car. If you want to slam the car I do not know what to tell u. Keep what u have. Get QA1 maybe.
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Old Nov 28, 2005 | 01:43 PM
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Do not buy koni shocks. If u do a 2" drop they will not work. I have a 3/4 inch drop that is best for handling. If you want a 2" drop u will need a spring rate that is 600 or 700 lbs if u want to do any kind or driving. No shock but the koni will work for that rate. Konis have to much rate for a drag car. If you want to slam the car I do not know what to tell u. Keep what u have. Get QA1 maybe.
Yes, the koni's arent ment for a crazy huge drop BUT thats his best choice other than buying revalved (which arent adjustable). If he sticks with what he currently has he definitly wont have a good setup. If anything go with say a 1 1/2in drop and see how you like it, with the coilover set and koni's you can adjust it until you are satisfied. He said the car will be for most street so the QA1's are out!
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Old Nov 28, 2005 | 07:19 PM
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With a 2" drop he will ride on the bumpstop and brake the shock i think. Koni will not repair. Might as brake a 30.00$ shock as a 200.00$. The ride will be the same, poor. So there is no differance any way. No Joke Go with QA1 before konies with a 2" drop. With ground control it will have to be a contant rate spring with 700 lb/in to keep it off the ground. Buy cheep shocks and sit on the bump stop. That way when they brake no big deal.
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Old Nov 28, 2005 | 08:35 PM
  #29  
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Koni's have integral bumpstops on the front, and rely on the OEM stops on the rear to prevent breakage from bottoming out. I agree that 2" is too low, but thats just because you lack travel and don't leave any range of motion for the suspension to do it's job. I would STRONGLY not recommend a 2" drop.

However it's absolutely nuts to think that a Koni is any worse off with that amount of drop than any other shock is. Fact of the matter is they are designed for the car, including the range of motion the wheels go through. If you think that Koni didn't realize that some of these cars might not be lowered, you are crazy. And you should also consider the difference between wheel travel and shock travel. They aren't the same, a 2" ride height drop is not cutting 2" from the shock travel it's less than that (though I don't remember the ratio right now, I think it's about 1.7:1.

I'm really wondering where Yellow T/A gets some of his ideas.

And somewhere earlier I noticed that someone thought the ride height could be easily changed. It can, though doing all 4 corners will probably take an hour, and any change would require an alignment. In short, it's not something you'll be doing often or day to day (nor is that recommended).

Also, GC's are not an easy slip on install with Koni's. Not terribly hard to do it, but does take a hour or two extra work.

I have the GC's with rates I prefer and choose to run for autox use, and Koni's on my car. I'm also a bit more than 1" lower (more than the "perfect 3/4" drop for handling). I think my car handles ok... at least that's what my SCCA jackets indicate by the stiching that's on them.

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Old Nov 28, 2005 | 10:32 PM
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Sam you definitly know your stuff infact much of what ive learned is from you and doing a LOT of reading. Sorry i didnt mean to say that the adjustment of the koni's/ground control was an extremely easy task just that it is possible.
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Old Nov 29, 2005 | 05:59 AM
  #31  
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So what would you suggest i do? Should i get some QA1s for traction and add like a pro kit to it?
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Old Nov 29, 2005 | 08:39 AM
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Thanks for the correction Sam. I did not know that the shock travel was not one to one. When I put my shocks and GC on, I looked long and hard at how much travel there was before the bump stop. There was not much. I had my car at 1" drop thought it was to low. I move it to 3/4 and had no problem. True be told I get most of my ideas from doing things. I am not always right by i AM RIGHT MORE THAT WRONG.

Superman ^ that is what I would tell u to do with a 2" drop. Maybe Sam would tell what you should do. Koni and GC are more of an Autox setup.
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Old Nov 29, 2005 | 12:53 PM
  #33  
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Ah well i am looking for traction here o nthe street and track when i do go but want to sport a lower stance since it will mainly be street.
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