HawkFanatic

iTrader: (1)

I'm curious if it is better to mod the major susp components first(shocks & springs), then build the rest of the suspension(LCAs, PHB, Sway Bars, Bushing material, ect) around those major components, or if you can do the small(cheap) things first then work up to the major stuff...

Which is the better approach?

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Big stuff first... Shocks, bars and springs are the "big three" for sure. And the shocks are the hugely glaring problem with the car. I say you fix the things that are @ issue before doing slight upgrades. And rest assured that if you pick the proper parts and learn why and how they work, that many times you find folks do the lesser parts simply as band-aids to the larger problem. Sometimes you need the other parts, but for the most part, things like SFC's, LCA's and such are installed blindly.

I say change the big stuff first. Shocks and bars are pretty big. I don't at all feel the stock springs are horrible, so if you don't want to change them... don't. We do setups all the time with OEM springs. Honestly, you'll be very suprised what just a set of shocks alone will do. And you could stop right there, depending on what you feel about the change. No sense in tossing money at problems you don't have, right?

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Sam knows his stuff. Go with his advice.

LS69TA

iTrader: (30)

Alot of it depends on what you want to do with the car too. Do you want to keep the stock height or lower it a bit? Is it mainly a daily driver that you may take to the dragstrip on the weekends, or a daily driver that you want to get rid of some of the gap between the fenders and tires and want it to corner like it's on rails?

HawkFanatic

iTrader: (1)

The car has 22k on it. It is not a daily driver. It is a nice weekend only & show car.

My ultimate goal for the car is to modify the power level and suspension to a comparable level as the original 91/92 Firehawks. Those cars, fully optioned, could out muscle, and out handle the Corvette in 91/92. Now Vettes have come a long way since then, so I don’t think I want to spend the money trying to get to that level, but what I do want is to be able to drive around corners at speed without feeling like the rear is going to wobble me into a spin. I don’t have plans to do any AX/RR events, but would like the car set up in that direction, without going to a full race setup.
Basically just a generally better handling/riding car for around town, similar to a new vette.

I want about 1” - 1-1/4” drop from springs, and Bilstein shocks that will better control body movement without too much suffering in ride quality.
I was thinking the SLP/Eibach combo would be best, but after looking at some of Sams posts, maybe the Re-valves would be better… Based on his reputation here I will definitely be buying from him.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

We can do that..... And there are different ways to do so. The SLP kit does not have the shock damping we want, but the springs are certainly an option (and I can supply those as well).

We have choices, but you must remember that the springs will effect ride quality. And you don't at all NEED springs to have a GREAT handling car. The shocks and swaybars are, in my eyes, much bigger fish.

HawkFanatic

iTrader: (1)

... But I do need the springs to lower the car... I dont want to do the heater hose mod and all that, I want to lower the car with springs. If it makes the car more tight over bumps, then thats fine. I put 1000 miles a year on this car, so long term comfort is not a huge issue...

EDIT: I also have the 32mm front sway bar that came stock on the base Firehawk package.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

We can lower the car and keep the stock springs. And IMO 32mm is not enough bar. Better to be sure than a 30mm bar, but not near enough.

We are getting into the area of you asking "why"? And I'm happy to tell you, but it's much too involved to do by e-mail....

MrDude_1

iTrader: (4)

the #1 first before anything else thing you should do:

set your goal.



if you dont have a goal, you dont ahve a reason to mod.

lets say your goal is to make the car better for autocrossing.
well, then you look at the rules, look at the car and do what will help the MOST and work from there. in this case, id start with tires, then move on from there. keeping in mind that specific mods could kick out out of the stock beginner classes and dump you in with the experts.

lets say your goal is drag racing.
id start with getting the power you ahve now to the ground..QA1s, drop the swaybar, ETstreets, ect...


lets say your goal is a blingy street wannabe racer.
id start throwing the most visible parts possible on it, regardless of if they'll help you reach any other goal, then list them all in your sig.

Cal

iTrader: (1)

That was well said.

From my own experiance, I have to second what others said concerning tires and shocks. They will improve corner handling more than anything else and are the first to correct. But don't change anything at all if you don't have a problem to correct. These cars handle very well from the factory. But for competition use, handling can improved greatly with shocks, and grip improved greatly with sticky tires. For autoX, get some ultra sticky tires on a dedicated set of wheels and use them only on the race course.

HawkFanatic

iTrader: (1)

My goal for the car is stated above, to have a generally better handling, confidence inspiring, well balanced & predictable car. I don’t necessarily care about AX rules at this point. I don’t want an all out race car. The Corvette, Carrera ect, are cars that have excellent handling and provide decent ride qualities.
That’s what I want.



Sam, that’s perfectly fine. The scope of this thread was to find out what approach to suspension modification is best – Build around the shocks, or build up to the shocks, and you answered that.

Suspension upgrades will be the first mods I do after the show season this year, so I will be contacting you then.

Thanks
Dennis

Cal

iTrader: (1)

The car has decent ride qualities in stock form. An fbody is not a Corvette, and to make it handle like one will cause it to lose it's comfortable ride. Fbodies make bettter race cars than they do "excellent handling cars with decent ride quality." But with Koni adjustable shocks, you can tune the balance of handling and ride quality you want. Don't expect Koni's to be cheap, but the good news is they are well worth what they cost. Sam can help you save some money on them by going with a Koni/Bilstein combo.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Seems like the best spring only (no coilover) option that will lower your car about that much is the Eibach prokit. Pair those up with Koni single adjustable shocks, or revalved shocks from Sam. Seems like people do well with that setup autocrossing. I understand that you aren't going to be autoxing, but since you said you'd like the car set up for that then that's what I would recommend.