02SS#406

iTrader: (1)

Just installed my SA's Saturday, with my stock springs. I love the ride and handling, but...on the lower perch and with the hose mod, I only got 1/4" drop all the way around. Exactly 1/4" front and back. I had heard 3/4" on the front and 1/2" on the back? It's 27" to the apex of the front fenders, and 28" to the rear. Any ideas? Did I do something wrong? Very straight-forward install that went smoothly. No noises or issues at all, just not quite low enough. Help?

HPP

Stock springs with the lower perch and heater hose should result in pretty much the same drop regardless of car.

Have you driven the car at all and given it time to settle? Did you make sure the springs were aligned right in their pockets (all 'round)? Is everything re-assembled correctly?

Fenders aren't always an accurate measurement point either. And you have to be on a flat surface to measure in the first place. They can be hard to come by.

The Guz

iTrader: (8)

Give it time to settle. Then measure again.

02SS#406

iTrader: (1)

I actually may be able to spin the rear springs around some, but the fronts are dead-on. I've put 100 miles or so on the car, but I've been told that there wouldn't be any "settling" with the stock springs going back in.

lsx24

iTrader: (45)

+1 for letting the car settle, even if you're putting the stock springs back, they will compress some more because of their potential energy and installation.

The heater hose mod and lower perch mod are usually pretty efficient. However some cars will differ from car to car, so I don't see it being very abnormal at all, just make sure you are measuring from a repeatable place and not someplace that doesn't show a good measurment.

02SS#406

iTrader: (1)

I appreciate the input. I tried to keep the measuring consistant, but who knows. I am VERY happy with the Koni's, I had just hoped for a little more drop.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Anytime we're talking about ride heights, there are never absolutes... Sadly. The lower perch on the Koni's is approximately 1/4" down the shock than the upper perch. The shock does not sit in the car vertically, but on an angle, and also inboard of the wheel. Those things add a motion ratio. Meaning the shock/spring always moves less than a given amount of wheel travel. I seem to recall that ratio being about 1.7:1. So a 1/4" on the shock is about 1/2" of ride height. But many folks report a 3/4" drop, some report none (which is rare).

Frankly the change isn't a huge one, which I think is what we wanted. But I'd reckon that when you stand away from the car you can see it's not as tall (I'd hope). The issue is the same variable come into play where springs are involved as well. Some folks report X, some get Y, some get Z. You never know 100% until you try it on YOUR car. Many springs are more accurate than others in regards to drop, but all one has to do is find the pics of the SOM Z28 and the Red WS6, which both have my springs, yet look VASTLY different. The thing is they were hugely different from bone stock, that SOM Z28 thinks is a Blazer and my springs made it look stock (what most cars look like stock).

Let's see what happens with some more time. If you want to go a little lower we can. Just remember there are no guarantees and lowering springs are a bit more firm.

02SS#406

iTrader: (1)

Hey Sam! Thanks for chiming in. I'm fairly patient, so I've got some time to see if it settles a little. Took a good friend and I about 4 hours to cmplete the job at an easy pace, and it gave us a chance to catch up on things and have some fun. I let him (TexasVortexx) be the test pilot first, and we were VERY impressed. I ended up full soft for the rear, and 5 sweeps from full hard on the front. Took a 25mph entrance ramp @ 60 with no ill-effects...

gun5l1ng3r

Do you think a Z28 w/ stock springs and sway bars could do the same?
I just got a set of Koni SA's for Christmas and am looking forward to seeing how they handle.

02SS#406

iTrader: (1)

I think you will be stunned. The whole ride will change, especially on rough roads. I really notice the rear end being a lot more stable on "washboard" turns. Everything stays planted and firm.

gapp94vert

iTrader: (15)

I bought the konis from sam too, did not get a chance to install them yet. Im doing the same setup you are. how did you like the ride? was it a noticable difference from stock? when you hit a bump does the car handle it better?

02SS#406

iTrader: (1)

"Noticeable" is an understatement. It changed my car entirely. It drives like a $50k car, in my opinion. I might do a few more small things, but I look forward to driving it all the time. With all the cars around my place, I always find a reason to jump into the SS...

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Yet another who has seen the difference between cheap crap valved shocks and ones that work right. This is why I'm always saying shocks are the key, because of changes and reactions like this. There are other parts that can make the car more fun and so forth, but no single bigger improvement can be made IMHO to most 4th gen's than a decent set of dampers. And they are so important that they should be done before pretty much anything else.

gun5l1ng3r

I'll be giving you a call next week Sam, as my dad told me to call you before I installed them.

I will also need to get some suggestions for settings and an explanation of exatcly how rebound affects the way a car moves so I can do my own tuning

The Koni SA's made my Christmas.

Thanks,

Jake Pfeifer

dgmiller

iTrader: (1)

I when I put my Koni SAs on, I used the on the lower pearch and it gave me a 1/2 inch lower ride, measured at the middle of the wheel well. I re-measured it one year later and it hadn't changed, I have 1LE springs, on a 99 SS. I did the heater hode mod in the rear and got 5/8 lowerrode height, measured same way.

redtail2426

iTrader: (10)

check your tire pressure

SStolen

iTrader: (22)

When I lowered my car I also thought it was too high. Then I had it alligned and DAMN, it was almost too low!