Know this topic has been discussed before, but when I searched through I did not really find the answers to my questions, so here goes:
I am considering a pair of Hal's for the front of my bracket racer ('94 Z28)

1. Are they really a kinda "you can have it all" situation where you can set them stiff and nearly go road racing, then set them loose and get great weight transfer at the drag strip? I need a little bit more out of the car traction-wise, but do NOT want to go with a drag kit that is always loose as the car is street driven a lot.

2. What springs would you recommend to go with them? I want to lower the front about 1" to 1.5", but not more because I have a TCI trans pan and don't want to scrape my nice aluminum fins. (it hangs 2" lower than stock).

3. Where's the best deal to be had on the Hals/recommended springs?

Thanks in advance!

 

Yeah, I would like to know that and more. A mustang guy told me that they crap out suddenly. He even said that Wolfe Racecraft doesn't recommend use them. What else is there available for the F-bodies?

 

I like my HAL's. I used my stock springs front and rear. I drive around daily with the fronts on 3, and the rears on 2.

I've got a couple of opinions on them as I installed the front and rears at seperate times.

The fronts:
I've yet to drive around on them with my 1LE swaybar up front, but the shocks are amazing IMO. The stock shocks were horrible, with Hotchkis lowering springs and no front swaybar, the car had tons of body roll. With the front end raised about 1/2" higher than stock, stock springs, and no front swaybar with the HAL's set at 3 it handles infinitely better. They're still a little soft on 3, but I got tired of being beaten to death in my car so I'm keeping them a hair loose. I had them set on 12 for a trip into downtown houston before I'd set the ride height on them (I was slammed). The car for the most part drove like it was on rails w/no front swaybar.
Setting the shocks down to a 1 or 2 in the front is also amazing, the front end comes straight up and transfers weight like crazy.


Thoughts on the rears:

On the street, anything higher than 2 or 3 and it starts to get bouncy. If you race any on the street though they could be beneficial since you can drop the stiffness down in order to get better traction off the line. I had not really planned on purchasing the rear's, but I came across a good deal on them. I had stock shocks/hotchkis springs with a bag in the right rear before.


Unfortunately, I have not gotten a chance to get to the track with this new suspension setup yet. I pulled a 1.70 60' on my first and only run last time out, all motor w/M6. Setup was Stock Shocks, Hotchkis lowering springs (lowered 1.25" all around), Airbag in Right Rear @ 35psi, 26x8.5 ET Drags and skinnies. Just from driving around on the new shocks, I have alot of confidence that they will definately help out.

On the issue of them crapping out. I have seen some issues. They're a rebuildable shock and start to leak after a while (just like the Koni's do). I also bought my front HAL's from Thunder Racing, they have an excellent everyday price. Do yourself a favor and buy the already modified spring-seats though.

 

xaon,

thanks for the input!

How easy are they to adjust? I had Koni's on all four corners of my third gen and the fronts were great, came with the **** that you just put on the top and turned. The rears were a pain because you had to unbolt the shocks, push the button and turn them, then bolt the shocks back up.
As you can guess, I haven't even seen the Hal's up close. I want something that, if challenged to a race, I can pop my hood, twist a dial and be ready to rock and roll! In other words, something as easy as my old front Koni's were.

BTW, nice 60' time! My best is a 1.78, but that's prior to the V6 rear coils and the flow-tech torque arm. Since then, the weather has been so hot and muggy that track times are way off. If I get the Hal's up front and then get out there on a cool, dry night...

Thanks in advance.

 

the adjustment ***** are at the bottom of the shock body on the HAL's. So basically just reach under the car and twist them. When my car was slammed in the front, I had to cut the wheels to get to the *****, but now that I am back around stock ride height, I just reach around the top of the tire and twist the ****.

I can EASILY adjust all 4 shocks on my car in 2 minutes.

You can get a pretty good look at the shocks here.
http://www.thunderracing.com/index.c...yid=1068#T1144

 

The hals on my car i bought used. And they are running SWEET! 3 years later. So i wouldnt say they crap out quick. And thay are amazing. I drive at 7 on the street. Perfictly firm for cornering but not to damn stiff. And drag race on 2. I'm telling you from #2 setting to #7 setting it's like a whole different car. They get so loose on the low setting #1 you can hardly drive around without bouncing like a 60's boat and bottoming out (my car is lowered) to #12 setting rattling your teeth out it's so stiff!

 

Guys,

thanks! They are now on my shopping list. I am definitely doing this mod.