TripleTransAm

Used search, didn't find a similar thread, I did see that Konis (SA?) come firm up front by default from factory and full soft in back so I am thinking the DAs come set up similarly?

That said: can anyone recommend a good setting to start with that will mirror the WS6 shocks as were found on the 1998 vintage cars? (there's no reference in GM's system to the part number of the shocks that came on my WS6, I liked those better than the generic replacements they now list as common for all cars... and the original fronts were sort of okay).

So what I'd like to do is start with a setting that closely mirrors what the car had when brand new, and then slowly tweak here and there to bring the car exactly to where I want it. It's that initial point of reference I'm hoping to get from someone here.

I will probably get them installed sometime in the next week or two.

JD_AMG

Im pretty sure you cannot "mirror" the stock shocks because of how shitty they were. I know that full shoft in the rear is already more firm than stock (but in a VERY good way, its no longer jarring to hit bumps).
Where did you buy the DA's from?

TripleTransAm

Bought them from Koni directly. Yes, mere days before I found out about Tire Rack's closeout.
Oh well, sucks to be me.

I guess "shitty" is all relative. My WS6 rode like a Cadillac compared to my GTA. Now THAT is a jarring ride. Even with our crappy roads I never really found the WS6 to be all that rough-riding. Then again, I can't figure out why it's impossible to track down the part number stamped on my fat original rear deCarbon shocks.

FWIW, I'm the original owner.

I even went so far as to re-use my original shocks shortly after I replaced them with whatever thin crappy DeCarbons were listed in the system. But they're on their last legs. And no idea why I can't find them anywhere.

So that's why I would be happy to start at where my stock '98 WS6 was back 2-3 years ago, and then "improve" from there.


Side rant: the GM parts system sucks majorly. Too often they will decommission an original part and replace it with a generic part that fits a number of models. Reminds me of that marketing slogan from the 80s "keep your GM vehicle all GM"... yeah, BULLSHIT! I've got a lousy 9 year old car that I want to keep pristine and all original and they're not being any help, that's for sure. No wonder so many people sell off their cars in frustration... I could keep this car forever as long as I can keep it behaving as close as it does to original stock configuration. I've got a 20 year old stock GTA I'm perfectly happy with, and a 1978 400 that does the trick for me as long as I can find original-performance equipment.

Probably why I'll never buy another GM vehicle again... too much hassle to keep in good shape as things wear out.

JD_AMG

Im just comparing to other performance cars, the rear especially is really jarring over some large bumps.
Funny you mention Cadillac, ever been in a CTS? My dad has a 03 CTS with sport suspension, and before the Koni's, the CTS could run circles around my TA, but after it wont stand a chance.
It now also rides very similar to the CTS, firm but not hard.

TripleTransAm

Got the rear shocks on, I left them at the factory preset settings for starters.

1 turn counter-clockwise from limit on rebound (top) which if I understand one of the instruction sheets, corresponds to about halfway (the sheet says 720 degrees full travel, and I went 360 degrees).

6 clicks clockwise from the limit on the compression (bottom) which also seems to be about midway (harder to tell).

I have a feeling I'm going to want to go lower on the compression. We'll see.

TripleTransAm

Wow. For the first time in many years my car feels very similar to how tight it was when brand new, and this is just with a rear shock change!

I'm still at the above settings, after 1 test drive. I can see a few small changes I'll have to make to the settings, but NOW I can understand why everyone is crapping on the DeCarbons and for some reason I'd always been satisfied with the original shocks that came on my car!

For some reason, whatever DeCarbons came on my car (see that other thread where I'm asking to id my original shocks) from factory were definitely way better than the crap 10443949 garbage (actually, it's got Delphi written on those units) that is listed in the GM parts system. Heck, I even bought some takeoffs from local SLP left over from the days when they did Firehawks and SSs and they were the 10443949 trash.

Geez, all I ever wanted was to keep my car riding the way I bought it.

Can't wait to get the fronts installed next week.

JD_AMG

Heh, its a nice change huh?
Im pretty sure most people are running the lowest compression setting for front and back. And for the rebound with stock springs, im running full soft back, and 4 turns from full hard on the front.

TripleTransAm

Hell yeah, it was nice... a nice change from the garbage the GM parts counter sells.

I've spent a considerable amount of time searching for SA and DA information on this site this evening, and I can't count the number of times I saw people **** and moan about the stock rear shocks. And I noticed many if not all of them had 2000+ model year cars.

So what the heck made GM decide to stick those limp-wristed twigs (10443949) back there on WS6s and SSs from around that point on, not to mention the regular Z28s and TAs? I really really really really wanna know what's up with the fat DeCarbons my car came with from the factory... I was actually pretty happy with the car's control in a daily driver routine on a combination of okay and really bad roads.

True story: in 2003 I swapped out my original tires and decided to go for a full set of no-mileage take-off shocks from SLP (I lived about 15 minutes away from their old conversion plant) that came off the SSs being upgraded before delivery. Real cheap, too. I kept my original shocks all around, just in case. I noticed the rear end bounced a bit more than I liked. I figured I might have got screwed by SLP and bought new ones off GM. Same part number (see above), I was surprised to see. And both of them WAY narrower than my original shock.

Even with those little twigs still in new condition, I had an alignment guy comment on how he was surprised to see such a "high performance" car having such a low amount of damping at the back. And they just got worse and worse until (get this) I actually swapped back in my fat high mileage original shocks! Which were what I rode on until they seemed to have finally shown their age and I deemed them ready for retirement.

Since I can't seem to find the original shocks anywhere, looks like I'll probably clean up and oil the originals and stuff them in a safe place so that 20 years from now I can wheel the car out onto an auction stage and claim everything is factory correct right down to the shocks!

But seriously, I think I just need to add a smidgeon of rebound resistance and I'll be in heaven. I love the feeling of 'rejuvenating' a car, especially one I've owned for a long time.