Any suspension ideas for this particular set-up?
12-06-2007, 11:59 AM
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Any suspension ideas for this particular set-up? So I've never put much suspension work into any of my previous rides. My '01 Z28 suspension is still totally factory, and just cracked 50k. It's just a lid/catback car, so the only real significant mod to this situation is 18-inch rims with 35 profile tires. I definitely lost a bit of ride quality when I put the rims on...but recently I feel like it's going more and more downhill. I'd like to freshen things up....
Reading the sticky, it seems like there's no "be all end all" suspension, so I'm looking for something ideal for a street car with 18's, that's not going to break the bank. The stock ride height with the 18's could be closed up ~1" or so...but from what I hear it's tough to do that with out getting that "hop hop hop" every time you hit a bump. Also, realize that nothing's actually broken or in dire need of replacement here....I'm really just looking to freshen it up and ride a bit better. 50k seems to be the life expectancy of most shocks/struts anyway, but I'm not sure if I need to start diving into SFC's and such if it's not a track car.
Lastly, I'm leaning towards Hals as those were recommended to me off the board, but I'm curious what other opinions are. Thanks.
Reading the sticky, it seems like there's no "be all end all" suspension, so I'm looking for something ideal for a street car with 18's, that's not going to break the bank. The stock ride height with the 18's could be closed up ~1" or so...but from what I hear it's tough to do that with out getting that "hop hop hop" every time you hit a bump. Also, realize that nothing's actually broken or in dire need of replacement here....I'm really just looking to freshen it up and ride a bit better. 50k seems to be the life expectancy of most shocks/struts anyway, but I'm not sure if I need to start diving into SFC's and such if it's not a track car.
Lastly, I'm leaning towards Hals as those were recommended to me off the board, but I'm curious what other opinions are. Thanks.
12-06-2007, 12:48 PM
#2
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So I've never put much suspension work into any of my previous rides. My '01 Z28 suspension is still totally factory, and just cracked 50k. It's just a lid/catback car, so the only real significant mod to this situation is 18-inch rims with 35 profile tires. I definitely lost a bit of ride quality when I put the rims on...but recently I feel like it's going more and more downhill. I'd like to freshen things up....
Reading the sticky, it seems like there's no "be all end all" suspension, so I'm looking for something ideal for a street car with 18's, that's not going to break the bank. The stock ride height with the 18's could be closed up ~1" or so...but from what I hear it's tough to do that with out getting that "hop hop hop" every time you hit a bump. Also, realize that nothing's actually broken or in dire need of replacement here....I'm really just looking to freshen it up and ride a bit better. 50k seems to be the life expectancy of most shocks/struts anyway, but I'm not sure if I need to start diving into SFC's and such if it's not a track car.
Lastly, I'm leaning towards Hals as those were recommended to me off the board, but I'm curious what other opinions are. Thanks.
Reading the sticky, it seems like there's no "be all end all" suspension, so I'm looking for something ideal for a street car with 18's, that's not going to break the bank. The stock ride height with the 18's could be closed up ~1" or so...but from what I hear it's tough to do that with out getting that "hop hop hop" every time you hit a bump. Also, realize that nothing's actually broken or in dire need of replacement here....I'm really just looking to freshen it up and ride a bit better. 50k seems to be the life expectancy of most shocks/struts anyway, but I'm not sure if I need to start diving into SFC's and such if it's not a track car.
Lastly, I'm leaning towards Hals as those were recommended to me off the board, but I'm curious what other opinions are. Thanks.
Look into either some Bilstiens (which are on national back order right now) or some Koni SAs from Stranoparts.com.
Yes, they are kinda expencive (but cheap compared to other high end shocks for our cars, and cheap compared to decent shocks for other cars).
Not only will these make your ride better (think BMW 3 series), but they will get rid of the floaty feeling at higher speeds, and significantly improve handling and balance of the car.
And with the Konis (unlike most other shocks for our cars) you will be able to run just about any spring comfortably because they are adjustable and can control the spring properly.
Oh yeah, and SFC's are not needed at all, if anything they will transmit more NVH into the cabin.
12-06-2007, 01:15 PM
#3
So I've never put much suspension work into any of my previous rides. My '01 Z28 suspension is still totally factory, and just cracked 50k. It's just a lid/catback car, so the only real significant mod to this situation is 18-inch rims with 35 profile tires. I definitely lost a bit of ride quality when I put the rims on...but recently I feel like it's going more and more downhill. I'd like to freshen things up....
Reading the sticky, it seems like there's no "be all end all" suspension, so I'm looking for something ideal for a street car with 18's, that's not going to break the bank. The stock ride height with the 18's could be closed up ~1" or so...but from what I hear it's tough to do that with out getting that "hop hop hop" every time you hit a bump. Also, realize that nothing's actually broken or in dire need of replacement here....I'm really just looking to freshen it up and ride a bit better. 50k seems to be the life expectancy of most shocks/struts anyway, but I'm not sure if I need to start diving into SFC's and such if it's not a track car.
Lastly, I'm leaning towards Hals as those were recommended to me off the board, but I'm curious what other opinions are. Thanks.
Reading the sticky, it seems like there's no "be all end all" suspension, so I'm looking for something ideal for a street car with 18's, that's not going to break the bank. The stock ride height with the 18's could be closed up ~1" or so...but from what I hear it's tough to do that with out getting that "hop hop hop" every time you hit a bump. Also, realize that nothing's actually broken or in dire need of replacement here....I'm really just looking to freshen it up and ride a bit better. 50k seems to be the life expectancy of most shocks/struts anyway, but I'm not sure if I need to start diving into SFC's and such if it's not a track car.
Lastly, I'm leaning towards Hals as those were recommended to me off the board, but I'm curious what other opinions are. Thanks.
The hop-hop and the fact the ride quality is degrading noticably with time and miles are both classic issues with the shocks being done.
To be honest, 50k isn't a crazy amount of miles. I don't feel you'd need to do a complete refreshing of the hard parts with those miles.... I'd suggest simply a good set of shocks. And when I say good, I mean capable of controlling things correctly, which all shocks are not able to do--like the stock ones that are pretty poor at the job.
HAL's aren't a good damper. They are drag shocks and not very high-tech ones. They are supposed to, on purpose, NOT control things very well to facilitate quick weight transfer. Sure, you'll hear how the can be adjusted stiffer, and they can be. But the adjustment is a basic system that can't deal with fast changes in piston speed like say what's on a Koni. The result is you get stiffer shocks, but with a significantly harsher ride to go with the control than you get with Koni's. And shocks are part of a stable car, a car that still jitters and skips over bumps isn't particularly stable, and why ride harder? Add the things like the fact they aren't even gas charged shocks which is fine for 1/4 runs, but not for driving that builds heat in the damper. And the lifetime warranty vs. what amount to a non-existant warranty for HAL's.
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18 SCCA National Championships in house, many more for our customers prove we know our stuff.Talk is cheap, results matter.
Check out our KONI prices, our Master Cylinder Brace, and new Xtracker Hub/wheel bearing upgrade kits!
12-06-2007, 01:50 PM
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The hop-hop and the fact the ride quality is degrading noticably with time and miles are both classic issues with the shocks being done.
To be honest, 50k isn't a crazy amount of miles. I don't feel you'd need to do a complete refreshing of the hard parts with those miles.... I'd suggest simply a good set of shocks. And when I say good, I mean capable of controlling things correctly, which all shocks are not able to do--like the stock ones that are pretty poor at the job.
HAL's aren't a good damper. They are drag shocks and not very high-tech ones. They are supposed to, on purpose, NOT control things very well to facilitate quick weight transfer. Sure, you'll hear how the can be adjusted stiffer, and they can be. But the adjustment is a basic system that can't deal with fast changes in piston speed like say what's on a Koni. The result is you get stiffer shocks, but with a significantly harsher ride to go with the control than you get with Koni's. And shocks are part of a stable car, a car that still jitters and skips over bumps isn't particularly stable, and why ride harder? Add the things like the fact they aren't even gas charged shocks which is fine for 1/4 runs, but not for driving that builds heat in the damper. And the lifetime warranty vs. what amount to a non-existant warranty for HAL's.
To be honest, 50k isn't a crazy amount of miles. I don't feel you'd need to do a complete refreshing of the hard parts with those miles.... I'd suggest simply a good set of shocks. And when I say good, I mean capable of controlling things correctly, which all shocks are not able to do--like the stock ones that are pretty poor at the job.
HAL's aren't a good damper. They are drag shocks and not very high-tech ones. They are supposed to, on purpose, NOT control things very well to facilitate quick weight transfer. Sure, you'll hear how the can be adjusted stiffer, and they can be. But the adjustment is a basic system that can't deal with fast changes in piston speed like say what's on a Koni. The result is you get stiffer shocks, but with a significantly harsher ride to go with the control than you get with Koni's. And shocks are part of a stable car, a car that still jitters and skips over bumps isn't particularly stable, and why ride harder? Add the things like the fact they aren't even gas charged shocks which is fine for 1/4 runs, but not for driving that builds heat in the damper. And the lifetime warranty vs. what amount to a non-existant warranty for HAL's.
12-06-2007, 01:53 PM
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If its just a street car then one definitely good option would be to get just koni SA shocks and use stock springs. They have a lower front perch where you can put the spring about 3/4 inch lower than stock, and then there's the heater hose mod for the rears which lowers you about 1/2 inch in the rear.
I would guess the 18s with less rubber have less give to a bump causing your shocks to do more work than when you had 16's or 17's. Stock shocks wear out quick, and the more work shocks have to do, the faster they wear out.
I would guess the 18s with less rubber have less give to a bump causing your shocks to do more work than when you had 16's or 17's. Stock shocks wear out quick, and the more work shocks have to do, the faster they wear out.
