Ok so ever since I changed my stock shocks and sportline springs to Koni SA's and Strano Springs the ride hasnt been the best.

It was ALOT better then the old set up tho. BUT today I had my gf in the car and my buddy was in the back seat.

THE CAR RODE AMAZING WITH THE EXTRA WEIGHT!!!

WTF??? Why is this?? A friend of mine said its probably my pinion angle needs to be adjusted cause the car is lowered. What do you guys think??

 

It's the same reason that a 1 ton truck rides like crap unloaded but good when loaded. You installed stiffer springs that are more resistant to movement, and the extra weight allows them to flex more. More flex = better ride, to a point.

 

sounds to me like you probably need to adjust the Koni's more to the softer side....what do you have them set on right now?

 

yeah i think the shocks need to be adjusted but it wouldnt hurt to check the pinion angle out either.

 

Pinion angle won't affect ride. You just put on performance HANDLING parts and you EXPECT it to RIDE LIKE A CADILLAC Yes the ride is more firm but at least it's not sloppy like the OEM setup. Set your rears on full soft and play with the fronts until you are satisfied. You have a performance car and it will NEVER ride like a sedan no matter what

 

Ummmm yeah they are on FULL SOFT in the rear....the point is, when I have like an extra 400lbs in car it rides 100x's better, you fell less bumps, the car feels and shifts smoother. I thought my clutch was bad because it has been shuttering REALLY bad. BUT when there were 2 extra people in the car it stopped. As soon as they got out it did it again!

That is my whole point. Now what Im asking is WHY? and how do I fix it to where it ALWAYS rides like that without the extra weight? It never used to ride this bad till I had a small accident and had to have some minor repair. Nothing mechanical. Only replaced the rear drivers fender and painted the car.

 

this really isn't rocket science or brain surgery if you really stop & think about it.

if the car has more weight on it, the springs compress farther, and can't rebound as quickly (or as far) as they used to. this is basically the same as what would happen if you had softer springs without the extra weight on the car. assuming the same shocks between the two, the softer the spring, the softer the ride is going to be. why? the softer spring compresses farther in the same amount of time, absorbing more of the initial impact, and also does not rebound back into place as quickly. a spring with a higher rate won't compress as far over the same amount of time, and will rebound to its resting position a lot quicker.

thus, the "softer" spring will be more comfortable to drive, but will be sloppier in the handling department. the springs with the higher rate will be a bit less comfortable, but will handle better. obviously, there's a limit to how true this is, and too much can actually be detrimental, but hopefully you get the idea i'm trying to convey here......

like i said, you probably just need to adjust the front shocks softer. the harder you have them set, the less they compress in the same amount of time, and therefore, the quicker the spring rebounds back into place. adjust them softer, and they can compress more in the same amount of time, and the springs will take longer to rebound, causing a softer, more comfortable ride.

when i first got my Koni's, i tried it with them set to just a couple of sweeps from full firm in the front. with the crappy roads near my house, it damn near rattled the teeth out of my head! so i kept adjusting them softer until they were comfortable to me, and it ended up being either 4 or 5 sweeps from full soft in the front.

now, it's still a lot more firm up front than it was when stock, but it's not a bone-jarring, harsh ride anymore. just play with them....after all, that's the reason they're adjustable in the first place.