What shocks and struts

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: What shocks and struts

Before Hotchkis:


After Hotchkis:


I'd say the front has come down just a tad since then, but overall the back came down more, and neither was very much, though I never measured.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: What shocks and struts

Give Sam a call if you haven't already. He should be back from SCCA racing now. You may not get a hold of him right away. Just leave a message. He's always gotten back in touch with me.

Tokico shocks are stock replacement. It's my understanding they won't ride any better than your stock DeCarbons were when new. You should not use Tokico's with lowering springs as they will not last if you do.

Sam recommended Bilstein SLP for my needs. He recommended his own brand of springs, but as he was out of stock and I didn't want to wait he said Hotchkis were also very good. I wanted a progressive rate spring and went with his recommendation. I love my setup now. The car handles so much better. You can really chuck it into corners. It's nice to not have that feeling of flying up then rapidly dropping with stock springs when hitting a bump at speed.

** BTW *** You have to really consider your choices when doing shocks/springs. I wouldn't cheap out considering how much work this is going to be. It's no secret that our cars are starting to get old and hard to work on. It's a lot of work to do the fronts. Unless your car is in impeccable showroom condition it's going to be a major headache getting the front coil springs off, then re-aligning the shock into the mount when putting it back together. Your mounts may also need replacing which I highly recommend doing. I'm extremely glad I listened to the advice given to me rather than going with just a cheap shock or some ebay shock/spring combo. I never want to do the swap again... or at least not for another couple of years.

[FirebirdGT]

Re: What shocks and struts

Sam recommended Bilstein SLP for my needs. He recommended his own brand of springs, but as he was out of stock and I didn't want to wait he said Hotchkis were also very good.

I also have the Bilstein SLP shocks - note that these are NOT standard Bilsteins and have a different p/n. Also Eibach 1" lowering springs.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: What shocks and struts

^Yes that is correct.

[EarlR]

Re: What shocks and struts

To the OP - if you're seriously considering going with Konis you should watch this auction, and/or the others from the same guy. I just bought a set of these - the double adjustable Konis - for $385 + shipping about a week ago. These are the same units that Koni is selling ON SALE for $700/pr.

One other note - there have been a couple of commments about the Konis giving you the best ride quality...um, unless you guys are talking about a shock other than the Koni sports, or have a very different definition of "ride quality" than I do, that is about as wrong as you can get. The handling will be vastly improved, but the ride "quality" is going to go waaaaay down. The OP says he lives in Michigan, the roads are crap, and he doesn't want to feel every bump in the road. I can promise you with the Konis you will feel every pebble in the road. I have AGXs on the car right now (the Konis are for when the car get converted to a full-time race car) with BMR front/Pro Kit rear springs, and the ride harshness increased noticeably with just those. The handling is considerably better, but there is a price to pay for that.

I'm not a suspension expert, so I would suggest calling someone who does know what they're talking about (like Sam); but I think given your original specs you would probably be very happy with the stock springs and a "step up" performance shock like the KYB or the Bilstein. Just my $.02

[OneEightSeven]

Re: What shocks and struts

@EarlR

Ride quality and handling are definitely different things.

However I would say my ride quality went up from stock with the harder setup (Bilstein SLP & Hotchkis from Sam). Sure I feel every pebble, but at the same time the ride is not jarring and much less bouncy than stock. The bounciness was very annoying and sort of dangerous if you're going at highway speed. The impacts you could get from hitting pot holes were also terrible as they would completely throw you off. Now I still feel all the pebbles/imperfections, but they don't set the car off. The car stays level and feels planted. To me this is higher ride quality. When I chuck it into corners and it grips that's better handling.

You can gain handling and lose ride quality, but I think you have to start with a well designed (stock) car like say a BMW M5. That car is firm, not jarring and not bouncy. It does provide a lot of input as you cruise along, you do feel the pebbles in the road. With a car like that if you installed firmer shocks and springs you would definitely lose ride quality and possibly gain handling on hardcore road racing courses.

I think with a camaro, within reason, with quality parts, you can only stand to gain both.