Time for shocks

[ar0ck]

On my 1995 Z28, my suspension currently consists of:
-HyperCoil lowering Springs Advertised at 1.25'' (but its alot lower)
-Bilstien HD Shocks F & R
-Spohn Non Adjustable Tubular LCA's w/ Poly Bushings
-Spohn Weld In Relocation Brackets
-Spohn Tubular Sub-Frame Conectors
-BMR Non Adjustable Pan-Hard Bar w/ Poly Bushings
-RK Sport 2-Point Tower Bar
-SLP 1LE Front & Rear Sway Bar w/ Poly Bushings

I believe I recently blew out the passenger side rear shock, because my rear wheel slaps the body (possibly the bump stops, body, or inner fender wells) Either way its not good.

I kept the Bilstien HD shocks from when I was on an SLP Eibach kit but I recently decided to go lower. Also I am noticing the car likes to drift & float a little on the highway which leads me to believe that the shocks are no good for the springs anymore.

What should I be looking to upgrade to? I'm not a millionaire, and I would like to keep it simple. I was hoping to keep it cheap in the rear with KYB brand struts & go with either Global West Front ride height adjusting kit up front, or HAL adjustable shocks with BMR adapters to keep my springs up front.

My car is not daily driven, I'm not concerned with ride quality as far as road noise or harshness. I do drive it on the street, I like to go to shows (height matters), I occasionally take it to the track and I also want to start Auto-X.

Can you give me some pointers or suggestions as far as brands, where to get them and so on?

[Savage_Messiah]

sounds to me like you're gonna want to go adjustable

[NJSPEEDER]

skip anything adjustable unless you plan to mess with it all the time to look for the proper condition. unless you are planning to constantly change the set up for conditions/surfaces it jsut turns into a shock with a shorter service life at a higher price for no real reason.
talk to sam jr. at www.stranoparts.com , he knows his stuff front to back and will get you a nice set of revalved bilsteins that will have your car handling and riding like a dream.

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

skip anything adjustable unless you plan to mess with it all the time to look for the proper condition. unless you are planning to constantly change the set up for conditions/surfaces it jsut turns into a shock with a shorter service life at a higher price for no real reason.
talk to sam jr. at www.stranoparts.com , he knows his stuff front to back and will get you a nice set of revalved bilsteins that will have your car handling and riding like a dream.

I agree 100%. Don't go adjustable unless you plan on doing a lot of chassis tuning.

[98tadriver]

Originally Posted by Savage_Messiah

sounds to me like you're gonna want to go adjustable

i have kyb AGX's 8 way adjustables and i love them. people bitch about how its not that comfortable when set on 8. well duh its stiff as hell. set em on 1 and u r squattin hard as hell. i have mine currently set on 6 all the way around and it handles great and i can still launch at 3300 rpm on the street!

[Savage_Messiah]

I said he'd want adjustables since he wants to be able to do both the 1/4 mile and autox. That way he can reach a better compromise between the two, instead of getting a non-adjustable that's less optimal for the conditions

[GP99GT]

maybe you should get rid of your penis extension 315's and get some tires that fit and perform just the same

[ar0ck]

Originally Posted by GP99GT

maybe you should get rid of your penis extension 315's and get some tires that fit and perform just the same

What do the 315's have to do with anything? Don't hate because you can't fit those on your car.

Any other suggestions? I have Bilstiens on now, but I feel they no longer fit my applications needs

[GP99GT]

im saying you have the 315's just because they "look cool" when you could just buy a better tire than a sumitomo and get the same or better performance. i dont hate because they wont fit on my car, because i dont care if they fit on my car, becuase last time i checked my stock suspension, stock motor, full weight mustang w/ 245's is almost as quick as your car was with full suspension and 315's, 48 more cubes, and more bolt ons

[ar0ck]

I haven't been to the track in almost a year? And I know my sumitomo tires suck I payed $90 a tire for them, and I say that all the time?

I'm asking about shocks, what in the hell does my tires or times have anything to do with this thread anyway?

[qwikz28]

Originally Posted by GP99GT

im saying you have the 315's just because they "look cool" when you could just buy a better tire than a sumitomo and get the same or better performance. i dont hate because they wont fit on my car, because i dont care if they fit on my car, becuase last time i checked my stock suspension, stock motor, full weight mustang w/ 245's is almost as quick as your car was with full suspension and 315's, 48 more cubes, and more bolt ons

you're logic makes no sense in this post. 315s are for cornering. his suspension setup is for cornering. your car is much much lighter. and actually, your car has more bolt ons then his did with his track times. i dont know if trying to look cool is working for you right now

[GP99GT]

when i ran 13.9 i had an intake tube and full exhaust...thats it

this post has to do with your tires because you were saying how they rub on whatever theyre rubbing. get a good tire in a 305 or 295 and youll lose the problem and have the same performance

also beer was involved in all of these posts except the first one

[ar0ck]

I went 13.7 @ 107 with a cat-back & suspension.

The rear passenger side tire is rubbing because the shock is blown.

[qwikz28]

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

skip anything adjustable unless you plan to mess with it all the time to look for the proper condition. unless you are planning to constantly change the set up for conditions/surfaces it jsut turns into a shock with a shorter service life at a higher price for no real reason.
talk to sam jr. at www.stranoparts.com , he knows his stuff front to back and will get you a nice set of revalved bilsteins that will have your car handling and riding like a dream.

i disagree. koni singles are very easy to adjust and last quite a while. pay alot up front, get what you pay for, and they last long. its the perfect shock for street cars

[89 Trans Am WS6]

Alex, fwiw, stay away from adjustables. Just like everyone says, i personally have seen, and helped install many sets of them, only to have them set once and never touched again. Not saying you guys here that say you do dont, but in reality most people dont.

Also, shocks have nothing to do with ride height, hell they dont even absorb shock, thats all the springs job. Shocks are there to *dampen* vibration and absorb the recoil of the spring. You could install some bump stops in the rear to keep them from hitting. Not saying you dont need shocks, but you shouldnt rely on them to keep your body off the tire. They should never meet.

As far as tires tho, for the money, the sumitomos arnt half bad. I have the same 275/315 setup on my TA, and have run that 13.9 et aswell with a exhaust and cai on a 150k mile car. On a all stock worn out suspension with stockers still up front and blown monroes out back, haha. Hopefully in the comming of months a major part of the project will be done and we can test out those 315s again, hah. Dont get me wrong tho, next time around ill prolly get something smaller, but for now, there not bad.


my .02

Joe