DID THE CAMARO Z28 SHARE WS6 SUSPENSION WITH BIRDS ? MAYBE THEY ONLY CHANGE RPO CODE BUT THE PACKAGE WAS THE SAME ?

WS6 was really a merchandising name for a high end suspension package. The Z28 and IrocZ share the same springs as the WS6 equipped cars, but the sway bar sizes vary between the two cars slightly. Both cars use the RPO FE2 to designate the level III suspension.

This one pops up once in a while and its always good for a debate.

This from a good friend of mine PonchoTA :

Pontiac's philosophy for the suspension systems and Chevy's have always been different. The main difference, noticed with the 2nd generation and was continued in the 3rd is:

Pontiac (Herb Adams, specifically) believed that the car should have firm shock valving, medium (read: softer) springs and huge sway bars. The end result being, a nice ride, but will put the hammer to the asphalt in turns, letting the sway bar do most of the work.
Chevy believed the opposite: put firm (read: hard) springs with a medium rate sway bar and softer shock valving. The end result is the ride is not nearly as nice, and they expected the (independent) springs to keep the car in line.

(This is true, the IROC ride quality is harsher)

Obviously this is not so. The balance of the Trans Am's sway bars, and the springs and gas shocks (used by Pontiac before Chevy also, by the way!) gave a really nice ride but could literally cut circles around the Chevy version of our beloved car!

Thanks Poncho for that

Spark up the flamethrowers

The FE2 designation is nowhere to be found on my car. Since RPO codes where not always brand specific, why didnt they just stamp an FE2 on my card ? I will never believe that the 2 suspensions are the same, never !

Don

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59,000 miles
5.0 TPI
WS6 (.92g)
3:27 Posi
Hi Flow MAF
K&N
My Car

If anyones really concerned about this I can certainly photograph RPO labels in my Iroc, my Formula, and my Convertible to display that WS6 is listed with FE2, as is B4Z (IrocZ package), and that my RS with F41 doesn't share the FE2 designation... While I'm taking pics I might as well throw in my 91 Firebirds RPO sheet with FE1.

In the process of cataloging 3rd gen Fbody coil springs it was VERY obvious that Z28/Iroc/WS6 cars all share the same springs, and the FE2 RPO code.

The RPO WS6 doesn't refer to the Suspension, as much as it refers to merchandising packages offered by Pontiac. These packages change from year to year, the only constant to the packages that I've seen are FE2, and the largest sway bars available.

FE1 : SUSPENSION SYSTEM, S0FT RIDE
F41 : SUSPENSION SYSTEM, FRT, RR, FIRM RIDE, HANDLING
FE2 : SUSPENSION SYSTEM, RIDE HANDLING
WS6 : PERFORMANCE PACKAGE, SPECIAL

I can back up Drew on this. My 91 GTA has BOTH FE2 and WS6 for RPO codes. And yes, the description in my 1991 factory GM Shop Manual for my Fbird lists WS6 as "Performance Package, Special".

For the record there are no "F" Codes in the RPO list on a 1985 Trans Am with the WS6 Performance Suspension.

I have been able to ID 3 of the 4 springs,

6ZX FRONT, LEFT HAND

8NB REAR, LEFT HAND

9NB REAR, RIGHT HAND

Anyone know the Front Right spring code that would match this group ?

Don

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59,000 miles
5.0 TPI
WS6 (.92g)
3:27 Posi
Hi Flow MAF
K&N
My Car

IROC-Z's seem to handle better, but the TA's seem not to be as harsh as they are.

[This message has been edited by IROCZTWENTYGR8 (edited December 03, 2001).]

Don,

the matching front spring would be a 7ZX. The springs themselves should have paper tags with a letter rather than the first number. While left and right springs are usually 100% identical, occasionally you'll find a car that has two different front springs.

I believe the primary reason that the Iroc rides harsher than the WS6 Firebirds has something to do with the shocks and struts, as the Iroc uses delco bilstiens and Pontiac used a different design.

Drew and Glenn, I think you are both wrong. I cant find the build sheet for my 84, but I dont remember there being any FE designations on it. There is a Y99, which is "Rally Tuned Suspension." I didnt find any FE on my 86's sheet. I suspect GM changed the birds to the FE stuff to consolidate information between the two models in later years and you two are saying it applies to all years. I dont think so.

While the RPO's may not remain the same for all years, the use of the same springs does. Of the 40 some odd sets of spring RPO's I have cataloged, it was easy to see that from 82-92 the Z28 and T/A used essentially the same springs. There were usually two sets of rears and two sets of fronts but they were mismatched evenly. So while you may have a WS6 Trans Am with BZX springs in the front and NNB springs in the rear, I could look thru the list of springs I assembled and find 5-10 Z28's with the same springs and 5-10 WS6 T/A's with BZW and NNM springs.

When you put it all together the only real differences were the sway bars, and probably the shocks and struts between some models.

Two great places to get RPO codes for both cars:
http://www.iroczsource.com/
http://www.gtasourcepage.com/

I don't know what to make of this topic but this is fact
The sway bars on my son's 88 IROC and my 89 Formula w/WS6 are identical yet the IROC rides like a race car and the Formula is like a Caprice he he.Also the IROC is so low it requires a different floor jack than the Formula

Facts are supported by technical data and not established by casual observances and opinions.

Generally I would say your Formula is in need of some attention as they are not known to handle like a "Caprice"

Don

My post was mean't to show an obvious difference between the two suspension systems"springs" that some say are identical.Did you not catch the he he on the Caprice part?Also this Formula rides like a Caprice compared to the IROC.And no,this 32k original mile needs nothing.
My first time on the forum and I get for the lack of a better term SLAMMED!

I think it's easier to believe Drew's point on this subject. GM isn't exactly known for making new parts when an old one would do just as good. Anyone ever notice the backing plates on the older rear ends are the same on both sides and that's why the parking brake comes out the back on one side and the front on the other? They didn't make a seperate LEFT/RIGHT specific piece... Anyway, just pointing out a trend with a parallel.

Different cars are goign to ride differently. There are a number of things that are going to play into it. Mileage, use, tires, bushings, weight, etc. For that reason you could have what seem to be too identically equipped thirdgens that will handle completely different.
The question in this thread is are WS6 and Z28 the same suspension. The answer is no, because WS6 isn't truly a suspension RPO, neither is Z28. They're both merchandizing terms. I'll try to get the list of spring RPO's off my other computer and post them here so everyone can see that Z28, IrocZ, and the comparable pontiacs with or without WS6 all used variations of the same couple sets of springs. The only real variations from those few sets are convertibles, V6's, 4 cylinders, and base models. For the most part the suspensions are the same, but without the exact part numbers it'd be impossible to prove it either way. From my experiances with multiple levels of thirdgen suspension, the only part that I can say is definitely different are the sway bars in some years. Other possibilities are shocks, struts, and bushing hardness.

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Drew
predatorman@hotmail.com
83 Camaro 5.0L *1995-98*
87 Iroc 5.7L
91 Formula 5.7L 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible 5.0L
91 Firebird 3.1L 17.00@82mph *Gtech*
92 S10 2.8L
98 Grand Am GT 3100
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