Like the Title say's i have a 1989 Firebird V6 5 Speed.
I need to change out the entire front suspension since everything is shot. After 2 years i am finally getting to it
So i need new bushings and ball joints. I already posted my questions about that in the S-10 control arm thread.

Also i need front springs and struts. There are several brands available. Is there any brand that has a better quality than the Moog Springs? Lately there seems some quality issues with moog parts. I am a certfied tech but my knowledge is from 20 years ago. I was looking at the Moog 5600 springs. Are those the correct ones? Is there anything better than those?

I am not looking to lower the car and i am sticking with the 15 inch wheels. Since i am buying all new parts- is there any improvements or upgrades that make sense? A wonder bar and later subframe connectors will be added.I live in Berlin Germany and roads are not really great- we have cobblestone roads and big potholes in the asphalt streets. At least where i live.

I also looked at the different struts. I would like something better than original with better dampening. I used to put Bilstein B6 in most of the cars i had. To me the greatest shocks for a road car ever but.they are not available for the front. The Konis yellow are way to expensive for my budget.
Does anyone has the KYB- AGX in there car? Are they any good?
I never had any luck with the KYB Gr2's as they are mostly very soft or am i mistaking?

Should i get slightly larger sway bars for better cornering?

Questions over questions. Can anyone answer them?

Thanks a million, Gina

 

Hello from the USA! To my knowledge, with the V6 cars, your best bet with springs will be factory-spec replacements. Pretty much every aftermarket spring you can find for these cars will be for a heavier V8, and chances are that the car will sit high up front, even with lowering springs. Now, there IS the option of using Weight Jacks, sold by companies like Ground Control or UMI, but they are not cheap. I went with weight jacks for my V6, and spent around $850 for all 4 corners (though you can get them for around $750 through Ground Control if you don't opt for the "upgraded" rear weight jacks; I'd recommend against the upgraded ones anyways, since it requires that you clearance the driver's side rear spring perch for the adjustment bolt). Weight jacks let you adjust the lower spring perch height, so you can get the car to sit flat with aftermarket springs (which do also come with the weight jacks). With you being in Germany though, I'm not sure that you'd be able to use these because of TUV.... weight jacks are not TUV approved as far as I am aware.

There have been some quality issues with certain Moog parts (ball joints specifically from my experience), but I don't believe I've heard anything about issues with their springs. I'll let someone who has used Moog springs confirm that for you though, I went straight from factory springs to Ground Control weight jacks, so I have no personal experience with them.

I've heard good things about the KYB AGX shocks, but I have also heard that the rears are a bit stiff, even on the "softest" setting. As with the Moog springs though, I cannot speak from personal experience, only anecdotal. I have Koni Yellows in my car, and while they are pricey, they do make the car feel quite good on the road. I have mine set pretty stiff at the moment, but they felt pretty comfortable when I still had them set soft, comparable to the Bilsteins in my '06 Subaru Legacy. If you do want to go for Konis, check out any Koni retailer during the month of July. I'm not sure if it'll be the same worldwide, but here in the US, Koni has a big sale every July, via any official retailer. I got my set from Summit in 2022, saved about $200 over the regular price ($700 vs $900).

Larger sway bars DO help in corners, but I would get a "wonderbar" first and foremost. Wonderbars are something I consider a necessity on these cars. Not only do they help stiffen the front by tying the front frame horns together, but they help to prevent the somewhat common issue of frame cracks by the steering box mount. As far as sway bars, if you can manage to track down a set of the factory WS6 sway bars in Germany for a reasonable price, they'll be a great upgrade over whatever your car came with stock. The WS6 bars will be the front 36mm hollow bar, and a solid 24mm in the rear. IROC/ 1LE sway bars will also be an upgrade if you find those instead; I believe they used a front 35mm solid bar, can't recall what the rear bar would have been though. I was very happy with the difference that the wonderbar + WS6 sway bars made on my car. Even with the factory shocks and springs still in, the car definitely felt flatter on hard corners.

 

Thanks for your reply

I had to look up what weight jacks look like. Basically they adjust like coilovers and have short springs. Do you have a comfortable ride with those? You are correct - they would not pass the German technical inspection ( Tuev). There used to be lowering springs from " Eibach" for V6 cars but they dont make them anymore. Lowering would also make no sense with those streets in my neighborhood.

During my lifetime i had 5 Firebird's / Trans Am's. One of them was a V6 5speed coupe. That one was 4 years old and ran like a scalded cat. 3 of those cars i rebuild from the ground up. That was in the 90's and 2000's. During those times i worked for a small repair shop in Lawndale California. On american cars i used all Moog parts.
I never once had a problem with any parts. Today that is a total different story. No longer can i try stuff out.
Shipping to Germany is quiet expensive+ there are about 30 percent import duty's on top
of that.

I agree the wonder bar is a must have since i had cracks in the the frame near the steering box myself.

Eventually i will add sub frame connectors - those really make sense. Right now the car is completely a part and the first thing i have to work on is the suspension.

Unfortunately i cannot afford the Koni shocks since i am rebuilding the entire car. I am afraid to try the KYB Gr2s in the front since they where to soft in other car's i put them in.
Has anyone experince with those? I do drive sporty.
The only thing in between are the AGX for something decent???

As for the springs- is Moog the best or is Husky a better quality??? May be someone can chime in.

Thank's and greetings from Germany

 

I've got KYB on both my cars, GR2 on the IROC and AGX on mine. Moog springs, cargo coils on both in the back but went with UMI lowering springs on mine because it's a lot lighter in the front. The IROC is pretty much stock and drives a little heavy but still very pleasant and makes a great cruiser. My car on the other hand is held up by the entire UMI catalog, has old school frame connectors, and is stiff enough it only sits on three jackstands if the floor is unlevel, so not a great comparison.

 

No worries! It sounds like you probably won't be able to run weight jacks, but as far as comfort, it depends on what springs you get with them. My car rides pretty stiff with them now since I opted for double the factory V6 spring rate in the front and rear (750lb front springs, 205lb rear), though the roads in my area of Virginia are surprisingly pretty good, so it doesn't bother me much (also helps that I'm only 25, Dad doesn't seem to be a fan though; "Son, did you replace your shocks with pipes?" ). Ground Control will get you pretty much any spring rate you want as well; not sure if they have a minimum rate, but anyone else interested in weight jacks can give Ground Control a call, they'll help you out with choosing spring rates for your setup and application. I think they have some sort of business deal going with Eibach for the spring manufacturing as well; mine were made-to-order, and are indeed Eibachs. Cost of springs is included, and I don't believe there's any extra cost if you want to go way stiffer or way softer.

Hope you can get the car rebuilt without too much trouble, always cool to see thirdgens abroad!