Here's the run-down of what I plan on doing, all conveniently on the Spohn website!

Eibach Pro-Kit $ 229.00
Koni Special "Reds" $ 535.00
Spohn LCAs solid poly $ 110.00
Spohn LCA relo brackets $ 65.00
Spohn LCA hardware $ 9.95
Spohn adj panhard poly $ 115.00
Moog upper strut mounts $ 164.00

Total $1227.95

If I ever figure out what I plan on doing about the isolators, that will be between 20 and 40 bucks. Add on installation for the relocation brackets and solid LCAs, which I plan on doing at Spohn Performance, which is probably around $100. And then an alignment, which who knows how much that will be.

If anyone can find cheaper numbers on these, let me know! Comments welcome.

 

Try http://www.ws6.com/f-bodygp.htm for the Pro Kit, or eBay, www.shox.com for the Konis, and check your local auto parts store for the strut mounts.

 

call them direct, they lower my kit price to 390.00 included springs and struts

 

http://www.ws6.com/f-bodygp.htm

I second that for the pro kit. Got mine from there for about $190 or so. Got it in a week.

 

If you are going to splurge on Koni's, at least buy the yellows- the reds on the higher setting are equal to the yellows on the lower settings- you'll be much happier with the higher rebound adjustments.

 

The yellows are too stiff for me, I've ridden in a couple cars with them. I live in NJ, armpit of America and home of the worst roads this side of the Atlantic. I originally planned on Koni Sports with Eibach Sportlines, but the roads around here simply don't allow it.

When I make more money in the future and get another car, I might turn this one into a real project. Strip it down, POR-15 the whole body, nice ZZ4 block and Stealth Ram intake. Tremec T56, Moser rear, 4-wheel Baer disks, etc etc etc. [drool]

It's a daily driver now, though, so I'm going with Pro-Kit and Koni Specials.

 

I have another question somewhat similar... since I'm doing all this suspension work, I might as well do the front end as well. What else do I need (not counting brakes or steering box) to add to this list:

Centerlink
Idler Arm
Inner + Outter Tie Rod Ends
Lower Ball Joints
Tie Rod Adjusters

Thanks for the help.

 

Poly Endlinks
Poly Sway bushings
Poly Control arm bushings
Pitman arm
Wheel Bearings and seals
Cotter pins
Silicone Grease

 

Endlinks: got em
Sway bushings: got em
Control arm bushings: come with the control arms. Unless you mean something up front? I'm not too familiar with the whole suspension/steering system yet
Pitman arm: good call, check
Wheel bearings: didn't even think of those, thanks!
Cotter pins: ditto
Silicone grease: duh...

hehe, thanks. anything else?

 

I live in NYC and understand about the roads. i recently removed my prokit because in my opinion it was too low and too soft. My car bottomed out too often. I went with moog 5665/5662 springs and will cut them to djust height. if your set on the prokit though PM me.

 

Yup, somethig up front, your front [lower] control arms. And wow are these things a pain to get the old bushings out of yourself.

 

What kind of shocks/struts did you have? I think those would affect how soft your suspension is more than the springs.

 

initially tokiko hp's which gave good ride comfort but were not up to the task, they gave up in les than a year. Then i went to illuminas because i wanted to have some control over compression damping as wel as the fact there easier to adjust than koni's. The Illuminas were a great improvment. It is not the job of the shock to absorb bumps and road irregularities it is the job of the spring the shock's job is to damp the energy as the spring returns it. my new springs are heavier than my eibach's but my ride quality is better with the shocks set softer. what i'm trying to say is that the eibach's neeeded a very stiff shock setting to keep the suspension off the bumpstops. That isn't the right way to do things. In retrospect i would not reccomend the prokit unless you live in an area with very smooth roads. i would go with guldstrand slalom springs or the moog combo i mentioned above. i also wouldn't get progressive springs either anymore. Thats my opinion though.

 

I agree on not going with a progressive spring if you ever plan on track racing or want serious performance. For the same price as the pro kit you can have a custom set of springs made up for whatever height and rates you wish(Linear only).

Also properly matching your shocks/struts to your springs is very important(pay no attention to the poor job I've done of this as we can only afford so much at at time sometimes).

 

I have to admit, this is the first I've heard of anyone not recommending Pro-Kits. It's tough to call so many people wrong in their decision, so now I have more research and decisions to make. I drive this car every day, have not autocrossed and probably won't with this car, I'm definitely getting the Koni red shocks and struts, and the most I've thrown at my suspension is some backroad turns at 30-35 and occassional low-speed drifting. The roads are some of the worst in the nation (NJ sucks *** sometimes), but can also be pretty good. I like the stance of the 1-inch drop in back and 1.3-inch drop in front.

And that's basically it. To me, progressive rate springs make sense on a lowered car because they'd (hopefully) help prevent bottoming out, while having a more comfortable ride at high speed. Could you two help me see why you suggest going with something besides Pro-Kits? I'm just not catching on (or don't understand suspension very well).

 

I'm not suggesting the pro-kit isn't awesome as it is for its intended purposes. It is indeed a performance spring but as with anything there are differently levels. From what you've said you'd far better off with the pro-kit and overwhelmed with the performance of it and some koni shocks/struts. I was merely just giving you some more insight to other ideas. If I was you I would for sure go with the pro-kit as I almost did awhile back before deciding to run my car in solo1 and 2 events frequently.

 

I thought the pro kit would be great too, at first. Everybody on this board liked it. when i first installed it i loved the feel and the ride wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. here is the downside as i see it. Mind you this is my opinion as it pertains only my personal experiences. The pro-kit is pretty low first off. i gave up alot of ground clearance. it is a progressive spring according to the literature but for the life of me i can't see it looking at the spring itself(fronts, the rears are obviously progressive). The springs are not particularly stiff. Thats ok if you have the wheel travel to absorb bumps but since its so low your travel is limited in the first place. The so called progressive action exacerbates this as it allows more wheel movement until the rate increases with the compression of the wheel. I also have a TKO conversion that sits a little lower than stock T5 and i have in no uncertain terms bashed it into asphault at high speeds. My hp's started to fail and that left me constantly bottoming the suspension. I upgraded to illuminas and it was a blast on smoother roads but still all over the bumpstops over bumps, yes i did also trim the bumpstops early on. My car now sits at stock ride height, i hate the fact its so high and i feel i gave up quite a bit of road holding ability. I will be lowering the car by trimming the Moog Coils come spring time.

I have another camaro in my family ( my brothers) that runs guldstrand slalom coils (i'm told they are cut down moogs). the car is low also, actually a little higher in the front but lower in the rear compared to the eibach's. it is stiffer, it never bottoms and is capable of much higher speeds as a result, without bashing any parts. The down side is it rides harsher than mine. he is also running koni reds.

my moogs are about as stiff as the guldstrands, once i cut them i think they will be about the same. I'm not telling ypu not to get the eribach's ( hell i would be happy to sell you mine ) but since you too have the crap roads issue i have i thought i would give you my experiences with them.

 

this post has pics of my car with the eibachs and with the moogs

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=203714

 

Cays, here's my little list: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=184552

And if you do the front lower control arm bushings, you might want to get new bolts for them- the bolts have shoulders on them, generic parts store bolts might not work- https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=184591

 

I think I'll give Koni a call, too, and see what they suggest for springs for my car. I certainly don't want bottoming out problems. So much research!

I guess if I'm going to get custom grade springs, I should weigh my car, too. But then I have to wonder about future mods and how much my car will weigh later. ARGH!

If you still have the Pro-Kits, I guess I can buy them off you. If they don't work out, well I'll have saved a bit of cash at least.

 

if your interested just pm me.

 

Well, so far I have the Prokit springs off my list (thanks laiky!). Next is going to be the frontend rebuild kit off of Spohn's site. Anyone know where I could get a new Pitman arm?