I picked up an 89 camaro RS 305 TBI a couple months back for a good price. The car runs good, interior, exterior need some work, 119k original miles, but the suspension set up is bothering me. I have had many cars but not a third gen fbody before, so I want to know if these things are normal and if so (or not so) what to do about fixing them.

1. car seems to bottom the front out on every little bump in the road, or if cornering with anything more than grandmotherly speed.
2. car rocks back and forth more than I think it should. noticeable on the highway, you almost feel you like you are getting seasick.

The shocks look to be reasonably new, there is some rust (a lot actually) on the underside of the car, but it is structurally sound other than the rocker panels which need to be replaced.

I was planning on doing subframe connectors shortly, probably also a strut tower brace, but I am not sure these will address the problems the best way. Any suggestions or advice appreciated.

 

Any "floating" feeling can be contributed to worn shocks and struts. I would replace them with quality aftermarket parts. You don't want to have any worn out areas on your suspesnion before you add upgraded parts.

 

Replace the old wore out springs as well. I just replaced all the suspension parts on my 92 because it drove as you described. These cars handled great when they were new, but they are not new cars anymore. I did it with factory replacement parts for cost reasons on the front ( moog lca bushings, ball joints, strut mouts, tie rod ends, idler arm, center link, 5662 springs, kyb struts). On the rear you might as well replace the lca's and panhard rod with aftermarket tubular ones with poly bushings, I used spohns along with kyb gr2 shocks and moog 5665 springs. The difference is amazing, the spring numbers I mentioned are pretty stiff and made the car handle great.

 

Ok, ill start with replacing the stock parts...thanks for the advice!

 

I rode in an 89 Camaro that felt like you were in a flying carpet at highway speeds. My friend replaced his springs and shocks, and it made a world of difference. That flying carpet feeling went away.

I did some suspension work on my car about a year ago. I didn't want to spend too much money, but wanted a firm ride. I ended up going with KYB shocks and struts (about $160 total) and the Eibach Pro kit ($180). These springs are supposed to drop your car about an inch. On my 92, the height stayed the same. My old springs were already sagging an inch from when they were new, so there was no change.

Keep in mind though, that what one person considers a comfortable ride, might be firm or harsh to someone else. The KYB /Eibach combo is pretty common. You can do a search and see what people have to say about them in general.

 

I've got the exact same year & model as you so you can check out my thread dealing with replacing springs & shocks/struts. I didn't go the KYB/Eibach route but I have heard good things about that combo. I instead spent a little more & went with Bilstein/Eibach. I still have many more upgrades to do to the suspension but I can say that changing your springs & shocks/struts does wonders to your car. Have fun & here is the thread

Eibach & Bilstein Thread

 

I've got an 89 RS Convertible that feels like it's on the ground and scrapes at every little bump. It looks like the KYB GR-2's would be the most economical 1st step from what I'm seeing here. Does anyone know if the Eibach Pro kit is OK for a convertible? I've seen that some kits are non-convertible only.

I don't really want it to be any lower...but I'm thinking the springs might be sagging pretty good right now, so the Pro kit may not actually lower it any. How much difference is there between the Eibach kit and Moogs?

Anybody got any recommendations on the best place to get these? Summit? TireRack?....

Thanks.

 

I read your post, good info! I am betting the springs are in fact shot, thats why the car sits so low and hits all the bumps. The shocks are new monroe reflex shocks, so I think I may just try the springs first to see it goes, then do shocks if Im still not happy, then look at things like struts.

There is no doubt in my mind that the car needs subframe connectors though, and larger sway bars woulndt hurt either. But ill look at these later on.

 

Just as a kind of follow up to this -- I got the eibach proline springs and finally got them installed about a week ago. It turned out my driver side front spring was actually broken, so talk about a world of difference! This may be the most dramatic difference I have ever felt from any modification that I have done to any car (and the list is long). The car went from barely road-worthy to feeling like a go-cart.

I left the shocks the same, as they were relatively new monroe sensatrac. However, I do not think they are well-matched with the springs, the ride over bumps is a bit jarring, so I will be upgrading the shocks as well. The car corners totally flat now though, but I think subframe connectors and a wonderbar for the steering are in order now too because now I notice that the body flexes to absorb bumps and the steeting is a little bit loose.

Anyhow thanks for the input, that worked out well!

 

Here's what you need

 

wow! send it over

 

lol, too late...already installed

 

looks like someone was on Santa's "Good" list

 

Yeah...Santa, as in, my paychecks...lol