I finally have my engine where I want it to be and now I'm looking for setting up my car. So far the suspension upgrades are just panhard rod, sway bar bushings, rear endlinks, torque arm bushing. I don't want to drop the car for numerous reasons which don't really matter. This is a daily driver over the summer, and I've seen some rough roads. Basically is great handling AND a decent ride impossible? Also, I've seen alot of springs and shocks varying soo much in price, what are the common brands that for good handling and good daily driver ride? Thanks, I've been searching and it seems everyone just drops their car which isn't what I want.

 

What do you gain from lowing that one inch except the spending all the money and the average car guy can't even notice. I have the stock ride height on my 87 IROC-Z and that is low.

 

87 IROC-Z stock ride height.

 

Smaller wheel gap is nice, and the upgraded handling as well as lower center of gravity can make a huge difference.

To others: please please please don't post about the benefits of lowering/not lowering a vehicle, just start your own thread since I don't want this to be a flame-fest.

 

Already changed my panhard rod as stated in first post.

I know to change the shocks and springs, I'm specifically asking which ones will give me:
better handling (I realize that's relative, but I have some old cheap stuff on there I'm sure)
same ride height
smooth ride as this is a daily drive I don't want the stiffest stuff available.

 

SFCs and STB if you haven't done them yet. Less chassis flex equals better handling and it won't degrade the ride quality at all.

Have you measured your current ride height yet? A set of lowering springs may not lower your car much at all if the stock 20 year old springs are still on there. If you find the right spring but it drops the car a little, you can always use a spacer to get the ride height back to where you want it.

 

No STB since I have a stealth ram. I'm installing SFCs once the car is on the road this spring. I'll check my ride height, I know the struts have been replaced, but I'm not sure about the springs (probably though). Thanks.

 

Wonderbar, solid tierod sleeves, wider wheel/tire combo. I think 17" or larger wheels will take away too much sidewall if you want a comfortable ride you can go 15 or 16x10 to put some more rubber down. The springs and shocks would have to be adjustable to get the best of both worlds comfort and handling. Progressive rate springs, not sure if they make them for the front, just the rear I think.

 

Yup, got a wonderbar too. Thanks for the tips. Anyone have reccomendations of what shocks they use (or won't use)?

 

If you do still have the stock springs, the eibach pro-kit would be a good choice as it most likely won't effect your ride height much at all and aren't too stiff either..but that's just one guy's opinion I'd read up as much as you can before getting anything. There's plenty of topics on the boards to help you out.

 

I haven't lowered for the sake of practicality (I can hardly get a jack under it as is and messing with dips and speed bump is just annoying), but here's what I have done and the car handles very well:

Energy Suspension motor, tranny, secondary crossmember, torque arm, bump stops, and tie-rod boots, Prothane A-arm bushings, Global West steering box brace and subframe connectors, Hotchkis tie-rod sleeves,1LE sway bars with GM poly end links and Top-Down Solutions greaseable 36mm front and Energy Suspension greaseable 24mm rear bushings, Edelbrock torque arm, Spohn lower control arms and panhard.

JamesC

 

A lot of people have used the moog replacement stock springs, a search should bring up the part numbers and info on that. shocks/ struts you might want to search for koni reds or the bilstiens (sp?) for more info. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those parts.

 

best tires and struts you can afford.

 

For handling poly is not very good at all. It's worse than rubber in fact because it cold flows and binds. Obviously that means bad news when you're trying to take a quick series of turns.

Del-A-Lum (by Global West) is the ideal street bushing material. For the front a-arms it is the only way to go for a street car.

Unfortunately the other suspension parts have to settle for either rubber or upgrade to heim joints on your suspension components. Heim joints have a nasty habit of wearing out and getting sloppy on the street after a few thousand miles though. I put some boots on mine but we'll see how well it holds up. Poly is fine if you're drag racing since it's a cheap hard material but if you want quick response on a street car it's a less than ideal substance.

You can improve your handling quite a bit just by upgrading your tires. Your tires are the most important part of your suspension after all since that's the only part of the car that should be touching the ground. If you're serious about handling you can't be riding around on bald Firestone WS-55s.

If you do decide to change your shocks and springs you should be aware that 'reduced' ride quality comes with the territory. Don't expect the car to feel like a Caddilac yet handle like it's on rails. Don't waste money on new stock springs either. If you're cheap and don't care too much you can buy the Eibach Pro-Kit and get the 3/4" drop and better spring rate or you can have some custom springs made. There are several companies out there that can get you stock ride height with a custom rate...for a price. I'd suggest if you do springs to do shocks at the same time. Chances are your stock stuff is on it's way out. The last thing you want is a much stiffer spring that bounces you off the road when you hit a bump because you have inadequate dampening. Some high end Koni adjustable shocks and struts and some good springs combined with a quality set of tires and lighter weight rims should let you handle pretty darn well.

 

I'm surprised to hear that. I was operating under the belief that because there is little or no deflection with poly, it was much better than rubber. I assume there's little binding as my stuff is pretty much all greaseable.

JamesC