I have a 91 Camaro RS. I put the LT1 engine in it. I recently drove a 2008 Corvette, and I love the feel of the suspension. it has very good handeling, yet a comfortable ride.

What can I do to my Camaro to get closer to this type of ride quality? I assume I have a completely different type of suspension, cause the Corvette uses Short-Long Arm suspension (I think thats what its called). What type do I have? Is there a conversion kit at all?

As you can tell, I'm a Noob when it comes to suspension. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!

 

i believe corvettes still use an independent rear suspension (IRS), which is completely different from our rear suspension, and requires massive fabrication to be completed. the front may be a different story, but i dont know the specifics on the corvette front suspension.

 

You can't get the ride and handling of a C6 in a 3rd gen...well, not without massive ammounts of money. The front and rear suspensions are completely different. The C6s have a leafspring/ unequal length control arm suspension, while our cars have modified McPhearson front suspension front and panhard rod solid rear axle. Converting the suspensions is possible, but in the way that getting yourself to the moon is possible- either get the government to do it for you or have a ton of cash to spend on experts and materials....lol You can get improved handling from a 3rd gen pretty easily, but in most cases you'll sacrifice ride quality.

The 'best' approach, in my opinion, to getting both ride quality and handling is to try a mid range set of stock springs coupled with the right sway bars and good shocks (I'd get KONIs). The softish springs will give a more forgiving ride, the correct sway bars (a large amount of the choice is in your preference, but a generic set would be something like a 34/21 or 36/24 combination), while the shocks will do a better job of controlling the suspension and therefore the car. Tires are also a very important factor in determining ride quality and overall traction. Getting a good set of wide tires on a set of 17s will do wonders for the car in its own right. The first thing you should do, however, is to install weld in sub frame connectors, a wonder bar, go through the suspension and replace anything the has the word 'link' or 'bushing' in the name. Polyurathane is a good choice in most areas. However, it isn't the best option for the rear lower control arms. It also can have adverse affects on the ride and noise level of the car.

I hope this helps, if you have any othe questions, feel free to ask.

 

Yeah, I guess deep down I knew I couldn't do the C6 suspension. But thought if I can replace my springs/shocks and get a better ride quality I would be happier. Right now, I have stock springs, origional from 91 I think. I got the car in 97 and haven't replaced the springs since then at least. I have KYB adjustables in the front, and Monroe auto adjusting in the back. But every tiny little pebble in the road you feel. I want to maintain decent handeling, but most importantly good ride quality. I'm not going to take the car to a track and take a corner at 120mph. but I don't want the car so lose I can't have fun, ya know... A nice balance. I did see the Eibach Sportline lowering springs. Any thoughts about them? And as for shocks/struts... any suggestions on them?? Koni, Monroe, eibach??

 

I'm not saying that it can't be done, just that it's really difficult and would require extensive modifications and fabrication.

It's my opinion, and that of many, that the Sportline's spring rates are too soft for the height it allows the car to ride at. Most experience frequent bottoming out due to this. I've heard Eibach states that the springs were designed to use the bump-stops as a supplement for the springs. This isn't good as it can lead to snap over/under-steer. I've not had the springs, so I can attest to the ride quality. If you are wanting ride quality, I would suggest replacing the shocks first then going to springs. If you are going to lower the car, you'll need shocks designed to operate with lowering springs. I would suggest KONIs, but since you're going for ride quality, you may want the Reds instead of the Yellows. The high end Tokicos also work as do the the high end KYBs. But, I'm pretty sure that neither of these would last as long as the KONIs. I've heard that many people like the combination of the stock WS6 springs and the KONI Reds. May warrant some research.

You can see the mods in my signature, and though I prefer the ride and control the car has on the highway to about any car I've been in, the ride on rough roads leaves much to be desired. I thought it was poor when the suspension was all stock... The more I replaced, the 'worse' it got. But, the only time it bothers me is when my mom or a lady friend is riding with me

 

Funny how having THAT female in the car changes how the ride feels... oh well!

 

I wanted my 3rd gen to drive like my 4th gen, I ended up changing to eibach springs, polyurethane bushings and went with a lower profile tire to acheive what I think of as better handling... my wife says the only reason I think its handles better is all that cash I sunk into it... But I can tell a differance.. the kit from energy suspension made the biggest differance.. but my bushings were from 1983... lol...

 

The steering and front suspension is completely different between the 3rd and 4th gens. It's hard to make one behave like the other. I just accept the 3rd gens for what they are and work with that.
If you try softer spring rates, you might want to start with smaller sway bars that what I mentioned and work around til you find something you like. The sets I mentioned are usually used on cars with stiffer springs.