I have a 1988 Camaro and I want an entire new suspension. I want it smooth but with a sporty look/feel. Any suggestions???

Thanks guys!

 

This is all my opinions from my limited personal experience recently completely redoing the suspension on my car (every suspension component was replaced just about).

Personally I think the closest you are going to get to smooth and a sporty look and feel is stock replacement parts. You might be able to go slightly higher than stock on some things, but once you start getting into stuff that really makes it feel sporty (like higher rated springs and shocks / struts) you are going to loose your smoothness.

With Koni Yellows on mine and an Eibach pro kit I can feel every bump in the road. But it handles better than anything else I've driven, and doesn't lean much at all under hard cornering.

Maybe something like a set of moog stock rating springs, and kyb shocks and struts might give you close to what you are looking for. One place you can pick up some handling improvements without taking out to much smoothness would be in your strut mounts in my opinion. When I replaced mine and got a good look at them the rubber in them was dryrotted and worn completely out. A good set of spherical bearing strut mounts from founders or umi can keep the top of your struts from wobbling around as much.

Also tightening up your steering gear box, and replacing ball joints / front end steering kits can help the feel of the steering. I did all that as well and the steering difference is night and day. Of course this all depends on just how worn out yours are.

Personally, if you are just driving it on the street, I don't think sway bars are going to make much of a difference in the feel of it. But if you are pushing it hard enough, sway bars may improve how it feels in a corner some too. You just have to figure out the right sizes to suite you.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...nsion-how.html

My personal recipe-
Energy Suspension bushings- though I'm now adding rod-ended LCAs- get the adjustable panhard
Koni struts/shocks- no other choice in my personal opinion
I used to run Eibach Springs, but am now going with cut WS6 springs
Good alignment

On the Konis-

I just installed used Konis (from my old car) and essentially made no other changes, and the difference is night and day. Without even changing bushings or pivot points, the complete attitude of the car changed. Granted, I was taking out well-worn Monroe-Matics, but I still cannot believe the change. I race on a regular basis, sometimes in Camaros and Corvettes, so I've experienced almost every suspension setup in these cars. I realized, however, that prior to this occasion, I've always changed bushings and springs along with struts/shocks, so I've never had a true comparison.

That said, I'm still getting the poly bushings swapped in the front and on the bars, going rod-ended out back, and changing the spring setup very soon. Bang-for-the-buck though, changing the struts/shocks is where it's at. Yes, they cost 3-4 times as much as other changes (springs, bushings, etc.), but the difference they make is amazing.