69z-28

well after winter i plan to do some upgrades and start auto-xing a little bit and having some drifting fun, etc. i was looking for some oppinions on my idea. i want to go with the H&R springs from Rksport along with the 350 dollar set of Bilsteins, NOT the heavy duty just the normal ones. i was wondering if this would be a good ride and if the shocks would handle these springs and also how would header clearance be with Hooker LTs and an ORY pipe?

secondly i was planning to run just the front Strano 35mm sway bar. would this combo be a good place to start? im thinking abuot keeping the stock rear WS6 bar to compensate a bit for the extreme spring rate the rear H&Rs have.

any oppinions on this?

PSU 98

I talked to Sam Strano before I made my purchases. I ended up going with his 35mm front swaybar, and Koni single-adjustable shocks with the stock springs. Moved away from a progressive spring at Sam's recommendation. I later added a 1LE 21mm swaybar to the mix. Just FYI, I'm also running Baer Eradispeeds with Hawk HPS pads, and 275/40/17 BFG g-force T/As. I'm very happy with the entire setup.

Sam Strano

Ohh, me!!!! Not a great plan. Sorry

H&R's are pretty stiff, well beyond what Bilstein's are able to damp well. And beyond that the H&R's are too stiff in the rear in general regardless of the dampers used. And for the record, "normal" Bilstein's are actually the HD's and those aren't inteneded for lowering springs at all.

If you ended up running those springs, then a front bar only would be a good idea to make sure you aren't too loose balance wise. However, we have a solid rear axle and the reason I don't run springs as stiff as H&R does is that we find a moderately stiffer spring and a moderately stiffer bar works better on bumpy surfaces for both grip and ride quality.

It seems to me that this is money driven. The springs you are asking about are not expensive (and FWIW, I sell H&R as well). The shocks are not expensive. But then you asked about my front bar which is more than a solid bar, but I think you find the 14 pound savings to be worth the cost there. The trouble is the package you rendered isn't matched well. The shocks don't work with springs as they should, and the springs compromise the rear suspension a little bit IMHO.

I'm not clear on what you want. Handling? Drifting? Ride? Any lowering spring will change your ride. And mis-matched shocks will actually make it worse than shocks that can handle the spring rate (even if that requires more damping).

Oh I wanted to add that our springs (the ones we commissioned and specified the rates on) are 1.25" lower have rates derived from my autox car, which I also open track from time to time, *AND* are made from an alloy some 35% lighter than normal Chrome-Silicon spring steel. A set of our springs is 25 pounds vs. 35 pounds + of most springs without the packaging.

PSU 98

I've been "out of the loop" for a while Sam, what're the rates (if they're not TOP SECRET ) and pricing for your springs? I kinda regret not dropping the car just a little bit...

Sam Strano

550 front, 150 rear. Actually the rears are a dual rate 100/150 spring, but the 100 is gone when the car is sitting on the spring--just can't make a linear 150 the right length for that ride height and it not want to fall out under droop. So we basically add a helper spring to it which is not in play anytime the axle is on the ground.

Not much is top-secret round here....

And if it's been a while and you happen to have an ST front bar with that 1LE rear. We had our own bars made too. Front is still 35mm, rear is a 22. But they are both hollow, which saves about 20 pounds vs. a solid bars of like sizes, 5 of which is in the rear and all unsprung weight too.

69z-28

im aware those rears are too stiff but like you said they are cheap which attracted me, and ive hear mostly good thigns, thats why i had the though of running the stocker rear bar to compensate for the stiffer rears.

i also am glad you answered my shock question, thats what i was wondering, was if the Bilsteins would work well or not at all.

would the heavy duty Bilsteins support the rates and ride height of a lowering spring like were talking?

would there be any type of package deal if i were to buy your front bar, sprigns and the bilsteins(HD, if you confirm they'll work well).

other than the Bilsteins, what otehr shocks woudl you reccomend that can be had at a similar price. i really wanna keep the front bar, springs and new shocks under 800 bucks all together if possible, however i do want a quality setup that will work well with everything else.

and im looking for a decent ride, it is my DD but i would like better handling, nice for auto x and im looking to get into drifting a little which im told requires a similar setup to auto x.
thanks for the help Sam, ive been reading quite a bit of info about your products lately and that whats pulling me towards spending a nice amount on a quality suspension.

Greed4Speed

69z-28

ok, i dont know why i had it stuck in my head that there were a 350 dollar set of normal Bilsteins then a 500+ set of HDs, for some reason i thought id seen it somewhere.

anyways, maybe you can offer some help instead of critisizing me.....

shock and spring recomendations at a reasonably low price?

teke184

how do the SLP revalved bilsteins work with the setup?? they are revalved for a .75" drop...not as much as the spings will give but they must be better than standard HDs...

Greed4Speed

They'd still be too weak for the H&R's. H&R makes a very stiff spring.

al 96 Ram Air T/A

Here's my suggestion...do what I did.


Save your money on the springs. We already have 1LE springs on our cars. Use the money your saving to get the single adjustable KONI's. In the long run, they are far superior to Bilstein...just the lifetime warranty alone is worth it.

Use the lower spring mount and delete the shock mount on the rear. It'll drop the car 1/2 inch all around.

Get Sam's front and rear anti sway bars. It makes the greatest difference in "seat of the pants' around the twisties.


See my sig. for everything I did...

I have a 96...so I know exactly how your 97 feels

Sam Strano

You asked for opinions, I gave you an opinion, and now I'm being overly critical? Ok.


Sorry, but I can't recommend anything to you, at least not here and not by e-mail unless you'd like a vague and incomplete semi-shot in the dark. Is that what you are looking for? Somehow I doubt it, and I'm not one to give half-assed guesses. I'm happy to help, but as usual, the specifics have to be discussed in person because details matter.

HD's are $349. Revalves are $530.

PSU 98

I don't think 69z-28 was referring to your post Sam.

Anyway, I stand by my recommendations for a good basic setup. Which is pretty much what Sam suggested. Which is pretty much what al 96 Ram Air T/A replied

Save money on the lowering springs. Your stockers (although they might be a little loose from ten years worth of use) are a linear rate and that makes it easier to pick a complementary shock for proper dampening. I also remember Sam suggesting that I could drop the car a little with some adjustments during the install of the Koni shocks, although I can't recall what I had to do... probably something similar to what al 96 Ram Air T/A mentioned. One thing that kept me from lowering the car was poor clearance with my SLP LTs. Sam recommended his hollow 35mm bar, and I added the 21mm rear bar later after I had a chance to get a feel for what the mods had already done to the car. That's another important point -- throwing several upgrades together at once doesn't always allow you to see what each individual mod has done to the car separately -- and what still needs to be improved.

slomarao

The koni's are worth the 800. I know its hard to swallow but I'm in college and after talking to sam on the phone for half an hr. He made me understand why shocks are so important in our cars. So If i were you i would forget the springs. You can lower the car some with the shocks alone and then adjust them to liking. Later on or if money allows pick up the sway bars.

always faster

I was in the same situation as you last year.My car is 95% summer street driver(but with a lot of spirit )and auto x .

I was trying to put some kind of packages(shock/spring/sway bar) for my car and i was sure that by just selecting items here and there it would be ok.

I then call Sam,you know what...he takes 30 mins of his time to explain me each product and why they could be good or bad for my situation.So i then realise that i was totally wrong with my choices.

A lot of people think that lower spring is the key to handle but in most cases its not true lowering your car by 1" will not change you car handling drasticlly.

The main part is the shock with a good matching damper.Even the weak decarbon stocker have problem to just damp the stock spring.

You can have Koni Sa for 800.00$,yes they are expensive but worth every penny since you can change the damper really quickly(street damper to auto x damper).I choose those one because they suit my needs.

You can also choose some bilstein that Sam can revalved for your need.That
would be a good upgrade and cost a little less.

For the sway bar you cannot go wrong with the 35mm Sam hollow bar,its stiff and really lighter compare to a solid one,its alos come with all the poly bushing and hardware.Since the front of our car really heavy,you will see a direct change in curve handling.You can also run the front bar only with the rear stocker and upgrade the rear one later.

I f i where you, i would wait to raise a little more money and i would go with some Koni Sa on stock spring and Sam 35/22mm sway bar kit.

But hey dont be shy and give him a call,he got a great service