hairbear21

I know that this has been hashed and re-hashed more often than it should be, but I can't find anything related to what I am looking for when I search.

What I want to do is lower my Camaro just enough to get it to look a little bit better with the 18's that I put on it. I don't want to lower it very much, and the Koni/rear spring mod would be a good option, but I can't spend $1,000 on shocks. Does anyone know of any place that I can get a set of springs that will lower the car 1/2" to 3/4" of an inch? I don't want to go to an 1" or more, that would be too low for the roads around here. I will entertain any ideas, save for cutting springs.

Thanks!

bluz28

So what can you spend?

hairbear21

I'm trying to keep it around $500-600 bucks

9T8W66

Just hold off save some more cash and buy the Koni's.
Trust me it's money well spent and you won't be dissappointed.

bluz28

PM sent

hairbear21

Well, back to the drawing board. I ordered the Edelbrocks from Pace, and I have already waited 2 months for them, so I called Summit, and they called Edelbrock, and it's going to be another 6-8 weeks. I had called Edelbrock last week, and they told me 1-2 weeks. Needless to say, I am canceling my order with Pace, and going to look for something different.
With that, does anyone know of any company that makes springs that only lower the car 3/4" at most? Strano has 1" springs, and I could do that, but with the roads around here, I don't want to go a full inch. So, if anyone knows of a company that can do springs in that 3/4" range, I would be glad to hear of any. With the shocks, I will probably go with the Strano Bilsteins.

Red95M6Z28

Its been my experience...that 3/4" to 1' will not make a bit of difference to what you will "bottom out" on. For example-Eibachs 2 choices are 1.3" or 1.8" "Buy the Strano's if thats the ride height your looking for.

hairbear21

After doing some research, how are QA1 coilovers? UMI Performance has front kits that include everything that you need, and then I was going to go with the "stocker" rears. Are QA1s a decent brand and do they last a while?

Injuneer

QA1's are for drag applications - and very good for that purpose. As a "handling" shock, they are mediocre at best. Shoebox had trouble with his leaking almost immediately. So did a buddy of mine with a 97 SS convertible. Mine are still good after more than 10 years, but my car mostly collects dust in the garage.

The QA1's are rebuildable, though.

hairbear21

I see that they do make a drag only application, but now they offer a 300lb spring and a 325lb spring. Here is the UMI kit that includes the 325lb spings:
http://www.umiperformance.com/catalo...1ecdaeb1cb10dc
That's good info though, I don't want to mess with leaky shocks, but my car is like yours too, I'm lucky if I put 5,000 miles a year on it.

6SpdLT1Z

What about SS or 1LE springs?

bluz28

Well that's to bad the didn't work out for you getting the IAS set-up. Take a look at Hotchkis 1" lowering springs, and a set of Bilsteins The drop on the Hotchkis is pretty accurate compared to other brand of lowering springs.

Don't get the QA1 shocks, not for the street, their optimized for drag racing.

hairbear21

Are the SS/1LE springs lower than stock? If so, how much?
Are the QA1s that aren't stated for drag racing the same as the drag ones?
I have looked at the hotchkis setup with some Bilsteins, but at that price, Strano has the Konis on sale for around $50 more. If I go that route, I'll probably just go with Konis and the hose mod.
It does stink that the IAS's turned out that way, but I'm not going to wait 4-5 months for a set of shocks, especially when I want to have this on the road in the next couple of weeks.

Red95M6Z28

Yes, But it always appeared to me to be only lower in the front. My 97 WS6 sat low in the front but seemed to sit the same in the rear as my 96 Z28.

hairbear21

Well, I bit the bullet and picked up the Konis. I was wore out with research, so I called Sam, and besides being one of the busiest guys I have ever talked to, he was tons of help, and basically let me know that for my needs, the Konis would be the best bet. I am going to use the lower perch and the hose mod, and that should get me where I want to be for ride height.