Coilover Options

[gcp_mn]

I have a '68 Chevelle that has it's front and rear chassis/suspension modified to use coilovers. If all goes well it will be ready next Spring.

Front suspension needs a 15.5 long shock at ride height, .56 motion ratio, 15* angle
Rear suspension needs a 14.0 long shock at ride height, 5* angle

I have looked at many different coilover manufacturers but I not sure which one to choose. Can anyone give me any input on which shocks they chose and why?

QA1 / Viking
Strange Engineering
VariShock
Afco / Pro Shocks
JRi
Ridetech

[analyte]

What are your goals for the car?

Street only or majority of the time? Just to get it low for looks?

Autocross? Road course? Just for fun occasionally or competitively?

All will work, but the difference will be in how you want to use them? Know what you want to do and buy once....

[curleysracecars]

As mentioned, knowing the intent of the car is the first thing to decide. That said, I'm a believer that Viking makes some of the best shocks for your money. Jri is very nice if you have the coin to go that route. Qa1 and strange definitely leave room for improvement. Never used varishock or ridetech.
If you need a dealer, message me. I can get you prices on Viking, Jri and afco if needed.

[BMR Sales]

I sell Vikings when you get ready to pull the trigger

[bret]

You will want a monotube shock rather than a twin tube. Among other things, the monotube has a piston diameter area that is nearly 3x that of the twin tube...better oil control mean more consistency and better ride quality and handling performance. The RideTech and the JRI are both monotube shocks, as are Penske and Ohlins. The others on your list are twin tube.
You will also want easy adjustment and a shim stack configuration that will be tailored to your car and how you intend to use it. The 1,000,001 mile warranty on the RideTech shock is a nice feature that no one else offers. I know which one I would choose, but I am a little biased.

[Build-It-Break-It]

Ride tech no question. Quality, great price, American made, Un matched warranty. No one has a million mile warranty like Ride tech.

[csouth]

All good contenders, you may want to specifiy if you have a budget. The twin tube vs mono will have a different ride. Also know at the ViKing and QA1 are not the same.

[Rod]

QA1 / Viking Strange Engineering VariShock Afco / Pro Shocks JRi Ridetech

I have used most of these

Qa1 and Viking are different so separate those
Afco and Proshocks are different just carried and promoted by the same company

QA1- too rigid a compression no company tuning support....never offered to me and I raced these for a year
Viking- great valving and available in soft tunes and protouring tunes, can be self-tuned and has great company tuning support
Strange- never used these
Varishock- installed some on a Chevelle project in California and they leaked, after one autocross test day, replaced those with QA1s(price was within owners budget)
Afco- good shocks had these on a 69 Camaro project and on my own, seemed a little soft even at full stiff
Proshock- never drove a set, I installed a set on a 34 ford project in florida, cheap looking
JRI- good shock tough to tune but work well just had these on a C5 project I built for Optima events last year, has great company tuning support
Ridetech- great valving easy to tune, has great company tuning support

whats your budget and plans? that always helps

[gcp_mn]

The car has been in the garage for 15+ years I want to get back to driving it again. It was built for performance driving on the street (trouble) maybe non-competitive autocross in the future perhaps a rare blast down the dragstrip.

Performance and adjustability are the primary concern but not the crazy 4-way adjustability - I'd like to keep it simple.

They need to look right for the car too... I don't like shiny stuff and the color scheme of the car is mostly black with brushed aluminum, brushed stainless and red.

[Rod]

The car has been in the garage for 15+ years I want to get back to driving it again. It was built for performance driving on the street (trouble) maybe non-competitive autocross in the future perhaps a rare blast down the dragstrip.

Performance and adjustability are the primary concern but not the crazy 4-way adjustability - I'd like to keep it simple.

They need to look right for the car too... I don't like shiny stuff and the color scheme of the car is mostly black with brushed aluminum, brushed stainless and red.


I think your best choices for simple adjustments and performance than would be Ridetech Single adjust or Viking Double-adjust, the ridetech Singles tunes the rebound with its single knob and moves the compression curve a little to help also, the Viking double allows you to tune both rebound and compression seperately which would be easier to tune for drag racing...both ride well and look great, both have good company support

hope that helps

[BBPanel]

Unless I missed it I didn't see Aldan mentioned - where do they fit in the scheme of things? Will be looking for coilovers for an A-body rear in a street rod - strictly a street vehicle. -Bob

[gcp_mn]

love these from Aldan American - black Regulator Series, single adjustable, made in USA
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