Suspension choices and reviews

[calhoun687]

Before replying I would ask for not thread hijacking or slamming of different vendors, I am just looking for comparisons between different vendors compared to pricing and final ride quality.
I am looking to upgrade both front and rear, looking for a lower level stance with a better handling and ride and what did you do on brakes
This car is going to be driven on weekends as a cruiser for the wife and I, eventually I will end up with a 540 but for now I have a 454

Ideally looking for a complete system that includes A arm and to help with Geometry but maybe not fix it.
here are some of the options, I am looking for people who have installed the systems and what their thoughts were, and what would you change if you could, was it worth spending the money
in no particlular order, if I am missing someone please include them

Who has installed both col overs and air rides and which one do you prefer

SC and C
Hotchkis
Ride tech
Speed tech
Edelbrock

[ProdigyCustoms]

I am fairly certain at this point we have used more different systems then anyone as we build so many cars. With that said we have not used SC and C or Edlebrock. SC and C is good stuff, just have not used it, and Edlebrock is not my suspension company choice! I do use a lot of their intakes!

Comparing hotchkis replacement leaf spring suspension to Air Ride 4 link shockwave system is not very fair.

Here is the deal in summary.

Perfromance leaf spring suspensions that lower the car are going to ride a bit harsh. Some more harsh then others. hotchkis has the best ride / handling compromise.

Any of the 4 links or Torque Arms are going to liberate the rear suspension and it will ride better, period. Not al 4 links and torque arms improve handling though.

Air Ride is fantastic if you want a quality ride and handling, and has unmatched ride height adjutability on the fly.

As for which i prefer, air or coil over? A good coil over set up can ride and handle VERY good, and the Air Ride can ride VERY good. It is more about the adjustability of the air system that has a advantage.

In the spirit of fair reporting, we install and sell:

In alphabetical order, not order of preference.

Air Ride
Art Morrison
Chris Alston
DSE
Global West
Hotchkis
SpeedTech

[yanniz]

'68 Chevelle with 555BBC, pump gas, put 3000 miles on the car last year, shooting for 7000+miles this year....

I had Hotchkis suspension on it when it had a 540BBC....Everything was pulled out and went to the dump after 1 yr on the car...

Last 2 years and up to early this year, I had AFCO DA coil overs on the front, SC&C upper arms, CPP lower arms....

The AFCOs were nice, I had 550lb springs on them but really needed 650lbs...The ride was extremely harsh even with the 550 springs, but did well at the track.

Just finished a Ride Tech package on the car....Shockwaves with Lower control arms on the front, kept my SC&C upper arms with tall ball joints, coolride in the back, AirPod with 2 compress. and 5 gallon tank. Adding the LevelPro height sensors this weekend.

No driving impressions yet, it will be back on the road in a couple of weeks after I finish my exhaust...

I did the installation myself, it was not bad....It took me probably about 30 hrs or so in total, but this was my first time doing anything with air suspension and I really went overboard with some items that I did not need to (like running 3/8" hose from all 4 corners and the air line inside the hose for protection, et cetera.)

Tech support is the best, period....I do all the work myself on my cars, including building the engines, and I can easily say the guys at Ride Tech take a lot of pride on their product and on what they do.

This is extremely important especially when you do the installation yourself and you really do not want to be dealing with poor support, waiting for ever to get replies to your emails or messages, et cetera....Ride Tech guys are extremely communicative (emails returned within minutes and such) and responsive....

I will be more than happy to offer driving impressions in a coupe of weeks....

[redfire69]

Frank, do you know if ridetech will be offering coil over packages with their new "coilride" springs? A level 2 or 3 package with a lower price point (while maintaining the ability the upgrade to air later) might be appealing?!

[calhoun687]

I know it is not fair to compare Air ride with Hotchkis especially with dollar amounts
but how would Air ride compare to Speedtech's new suspension, still a pretty good price difference.
or ideally if you wanted to stay at 4K for suspension what would be the ideal set up

[ProdigyCustoms]

If you have a 5k budget we can set you up wth a complete front and rear set up that will ride and handle excellent and will include a 4 link or torque are rear.

Best to call and discuss you project.

[Hotchkis]

Like a few others have said in this thread, it's all about your budget, your expectations and what you're hoping to do with the car. If you want a bolt-on system that will significantly improve handling, provide a comfortable ride and a great balance between cruising comfort and autocross performance, our TVS plus upper and lower A-Arms is a great way to go and you'll come in under budget - even with our Bilstein shocks. If you need adjustable ride-height on the fly and want to spend a little more, air is an option. Don't forget to watch some videos online and observe how the different cars look going through the cones. This past weekend at the GG Del Mar Autocross there were half a dozen Hotchkis cars running (including factory test cars and customer cars) and they all performed well.

[sr73bu]

Doesn't Mary Pozzi use Hotchkis? She seems to do pretty well....

[70camaro406]

I think she now has Hotchkis front springs and Global West Cat 5 rear (articulating) leaf springs. But, she can drive anything and make it look easy.