Coil Overs for a G-Bodys, I have 1986 El Camino Looking feedback on brands

[Rwolf15241]

I'm looking to buy a set of Coil Overs for my G-Bodys, I have 1986 El Camino Looking feedback on brands. I have done all of the other suspension upgrades. Looking for real world input. Not all the sales BS.



Also Want to use the car for auto cross!!

Thanks RW

[Schwartz Performance]

ridetech. No sales BS, they just work very well. We use them in 90% of our builds and on all the chassis we sell. The HQ single adjustable version, that is.

-Dale

[Bad94]

I did a complete ridetech stage 2 kit on a El Camino last year, and car rides better then his wifes buick.

[SSLance]

Love the ridetech TQs on my Monte. Took home a 3rd place trophy at the SCCA Solo Nationals with them a couple of weeks ago yet drove them to work today with a smooth comfortable ride on the road as well. Their front lower strong arms let you put a 3.6" travel shock up front which is more than enough travel even with a lowered stance. I've run mine real hard for over a year now with zero issues.

[Ben@SpeedTech]

I've got Viking double adjustable true coilovers on my G Body. They're a great product that's made in the USA. I had single adjustable traditional shocks before I added the Speedtech Chicane kit to the car and I like the double adjustability better. The control dials are large, easy to reach from the outside of the car and easy to turn. I recently took the car autocross racing after finishing the swap the night before and with only playing with the compression dials I knocked 3 seconds off my time over 10 runs. Viking makes a great shock at a great value.

The Speedtech Performance "Chicane Coilover Conversion" allows for a true coilover to be mounted in place of a traditional shock and coil spring. Speedtech has had this available for the F and A body cars for quite a while, we now have the G body Chicane kit in pre-production and it will be available in about a month so. Stay tuned for more on the product release.


Here's my set up with the Chicane brackets and Viking coilovers-







some pics of the car during the runs...

[Rwolf15241]

I guess That is the new upper front Mount??

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Yep. My brackets were fabricated here at the shop. Blake's 86 GN currently has the hybrid double adjustable coilover that has the conical spring which has a coilover bottom spring mount, and the top of the spring fits in the factory coil spring setup. He'll get the first set of Chicane brackets that come from the laser cutter based on my design along with full coilovers. Once they're installed and we see everything looks and works correctly they hit the catalog. Should be available in about just a few weeks.

[MCB Matt]

PM sent, we can get you setup with the good stuff!

Thanks
Matt

[Rwolf15241]

It's like information over load !!! I even have vendos tell me not to go with coil-overs !! To late removed rear spring mount on rear to fit watts Link. so many thing to look at !!

[MCB Matt]

Not to go with coil overs? What is their reasoning behind that? Its always nice to be able to dial in your ride height, correct for any minor lean, and what would be the ADVANTAGE of a separate coil and shock? Coils are much cheaper for Coil Overs if you decide to change rates, they are easier to install and with factory rear coil spring cars we now have a nice, simple, bolt-in option to go Coil Over and have simple ride height adjustment...??

[1966longroof]

Don't have a G-Body. However, I have Vikings on all 4 corners. Daily driver and weekend toy. As far as your application goes..........any Name Brand set up should make you happy.

[Rwolf15241]

cool, I'm looking everything over!!

[SSLance]

The trick with making coilovers work correctly on a G-body is extending the front shock mounts one way or the other to make sure you have enough room for a shock with plenty of travel without bottoming out. Those that are telling you to not use coil overs must have had experience with an application that did not do this.

[MCB Matt]

The trick with making coilovers work correctly on a G-body is extending the front shock mounts one way or the other to make sure you have enough room for a shock with plenty of travel without bottoming out. Those that are telling you to not use coil overs must have had experience with an application that did not do this.

Ben, you said Speedtech should have the upper mounts out in the next few weeks right?! This will be a great setup done that way IMO.....

Matt

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Next time I get the car on the lift I'll be able to check how much compression travel I'm getting. I'll be doing this in the next couple of weeks, I'll be experimenting with a heavier front spring up front for Fonatana.

When the car is on the lift, the control arm bumper touches the frame before the shocks bottom out. That's about 2" measured at that spot, so maybe 3" + at the wheel for droop? You can see the spacing between the frame and the poly bumper in the 3rd photo of the brackets.

Matt- yep they'll be available fairly soon.

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Rwolf- Nice to chat with you earlier! My shocks have these numbers- Compressed height 10.48", Extended height 13.86, Stroke 3.82. remember the stroke at the shock is increased drastically at the wheel. I went with this shock based on the length between the lower control arm mounting surface and the center of the shock mount bolt on the upper bracket at ride height. My ride height is 3" lower than the car was with stock suspension. I'm running a 9" 550 lb spring and I am planning on trying out a heavier rate spring, the 550s seem a bit soft and not a good relationship with the new rear sway bar and 200 lb rear springs I have.

[SSLance]

Ben, we went with a 10" long 600# spring on my fronts (3.6" stroke shock) which required me to preload the spring a bit to get the shock installed, but still left lots of room for spring compression before coil bind or the bump stop hit at my ride height. I've got my front fender height at about 27.25" now. With your shorter softer spring you had in there, I'd be surprised if it wasn't bottoming out under hard braking and turn in.

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Ben, we went with a 10" long 600# spring on my fronts (3.6" stroke shock) which required me to preload the spring a bit to get the shock installed, but still left lots of room for spring compression before coil bind or the bump stop hit at my ride height. I've got my front fender height at about 27.25" now. With your shorter softer spring you had in there, I'd be surprised if it wasn't bottoming out under hard braking and turn in.

Lance-

My front fender wheel opening is at 24" at the peak but I suspect fender design likely plays into that. Can you measure your frame to ground clearance at ride height? I'm right about 6" up front, measured behind the wheel, about an inch back from where the frame curves into the wheel well towards the motor basically below the body bushing.

How far below the frame at ride height do you have the lower bump stop?

Sorry to hijack a little RW, all this info will help get the right shock parameters for you.

[Rwolf15241]

Keep the info coming, I need all the help I can Get!!
Thanks again Ben for the info. Hey Lance I need to talk to You!!

[alphaenvirmgt]

I have ridetech TruTurn front control arms and sway bar, RIdeTechs 3-way coilovers on all four corners, and DSE rear arms and sway bar on my 1984 Buick Grand National. Love it!
Conrad