Went full DSE but now want a smoother ride - now what?

[67SSDan]

Okay some of y'all are going to laugh at this, and that's okay.

Short story is this, I built a 67 Camaro with grand visions of tracking the car, but I've got so much money tied up in the stupid thing I'm honestly never going to track it. Maybe one day I'll get brave enough to try an autocross but mostly I I just drive it around and generally enjoy it, but it's rough as a cob because the suspension is so stiff. I've thought about selling it, but decided I really love the car, I just wish it was a little smoother. I've also got a Mallet Racing C5 that rides and drives like a dream, and has the Penske adjustable coilovers on it, so I have come to the conclusion that what I need is just another coilover combo. Is that correct? I imagine if I call DSE they'll point me to their triple adjustable setup, but is that the only / best option for cruising around and maybe a little spirited street driving?

The car has the DSE speed kit 3 with the non-adjustable coilovers (this was all built before their hydro formed setup came out) and their Quadralink setup in the rear.

Thoughts on how to make this ole girl a little smoother on the street?

Thanks!

[dontlifttoshift]

How are your front coilovers mounted? Did you weld in new upper mounts to the stock subframe?

More than likely, you will need to buy new shocks to get where you want but don't call DSE. Call JJ Furillo at https://upspeedshop.com/ He will need some measurements from you and then can build you a package for your car. JJ worked at Penske before JRi and then going off on his own.

***don't let all the racecar stuff on the linked website scare you. JJ gets ride quality and will get you there.

[67SSDan]

Yep! DSEs speed kit 3 has you do a number of modifications to the stock subframe, including welding in new mounts. Looks like so 219086

I'll give JJ a try, thank you!

[67SSDan]

You don't happen to have JJs email address do you? The contact form on his website keeps throwing an error when I try to send a message.

[dontlifttoshift]

Sent you a PM but for future readers. JJ at website


Also, I see Konis in the front, likely thats what is in the rear too. There is a lot of room for improvement there.

[67SSDan]

Sent you a PM but for future readers. JJ at website


Also, I see Konis in the front, likely thats what is in the rear too. There is a lot of room for improvement there.


Good to hear, and thank you!

[dhutton]

Another vote for JJ. Great guy and he knows his stuff. He’s currently building a set of coilovers for my 57 Buick behemoth wagon on full DSE suspension. He talked me out of double and triple adjustable into single adjustable. Saved me some money. :)

This will be my third car on JRI coilovers. The difference in ride quality between JRI and the others is huge. Worth every penny.

Don

[hp jnkey]

Change spring rates all around

[dontlifttoshift]

Change spring rates all around

Curious how you arrived at that conclusion without knowing what his spring rates are?

[mikedc]

What kind of ride does the car have now? Are you trying to soften the NVH (noise/vibration/harshness)? Or does the suspension just not flex enough because of the shock & spring rates?

Rubber bushings help the NVH. Subframe bushings, control arms, coilover mounts. Polyurethane bushings are functionally closer to solid metal than rubber. Rubber has a rep for being hopelessly sloppy but that's more true when the rubber parts are decades old and worn out. The OEMs still use rubber bushings in pretty stiff sports cars.



For spring/shock rates, yeah, it's probably time to soften it. If you are starting with a track setup then the wheel springs are probably too stiff for street cruising. And the shocks are probably too stiff because they should be tuned to match the springs. (I don't know your DSE setup, I'm just guessing here.)

The sway bars may not need changing. Those don't affect the ride quality on bumps & potholes as much as the wheel springs do. But the car's overall roll stiffness is the wheel springs + sways, together. So if you soften the wheel springs to different degrees (front vs rear) then you may upset the balance of it all, and that would call for a change in the sway bars. It's just something to be aware of when you start screwing with spring rates.

[streetk14]

I was going to mention the NVH thing as well. I wish my car was a little more isolated, but all my bushings are delrin or metal (R-joints). I kind of miss my old AME C6 subframe and its rubber control arm bushings.

[67SSDan]

Hi all, thanks for the thoughts and comments. It's definitely a spring rate / absorption thing, though perhaps when thats addressed I'll notice the NVH problems described above. A friend videoed me driving down the road from a chase vehicle and the car goes over a few bumps and you can see me bouncing all around inside the car. It reminds me of being behind a low rider that has chopped the springs and seeing the passengers bobbing up and down in the car (though probably not that extreme) - hopefully that captures what I'm trying to fix.

I have spoken to JJ and he's working on putting something together for me. Will report back when it's all buttoned up.