Ok, finally ordering some coilovers

[shmoov69]

For the back of my 69. I was thinking of going with QA-1's but is their QC problems taken care of? Are the Chris Alston Chassisworks ones that much better? Give me some advice guys! I was looking at the #DR-2000K kit from QA-1, but was wondering also if the weight was right for the back of a 69 Camaro. I think that I weighed it before the turbo's and the current stereo system in it and it was 3450 with me in it. But that was a long time ago and I am not sure if that is correct. I now will have the extra weight of a TQ arm suspension instead of the fiberglass leafs' and also a 6 point cage.
Like most of us here, I am wanting the best spring/shock set up for the cheapest possible outlay of cash!
Please advise suspension guru's!:dunno:

[chicane67]

Mortgage the mortgage..... and get some real shocks. The best spring and shock for the cheapest..... well, you know what that leads you to right ?? A cheap spring and shock.

Your best money spent will be on Bilstein or KONI.... and keeping it on the cheaper side of things.

[Marcus SC&C]

There are a lot of folks running the QA1s who are very happy with them. Our experience with them hasn`t been too hot. We had the adj. shocks (not coilovers) on one of our test cars for about 3 years. The settings didn`t seem all that consistant (this has also been borne out on customer`s cars) and we`ve had to replace the front lower bushings twice. They`re very thin walled and when set to high dampening rates they get peened out like you beat on them with a hammer. Each set lasted about 10,000miles (caveat, PA driving,huge potholes,LOTS of testing abuse). By the time we put the second set of bushings in we noticed 2 of the shocks were starting to leak also. The coilover/hybrid spring version imposes quite a bit of additional side loading on the shocks shafts which is likely to be harder on the seals. Their spring rates are limited and tend to be on the soft side.
The Varishocks seem to be a better quality piece. The bushings are MUCH thicker/beefier and the dampening settings seem more consistant. Their coilover conversions are true coilovers. For the few extra bucks I think they`re a no brainer over the QA1s. That said they have their issues too,one is that as a true coilover their overall length for a given spring length is longer so you can`t slam the car with them unless you move the mounting points. For G bodys we developed a drop lower arm with Spohn Perf. to take care of that,on other cars you need to raise the upper shock mount about an inch. We should soon be offering a kit with ATS coilover brackets and race style (cross bolt top and bottom) Varishocks that`ll take care of that issue. The other problem is that we sold Alston out of all their GM coilover conversions,kinda cool and sucky at the same time. Their manufacturing schedule won`t allow for more for a month or more. At any rate IMO they`re a really great quaility shock/coilover for the money. That`s why we became a dealer.
Are they as "good" as a Koni or Bilstein or Penske coilover that cost two or three times as much? No of course not (hope Chris A. doesn`t see this ;) ) but for a ProTouring car (vs. a professional road race car) I think they`re a great option. Mark SC&C

[Blown353]

I have had very positive experiences with the Varishocks on the track... way more consistent than QA1s which are problematic when pushed hard for any period of time.

Are Varishocks in the same league as the good stuff (Koni, Bilstein, Ohlins, Penske, etc)? No-- but they are pretty darn good and more than adequate for a street car IMO and also do just fine on casual track days. I went in skeptical with them and after some track time I was very surprised how well they worked considering you can get QS1's for about $145 each.

Marcus, just wondering... what would be a ballpark price on a set of digressive Bilsteins for a 69 Chevelle? I'm in the "need new shocks badly" boat right now.

[nestockcar]

Mark,
Funny you mentioned "race style" (cross bolt) mounts. I've been looking the last week for this in a kit. I thought I'd just have to piece it together myself. I just didn't like the look of the coilover kits from QA1 that bolt in to the existing position (not to mention the QA1 quality issues). Please let me know when you get this kit put together. Or you can put it with the pre-order for the ATS spindle/UCA I already emailed you on.

Thanks

[shmoov69]

Marcus you got a PM

[Blown353]

Marcus you got a PM

Marcus, you've got one from me too about 2 weeks back.:naughty:

[Marcus SC&C]

Troy,sorry about that! You`ve got a PM (You too Jimmy). I`m always easier to get via e mail or phone.

Steve,I can add that on. I`m not sure exactly when it`ll be available but I`ll find out. Mark SC&C