what shocks for lowered 2gen f-body?

[formulafr]

my firebird is 2" lower on the front. i have KONI but they are not design to work with short spring and i saw last week i had a leak on one shock, so i order and install PRO SHOCKS short shocks from pro touring f body, but they are too soft.

i'd like to keep my upper and lower arms.do you have a solution?

[Lowend]

Do you know what the lbs/inch your springs are?

[formulafr]

all Hotchkis springs seems to be 600lbs

[GetMore]

I don't know if this will help or not, as it's not directly related, but I used 1st gen Camaro shocks on my 2nd gen when I went with the VBP suspension.
The 1st gen shocks are a little shorter, and should be popular enough to keep the prices down.

I went all out and bought double adjustable shocks, so I know I'll be able to get the right valving.

[TD509EFI]

WHy not use the Hotchkis/Bilstein shocks thats used in their lowering kit?

John

[formulafr]

it's a good information GETMORE.:bananna2:


WHy not use the Hotchkis/Bilstein shocks thats used in their lowering kit?

well, i didn't think about bilstein. i had koni since 4 years, i lowered my car 2 years ago. i haf no problem since i saw one shock was leaking. PRO SHOCKS were cheap (124$/pair)and the only ones i found for lowered car.

on hotchkis web site, they don't tell if they are designed to work with short spring or not...

[brownz]

it's a good information GETMORE.:bananna2:



well, i didn't think about bilstein. i had koni since 4 years, i lowered my car 2 years ago. i haf no problem since i saw one shock was leaking. PRO SHOCKS were cheap (124$/pair)and the only ones i found for lowered car.

on hotchkis web site, they don't tell if they are designed to work with short spring or not...

Call Frank at prodigy customs he can help you get the hotckis shocks at a good deal thats what i did.

Brandon

[mburrow]

I have a 70 Camaro with Hotchkis TVS system. We had to cut one whole coil off front coils to get even ride height with rear leafs.
I used Edelbrock shocks on rear and KYB with the front and they handle fine. I did put Global West upper and lowers but kept the stock spindles. Good luck with your project. Mark B

[79T/Aman]

what setting did you use on the shocks and do you feel the shocks are too soft on the compression stroke?

[Tom 72RS/SS]

I've got Hotchkis lowering springs with one coil cut. Using KYB front shocks no problem.

[NOT A TA]

I've got Bilsteins with Hotchkis in my 70 Firebird and they seem to work well, although I can't compare them with anything else since I put them at the time I did the suspension several years back. I'm happy with the ride and handling on the streets or tracks.

I'd PM or call 79T/Aman and talk to him about your setup before spending more money. There may be other things affecting the ride besides the shocks.

[formulafr]

what setting did you use on the shocks and do you feel the shocks are too soft on the compression stroke?

my front setting is : 1/4 coil cut on hotchkis spring, stock 1-1/8 sway bar with poly bushing, solid body bushing. 3700lbs with full tank.
rear setting: stock 5 leaf springs, koni and lowering blocks. works perfect.

my actually shocks are too soft on the compression and relax. my koni were good but only at the maximum.

i would prefer something more like a Porsche than like a cadillac.

[Marcus SC&C]

Shock travel`s not the problem. The factory length shocks will already allow the suspension to fully compress. Shorter shocks will only limit your travel in droop/rebound. The only reason for shorter shocks in on low riders and such that drop them well below factory minimum height. Most of us would be dragging the headers long before that point. A set of progressive rate jounce bumpers will also smooth out the suspension in bump and absorb a lot of the energy that might normally be transfered to the shocks at full bump.
Your best bet is a good externally adjustable aluminum shock. I`m partial to the Alston Varishocks but I may be a bit biased. :)

[formulafr]

to what i know, long shock on low ride, cause trouble on shocks cause the do not work on their supposed area. use them on their maximum travel isn't good. that's why when you lower modern cars, they sold combined shock and spring to meet for good condition on life and using.

i'm going to search for Alston Varishocks info. thanks.

hope you understand what i mean

[formulafr]

The 1st gen shocks are a little shorter

you're wright.

i saw vari shocks, it seems to be really good quality parts and double adjustable. they are expensive but less than air ride. i have to talk to my wife :doh:

[skatinjay27]

my front setting is : 1/4 coil cut on hotchkis spring, stock 1-1/8 sway bar with poly bushing, solid body bushing. 3700lbs with full tank.
rear setting: stock 5 leaf springs, koni and lowering blocks. works perfect.

my actually shocks are too soft on the compression and relax. my koni were good but only at the maximum.

i would prefer something more like a Porsche than like a cadillac.no he means what setting do you have the shock at???
the pro-shock he sells a adjustable, i have the 700lb front spring and they work pretty good with the shock on the stiffer setting of the three... but even with my 700s i feel my ride could be stiffer... i thought the shock only do the dampening and the springs are more of how stiff the ride is.

[formulafr]

do you mean i should go with 800lbs spring?

QA1 shocks seems to be the same as vari shocks. same knob, same appearance.... same work?

[skatinjay27]

do you mean i should go with 800lbs spring?

QA1 shocks seems to be the same as vari shocks. same knob, same appearance.... same work?thats up to you really i mean if i could go back and probally still will go to the 800lbs.
to some that may seem high since most on here with modern lsx motors go with 5-600 lb springs but thier motor weighs alot less... you got a pontiac in thier right? also what about the SHOCK setting what do you have them on, did you adjust them when you took them out of the box?? mine were pre-set to the softing setting out of the box and it CRAZY how much tighter/stiffer the valveing is from the softest to the hardest.



NO!!! imo the qa1 crap compared to the alstons... the qa1 have horibble reviews and product quality.

[formulafr]

also what about the SHOCK setting what do you have them on, did you adjust them when you took them out of the box?? mine were pre-set to the softing setting out of the box and it CRAZY how much tighter/stiffer the valveing is from the softest to the hardest.

of course i have a pontiac engine. AC delete, edelbrock induction, no more stock fan, bumper lighter.... but still 3703lbs with full thank.
as soon as i receive my shocks, i adjust them to the third position (harder). i push them by hand and saw they were softer than my koni.

i went with 1909F hotchkis which are made for big block. on hotchkis website they say 600lbs for 1908 an 1909 but i found yesterday on a website that 1909 are 620lbs.



NO!!! imo the qa1 crap compared to the alstons... the qa1 have horibble reviews and product quality.

well i couldn't know that. price is the same for the double adjustable.

[David Pozzi]

We took off Hotchkis Bilstein shocks and put on QA1's, two years ago, - the car went faster! Go figure...

David

[PonchoJohn]

Am I reading this correctly- your *lifetime warranty* Koni's are leaking? Why not have them repaired and reinstall 'em?

[formulafr]

Am I reading this correctly- your *lifetime warranty* Koni's are leaking? Why not have them repaired and reinstall 'em?

*lifetime warranty*???

i didn't see anything that tells it?:guilty:

[Marcus SC&C]

The problem with stock replacement shocks on (reasonably) lowered cars is not their length. They`ll already allow you to bottom the headers out so shorter won`t do you any good. It`s that you`re running shocks with dampening rates designed for softer stock spring rates. With a much higher rate spring they can`t effectively dampen them and you`re using more overall travel than you have. Go to a firmer shocks (preferably a good externally knob adj. one) and you can adjust them to have enough dampening to handle bumps etc. in using much less travel and your problem will go away. An improved set of modern jounce bumpers to replace the original rubber bump stops would be a big help also. Mark SC&C

[formulafr]

i finally go back with my koni. pro shocks sucks.... really too soft. i set the koni with same extension time, so one is at the firmer set up and the other not but the two are exactly the same set up. now it's near from what i'd like, but still a slighty soft. anyway i'm sure that with a brand new pair of koni (for first gen f-body, they are shorter, i find info to be sure) and the firmer set up, it will good for me.

vari shocks seems to be really good but more than twice the price of the koni and have to add the shipping...

i will see later (end of the year) for replace my socks, i have some more important things to do to my car.

[PonchoJohn]

I don't know about France, but in the US, Koni's are sold w/ a lifetime warranty.
You might check and see if Koni has the same warranty (I'm sure they do).

[formulafr]

the warranty is for 24months here, that's what i saw on koni europe website.

well, we probably drive harder than you here :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:


:dunno:

[79T/Aman]

well the Pro-shocks are made for higher rate springs, the 600# hotchkis is not that stiff especialy for a Firebird with a Pontiac motor, 700+ spring would work better, it seems that you are looking for more compression stiffness, that should be accomplished with springs not the shock then the shocks rebound damping will control the spring.
Is the speed limit still 140 K/H or 160K/H in France

[formulafr]

well, there's nothing on the website that tells they would works with this spring rate.

i know now that 700 spring should be better. i choose my springs before finding higher spring rate. i do not build a race car, so i don't know if 600 or 800 is the limit for road use. if suspension is too hard, the chassis will works instead, not a good thing.

shocks slow the travel of the suspension in compression and extend. for a good compromise, hard shocks goes with hard spring, but how hard each?

speed limit is still 130km/h...

[79T/Aman]

when you mention hard shocks with hard springs, you mean "hard" rebound shocks? because in general on a street driven car you would need more rebound to work with stiff springs to help absorb road irregularities, but this is also where adjustable shocks allow for the shock to work with more than one suspension set up but this does not work for everyone I woud not say tha Pro-shocks suck though, they just didn't give you the feel that works for you, handling is more a function of man and machine and how they work together, this is why race car drivers don't all use the same suspension set up.

[formulafr]

sorry about the word "sucks", it was the that came to me to resume the situation, compare to my koni.

i talk to friends here, and i think that it's hard to compare suspension set up from you. in general, cars here are not as soft/smooth as yours. so what you find hard is probably not for us. and unlike you, here pro-touring or lowered f-body are very rare. so i can't talk to anyone here how could help in this "problem".

[79T/Aman]

I do know how rare those cars are in France,I lived 13 years in Belgium, and with the speed limits in Europe the suspension is much stiffer, I just did a 77 T/Afor a customer here that just moved from Scottland and we used our Comp suspension kit with the Pro-shocks (theBB/Pont. front springs in our Comp kit are 750 pounds) and he loves the way the car drives now because he told me that he wanted more of a European feel to the car.

[formulafr]

(theBB/Pont. front springs in our Comp kit are 750 pounds) and he loves the way the car drives now because he told me that he wanted more of a European feel to the car.

750, wow!

so, this is just what i'm looking for!!!