Shock recommendation

[Jeremy]

I haven't had enough opportunity to drive the car much with all the snow we have been getting lately. It actually feels a little under sprung still. I did get a chance to tighten the end links on the front sway bar and see how much difference that made. I was expecting mucho understeer and it actually tightened things up a bit, but it still feels pretty balanced around town.

The shocks are definitely worth the money. Even with 3/4 inch spacers under the Edelbrocks, I am sure I was bottoming the shocks over certain bumps adding to the harshness. With the shorter shocks, I could get full movement of the suspension when I tested.

Before the shock change, tight end links made the car under steer so bad it was not enjoyable to drive. I don't know enough about shocks to say why it is more balanced now with a tight sway bar but it is.

If ride comfort is important I recommend the rubber cushions to mount the spring to the arm. I tried the poly and they were noticeably more harsh. I would say that the rubber compresses a bit at first and softens road impacts. Most of the time rubber compressing is a bad thing but in this case I think it is beneficial. I would say that it acts like a progressive spring and the first 1/4 inch or so compresses at a much lower rate than the leaf spring. Since the movement is controlled by the geometry of the arm and the shock, it isn't changing any alignment specs, just the level of resistance.

I agree with you that the springs react very quickly. I think the ride has actually improved on my car and it just feels lighter, although loosing weight up front never hurts.

I do plan to weld the mounts to the subframe and gusset everything where I can to make up for the material I removed. I hope to add composite leafs this summer or fall. How do you like the 200# rate for the rear? I was leaning towards the 150 but VBP does not list this anymore, just the 200.