Hey Guys....
My front suspension is noticeably soft. I've only had this '98 Z28 M6 about 5 months and was wondering should I replace the springs (factory or after-market?) or the struts (who makes good ones?) or both? The car has about 82K on it and I'm not that iterested in lowering it..

 

FYI...

Your car does not have struts.

 

Shocks, Bilsten, koni

 

Get a hold of Sam Strano at stranopart.com. He's a F-Body suspension expert and can advise you on what you need for your style of driving. A set of Bilstein shocks and an upgraded front sway bar will do wonders for your ride.

 

its such a difficult concept for some people until it is explained to them

i have a friend who told me that he needs to replace the shocks and struts on his 93 cougar, i told him he has shocks all around no struts, and he said to me

"no my dad told me i have struts in the front, you can tell cuz they go through the spring"

i told him hes an idiot


so lets clarify

a shock and a strut both absorb vibrations from the spring, in order to maintain a relatively level height and cushion the variances in an otheriwse smooth road

that much is understood

a macpherson strut suspension does not have an upper control arm,
the strut itself is the camber & caster controlling component in the suspension
(please give me leniency in my choice of words)

which means if u took off ur strut you'd go delorean style
theres nothing for the top of the wheel (really the spindle) to hold on too
while if u took off ur shock the car would bounce alot, but the wheel will maintain full contact with the ground


as for my friends comment about the spring

macpherson strust by definition have the coil spring wraped around them
thats means all macpherson struts have springs around them

a modified macpherson is a different set up with the spring set aside from the strut as in many 80's cars (camaros firebirds mustangs thunderbirds and cougars)

and anyone can easily place a shock inside a coil spring, hence coil-over shocks

 

Shocks, by a MILE AND A HALF.

And they are shocks (not struts), coil-over shocks in front, normal in the back. The spring over the damper does not a strut make. For that matter, a 3rd gen car or Fox or SN95 Mustang have struts, and the springs ARE NOT on top of them.

Anyway, I digress.... Pay attention when you drive the car next time. What you find is that car has a lot of excess movement from a lack of damping. When you turn, the car feel like it's listing. When you hit a dip or bump, the car takes time to settle down (and meanwhile is moving around). Those things are because the shocks are not doing an effective job of damping the energy stored in the springs. The result is not unlike a pogo stick.... you get oscillations and movements you should not.

If you read around, you'll find a TON of folks who now realize the dampers are critical (and some that don't think so having not tried something better than what they have). And if you ask specifically, I'm sure you will get responses reporting the difference with just shocks. I have a LOT of folks who start with shocks alone (thinking they need more). But in listening to them, I realize a lot of their hate is because of dampers. I'd say a solid 75% of those folks who thought they needed a LOT of parts find out they don't once they get some decent dampers in the car.

Which dampers are right *for you* is a whole 'nuther thread.....

 

Thanks, Gentlemen!
As I said, I've had this car about 5 months and still learning about it. The front suspension bottoms out so easily that I thought the springs/shocks were gone but maybe not the springs. I wish there was a way to find the previous owner(s) and find out what all has been done to this car. I'm now wondering if it has been 'lowered' from stock causing it to bottom out as it is doing. Any way to tell if the front springs are stock or not?

 

What color are the springs? What color are the shocks?