Well, my car has about 130K miles on it now, and the suspension seems like its not quite at tight as it used to be. I was going to replace the struts, coils, and maybe even a strut tower brace. Do you guys this this is all needed? Also, what are some decent brands of struts and coils. Im not looking for anything ridiculously priced, and I don't want to lower my car any...How are the KYB shocks? They seem kinda cheap, are they?

 

Although spring/shock upgrades are always a good idea on a F-Body, I'd inspect your bushings, tie rod ends, ball joints, rag joint and steering rack for wear/excessive play. I rebuilt my front end at 140K miles and it made a world of difference. IMO a strut tower brace is more eye candy than function.

 

Ah, I never knew that about the strut brace. I checked my tie rod ends last summer, but Ill check them again when I get my car out in a week or so. Ill check the rest of that also. Thanks.

Now, does anybody use those KYB struts? Are they any good?

 

I have the KYB adjustable shocks and they do just fine. I lowered the car at the same time i but those on so i can't tell exactly what differnce they made but i am happy with them.

 

The KYB's are good, but I think they are overpriced. For about the same price you get a set of bilstiens, which are much better than the kyb's. You shouldn't need to replace your springs unless your car is sagging. Like above check the ball joints, rag joints, bushings etc. If you really want to improve your handling then you could also get a 35mm front sway bar.

 

the 3 point strut brace I put on my car made a world of difference.

 

If you talk with the road racing experts like Sam Strano, they'll tell you that the little bit of flex that the 4th Gen front has will actually help your cornering. The 3rd Gen front suspension is a different animal.

 

most of my bushings are sh-t how do u go about getting the little ****ers off? and wehre can i get replacements auto store?

 

You can buy a "master" kit from Energy Suspension that includes every bushing in the car. The install is fairly straight forward. If you dont need all the parts, consider just the individual replacement parts from ES. When you have the front end apart for the spring install, separate the lower ball joint and remove the lower A-arm. The bushings can be burned out with a propane torch, or you could take the A-arm somewhere and have them pressed out. The upper A-arm bushings can be melted out as well, with the A-arm still connected to the ball joint. Or separate the ball joints and replace them as well - they need to be pressed out.

 

Poly front bushings in this car is a BAD idea. We carry them, both Energy and Prothane, but use neither in my car. I do have replacement bushings as well.

But I'm sure it's the shocks. Sure, maybe other things need replaced, but the shocks suck from the start and are certainly done by now.

KYB's. Not great. Bilstein's might be suitable and are a better quality shock, but ther is a trick on the rears that few know. Bilstein screwed up the rear valving fairly recently and if you buy what's just printed in the catalog you don't get the best shock you could for the price. Then there are Revalved Bilstein's which we work to handle different springs and/or uses, and of course Koni's. In short there are shocks for most every price range... The trick is figuring out which are most appropriate.

 

Trick? You mean order the rear shocks for a 3rd gen?

 

Which ones? There are two of them, and do you know why I'd use them in lieu of the 4th gen HD's? Not always as easy as you'd think.

 

Ok Sam, please explain.

 

Hate to say so, but I can't publicly..... Nothing to stop folks from finding out exactly why and then buying them somewhere else which is more and more common. It's a free market, folks can buy what they want, where they want. But I don't have to give them all the information to do so. It's part of the service I provide (for free, I don't charge for it) and have to protect it....

I've always been free with information, and that's bitten me in the butt more than once. So I just have to be a little more discerning with what information I distribute in public forums. This is one of those cases.

 

The REAR 3rd gen HD's are better for a 4th gen car.