My Camaro rides like crap

[TraceZ]

I guess I really never realized it until I got a Corvette. I just assumed because it was a sportyer car it had to ride that way.

It's really bad. It will bottom out occasionally on this one particular bump near my house that my other cars, including the Vette can go over at a faster speed and still feel good. It literally feels like the suspension is getting ripped out from under the car.


I've noticed the car sits low in the rear. Perhaps I have bad springs in back?

I'm thinking maybe it's time to replace the shocks and springs all the way around. I've got 1LE anti-sway bars on it. What would be good springs that would be a compromise of performance and ride quality? And what shocks would best match them?

[Rob B (shoebox)]

I'll bet Sam Strano would have somethng to satisfy you. Call and discuss what you want from your suspension.

http://www.stranoparts.com/

[FTA1995]

Mine used to ride like crap on the oem stuff, I switched everything out with edlebrock ias shocks, I really like the ride firm but responds well to abrupt changes. How are all of your suspension joints/bushings? Some of them can have a pretty big effect on ride quality...

[Craig 94 TA GT]

Mine didn't ride too bad, but I had stock springs from 1994. I never realized how much it sagged since I put Moog stock replacements in. It's almost 2" higher than before. It looks really high, but the old ones were so low, that it looked lowered before. So I think it's time for you to replace the springs and shocks!

The QA1 shocks are awesome because they're adjustable. I use setting 2-3 and the ride is nice. The Billsteins are also good, but heard that the rears have terrible settings. The Strano revalved ones are supposed to be good. If you can do both springs and shocks at once, then I'd say it's worth it?

[Barry 94Formula]

I'll bet Sam Strano would have somethng to satisfy you. Call and discuss what you want from your suspension.

http://www.stranoparts.com/

Another vote for Sam.

[Injuneer]

Given the major differences between the Corvette's sophisticated, fully independant rear suspension, and the 4th Gen F-Body's crude solid rear axle, there is going to be a significant difference in the way they respond to harsh and uneven roads. A bump on one side of the solid axle affects boths side. It won't do that to the Corvette's IRS.

Not to say you shouldn't closely inspect the condition of your going on 17-year old vehicle, and look for opportunities to upgrade. Just recognize that they are never going to feel the same.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

To add - don't forget how important tires are in the equation. I was amazed at how different my car felt by simply changing out tires. Even though a 40 series tire has a short sidewall, it does provide a substantial amount of "road feel" which can change the dynamics of the car.

With the setup I have below (thanks go out to Sam Strano), my car rides far better than it did when it rolled of the assembly line. However, it will never feel like a C5/C6 Corvette - buts that's fine, it's not supposed to.

[TraceZ]

I'll give Sam a call once I get come $$ set aside for it.

Thanks for the direction.

It's really bad though. I'm sure it needs shocks, springs and tires. I also have 1/2" of play in the steering wheel. I'm not sure if the play is in the rag joint or the rack.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

Shocks made the single greatest improvement to the handling of my car - without a doubt. The DeCarbons were crap brand new. Forget about them after a few years or 50K. I had the WS6 shocks, which had slightly different compression than normal V8 shocks. But even they were awful compared to the Konis.