Which shocks/struts with lowering springs?

[Joe 1320]

Considering mine is a street driven car, I want a decent ride. I already have a set of Intrax springs, supposedly these are the one to get if you want a good ride quality and are a 2" drop. I don't want to get into coilovers, so short of that, what is a good shock that won't blow out when using drop springs?

[Barry 94Formula]

Koni SA shocks are what I would use. I am probably gonna switch to these when the funds allow. My Bilsteins are good but I want something better. I'm lowered 1.25 on Hyperco springs.

[fastTa]

Joe, have you considered the HAL QA1 Generation F's? They would allow you to completely adjust the compression and rebound of your ride. Or if you just want a single adjustable shock, they also have those as well.

For the front shocks in double adjustable, HAL makes 2 street double adjustable shocks. The DGK7300 and the DGK7325. The 7300 rides about like stock, but if you like corners like I do , you will probably prefer the 7325's.

Then they also make a single adjustable front shock. GK7300 and GK7325. The GK7325 is the firmer of the two.

For the rear shocks, again there is a single adjustable and double adjustable shock.DTC2502P (double adjutsable) and TC2502P (single).

HAL also makes a steel non-adjustable shock that is like a conventional shock but they are painted white and I am not really a big fan of white shocks.

[95z28]

i have heard some great things about the qa1 package.

[NorthernSS]

I love my Koni SA's. When I did all the suspenion work on my car it became alot more fun to drive. The ride definately became more stiff and the road was a little harsher. But that could be because I got the new tires(KDW) not too long after I did the susp. The cornering is amazing, corners I used to go at 35-45 I can now take at 50-60 with the same effort. Body roll is down alot more and fun factor is wayyy up And all of this and my settings are what they were from the factory, softest all around.

[Barry 94Formula]

What sort of budget are you working with on this Joe? That above all else will determine what you can do.

[Joe 1320]

What sort of budget are you working with on this Joe? That above all else will determine what you can do.

Budget?

Whatever I decide on, other parts will have to be sold off to fund it.

Since this isn't my steet/strip toy, I probably won't go adjustables. As long as the ride is decent and they don't blow out quickly, I'm happy.

[Barry 94Formula]

If you are gonna drop it that much then I recommend the Koni's or some revalved Bilsteins. Any idea what the spring rates are?

[Rob B (shoebox)]

I'm happy with HD Bilsteins on my slightly lowered daily driver. ~$300 for a set.

[fastTa]

I like the Bilsteins over the Koni's. Both good shocks, but the Bilsteins seem to be a little better.

[Joe 1320]

For what it's worth, here are the springs:

http://www.intraxsuspension.com/prod_springs.html

Part Number: 25.1.005

2" drop front and rear

List price $319

[Barry 94Formula]

Are you sure you want to go that low. I am dropped 1.25 and I have problems with driveways and speed bumps.

[Joe 1320]

Are you sure you want to go that low. I am dropped 1.25 and I have problems with driveways and speed bumps.

Ive been thinking about this:

My hawks Bilstein susp is about as low as you can get (the equivalent of cutting some coils off the stock Z28 susp and removing the bump-stops )

The tire to the fender lip was on average 1.5 -1.75 inches as this was difficult to measure...

Ground to fender lip measurments
Passenger Front - 26 7/16"
Driver Front - 26 5/8"
Passenger Rear - 26 9/16"
Driver Rear - 26 3/8"


After 3 years the stock bilstein suspension settled even more. I have no problem with leaving the front air dam there, as it was from the factory

The air dam is very flexible, and besides, that is where my front license plate "GRRRRR" is mounted. (kerms Idea)

I say leave it as it is )

I've really been wondering about this. Since the day I purchased the car on the new car lot back in 97, something about this car always seems to pop up as being different. The performance was better than other LT-1s that I had driven back then, now the suspension has me wondering as well. The car always had a little bit of a rake to the stance, more so when I swapped in a base T/A set of rear springs. I went out and measured....... and with 285/40/17s on a 9.5 inch wheel my ground to fender is 26.5 inches. I always thought that the front was pretty low already but never actually measured it. The rear is 28 inches. Yes folks, that's a drag type rake. The car seemed to hook a little better with those springs, but the extra 1/2 in height didn't seem to look too bad. I'm wondering what is up with the front springs. The car hasn't settled from what I remember, it appears to match my old photos of when I bought it, and I did buy it new with about 7 miles on the clock. I haven't touched the front springs or struts and she has 135K on her now. Still performs good. Now that I am lowering it, I am hoping to just use the rears to bring the back down to a much closer fender gap to match the front. I couldn't imagine dropping the front down much more than another 1/2 inch with a 285 tire. Come to think of it, that air dam has scaped on so many places, I thought that was the norm.