Im sure this has been asked before.. But forgive my innocence :)
 

Hey fellas,

Okay, so, I am considering upgrading my suspension. I need some reccomendations guys. I have no idea what I'm doing in this area of modding. I would like something that will drop the car really close to the top of the tires all around. I dont plan on racing it alot, probably 1ce a month; Anyone have a reccomendation as to what would be good for me and my needs. I was looking at hotchkis package and eibachs package, but not sure if I want coils or springs or the package with the sways. Idk. You tell me haha

Thanks,

Grant :help:

You will get a lot of opinions here on this. If you're only on a track once a month, I would get a more streetable kit. I wouldn't lower it more than 1 inch. By streetable kit, the Hotchkis track pack would do the job. Eibach makes great stuff too. For the price, you can't go wrong with either. Detroit Speed's kits are also very streetable, but cost more.

I would stay away from Pedders unless you are racing regularly. They have great stuff, but they are definately more of a purpose built track package. Great on the track, might even be the best, but you will pay the price on daily driving. My usage is similiar to yours and I'm going with the Hotchkis track pack. In the end, it really depends on how much of a tradeoff you are willing to make on daily driving comfort for track performance. Good luck to you...:chevy:

Yeah im really leaning towards the the Hotchkis track pack, would there be alot of affect to the daily driving tho? I dont mind the change in ride quality, i just dont want to worry about scratching my bumper going over bumps and what not

Grant

I'm a big fan of Pedders. They have kits for different types of driving, and each type has different levels. This is a really good way to find the kit that's right for your needs.

If you don't have ground effects, I wouldn't worry about it. You will definately feel a difference in the ride vs. stock, but I didn't find it harsh at all...just tighter. I agree with the previous poster that you could probably dial in a Pedders set-up you like with some help, but I'm an automotive engineer and don't care to do that on my daily driver. I have a track car for that. Didn't think you would either. Sometimes, too much adjustability is just that...too much. Most people put in these systems and, aside from alignments, rarely touch them again, let alone tune them.

Again...if you are a serious track hound, go Pedders. If you are a set it and forget it type on your street car, like me, I think you can't go wrong with Hotchkis.

I think what the poster mentioned above that Pedders is just for racing is so far off from what we offer. Absolutely yes, we do offer kits that will kick the butt out of all other suspension companies. Just check out the Pedders Camaro at the Optima Challenge and watch the video of the ZR1 chasing her, and unable to take the same line thru the corners as the Pedders Camaro. But we offer everything from just drop coils, to simple fixes to the track setups and everything in between.

Pedders has just revamped our menus to make them more user friendly. We had too many systems to choose from. We now have Goo, Better, Best systems for Street, Track, and Drag. Check out this link

PEDDERS SYSTEM LINKS

Plus we can do some kind of custom system for you with just a phone call.

We also have solutions to concerns that no one else has as well. But you should first get educated on the Camaro so you can make proper decisions. The best description of the Camaro suspension in print is on our Pedders web site, Just go to www.peddersusa.com, and click on the Camaro at the top. Or you can just click on the link in my signature. You will find an unbeleiveable amount of info about the Camaro, which explains in detail why we replace parts that we do and describes the benifits.

Pedders will offer you a lot of support. We do not want to sell you more or less than you need. Tracking, rear hp at the tires, tire and wheel size, and your budget are all important criterias for making decisions. So check out the Pedders site, and contact me if you have any questions. My phone number and email is in my signature. Now I am on the west coast. So if you are in the east coast, please do not call me at 8:00am!! LOL

thanks

mike
dms

Gmag,

ive installed three sets of H&R springs(1 1/8-1/4" drop), but i can also install any setup you want to go with

another drop installed, rides great

Hi gmag21,

An important question to ask is: What are you intending to use the vehicle for? You already seem to have an idea, but I think a great idea is to start small, and maybe build up as you feel the need to do so.

Drop springs will give you a great aesthetic look (like you are looking for) and a slightly firmer feel to your suspension. There are differences between the manufacturers of drop springs, so investigate exactly which set of springs will get you the right drop, durability and ride quality. A good set of springs will improve the ride by adding a firm but not harsh feel. You'll probably need to get opinions from end users on the relative ride quality of springs. This is a good solution that requires minimal cost for parts and installation, and will provide a similar ride quality to what the Camaro already has.

If you are interested in taking a performance based approach I suggest that sway bar upgrades are a great tuning option. They have the ability to affect car balance without ride quality compromise. These, matched with a coil spring package or coilovers can offer a tremendous amount in terms of performance increase, and maintain great "ride" quality, relative to OEM.

If you are interested in gaining more performance, you could achieve the same drop with a coil-over solution and gain a lot of other things in the process. The benefits of coilovers in general and Pfadt units in particular are tunable damping and adjustable ride height. The adjustable damping fits well with any ride quality concern, because the damping plays a large role in ride quality. With the Pfadt coilovers there are 20 damping positions that will allow you to tailor the ride to suit your taste. Think of this as custom valving that you can change with a few twists of a knob. The softer damping settings provide better ride quality. There is obviously a substantial increase in cost when making the move to coilovers. But the added performance, tuning aspects, and adjustability make them well worth a consideration. There are a lot of differences between coilover manufacturers, so be sure to research this accordingly.

If you are certain you are going to race the car at track events, you will not be wasting your time and money if you purchase the right coilovers. If you are unsure exactly how much you will be tracking the car, then maybe its a better option to start small, and just upgrade the springs and sway bars. Then make the move to coilovers once you get a good feel for the Camaro chassis on a track, and can benefit from the added performance. That way you can take what you learn on the track from your springs and sways, and make the right decision on what features you need in the coilovers you want to upgrade to.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions regarding suspension upgrades for your vehicle.

For lowering the car, go with the one you like the look of. If you want to be close to the top of the tire, you'll need to go with a 1.25in drop as a minimum. A 1in drop is great but it still leaves a little bit of gap. For sways, i'd suggest you go with a better one than Eibach. I'm sure they are better than stock but i'd want one that is CONSIDERABLY better than stock. The Pfadts are what i'll be going with. I'm sure Hotchkis is fine and I think Pedders is coming out with their soon too.

Yes thank you,

Im pretty sure I wont be tracking it that much because im in college and my degree (petroleum engineering) is very time consuming and homework demanding so I rarely have time to go out to the track. I think what I would like to have is something (on a 100% scale) that is 65% looks 35% percent performance. I would like the drop to be nice around the tip of my tire, and im willing to sacrifice some ride quality.. But I do like to have fun around corners and most likely will take it to track at some point in time. So yeah im just gonna have to look around a little bit and see what my options are; I'm really leaning towards a package that offers lowering springs, sways, and maybe 1 more little tweak to make sure I can still have some satisifying performance while mainintaing a decent price.

Grant

P.S. - I was looking at the hotchkis track pack, which im thinking could be a possibility. Any other companies offering similar packages?

I would like my drop to appear like this,

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/100_0555.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/100_0544.jpg

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...g?t=1262893534

Sometimes I notice drops that are lowered right at the tip top of the tire but on the adjacent sides of the tire I see an annoying gap that is larger than the distance from the top of the tire. These pics I show dont seem to have that problem.

Judging by some of the pictures anyways, I would think coil overs are installed. The challenge with doing just drop coils is your OE struts and the serious lack of travel they will have. Doin a 1.5 and greater in drop, Pedders feels that should be done with coil overs and not just coils. We do not think the OE dampers are suited nor designed for a drop like that.With our Pedders coil overs, you can get it to below 2 inches

Here is the WD 40 car we did for SEMA that sold at Barret Jackson this year.

[]

The WD40 girl with Pete

http://forums.peddersusa.com/imageho...516982e192.jpg

the REALLY big Boob" in the picture, is me. LOL

http://forums.peddersusa.com/imageho...516996eb21.jpg


Mike Haddad and the WD40 girl.
http://forums.peddersusa.com/imageho...5169b0d9a6.jpg

http://forums.peddersusa.com/imageho...516da59728.jpg

this is Will Wit, one of our SERIOUSLY premiere dealers in Michigan

http://forums.peddersusa.com/imageho...516dc20af1.jpg

NOW the SEMA MODEL DOES NOT COME WITH OUR COIL OVERS!

Damn that chick is sexy. That drop is to low for me, I like just little but EVEN space around the wheel and the chassis. So I guess ill need coils?

Quality is my demand, I dont mind paying a couple extra hundred bucks if its gonna last me ;P