Has anyone installed coil over shock/springs?

[dlefever]

My '97 vert rides too low for the street. The exhaust will typically drag on a road where there are ruts and I can never even think about driving over a speed bump. I love the look, but I need to get teh car higher for street use. I'm thinking about coil over setup so I would be able to adjust the height of the car for street vs track use.

I would like to hear from anybody who has made the swap. Were you satisfied with the results? Is ride quality good? How much adjustment is ride height are you able to acheive?

 

[Tabres]

I have Maximum Motorsports coil-overs and Bilstein's on the front of my car. The range of adjustment is very reasonable, large enough to accommodate any ride height someone desires. The ride quality is also better than when I had a conventional spring setup on the vehicle, including the stock springs. They're not noisy at all, either. I really like mine.

 

[SVTContique]

This is an eventual plan of mine. So glad i got bilstein struts.

 

[KCRN12]

I've got MM coil overs with bilstein HD shocks and struts. I love em. Better ride quality, several inches of ride adjustment, better performance... It's well worth the money.

 

[SVTContique]

Do you guys have after market K members?

The MM kit is different for their K member right?

 

[pacific4v]

Any body use the strange 10 way adjustable coilovers? They use the stock k-member

 

[KCRN12]

I have the stock k member. You can use the coil overs on a stock k member. You can't use the original struts and springs with a MM k member.

 

[KCRN12]

And no, it's not any different for their k member. The strut still mounts exactly the same way. The only difference is that the spring is on it, too. The reason you have to buy the coil overs if you do the k member is because the MM k member doesn't have any spring perches. So the spring has to be on the strut.

 

[CzchMex]

My '97 vert rides too low for the street. The exhaust will typically drag on a road where there are ruts and I can never even think about driving over a speed bump. I love the look, but I need to get teh car higher for street use. I'm thinking about coil over setup so I would be able to adjust the height of the car for street vs track use.

I would like to hear from anybody who has made the swap. Were you satisfied with the results? Is ride quality good? How much adjustment is ride height are you able to acheive?

Do you have an IRS that you drag? What setup do you have now that it hits. Just curious so I know what to plan for me

 

[dlefever]

I do not have an IRS. THe setup I'm running currently on my '97 'vert includes a Kenny Brown level 5 suspension:
1) KB Sport Springs
2) Koni's Front & Rear
3) Sub frame connectors
2) KB strut tower brace
3) Jacking rails
4) Upper and lower control arms
5) Maximum Motorsports caster camber plates
6) KB sway bar
7) Aftermarket cross member
8) Panhard bar
Probably some other stuff that I am forgetting about. With the Vortec, Tremmec and suspension setup, the car rides like it was designed. Wicked. But after nearly 10 years of driving this road scraper and having already replaced cats and other exhaust pieces due to damage, I'm ready for a change to a milder setup...or at least a setup that will enable me to drive over a speedbump when I need to! I talked to the staff at Kenny Brown this week and they suggested the FRPP 5300C springs and KB's isolators that are thicker than most to push the car up another 3/8 inch. I'm considering the FRPP5300 "G" spring since this is designed for verts. Just not sure if I will eventually want to go with the coil overs anyway.

 

[KCRN12]

I will tell you this about the coil overs.... If you think you're going to want to change the height frequently... You're wrong. They're a pita to get them set right. Cause you can't just jack it up, change it, set it down, and measure. You have to drive it to get the suspension to settle. I tried just jouncing the car and that didn't work. It still sagged a good bit after driving. I suppose if you have a track setting and a street setting you might be able to just measure from the bottom of the sleeve to the collar, and write it down somewhere. But it's still possible that it wouldn't settle exactly the same and it would still be different. I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong. I love my coil overs and wouldn't go back for anything. But if you think (like I did) that changing ride height wouldn't be a big deal... You're in for a surprise, lol.

 

[dlefever]

That's great to know, KCRN12! I made the assumption that changing the ride height frequently would be as simple as you describe with eh jack stands a little work. I envision one ride height for regular driving (able to roll over speed bumps), one for attending shows and club events, and a third for track. Thanks for setting my expectations.