Whats the Diff?

[Piccolo]

I am really new to the whole suspension stuff so please, don't laugh.

What is the difference between; Tokico,Koni,Eibach,Intrax,Moog?

What handling and ride qualities do you encounter and what setup is best?

For my car it will be street and track use. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

 

[yamahaSHO]

I am really new to the whole suspension stuff so please, don't laugh.

What is the difference between; Tokico,Koni,Eibach,Intrax,Moog?

What handling and ride qualities do you encounter and what setup is best?

For my car it will be street and track use. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

Struts:
Koni - Adjustable(softest setting is still stiffer than stock)
Tokico - Non adjustable, stiffer than stock... Great if you cannot afford Koni

Springs:
Eibach - Progressive spring rate, mild drop, very streetable yet handles really well.
Intrax - Progressive spring rate, drastic drop, slightly rougher ride over Eibach, handles great.

I think Moog is close to OEM, correct me if I'm wrong...

I personally have an Eibach/Koni set up and it is great. As far as handling, I have more mods for that too

 

[Piccolo]

Thanks YamahaSHO, you state that you have more mods for better handling. What do you mean?

The only thing I can think of is the strut tower support brace. But I cannot seem to find where they are for sale. Do you have one? And where did you get it? Oh and hey, thanks again.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

A nice spring/strut combo will do wonders for the handling manner of a car. But you still have sway bars, endlinks, camber plates, mounts, bearings, bushings, strut rods, and as you mentioned, strut tower bars. ALL of them will play a part in the handling of a car.

Also, dont forget tires. There is nothing quite like a sticky set of tires.

what year is your SHO? It would help to know what swayay bars you have.

and check my sig for info on MOOG coils, and Monroe struts. There is much more to them than "similar to stock" , especially when modified.

 

[PROPHET]

Check our product feedback section plenty of testimonials on members suspension set-ups.

 

[Mike Kopstain]

KYBs - Great for a stock OE replacement or a car with light lowering springs (Eibach)

Tokicos - Great for either a heavy suspension setup or a mild suspension setup - these are the least that can be used with Intrax springs or coilovers

Konis - Insert into any OE style strut housing and are arguably the best setup. These are preferred with track cars so you can make them stiff on the track and soft on the street, though with stiff springs the soft setting will result in a pogo effect.

We are working on some new struts that are stiffer then Tokicos but don't require the modification of the Konis.

For other suspension mods you're only limited by your wallet. The following are common:

Strut Tower Brace
H Brace (reinforces the junction box of the rear control arms)
Tubular Rear Control arms - Replaces the stock control arms with something lighter and stronger
Quaife! - This will have the biggest affect on handling over anything
Swaybars - Mix and match for a stiffer car. The bigger the back bar and smaller the front bar, the more oversteer and vice versa.
Polyurethane bushings - Much stiffer than their rubber counterparts
Knuckle braces - Reinforce the ears on the rear knuckles

And most important.... TIRES!

A car with the best handling suspension in the world can get lapped by a Geo Metro if it's running tires that are not up to par. Tires should be your first serious suspension mod.

Personally, I also consider brakes under suspension as they are basically one unit when tracking the car and will also affect how the car reacts. Brake options:

- 13" front Upgrade PBR
- 13" Front Upgrade Baer w/ lines
- 11.6" Rear Brakes help to flatten out the car during track event braking
- Bias plugs (do the same as above to a lesser extent
- stainless steel brake lines - make the brake feel a whole lot nicer than they are
- 11" PBR brake kit - great for a part time street/ part time track car

Have a look under the suspension section of Midwest SHO and SHO NUT and you'll find anything you could ever think of needing.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Thanks YamahaSHO, you state that you have more mods for better handling. What do you mean?

Front and rear strut tower braces, 22/26mm sway bar combo, sub frame connectors, TPR bushings, adjustable control arms, H-brace, Police mounts, Quaife... I think thats it... Oh, and I have some good tires.

A nice spring/strut combo will do wonders for the handling manner of a car. But you still have sway bars, endlinks, camber plates, mounts, bearings, bushings, strut rods, and as you mentioned, strut tower bars. ALL of them will play a part in the handling of a car.

Bearings are not going to make the car handle any better... They are just something you need in the fron so you suspension can turn with your wheels.

 

[Piccolo]

Wow! Thanks alot everyone! I've got some things to consider...Thanks again everyone!

 

[jedhead]

The first mod for handling after the maintenance is complete are sub frame connectors. You need a stiff foundation for the springs, shocks and sway bar to work from.

Bob

 

[yamahaSHO]

The first mod for handling after the maintenance is complete are sub frame connectors. You need a stiff foundation for the springs, shocks and sway bar to work from.

Bob

I did everything else before my SFC's and did not really notice a difference after installing them.... I can get one wheel off the ground going up driveways now

 

[Mike Kopstain]

I concur on the connectors doing close to nothing. I've never noticed a difference whether before we started modding the suspension or on a car that already had a modified suspension. That is why we don't offer them.

 

[Piccolo]

That's strange, cause here locally we had a SHO owner who had his sub frame welded and it made one **** of a difference on a stock car. He had no suspension mods and I rode with him to the place and back. That car felt awesome going down the off ramp on the freeway!

EDIT: BTW, James (aka: Nook) was the one who did the work. You might want to ask him what he did to compare craftsmanship. Just a thought...

 

[jedhead]

I installed sub frame connectors after I have installed SS Linear Springs, Koni's, Front and rear strut bars, replaced every bushing in the suspension, lower control arms, and tie rods. The subframe connectors made a huge difference in the stiffness of the body. The creaking that I got from the body when it would twist gone away completely after install. Maybe because mine SHO was "preloaded" when the SFC were welded made a difference. I did not notice much difference when I installed TCE control arms and H-brace in the rear (my main reason for installing those is so I could get the rear camber back to specs).

Bob

P.S. My SHO rides pretty stiff with the SS Linear and Koni Combo. The reason I chose the linear springs is because I drove two GenI SHO's one with eibach/koni and other with SS Linear/Koni back to back and found the turn-in a little more immediate with the linear springs. I also thought that SHO with linears looked better because it sat a little lower (I kinda reget that part now..I rub my SFC on speed bumps and I have to be careful going in and out of driveways.

 

[billyshoe]

The more spring rate you have, the more shock dampening that will be needed. the tokicko's will give about 25% more dampening while the Koni sport will ajust up to 50% more dampening.

 

[Dr. Tweak]

http://www.shophoenixproject.com/pages/susp.htm