Sportlines??

[1quickgt]

im looking at some sportlines for my 94 trans am gt i have 18"cobra r's on 285-35-18's.....i was wondering if the ride is really all that bad on them i know i'll prob need a phr..but will the springs be to low and is the ride really that slopy? any insight would be very much apprecated

[79 Z28]

cobra r's on a trans am?? wow, ok show us a pic how does it look ???

[Joe Dirt]

Sportlines are sloppy , way to soft for performance . Get LGM or suspension tech speedtech 1.7 if you want to stay off your bump stops .

Those are my old rimz 79 , you saw them at the dyno and the track ??

Heres a pic

http://www3.telus.net/public/a7a74501/ax.jpg

Heres a moving picture :)

http://www3.telus.net/public/a7a74501/twitch02.avi

[79 Z28]

yup, i remember them now, couldnt put 2 and 2 together in my head :) so hows the car coming? gonna hit up mission any more this year?

[Joe Dirt]

My new wheels are being built as we speek and will be here no latter than 20th of May .18 x 10 front and back muhahahaaa !! I cant wait to hit the streets and rip shit up .

How come you never post on CamaroZ anymore ? Hows the rebuild ?

[79 Z28]

My new wheels are being built as we speek and will be here no latter than 20th of May .18 x 10 front and back muhahahaaa !! I cant wait to hit the streets and rip shit up .

How come you never post on CamaroZ anymore ? Hows the rebuild ?
haha gonna be sweet wheels, ya cant wait till mines done, progress is in shiny parts showoff check out "my bling" posts ;D as for camaro Z, i dont know why im not there :P i guess i got busy and havent been by much, totally forgot about it. im comin back hah :D

[iroc22]

The Prokit is actually stiffer then the Sportlines. The Sportlines just bounce off the bumpstops all the time.

[Joe Dirt]

The pro kit has sad spring rates also . Eibach has the lowest 4th gen Fbody rates of all the manufacturers. Just an Fyi .


Ill check the bling section :D

[IROC-Z]

those wheels look sweet on your car ;D

[Joe Dirt]

Thanks man , now Craig gets to pimp them .

Ps: that fat dudes not me :P

[Mr. TroPiCal]

The pro kit has sad spring rates also . Eibach has the lowest 4th gen Fbody rates of all the manufacturers. Just an Fyi .


Ill check the bling section :D


So are you saying i shouldnt have bought a Pro Kit for my Ws6? What exactly does spring rate affect?

[89vert]

The pro kit has sad spring rates also . Eibach has the lowest 4th gen Fbody rates of all the manufacturers. Just an Fyi .


Ill check the bling section :D


So are you saying i shouldnt have bought a Pro Kit for my Ws6? What exactly does spring rate affect?

spring rate is how stiff your spring is higher the spring rate stiffer the spring
eibach pro kit is a progressive spring meaning its soft until you start pulling some hard corners, eibach is a good spring for a smooth ride a good handleing
a buddy of mine has suspension techniques springs in his 95 T/A and its a really rough ride and they're the next step from eibach

[Mr. TroPiCal]

Ok thats good, cause the ws6 springs are progressive too...i figured the ride would be a bit rougher but im fine with that, my 95 rode way rougher than my 2000 so im used to a bumpy ride. And the increased handling and looks will offset any bumpier ride as far as im concerned.

[Joe Dirt]

Progressive rate coils are for street/ daily driver use . They give you that initial soft hit before they start to really kick in. The problem with Eibach lies with the horrible spring rates . You can stand behing a car with sportlines installed and bottom it out by hand with little to no effort. When your driving on sportlines your riding the stops period.

The suspension in your car is a system designed to work together but each peice has an important roll and they sometimes get confused.

Your coils are designed to support the weight of the vehicle over dips and bumps absorbing impact as you go . When you lower your car you must increase your coil rate quite substantialy for them to be able to properly control the vehicles mass and keep it from bottoming out. Both the sportline and pro kit coils are very poor at this.

Some people think running an adjustable shock wound out to its stiffest setting is going to repair this problem but that is a very poor solution . The dampers job is to control the spring rebound not help support the vehicle weight. Rebound damping controls what is known as the sprung weight or transitional weight of the car or the weight that shifts when you corner, accelerate or decelerate. It also controls the energy released by the compressed spring.

Progresive rate coils are a poor choice for people looking for max performance as they are more difficult to match a damper to. Picture the coil compressing and springing back. On a liner rate coil the damper can be matched easily to the rate of the coil but on a progressive coil you will be comprimising control at either the softest most or stiffest part of the coil or somewhere in between . You will have an area where the damper can not properly control the coil.

A good setup will have spring rates matched to the vehicles height / weight so at only your most aggresive compression you are contacting the stops. Damping should be set to keep coil rebound under control and sways to control your side to side body roll. If you find yourself trying to jack your shocks up to keep off the stops its time for a new set of coils.

Hope it helps :)

[89vert]

That is the first time I've ever heard a complaint about Eibach,
I know several people that have them and say they're a great spring, My moms old 4th gen had a pro kit and I drove that thing hard and never once bottomed the suspension
My cousin just put Sportlines in his '90 iroc, It looks good, handles good and the ride is reasonable
just my 2 cents

[Mr. TroPiCal]

Well, I'm not too worried if my car's suspension isn't as perfect as it potentially could be. As long as it gets the job done and looks good thats fine with me.

Its not like im racing anyone for cash anyways, and the Ws6 already destroys 90 percent of cars on the street, so If i have to sacrafice a bit of performance suspension wise to get a better look than thats fine with me.

Alright, time to get a nice mid-day buzz! ciao

[Joe Dirt]

My moms old 4th gen had a pro kit and I drove that thing hard and never once bottomed the suspension



The stops are progressive (tapered) , chances are you never noticed it if you werent looking for it . If you drove it hard it would have been on the stops guaranteed . The sportline rates are 360 # front and 80 - 130 # rear . Suspension tech run 428 # / 171# linear rate, a much better combo with about equal drop.

A good stiff out of the box cometition coil is the LGM G2 Super Spring set. 580 # linear front / 180 - 230 # progressive rear. I run 500 # / 200 # linear rate Eibach ERS coils and like them alot . Not very ruff around town and awsome between 160 - 240 kmph where soft coils float.

I just want people to know there are some really cool spring sets availible for our cars that can extract alot more potential from your Fbody if you should choose to :)

[79 Z28]

yes, indeed. twitch is a handling nut ;D there are lots of performance combos out there that really do a good job, just takes some research and some knowhow to get the job gone. great info 8)

[89vert]

Anyone know why they say you can't put sportlines in a third gen vert?

[Joe Dirt]

My guess would be weight all else being equal. What do 3rd gen verts weigh ?

[Mike K]

I've got sportlines on my 95 and no you can't bottom out on the stops let alone push it down with your hands.At least I haven't. They aren't bad for mostly street and I've even autoxed on them. They are better than stock at 360in/lb and match the 1LE specs in the front. I like them but I've also got bilsteins so maybe that helps. A soft spring like the sportlines likes a big swaybar and a tighter spring like a smaller one so you can tune your suspension anyway you want depending on the spring rates.

However it's time to move on so I'll be installing my G2 springs(550in/lb) with my Strano revalved bilsteins tonite. I just hope t doesn't rattle my brains out on the street.

[Joe Dirt]

I think your missing the point . When you lower your vehicle you reduce your travel and in turn must substantialy increase spring rate to compensate. OEM gm coils are 292 # / 114 # . Ile coils bump that to a more respectable 360 #/ 130-180 #. You cant chop 2" from your effective suspension and only add a couple # to the spring rate. And once again , I guarantee your on the stops. Before you do the swap humble me with a simple test. Mark the stop and go run your car. Or look under the car at the contact point , betcha its shiney.

[Joe Dirt]

Mmmm shiney :p

http://www3.telus.net/public/a7a74501/sportline.jpg

[79 Z28]

side note: i wish the whole undeside of my car was shiny like that :P ;D

[Mike K]

I'm not missing your point Dave, I was just defending what I had on my car. The sportlines were good for what I wanted and aren't that bad for a daily driver. Now that they are OFF the car(as of yesterday) I will say that the stops are a little shiny. ;D

[Joe Dirt]

Lol I didnt know it was you . Just noticed your sig. :D

What other new mods have you done to the vert ?? Have you driven on the LGM / Strano combo yet ??

I didnt know how much I was on the stops with the sports either until I was told to look. After that I started feeling it and it drove me crazy . I put 10 $ in gas in at a time and still was hitting them just driving around :-X

[Mike K]

I haven't driven much on the strano combo yet but it feels real tight driving around the block. I've also got an ST35mm front bar and a 1LE rear bar on there. I may switch to the stock rear bar to keep the rear softer for autox. The only thing left to do suspension wise is subframe connectors/roll bar and a torque arm.

I've got some shiney RKsport 1 3/4 headers and the Taylor OTVC kit sitting on the shelf which I'll probably do next week or so. I just did springs/shox on two cars this weekind and if i see another wrench I'll cry :'(

You think I'll be on the stops with the G2/strano setup? How does yours handle? My spring rates are close to yours so I may take ya ;) Get that thing to boundary bay and we'll eat some non-fbodies.

[Joe Dirt]

I haven't driven much on the strano combo yet but it feels real tight driving around the block. I've also got an ST35mm front bar and a 1LE rear bar on there. I may switch to the stock rear bar to keep the rear softer for autox. The only thing left to do suspension wise is subframe connectors/roll bar and a torque arm.


I dont get any substantial roll with the stock sways ( that I notice anyways ) but I was thinking of the St 35mm front bar also. Im going to leave my rear bar stock as the butt end seems to like where its at . As far as mechanicle grip the car feels so solid now its night and day . I have to do sub frames next also , I have rippled my quarter panels on both sides already :o I also have to get rid of my heavy azz Poly lca's that I bought back in the day :-X

How does yours handle? My spring rates are close to yours so I may take ya Get that thing to boundary bay and we'll eat some non-fbodies.


I think you'll llove the new setup !! Where I notice the biggest gain is over 150 kmph . The chassis used to float alot but now its extremly stable and easy to control . In all honesty I dont know how well it will do at Ax as its pretty stiff .

Im interested to see how you find the "harshness" of the new spring rates. I have a theory that the sportline suspension relies so heavily on the bump rubbers to make up the missing coil stiffness it is effectively stiffer when drivcen hard.

Basicaly bump rubbers > 500 # coils

I found the new combo more jarring over slow bumpy roads/ speed bumps and areas where the mushy progressive rate springs would soak it up , but amazingly smoother and softer over high speed transitions and dips and aggresive corners . I was also amazed at how solid the rear is with the stiff coils. Its easier to control going into a hard corner ( doesnt try to skip out anymore ) . This may be another side effect of the rubbers efectively jumping the spring rate from 130 # to whatevr a solid chunk of rubber would be equivlant to and skipping the back end lose .

You have to hook us up with a review when you get some miles on . :D

[Mike K]

Yeah those rubber stopers are more like a jounce bumper or a really stiff spring. I'll put some time on the new setup soon and let you know :)

[79 Z28]

yay, i wanna hear, this is interesting. i wanna know how it goes also ;D

[Joe Dirt]

yay, i wanna hear, this is interesting. i wanna know how it goes also

Just for that we not tell you :P

Yeah those rubber stopers are more like a jounce bumper or a really stiff spring. I'll put some time on the new setup soon and let you know

Hey did you notice a 1/2 inch alluminum spacer between the bumber and the body mount when you were in there Mike ?

[79 Z28]

:'( im sad now

[Joe Dirt]

Muhahahahaaa !! :)

[Mike K]

Hey did you notice a 1/2 inch alluminum spacer between the bumber and the body mount when you were in there Mike ?
No I didn't notice anything like that.

I took some high speed corners today and with the big front bar all I can say is this setup is REALLY tight ;D. There is no body roll at all. I'm very happy so far. I can see how in a high speed curve she'll stick like glue(or untill my tires give). Definitely need the best tires now. Its funny how regular driving and bumps are better as well. It almost feels like some SFCs were installed.

[79 Z28]

now install some SFC's ;D

[Draco]

I took some high speed corners today and with the big front bar all I can say is this setup is REALLY tight ;D. There is no body roll at all. I'm very happy so far. I can see how in a high speed curve she'll stick like glue(or untill my tires give). Definitely need the best tires now. Its funny how regular driving and bumps are better as well. It almost feels like some SFCs were installed.



Hey that LGM setup sounds familiar! Glad it's working for ya - now get yer ass out to Boundary Bay with some race rubber. I think you will be understeering with that big front bar, but you could try runing from 315's up front to help with that :).

[Joe Dirt]

I took some high speed corners today and with the big front bar all I can say is this setup is REALLY tight . There is no body roll at all. I'm very happy so far. I can see how in a high speed curve she'll stick like glue(or untill my tires give). Definitely need the best tires now. Its funny how regular driving and bumps are better as well. It almost feels like some SFCs were installed.



Awsome !! :D