PEDDERS.XA or supercars. who has. your opinion

[turborenegade]

hey members. looking to improve ride quality of my 2011 2SS/RS/M6. and lower my car. i am looking at pedders supercar or XA complete strut package. anybody have experience with these and your opinion.they are advertised to greatly improve ride quality. who has best price on these,forum member or website. let me here from you. thanks.

[My 5th]

What you really want is someone who originally put on lowering springs, then switched to coilovers later. I have the Pedders Xa's, and the ride quality is almost as good as stock, but I probably could spend a little more time adjusting the shock valving. I've tried it at 12 clicks hard, then backed off to 10 clicks. It's still a little firm at that setting, but 90% of the time that's the way I want it. The 10% it's too harsh is going over sharp bumps a little too fast I've hit my head on the sunroof--I'm 5' 11 and 15/16ths" tall, so normally I have adequate headroom. (The 1/16" is for shrinkage due to advanced age)

[turborenegade]

my 5th. thanks for the info. i would like to keep the ride as good as stock but preferrably better than stock. i have read on this forum that some of the lowering springs make the ride a lot stiffer. i want to stay away from that. thats why i was looking at going with coil overs. pedders and KW both claim more comfortable ride than stock. i am 6'5'' and dont have any head room to play with. thanks man

[Redemption]

I had springs first, and then switched to Xa's. Springs WILL change the ride quality. It all depends on how sensitive you are. The Xa's are AWESOME! Being able to make adjustments to suit your needs. Firm it up for some fun, dial it back to keep the wife happy.

Havent ridden in a "Supercar" equipped Camaro yet, but I can only imagine that they are even better!

Buy the best you can afford, they CAN be installed at home. But make sure you take your car to a great alignment shop afterwards. The alignment will make or break the install and performance.

[axis]

Harsher ride is totally a persons perspective. I have the Pfadt springs and like them. Yes they are a little harsher than stock but anytime you put stiffer springs on a car, ride is going to get stiffer too. The question is, what is too harsh. What I noticed is that driving on flat roads with some bumps is pretty much like stock. On smooth roads, it's nice and smooth. Any small bumps you hit are cushioned and rebound nicely but firmer. It's when you go over big bumps at in the road or hit big potholes at >40mph that you feel the stiffness. CO's will probably give you a better ride but you're talking about spending $1200+ on a good set vs $300-350 for a set of drop springs. Just remember that generally the lower you go, the stiffer the springs. Also, if you keep the drop 1.25in or less, you'll avoid having to buy alignment parts to get within OEM alignment specs.

[speeD3m0n2010]

I have the Pedders Track II suspension system. It all depends on what you want to do, Track Day, Dragstrip, Auto-X or Daily driving. I currently have the settings at 22 clicks front and 19 clicks rear and using it as a daily driver until my truck gets fixed. Its not stiff for me at that setting for my daily driving needs. I do 95% Track days at Willow Springs, Streets of Willow and Button Willow. But if you are going to be Tracking it like I do, go with the Supercar system. It has a fully adjustable Dampner and rebound system. If this system was out last year, I would've went with the Supercar. I have no problems with my Pedders suspension. Even on public roads (Bonneville 100) at a sustained speed of 110mph and including speeds up to 124mph over 100 miles. This system has not showed me any failure(s) yet. I'm your average consumer, I don't have deep pockets and plenty of track experience thru motorcycles and now a car. I hope this helps.

[flyby]

I have XA coil overs (which came as part of the Drag Pack). The suspension change can't be described, it has to be experienced. The improvement is beyond belief. Such a small change has an enormous effect. Just my .02

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by turborenegade

hey members. looking to improve ride quality of my 2011 2SS/RS/M6. and lower my car. i am looking at pedders supercar or XA complete strut package. anybody have experience with these and your opinion.they are advertised to greatly improve ride quality. who has best price on these,forum member or website. let me here from you. thanks.

Lower your car and improve ride quality is generally an incompatible statement. There is no way that you lower a Camaro or any car with lowering springs and get improved ride quality with less jounce travel and higher rate springs. Can you improve handling with lowering coils -- yes. Will lowering coils ruin ride quality -- no. Will lowering coils improve ride quality -- not if you are defining ride quality in a straight line bumpy. To make the statement my lowering coils improved ride quality, ride quality would have to include handling and not be measured solely by how the lowering coils perform on a washboard roads and the worst bumps.

What is unique about the Pedders coilover range is height is adjusted by screwing the monotube into or out of the lower mount. Spring pre-compression and jounce / bound travel remain the same regardless of the ride height you adjust to. Pedders Xa coilovers will give you an outstanding ride quality that is more German than OE, but in no way harsh. Is the ride quality better than OE-- that would be a subjective statement, but I would say no. It is very close, but not quite OE.

Pedders Supercar Coilovers are 52mm monotubes compared to the 46mm Xa and most other coilovers on the market. They have reservoirs that look to be beer can size. The massive increase in oil volume and the increase in piston diameter combine to silky smooth control. Because they adjust for height just like the Xa -- screwing into or out of the lower mount -- jounce / bound travel is unchanged regardless of ride height. Combine height adjustment of this design with the massive oil volume and you end up with a ride quality that is in my customer's opinions better than OE.

Originally Posted by 600hp-lpe

You did a great job designing these shocks.. I love the outcome! nice smooth ride, handles bumps very well, and has adjustability to play at the race track to dial in the suspension.

Too bad I only have 3 more autoX events, at least I have the baseline established for the car and shouldn't need any more parts.. it's just a matter of tuning and adjusting it from this point onwards.

Thanks Pete... Couldn't have had a better base to start with than what I have right now, courtesy of Pedders and all your hard work. Although.. if you have anything cooking that may help me in that secret test lab of a Camaro you have, send me a PM so we can discuss.

Originally Posted by mws444

They are worth it! I love them!

For a very high quality Camaro lowered ride quality Pedders GMPP licensed Xa coilovers will do a great job. For what I and my customer's find to be a better than OE ride quality there is nothing on the market that compares to Pedders GMPP licensed Supercar Coilovers. One ride in a Supercar equipped Camaro and you will be spoiled for life.

[600hp-lpe]

I had Pedders Xa's and just upgraded to the Pedders Supercar Coilovers.

I am now spoiled.. I want this "Platinum Ride" quality on all my vehicles. Being able to adjust for various track conditions is another big plus.

I would highly recommend Pedders for your suspension needs.
Their Customer service has been outstanding!

[radz28]

Having rode in a car with Xas, to say I was impressed was an understatement. On irregularities that I SWORE would cause the suspension to crash, or loose control, or step-out, and NOT, I was totally floored (this car was only equipped additionally with another companies swaybars, and no other suspension mods'). There was an onramp Mindz took, that I SO saw a huge dip in, that made my balloon knot pucker when we went through it with not even a squeal from the tires; that sold me on coilovers when my time comes. The ride quality was hardly more jarring than my '02 Z, and the settings were about the middle of the range. I know unless GM does something totally exciting (or actually uses one of the companies that have already posted or were referred to in this thread), I know this is the direction I'll be going. I've yet to ride in a car with Supercars or Pfadt coilovers, but if the Xas are any indication of what I could expect - I'd be happier than a pig in you-know-what Personally - I don't think you can go wrong with either of these companies.

JMVHO.

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by 600hp-lpe

I had Pedders Xa's and just upgraded to the Pedders Supercar Coilovers.

I am now spoiled.. I want this "Platinum Ride" quality on all my vehicles. Being able to adjust for various track conditions is another big plus.

I would highly recommend Pedders for your suspension needs.
Their Customer service has been outstanding!

Thank you sir.

[ZX1truth]

Hey Justice Pete.........how about getting a GROUP BUY for the XA's started! I'm ready!

[mws444]

I have the supercar coilovers on my car and I can tell you first hand you can go from softer than stock to track ready rock hard and anywhere in between. I have tracked the car with them and they are amazing, I wish I had more tire, and more time to tweak them some more, but every track is different, so I it is a good thing they are so adjustable.
The bushings are also part of the package if you want true handeling, just PM Pete and he will absolutely fix you up.
I would not change a thing, when it comes to my suspension.....I Love It!

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by ZX1truth

Hey Justice Pete.........how about getting a GROUP BUY for the XA's started! I'm ready!

Hmmm....