Coilover choice for Daily that gets more fun from twisties than 0-60s - Page 2 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Robmnrd · 09-01-2023, 05:17 PM

I will try to get pictures for you guys, too.

She looks great - final height(s) were as follows:

Driver front: 26.25 inch
Passenger front: 26.125 inch
Driver rear: 26.125 inch
Passenger rear: 26 inch

These measurements are without me in the car. I weigh ~225lbs, so with me in the driver's seat the intention is for it to basically end up totally even from side to side and to allow for a small amount of settling in front compared to the rear, so after some time it should basically all end up right around 26 inch at all four corners when I am sitting in the thing.

From the factory GM allows for some stupid amount of variance in height - like anywhere from 26.5 to 27.5 inch from corner to corner is "fine" by them (based on what I've researched). A full inch of possible variance is 'normal' lol. Well..now it is far more exact than that.

Robmnrd · 09-01-2023, 05:58 PM

I will also give an unnamed shout-out to the shop that did the work.

If anyone in Central Texas is looking for a good shop with good guys, I will happily (privately) recommend this shop. I don't want to go naming them off on here without their permission though, even if I have almost entirely positive things to say about them.

The guys in the shop did a great job. It did take a couple days longer than I anticipated, but for me quality of work is most important and they did work hard for me to not have the car in the shop any longer.

Their out-the-door alignment is actually superb from a driving standpoint. It tracks straight, doesn't follow crowns, and they *do* set up racecars on a regular basis so they are skilled at it, they just don't have the apparatuses to dial in to exact measures like a streetcar kind of needs for thousands and thousands of tire-friendly miles. As such, even though I like how it drives, I will be getting it aligned next week because Nittos are expensive and I do need them to last their full life without wearing super oddly lol.

They offered to let me stop by anytime in the next week-ish (before I leave for my drive to Michigan) to put it up on the lift and do a once-over, make sure everything is still snug and where it should be, etc. Really actually taking care of me/my car instead of just booting me out the door and taking my money. Heck they refused to take payment today until after I took it for a quick spin around the block to make sure the settings on the coilovers were at least acceptable for the coming days.

Brutale arancia · 09-02-2023, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSgt O

BULL....I live up here and we have PLENTY of bad roads...just not the ones the fudgies drive on....tourist $$$ gotta make it!!!

And OP, if you want to go for a nice twisty ride along the lake, let me know. I live in Cheboygan and can show you around some if you come this far north!

My mistake, I didn't know Cheboygan was part of the UP.

MontanaFlyFisher · 09-06-2023, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robmnrd

So the shop came through for me and finished the car up today. Just got home (~75 minutes of driving including the drive from the shop, and stopping off to wash the car as well as go to the pharmacy lol).

I did not get the opportunity to throw her into some corners just yet (I do take drive safety seriously, and I had no opportunities to truly screw around..) but I plan to write more reviews over the coming month(s) as I drive it and have fun with it. I did push it just a hair on some open sweeping curves and a little 2-lane slaloming here and there just to get a feel for it though, which I will comment on briefly.

First Impressions:

I have two primary first impressions.

1. Ride quality is actually very good. Within the context of "modified suspension", I would actually say it is excellent. I spent so little time in 'comfort' mode with the stock suspension that I honestly don't really remember what it was like, but reaching waaayyy back in my memory I want to say that ride quality is somewhere between 'Tour' and 'Sport' settings.
Something along these lines:

Tour>>>>>>Coilovers>>>Sport

The ride quality is closer to "Sport" mode than "Tour", but still in between.

These coilovers are very adjustable, and I have them set up how Pedders (the company that makes them) suggests for an "aggressive daily driver". I, personally, could live with them being even stiffer given I always was in Sport mode anyway. But for the time being I'm going to just let them be and see how I like the overall performance as is.

2. Upgrade your swaybars. Obviously a fully-function suspension overall makes the biggest difference in handling and handling characteristics, but I mean wow. The stock front/rear do a great job. They really do. But even just with a liiiiiiittle bit of fun today I noticed a difference in body shift/roll and I can't wait to actually go out and push it a little bit.

I will say that based on my research (I am trying to find the tech article I read this in that explained it really well) GM originally set up the swaybar combo stock to help keep drivers safe - they would help with allowing the car to act more predictably at near loss of traction and just beyond loss of traction - they were set up for a very predictable amount of over/understeer right at that point. That's why (unlike mustangs) ZL1s aren't constantly shooting off into crowds of people when they bust the rear end loose. This combo from Pedders is less forgiving right at that loss of traction point - I learned this when leaving the shop (rural road, very open, just gave it the beans basically) and I had to actually drive the car instead of just lazily doing what I had become so accustomed to from years and years of driving it stock whenever I felt like busting the rears loose.
The front swaybar is adjustable, and between that and potentially a little fine-tuning with the coilovers I'm sure it could feel more like stock if someone felt so inclined.

Other Impressions:

Compared to the magride, you do feel more of the little road imperfections. They are not aggressive or uncomfortable by any means - it's just that I used to drive over a crack in the road or maybe some of those asphalt filler lines and basically not notice it at all - now I do. But that's it, I just notice it. They genuinely aren't annoying. They're just there now.

On some longer sweeping curves I just gave it a bit of juice to feel for stability and I was pleasantly surprised. Honestly it was almost like the more I gave it, the more stable it became. I don't know if that makes sense..but it's what I felt.

Please keep in mind the context for these initial impressions: I had been driving ~8000 miles on struts needing replacement, though it wasn't until the last ~1000 or so miles that I truly felt it as they'd started to visibly leak sometime in that period. Additionally, I reserve the right to update, add, remove, alter, etc., any/all points given this is literally the first time I drove the thing.

Thanks for taking the time to type this up and share with the community. I am looking forward to your thoughts after your trip!

MSgt O · 09-06-2023, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brutale arancia

My mistake, I didn't know Cheboygan was part of the UP.

last time I checked, I am 15 minutes from the bridge, have a son in St Ignace, and wife is from the Soo. I am in the U.P. alot...but go on with your bad self...

Brutale arancia · 09-09-2023, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSgt O

last time I checked, I am 15 minutes from the bridge, have a son in St Ignace, and wife is from the Soo. I am in the U.P. alot...but go on with your bad self...

I spent a week in the Hiawatha National Forest spending tourist $$$$. No sightseeing, fudge or pasties. Not representative of the entire Upper Pennisula. Apologies.

ZMEnow · 09-09-2023, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brutale arancia

I spent a week in the Hiawatha National Forest spending tourist $$$$. No sightseeing, fudge or pasties. Not representative of the entire Upper Pennisula. Apologies.

That's some good eating there..

Robmnrd · 09-17-2023, 10:14 AM

Sorry I haven't been updating - it's been busy this trip (lots of driving around, lots of family visiting, etc.) and not relaxing at all lol!

I'll write up a good long review post-road-trip probably on Tuesday.

I'll very quickly say though, for anyone on the fence about doing this conversion, if you end up in a situation where you need to make the choice because one or more of your OEM pieces has fully bit the dust - just do it. You won't be as upset about it as you think, especially when you are back to being able to drive/enjoy the car to the fullest possible extent instead of dealing with the significantly decreased ride and performance quality associated with gone-bad shock absorbers.

If you have the time, gumption, money, etc., etc., to find OEM pieces, do that. But if/when the time comes that you don't have all of that - you won't be disappointed in a good coilover setup.

09-01-2023, 05:17 PM	#15
Robmnrd Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Texas Posts: 111	I will try to get pictures for you guys, too. She looks great - final height(s) were as follows: Driver front: 26.25 inch Passenger front: 26.125 inch Driver rear: 26.125 inch Passenger rear: 26 inch These measurements are without me in the car. I weigh ~225lbs, so with me in the driver's seat the intention is for it to basically end up totally even from side to side and to allow for a small amount of settling in front compared to the rear, so after some time it should basically all end up right around 26 inch at all four corners when I am sitting in the thing. From the factory GM allows for some stupid amount of variance in height - like anywhere from 26.5 to 27.5 inch from corner to corner is "fine" by them (based on what I've researched). A full inch of possible variance is 'normal' lol. Well..now it is far more exact than that.

09-01-2023, 05:58 PM	#16
Robmnrd Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Texas Posts: 111	I will also give an unnamed shout-out to the shop that did the work. If anyone in Central Texas is looking for a good shop with good guys, I will happily (privately) recommend this shop. I don't want to go naming them off on here without their permission though, even if I have almost entirely positive things to say about them. The guys in the shop did a great job. It did take a couple days longer than I anticipated, but for me quality of work is most important and they did work hard for me to not have the car in the shop any longer. Their out-the-door alignment is actually superb from a driving standpoint. It tracks straight, doesn't follow crowns, and they do set up racecars on a regular basis so they are skilled at it, they just don't have the apparatuses to dial in to exact measures like a streetcar kind of needs for thousands and thousands of tire-friendly miles. As such, even though I like how it drives, I will be getting it aligned next week because Nittos are expensive and I do need them to last their full life without wearing super oddly lol. They offered to let me stop by anytime in the next week-ish (before I leave for my drive to Michigan) to put it up on the lift and do a once-over, make sure everything is still snug and where it should be, etc. Really actually taking care of me/my car instead of just booting me out the door and taking my money. Heck they refused to take payment today until after I took it for a quick spin around the block to make sure the settings on the coilovers were at least acceptable for the coming days.

09-17-2023, 10:14 AM	#22
Robmnrd Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Texas Posts: 111	Sorry I haven't been updating - it's been busy this trip (lots of driving around, lots of family visiting, etc.) and not relaxing at all lol! I'll write up a good long review post-road-trip probably on Tuesday. I'll very quickly say though, for anyone on the fence about doing this conversion, if you end up in a situation where you need to make the choice because one or more of your OEM pieces has fully bit the dust - just do it. You won't be as upset about it as you think, especially when you are back to being able to drive/enjoy the car to the fullest possible extent instead of dealing with the significantly decreased ride and performance quality associated with gone-bad shock absorbers. If you have the time, gumption, money, etc., etc., to find OEM pieces, do that. But if/when the time comes that you don't have all of that - you won't be disappointed in a good coilover setup.