coilver recommendations by members who use them..

[NC_SG_SS]

all,
i was all set after what i thought was doing my homework to purchase pedders camaro street Xa kit, with the sports ryder coilvers. i like the pedders lineup and quality, but i liked the fact they were GMPP cert'd and are a great product. i have talked to peddersUSA peeps in MI and they are always helpful...i was autofair in concord, NC at the charlotte motor speedway this weekend. i good friend of mine, who's identity i will protect, was not a big fan of the pedders coilovers, saying he knew of a lot of returns for them not holding up on streetroad, example hitting an unavoidable pothole. i still think pedders are excellent equipment, but before i depart with up to 2k of hard earned money i wanted to get some opinions of people who drive the parts. His recommendation was BMR. I was also recommended Eibcah equipment by the guys from kevin morgan designs. So, let me say this was not a average car guy, so i was pretty shocked. I am back to considering BMR, Eibach, and Pfadt.
my intention is to run of street only, but hard, and something that is height adjustable, and adjust the dampening, the and can handle an unavoidable pothole. i am not saying pedders will not ultimately be my final choice, i just decided to cast the line to get real world opinion. I am planing to do a modest lowering with a little rake to maintain the muscle car look. i still plan to get pedders subframe bushing inserts, and power steering inserts..
Thanks for all the opinions good or bad, and ultimately i have to do my own research, and be responsible for my buying choices.
many thanks as i know this question gets asked and answered a ton of times. Things change and products improve so i ask again to get current products and info..
thanks!!!

[GTAHVIT]

For what you are doing I think any thing comparable to the pedders XA coilovers will work for you. I went with the pedders supercar COs. But a good friend upgraded from drop springs to XAs and is very happy with them.

For what it's worth threads like this usually become a popularity contest.

If you ate asking me? I couldn't be happier with Pedders but I don't think spending money with any other of our suspension companies would be a mistake.

[Mr Twisty]

The sales peeps need to leave this thread alone... Let the people speak

[NC_SG_SS]

thanks for the quick reply, i know that most of what u get on the forum is opinion, but there is a lot roadworthy feedback as well. i saw the new supercar COs, but that is 4k or so, and a superior product, but i dont want or need to spend that much for my purposes. I came from an 07 Z06, and trying to get that neutral feel of that car, it handled like a dream. i never tracked it, just loved driving in hard on curvy roads. I left it all stock, and while it was a bone jarring ride, i never got bothered since that is was it was ahahah, stripped down race car. I want to get my camaro to a similar level that lets me drive it hard on the street. I see the big 4 being the most recommended and used, BMR, Pedders, Eibach, and Padft. I know Padft(i never spell it right, my apologies) is the stock eq in the camaro SSX.

Originally Posted by GTAHVIT

For what you are doing I think any thing comparable to the pedders XA coilovers will work for you. I went with the pedders supercar COs. But a good friend upgraded from drop springs to XAs and is very happy with them.

For what it's worth threads like this usually become a popularity contest.

If you ate asking me? I couldn't be happier with Pedders but I don't think spending money with any other of our suspension companies would be a mistake.

[Mr Twisty]

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I spend a lot of time in the suspension threads. I rarely ever see complaints of any of them, and never seen a thread concerning failure of a strut/shock. I do have to give kudo's to Pete Basica from Pedders for making himself available to the website, answering questions and helping with issues, even when it's not his product.

[blazzin1]

I can't really comment on the other brands, but I just recently bought and installed the Pfadt coilovers. I think they're great!!! They look like a work of art, easy to install, and so far they perform flawlessly on the street!!! They have exceeded all my expectations.

[Hwystr]

Pfadt, in conjuction with the subframe bushings, race sway bars, trailing arms, and diff bushing, the ride is damn near perfect. You can feel enough feedback without being jolted over the rough patches. Played around with the adjustments and settled on 10 ( sporty street), I can take cloverleafs 75mph + and feel practically no body roll and feel lots of grip.

[NC_SG_SS]

thanks to everyone so far who has replied to my thread, and everyone's honesty. still researching products..sent some PMs to the replies for additional info...many thanks!

[Doc]

No matter what you do, there's always somebody who has "lots of stories" and I've learned over the years that in most cases they tend to be just that... stories. I have the Pedder's Xa coilovers and bushings and the car's performance is taut, snug, quiet and handles like a dream. I drove it that way for about a year before I added Pfadt sways and rear trailing arms. It's a great combo. Both companies are top notch and I cannot imagine Pedders not backing up their products; if there were "a bunch of failures" like these "stories" suggest you'd hear about it everywhere and I've personally never heard that ANYwhere. From my personal experience and anybody I've ever talked to who actually owns and uses Pedders, I've heard nothing but praise. Even people who might have initially had problems due to installation or whatever, they've found Pedders to be great to work with and they've been able to sort things out.

I've not had any issues with either Pedders or Pfadt. I just had Pfadt engine mounts installed so my car is a genuine mix of both companies and they're both great. Pedders is aimed at street performance that can also be used on track, while Pfadt is aimed at race performance that can also be used on the street. Race performance has the highest level of requirements so Pfadt's stuff is engineered to that level and is priced accordingly.

You'll have to decide what type of driving you're going to do the most and perhaps that can help you decide which products to choose. I'm planning on doing more track events but mostly my car is driven on the street so I chose Pedders for coilovers and bushings for the ride, but Pfadt for sways, trailing arms and engine mounts (just added Bassani LT headers and cats so I wanted the increased power kept under control) for track conditions. I know Pedders makes sways that would be good for both but I have this thing about reducing weight on the car so I chose Pfadt because their sways are lighter.

I've never used BMR or Eibach so I can't say anything about them. I have had experience with lowering springs before and for me they mess up the ride just a little bit too much. The dropped look is great but I'm too old to put up with those kinds of ride compromises. The Pedders coilovers (and I'm sure Pfadt would do the same) are a vastly superior way of lowering the car while maintaining ride quality. Well worth it to me. And in fact you have 30 positions of adjustments PER CORNER so you can dial in the exact ride and weight balance you want; you can even change it for track and then go back afterwards to your street settings. You cannot do that with springs.

Just my 2 cents.

[NC_SG_SS]

thanks for the honest assessment, i plan to use a mix, and i already have SLP ZL sways on the car with a a moderate setting. I found out they were probably made by Eibach. as for the stories, this was from a pedders dealer, and with respect to Pete and the guys there who have been pretty helpful with me, i didnt want to expose him(the dealer) to any backlash from pedders, he likes their equip, but not a fan of the Xa coilovers and has had issues with the ones they have installed. I have to take it as an opinion and further, i wasnt planning to purchase my pedders equipment from him anyway. i filter it against other peoples experiences. there are a lot of factors that may have contributed it, but it wasnt done correctly, it was just a consideration. he recommended the pedders lowering springs, and other products, such as the supercar coilovers. that is too pricey and overkill for my needs. I dont track, but i want a strong street car, that car handle the curves (mountain roads here)with with the potential of the track, and i ruled out lowering springs and have decided to use coilovers, easier to install, and align, and obviously most are loaded with good range of adjustment. I still plan to use pedders for subframe bushing inserts, and some other inserts so like u said a good mix it the way to go for me. i am not here to bash pedders, because this is forum to discuss and share personal experiences, i am still a big fan of their stuff. Ultimately the XAs may be the best choice with my use and setup. thanks for the honest info!!!

Originally Posted by Doc

No matter what you do, there's always somebody who has "lots of stories" and I've learned over the years that in most cases they tend to be just that... stories. I have the Pedder's Xa coilovers and bushings and the car's performance is taut, snug, quiet and handles like a dream. I drove it that way for about a year before I added Pfadt sways and rear trailing arms. It's a great combo. Both companies are top notch and I cannot imagine Pedders not backing up their products; if there were "a bunch of failures" like these "stories" suggest you'd hear about it everywhere and I've personally never heard that ANYwhere. From my personal experience and anybody I've ever talked to who actually owns and uses Pedders, I've heard nothing but praise. Even people who might have initially had problems due to installation or whatever, they've found Pedders to be great to work with and they've been able to sort things out.

I've not had any issues with either Pedders or Pfadt. I just had Pfadt engine mounts installed so my car is a genuine mix of both companies and they're both great. Pedders is aimed at street performance that can also be used on track, while Pfadt is aimed at race performance that can also be used on the street. Race performance has the highest level of requirements so Pfadt's stuff is engineered to that level and is priced accordingly.

You'll have to decide what type of driving you're going to do the most and perhaps that can help you decide which products to choose. I'm planning on doing more track events but mostly my car is driven on the street so I chose Pedders for coilovers and bushings for the ride, but Pfadt for sways, trailing arms and engine mounts (just added Bassani LT headers and cats so I wanted the increased power kept under control) for track conditions. I know Pedders makes sways that would be good for both but I have this thing about reducing weight on the car so I chose Pfadt because their sways are lighter.

I've never used BMR or Eibach so I can't say anything about them. I have had experience with lowering springs before and for me they mess up the ride just a little bit too much. The dropped look is great but I'm too old to put up with those kinds of ride compromises. The Pedders coilovers (and I'm sure Pfadt would do the same) are a vastly superior way of lowering the car while maintaining ride quality. Well worth it to me. And in fact you have 30 positions of adjustments PER CORNER so you can dial in the exact ride and weight balance you want; you can even change it for track and then go back afterwards to your street settings. You cannot do that with springs.

Just my 2 cents.

[My 5th]

I've had Pedders Xa's and their Solution B sway bars installed for almost a year and around 12K-13K miles daily driving in all kinds of weather with ZERO problems (once we got the initial sway bar end clearance problems resolved). I also have the bushing inserts, and have noticed a slight NVH increase, but otherwise just a firmer than stock ride.

My only objection is the Xa's don't clean themselves. I have to actually get the carwash wand under there and hose them off my self!

[Rob@WretchedMS]

I have sold a large number of Pedders coilovers, for the Camaro and other models, and there have been very very few problems at all, and none that i'm aware of on the Camaro.

I'd have to ask if your friend was biased based on good information or if he was using 3rd hand misinformation that was given by a competitor again.

I can assure you that the Pedders coilovers are top notch, and problem free for your Camaro. But in the event that a problem did arise, Pedders' top notch warranty program will take care of you and your Camaro.

[NC_SG_SS]

this was firsthand info based on people he deals with directly, and sells to. i am not doubting Pedders warranty or customer service, Pete and the crew in MI are excellent. the concern was over issues encountered over real world street roads, not track courses, esp.unavoidable potholes. Again it was not a slam on pedders, but friendy advice based on their experience with several people he delt directly with. I still plan to use several other pedders parts including subframe inserts etc, that are included in the street Xa package.

Originally Posted by Rob@WretchedMS

I have sold a large number of Pedders coilovers, for the Camaro and other models, and there have been very very few problems at all, and none that i'm aware of on the Camaro.

I'd have to ask if your friend was biased based on good information or if he was using 3rd hand misinformation that was given by a competitor again.

I can assure you that the Pedders coilovers are top notch, and problem free for your Camaro. But in the event that a problem did arise, Pedders' top notch warranty program will take care of you and your Camaro.

[Rob@WretchedMS]

not sure what problems he experienced, I have run them on my GTO for 2 years, and about 35,000 miles, i drive every day snow, rain, shine doesn't matter. Our roads are terrible in the winter with potholes and such.

i'd like to hear more about your friends problems, can you pm me details?