Upgrading Struts/Shocks Options Under $1k

[2014white2ssrs1le]

I did some poking around and haven't seen much on the topic as far as comparing the aftermarket struts/shocks available out there. It seems ~60k is what most are getting out of their struts/shocks depending on situation. I am at 50k, so i'm staring to look. Please let me know if I missed anything or you want to add anything. Just trying to break things down to make the decision easier.

Cost (cheapest to expensive for a set of 4)

Koni STR.T (Orange) ~$450
1LE ~$500
Pedders ~$530
Koni Sport (Yellows) ~$770
Bilstein B6 ~$800

Ride feel (soft to firmest) This is where it gets complicated...

**I cant find any info on the Pedders product** anyone have thoughts?

Koni STR.T
1LE
Bilstein B6
Koni Sport (adjustable - It seems stiffest setting is the stiffest of the group, but haven't seem much detail on the softest setting...?)

Side note - I found a lot of great talk about Bilstein B6s especially as an upgrade for the 1LE

I am very interested in the pedders product and how soft the softest Koni Sport setting feels.

Thanks.

[SSEssence]

There are a few coilover options under 1k as well such as Megan Racing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MEGAN-RACIN...mb0N:rk:2:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-2015-C...e4Oi:rk:1:pf:0

[Clarkstar]

I just ordered a set of Pedders coilovers this morning... $910 on Amazon.

[derieu]

Go Bilstein

[bkevind]

Bilstein. Proper mono tube, vs twin tube in Koni. Research it, don't take my word for it.

**There is a lot of rambling opinions below, to summarize one take away that is most important IMO = don't waste money on cheap "upgrades". I've been messing around with cars for just about 20 years with my primary interest in turns/twisties/racetracks**

The adjustability of Koni sports isn't exactly what you think. It's more useful to match shocks (using a shock dyno) and to be able to increase firmness as they begin to wear. And unless they've changed the design, they are not adjustable while on the vehicle.

A properly designed damper for the application should not need constant adjustments...Bilstein has the edge here IMO. Koni also have a great reputation, I'm just not a fan, and if I were you I would completely discard the lowest level of offerings, I think it'd be a downgrade from OEM 1LE.

Cheap coilover packages will also most likely be a downgrade from OEM, except for ride heigh adjustment. I've had cheap coilovers. The best I had for cheap c/o was H&R ride height only adjustable on one of my Audi A4's. That kit was so well designed for the street - buttery smooth, comfortably firm. The dampers were tuned in perfectly to the springs, and the springs were spec'd perfectly for the car.

The other "good" one I had was BC Racing BR, on a Mazda that I tracked a lot. Street ride was worse, not horrible, but simply not good. Track use it was a slight improvement in lap times, but the OEM mazda dampers declined in performance significantly after the first 10k miles so it wasn't a high bar to reach.

I unfortunately tried "Stance" coilovers for the same Mazda and they were complete garbage from the get go, and cost more than the BC did.

I've had others but those examples come to mind.

One thing I learned from going with springs and damper upgrades, and also going with adjustable coilover upgrades - unless you really need the option to adjust ride height, one of the best performing and least expensive options is to get a good spring and damper combination. From a performance perspective you should only use ride height adjustability with some regularity for corner balancing - the height setting shouldn't need to change much unless you're just doing it for fun and aesthetics.

All the cheaper adjustable dampers...just aren't all that great. Unless you're racing, have high quality dampers, and really need to change spring rates and/or damper settings depending on the track, the tires, the weather, etc then it's just a gimmick for the street or light track use. Yeah it makes some difference to spin the knobs but...IMO better to have a properly built damper that is tuned perfectly with the spring rate and the front to rear balance of the car.

I'm sick of making the same mistakes with buying suspension upgrades...and I'm very pissed at myself for doing it AGAIN recently. So just passing on my once again painfully learned lesson. "Measure twice, cut once"....don't waste money on crappy upgrades that are in fact not upgrades. RESEARCH. If there is no useful data on a particular choice...forget about it (thats what got me this time around, a lack of data, then assumptions on my part).

With mostly track in mind, I'm going with Ohlins, MCS, or with the Multimatics I have in storage. If mostly street, I'd probably buy the Ohlins or the Bilsteins and maybe springs with a slight drop for aesthetics. Meanwhile I'll continue to pogo down the road with my current mistake.

[2014white2ssrs1le]

I feel you...I am not going to do coilovers, but i am leaning towards bilstein...or just stick with the 1LE units.

I mostly wanted to kinda put a thread out there for people searching, like myself, that helps sort out this question.

I am really interested in people's experience of the pedders sportsryder struts/shocks, which seems to not exists out there...

[chuckclanton]

Originally Posted by 2014white2ssrs1le

I did some poking around and haven't seen much on the topic as far as comparing the aftermarket struts/shocks available out there. It seems ~60k is what most are getting out of their struts/shocks depending on situation. I am at 50k, so i'm staring to look. Please let me know if I missed anything or you want to add anything. Just trying to break things down to make the decision easier.

Cost (cheapest to expensive for a set of 4)

Koni STR.T (Orange) ~$450
1LE ~$500
Pedders ~$530
Koni Sport (Yellows) ~$770
Bilstein B6 ~$800

Ride feel (soft to firmest) This is where it gets complicated...

**I cant find any info on the Pedders product** anyone have thoughts?

Koni STR.T
1LE
Bilstein B6
Koni Sport (adjustable - It seems stiffest setting is the stiffest of the group, but haven't seem much detail on the softest setting...?)

Side note - I found a lot of great talk about Bilstein B6s especially as an upgrade for the 1LE

I am very interested in the pedders product and how soft the softest Koni Sport setting feels.

Thanks.

Just bought Pedders Sport Ryder ft struts and rear shocks on Amazon
for $500 no tax or shipping. Also bought Pedders drop springs on ebay
for $247 no tax or shipping. Got the P/Ns on Pedders USA and then shopped on Amazon and Ebay.

[VR Baron]

Originally Posted by bkevind

Bilstein. Proper mono tube, vs twin tube in Koni. Research it, don't take my word for it.

**There is a lot of rambling opinions below, to summarize one take away that is most important IMO = don't waste money on cheap "upgrades". I've been messing around with cars for just about 20 years with my primary interest in turns/twisties/racetracks**

The adjustability of Koni sports isn't exactly what you think. It's more useful to match shocks (using a shock dyno) and to be able to increase firmness as they begin to wear. And unless they've changed the design, they are not adjustable while on the vehicle.

A properly designed damper for the application should not need constant adjustments...Bilstein has the edge here IMO. Koni also have a great reputation, I'm just not a fan, and if I were you I would completely discard the lowest level of offerings, I think it'd be a downgrade from OEM 1LE.

Cheap coilover packages will also most likely be a downgrade from OEM, except for ride heigh adjustment. I've had cheap coilovers. The best I had for cheap c/o was H&R ride height only adjustable on one of my Audi A4's. That kit was so well designed for the street - buttery smooth, comfortably firm. The dampers were tuned in perfectly to the springs, and the springs were spec'd perfectly for the car.

The other "good" one I had was BC Racing BR, on a Mazda that I tracked a lot. Street ride was worse, not horrible, but simply not good. Track use it was a slight improvement in lap times, but the OEM mazda dampers declined in performance significantly after the first 10k miles so it wasn't a high bar to reach.

I unfortunately tried "Stance" coilovers for the same Mazda and they were complete garbage from the get go, and cost more than the BC did.

I've had others but those examples come to mind.

One thing I learned from going with springs and damper upgrades, and also going with adjustable coilover upgrades - unless you really need the option to adjust ride height, one of the best performing and least expensive options is to get a good spring and damper combination. From a performance perspective you should only use ride height adjustability with some regularity for corner balancing - the height setting shouldn't need to change much unless you're just doing it for fun and aesthetics.

All the cheaper adjustable dampers...just aren't all that great. Unless you're racing, have high quality dampers, and really need to change spring rates and/or damper settings depending on the track, the tires, the weather, etc then it's just a gimmick for the street or light track use. Yeah it makes some difference to spin the knobs but...IMO better to have a properly built damper that is tuned perfectly with the spring rate and the front to rear balance of the car.

I'm sick of making the same mistakes with buying suspension upgrades...and I'm very pissed at myself for doing it AGAIN recently. So just passing on my once again painfully learned lesson. "Measure twice, cut once"....don't waste money on crappy upgrades that are in fact not upgrades. RESEARCH. If there is no useful data on a particular choice...forget about it (thats what got me this time around, a lack of data, then assumptions on my part).

With mostly track in mind, I'm going with Ohlins, MCS, or with the Multimatics I have in storage. If mostly street, I'd probably buy the Ohlins or the Bilsteins and maybe springs with a slight drop for aesthetics. Meanwhile I'll continue to pogo down the road with my current mistake.

Yeah been there done that. I had Pedders supercars before they were made on mainland China and about as cheap as bouncy bc’s now. Wrong valving not designed for the car or just to track orientation with to stiff a front spring made for a crappy ride no matter where they were adjusted.
Have ridetechs now with autocross spring rates(10% more then base rates) these are a good example of quality coilovers designed for Camaros. Ride is very good and stable. Handling is great and 1,000,000 mile warranty.
These are better then bc, Pedders or bilstien b6 and drop springs for ride and handling, especially ride, hands down. But you will pay the price difference to.
Get what you pay for!

[2014white2ssrs1le]

Originally Posted by chuckclanton

Just bought Pedders Sport Ryder ft struts and rear shocks on Amazon
for $500 no tax or shipping. Also bought Pedders drop springs on ebay
for $247 no tax or shipping. Got the P/Ns on Pedders USA and then shopped on Amazon and Ebay.

Can you write back on this thread once installed and give us some feedback for the sport ryders?

[chuckclanton]

Originally Posted by 2014white2ssrs1le

Can you write back on this thread once installed and give us some feedback for the sport ryders?

Yes.

[zz430camaro]

Bilstein and Koni Yellow are still unavaliable with no end in site, wondering if they will ever be avaliable again. Kinda wish they would just say they are permently discontinued so I stop looking for them.

[Scotty D]

I was on the Bilstein website. And they say for lowing springs the B8 are the ones to do ?!?! ��*♂️ I really want Bilstein’s but I’m going to just save for the ridetech coilovers and be done with waiting ! ��*♂️

[bkevind]

For inexpensive coilovers, I'm surprised to see that Tirerack has a set of H&R street performance coilovers for the Camaro, I didn't know they made it for this platform.

H&R makes quality stuff, and they are TÜV certified, which is very stringent.

I can't speak to the H&R on the Camaro, but I had a similar set of H&R street performance coilovers on an Audi a4 and they were REALLY good for the money. I'd buy them again for a street set up any time - and they didn't do too bad at the road course either (a little bit soft for a road course junkie setup) They nailed the spring rate and damper setting, so I never missed having twiddly knobs to adjust (they don't have any), and only worried about setting the perfect ride height to taste. I have yet to drive or ride in a car with aftermarket coilovers that worked so well with a mix of street comfort and street performance in mind. That includes my Ridetech HQs.

Tirerack also has the Bilstein PSS10's for a bit more if you're wanting more adjustability, but shows as special order same as the B6 damper so not sure if they're affected by the same supply issues going on.

Also unrelated to the Camaro, but I had the PSS9's on an Audi TT...that was a very firm ride but it worked really well.

[chuckclanton]

Originally Posted by 2014white2ssrs1le

Can you write back on this thread once installed and give us some feedback for the sport ryders?

Installed. Smoother ride around town. the stock V6 shocks seemed to have no damping for small surface changes on the streets. Very "jittery" ride.
the Pedders drop springs while only 123# in front only dropped 1/2 in. in
front, probably due to being designed for the SS. The rear dropped 3/4 in, so the car is now pretty much level.The rear springs are like 435# and no ride issues as the rear shocks work well with them. Will try it out next month in
las vegas at autocross day.