How to get a softer ride - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

machii · 03-22-2015, 03:58 PM

Not all of us bought our Camaros for regular track duty. I use my 2014 LT for my daily 80 mile commute. I love the car, but the ride over expansion joints and railroad tracks nearly sends me though the roof (literally). My goal was to soften up the ride (at the expense of some handling) without lowering the car. This proved to be a time consuming task.

First I tried lowering the tire pressure of the stock Pirellis (245/50/19s) down to 28 PSI. This helped very little. Next I purchased a set of wheels/tires (235/60/18s) on Rial wheels (thanks Tire Rack) to use as winter tires. This helped some more, but not enough.

I spent a lot of time e-mailing sponsors, contacting vendors looking for replacement rear coils with a lower spring rate or adjustable shocks. I found a solution from QA1. They make a single adjustable and dual adjustable factory rear shock replacement that uses the factory coil spring. I selected the single adjustable shock. It has 24 positions of adjustment and adjusts both compression and rebound from the one knob. These shocks have some ride height adjustment (about +/- 1" from stock).

When I took the factory shock off I wanted to made a comparison to the QA1 shocks. For that I pressed the shock against a scale and recorded the maximum weight required to press the shock in. This simulates a very low speed compression event. The factory shocks required 120 lbs to compress. The QA1 shock on its lowest setting required only 40 lbs! At 6 click higher it required 75 lbs and 11 clicks higher it matched the factory 120 lbs.

Using a measurement from the factory shock spring perch I set up the QA1 shocks to the stock ride height and adjusted the shock to 6 clicks in. The different is amazing. The ride is much smoother in the rear and no longer jarring. The rear end does sway more in turns but acceptable to me. No wheel hop either. On hard launches the rear end plants well.

QA1 also makes single and dual adjustable struts for the front but they require you to purchase a new spring as well. Their spring has a rate of 250 lbs/in versus the factory 165 lbs/in.

For me I like the ride the way it is now, and it cost less than $500! Money well spent.

Gotthat02fire · 03-22-2015, 05:34 PM

Well if money isn't an issue I would suggest air ride full adjustability and rides awesome!

Assassinx1 · 03-22-2015, 07:28 PM

Hi you sound like me I've been going crazy trying to find. What part number did you find. And I'm happy I'm not crazy and its not just me.

machii · 03-22-2015, 07:48 PM

Money was a factor. Air suspension would have been great but too expensive.

The rear shocks that fit 2010-2014 Camaros is QA1# 122-GS601. You can order direct but it is cheaper through Jegs or Summit Racing.

tw78911sc · 03-22-2015, 08:34 PM

great thing is you can adjust as needed

Assassinx1 · 03-22-2015, 10:37 PM

It shows 18 different settings. How many notches does it have and can you adjust rebound? Also at level 11 it does 120 lbs can it go higher or is 11 the highest?

I noticed you said single adjustable. Is the higher you make the setting increase compression and rebound or each notch has a specific setting like for example light compressor but hard rebound or vice versa?

Destructo09 · 03-22-2015, 11:35 PM

You guys must be old, I daily drive my 2010 2SS with 1" BMR springs and Koni STR.T shocks/struts and it's fine to me, lol.

Of course I also autocross/track my car, so that's of a bit more importance, but the car isn't uncomfortable as is. If I wanted a comfy ride i'd buy a different car.

Norm Peterson · 03-23-2015, 10:51 AM

For 1" BMR springs, Koni STR.t's would be the 'comfortable ride' shocks . . . about like yellows set to full soft. Which would be too soft for me, and I'm on full Social Security.

Norm

Norm Peterson · 03-23-2015, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Assassinx1

It shows 18 different settings. How many notches does it have and can you adjust rebound? Also at level 11 it does 120 lbs can it go higher or is 11 the highest?

I noticed you said single adjustable. Is the higher you make the setting increase compression and rebound or each notch has a specific setting like for example light compressor but hard rebound or vice versa?

Normally when a single adjustment knob or screw adjusts both bump and rebound, they both firm up and soften together depending on which way you turn the adjustment. But not necessarily at the same rate; rebound normally varies more per 'click' or fraction of a turn than bump.

Norm

machii · 03-23-2015, 11:59 AM

Sorry - 18 positions of adjustment. It goes higher than 11 but it became harder to get measurements on the scale when pushing more than 120 lbs on the scale.

Assassinx1 · 03-23-2015, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norm Peterson

For 1" BMR springs, Koni STR.t's would be the 'comfortable ride' shocks . . . about like yellows set to full soft. Which would be too soft for me, and I'm on full Social Security.

Norm

I live in NJ where I've bent rims pot holes are so bad, and I typicly have my wife and kids in the car. In fact Sunday my wife bitched she wants hot chocolate but wouldn't get it because the car bounces too much.

Norm Peterson · 03-24-2015, 07:37 AM

Sounds like my part of the Garden State has roads that are in somewhat better condition - the worst holes here can nearly always be slalom'ed around or straddled if you let yourself see them in time. Haven't ever bent a rim or pinch-flatted a tire since moving here in the late 1970's . . . <knocks on the nearest piece of wood>.

My point about STR.t's being the 'comfort' choice was mostly aimed at Destructo, who is specifically involved in driving that's vigorous enough to need a higher level of damping than most people would want for average daily driving (and definitely higher than optimum for riding around in your neck of the woods).

I'm looking at something called 'percent critical damping' here, which rather crudely is a relationship between the amount of damping force a shock would naturally develop and the car's spring stiffness and corner weight. Lower percentages ride "softer" or at least "less harsh", and at %critical damping values down around 15% - 20% the ride is about as good as it'll get from anything you can do with just the shocks. Best tire grip occurs in a range of %critical damping more like 45% - 50%. Tuning to alter a vehicle's transient handling behavior (think understeer or oversteer specifically during cornering turn-in and exit but not at mid-corner) usually involves still higher percentages.

I suppose if the %critical damping gets too low, the actual suspension movement will increase (typically the suspension will "overshoot" too far in rebound because the spring is overpowering the available damping) and the ride might then be described as 'float-y' or even 'bounce-y'. That's a somewhat different matter. For sure, STR.t's don't have too much damping for BMR 1" springs, like way out there toward 100% where every time you hit a bump you'd think you'd installed solid rods instead.

Norm

Assassinx1 · 03-24-2015, 04:16 PM

I think what you described is what's happening. The shocks and struts are over dampened. Almost like the springs and shocks never get used they just sit in a state of floatiness:

camguynj · 03-25-2015, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tw78911sc

great thing is you can adjust as needed

Do you have them on your car with the FE4 suspension? What setting ?

03-22-2015, 03:58 PM	#1
machii Drives: 2014 LT Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 25	How to get a softer ride Not all of us bought our Camaros for regular track duty. I use my 2014 LT for my daily 80 mile commute. I love the car, but the ride over expansion joints and railroad tracks nearly sends me though the roof (literally). My goal was to soften up the ride (at the expense of some handling) without lowering the car. This proved to be a time consuming task. First I tried lowering the tire pressure of the stock Pirellis (245/50/19s) down to 28 PSI. This helped very little. Next I purchased a set of wheels/tires (235/60/18s) on Rial wheels (thanks Tire Rack) to use as winter tires. This helped some more, but not enough. I spent a lot of time e-mailing sponsors, contacting vendors looking for replacement rear coils with a lower spring rate or adjustable shocks. I found a solution from QA1. They make a single adjustable and dual adjustable factory rear shock replacement that uses the factory coil spring. I selected the single adjustable shock. It has 24 positions of adjustment and adjusts both compression and rebound from the one knob. These shocks have some ride height adjustment (about +/- 1" from stock). When I took the factory shock off I wanted to made a comparison to the QA1 shocks. For that I pressed the shock against a scale and recorded the maximum weight required to press the shock in. This simulates a very low speed compression event. The factory shocks required 120 lbs to compress. The QA1 shock on its lowest setting required only 40 lbs! At 6 click higher it required 75 lbs and 11 clicks higher it matched the factory 120 lbs. Using a measurement from the factory shock spring perch I set up the QA1 shocks to the stock ride height and adjusted the shock to 6 clicks in. The different is amazing. The ride is much smoother in the rear and no longer jarring. The rear end does sway more in turns but acceptable to me. No wheel hop either. On hard launches the rear end plants well. QA1 also makes single and dual adjustable struts for the front but they require you to purchase a new spring as well. Their spring has a rate of 250 lbs/in versus the factory 165 lbs/in. For me I like the ride the way it is now, and it cost less than $500! Money well spent.

03-22-2015, 05:34 PM	#2
Gotthat02fire Drives: 2010 Camaro 1ss IOM Join Date: May 2009 Location: Williamsport,PA Posts: 2,246 View My Garage	Well if money isn't an issue I would suggest air ride full adjustability and rides awesome! __________________ Jannetty Racing Built and Tuned 416 Maggie Max Package even better now!

03-22-2015, 11:35 PM	#7
Destructo09 Drives: 2010 CGM Camaro 2SS/LS3 Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Raleigh-Durham Posts: 1,409	You guys must be old, I daily drive my 2010 2SS with 1" BMR springs and Koni STR.T shocks/struts and it's fine to me, lol. Of course I also autocross/track my car, so that's of a bit more importance, but the car isn't uncomfortable as is. If I wanted a comfy ride i'd buy a different car. __________________ 2010 2SS BMR 1" Springs Koni Orange struts/shocks 1LE rear sway bar SRP Racing Pedals Hurst Billet short shifter Square tire/wheel setup Elite Engineering Catch Can Stainless Power longtubes/highflow cats K&N Typhoon CAI RPM Motorsports of Garner, NC dyno tune (421 RWHP)

03-23-2015, 10:51 AM	#8
Norm Peterson corner barstool sitter Drives: 08 Mustang GT, 19 WRX Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Eastern Time Zone Posts: 6,990	For 1" BMR springs, Koni STR.t's would be the 'comfortable ride' shocks . . . about like yellows set to full soft. Which would be too soft for me, and I'm on full Social Security. Norm Last edited by Norm Peterson; 03-23-2015 at 11:12 AM.

03-22-2015, 07:28 PM	#3
Assassinx1 Drives: Corvettec5 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Haledon Posts: 192	Hi you sound like me I've been going crazy trying to find. What part number did you find. And I'm happy I'm not crazy and its not just me.

03-22-2015, 07:48 PM	#4
machii Drives: 2014 LT Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 25	Money was a factor. Air suspension would have been great but too expensive. The rear shocks that fit 2010-2014 Camaros is QA1# 122-GS601. You can order direct but it is cheaper through Jegs or Summit Racing.

03-22-2015, 08:34 PM	#5
tw78911sc Drives: 14 1SS Camaro 1LE, NPP, Recaros Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: NC Posts: 819	great thing is you can adjust as needed

03-22-2015, 10:37 PM	#6
Assassinx1 Drives: Corvettec5 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Haledon Posts: 192	It shows 18 different settings. How many notches does it have and can you adjust rebound? Also at level 11 it does 120 lbs can it go higher or is 11 the highest? I noticed you said single adjustable. Is the higher you make the setting increase compression and rebound or each notch has a specific setting like for example light compressor but hard rebound or vice versa?

03-23-2015, 11:59 AM	#10
machii Drives: 2014 LT Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Milwaukee Posts: 25	Sorry - 18 positions of adjustment. It goes higher than 11 but it became harder to get measurements on the scale when pushing more than 120 lbs on the scale.

03-24-2015, 07:37 AM	#12
Norm Peterson corner barstool sitter Drives: 08 Mustang GT, 19 WRX Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Eastern Time Zone Posts: 6,990	Sounds like my part of the Garden State has roads that are in somewhat better condition - the worst holes here can nearly always be slalom'ed around or straddled if you let yourself see them in time. Haven't ever bent a rim or pinch-flatted a tire since moving here in the late 1970's . . . <knocks on the nearest piece of wood>. My point about STR.t's being the 'comfort' choice was mostly aimed at Destructo, who is specifically involved in driving that's vigorous enough to need a higher level of damping than most people would want for average daily driving (and definitely higher than optimum for riding around in your neck of the woods). I'm looking at something called 'percent critical damping' here, which rather crudely is a relationship between the amount of damping force a shock would naturally develop and the car's spring stiffness and corner weight. Lower percentages ride "softer" or at least "less harsh", and at %critical damping values down around 15% - 20% the ride is about as good as it'll get from anything you can do with just the shocks. Best tire grip occurs in a range of %critical damping more like 45% - 50%. Tuning to alter a vehicle's transient handling behavior (think understeer or oversteer specifically during cornering turn-in and exit but not at mid-corner) usually involves still higher percentages. I suppose if the %critical damping gets *too* low, the actual suspension movement will increase (typically the suspension will "overshoot" too far in rebound because the spring is overpowering the available damping) and the ride might then be described as 'float-y' or even 'bounce-y'. That's a somewhat different matter. For sure, STR.t's don't have too much damping for BMR 1" springs, like way out there toward 100% where every time you hit a bump you'd think you'd installed solid rods instead. Norm

03-24-2015, 04:16 PM	#13
Assassinx1 Drives: Corvettec5 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Haledon Posts: 192	I think what you described is what's happening. The shocks and struts are over dampened. Almost like the springs and shocks never get used they just sit in a state of floatiness: