Coilover Life......

[racer50200]

If I decide to go the coilover route for street use as well as occasional track days, what would be the expected life of the coilovers?? Do they just wear out like conventional shocks?? Are they rebuildable, and if so, will they then perform as new? And who does the rebuilding, me or the manufacturer?

Given the initial expense, I am hoping they are indeed rebuildable without too much hassle......

[d69chris]

Life of coilovers will depend on mfg., & how you drive the car. I believe most good coilovers are rebuildable.

I am thiking of going with the KW V3's........I know, not an American product, but from what I have read they are top notch.

[Team STILLEN]

The KW systems are rebuildable and since KW is DOT and TUV approved you can trust that they are top notch. I have been racing on KWs for years with great results and the best customer race support! Plus the feed back we have gotten from our Camaro customers now running the V3's is amazing.

We have the KW Variant 1 and Variant 3 now on sale for this month for Camaro5 Members so shoot me an email and I can get the price over to you right away! ericc@STILLEN.com

www.STILLEN.com

[Circuit Motorsports]

Different Manufactuers have their own system for rebuilds. Some have to be sent in to a facility and some you can do yourself at home.

It has already been stated that they will wear out over time and it deopends on your driving style, conditions and weather.

KW's must be sent out and BC Racing's can be "rebuilt" by you, for instance.

[PfadtRacing]

Our Pfadt Camaro coilovers are serviceable. We will recommend that customers send them in to us for Pfadt to test/refurbish them. That is what we have been doing with our very popular Corvette units, albeit rarely and we have yet to see any damper failures. We test them and send the dyno sheets back to the customer with the units. This is to ensure to the customer that they are receiving a quality rebuild, with "as-new" performance. Let us know if there are any more questions!

[racer50200]

Thanks for the replies. It's nice to know that your coil overs aren't going to wear out and have to be replaced. Makes the expense more tolerable.

There appears to be some real quality manufacturers out there. This is going to be a tough decision......

[Fishdadddy]

I've been researching coilovers as well and saw that someone installed the KW's on a 2010 and had to cut holes in the trunk to be able to adjust. Is this normal? If so not sure I want them. Been thinking PFADT or Pedders

[racer50200]

And Pdaft's are made in America? I like there design as well! I look forward to hearing some member's experiences with them on their Camaros......

Where are other coil overs made??


__________________

[d69chris]

I think Pfadt's are the only inverted coils that have the one adjustment knob on the bottom of the shock. I think you adj. both front and rear from the bottom.

Pedders & BC are on the top. If you are not planning on adjusting much, there may not be a need for the holes. By jacking up the rear of the car, the wheels will drop and allow you the space to get in and adjust by hand. The holes are not necessary, just make it faster and easier to adjust. There are also rubber gromets that will fill/seal the holes if you go that route. Fronts adjust from the engine compartment.

Pfadt, BC, & Pedders have one adjustment knob that adjusts both rebound & compression.

KW has the V1 with no adjustments and the V3 that you can adjust the rebound & compression separately via the top and bottom of the shocks. All are mono-tube with the exception of the V3's.

Read up on materials that go into the construction of the coilovers, oils used, valving, as well as the testing methods to get the products right. My order of choice right now is: KW V3, Pfadt, BC, Pedders. I think Pfadt's are the most expensive then KW V3, Pedders, & BC are the least. I think BC may be the low hanging fruit when it comes to coils. They were at the top of my list and then I starting thinking again.

Wait 90 days and there will probably be another 3 choices to add into the mix! Eibach, Koni, etc.

KW-Germany.....Pedders-Australia....BC-Tiawan.....Pfadt-US?

[DTM]

If I trust the germans with one thing, it's suspension!

[d69chris]

Ya Vol ! Their testing is extensive.

[CBH]

Coilover advocates cite full suspension travel as an advantage of coilovers. But with the vehicle physically lowered, how can this be possible ?

Or is this marketing hype on a technicality - full "suspension" travel, but unusable since WHEEL travel is the true limiting aspect.

One would think the bump stops have be cut and total travel must lose the amount the car was lowered. E.g., 1.5" lower vehicle must mean 1.5" less bump stop and 1.5" net loss in suspension travel.

?

[d69chris]

I think when you do the 10 bus jump in your car they want the wheels hanging evenly.

Other than that, I have no idea.

Or maybe, when you are tracking the car in a turn the inside front wheel may come up or lose traction. Coils may help keep it planted. Somebody that knows more may want to step in here.

[PfadtRacing]

Hi CBH,

One of the great things about designing a suspension coilover for a specific application, is you get to start fresh with a lot of requirements. Your comments you made are correct, when installing drop springs on OEM shocks. But in the process of designing coilovers for the Camaro, we can engineer the damper to be at rest (static ride height) in the middle of its travel range, or whatever we want it to be. The static installed length of the coilover, can be the equivalent of -1", -1.5" etc. on a OEM damper. You can see how this would make you regain some or all of that bump travel that you can lose out on when using drop springs on OEM dampers, especially if you don't cut the bumpstops.

Now with this said, suspension geometry (e.g. motion ratio etc) will limit exactly where your ideal installed length will rest in the damper travel range. There are also other ways to change the effective travel range by adjusting how the components mount to the chassis and suspension. Sometimes you will see this with aftermarket camber plates etc. Also, with reduced roll as a result of higher roll resistance, there exists the opportunity to refine what your total travel range requirement at the end of the day actually is.

So, I hope that helps explain how it isn't always just a marketing keyword. Please let us know if you have any more questions. Thank you!