NoOne

My LS1 FD has 137K on the chassis and is suprisingly still in great shape chassis wise.

It has the original R1 suspension and I have a leaking front strut. Everything else is pretty worn most likely and I plan on doing the following ASAP:

3.90 Carrier with new carrier mount bushings
solid toe link ends
solid trailing arms

I also plan on doing shocks/springs all the way around and here is where the confusion comes in. I've searched and read but still can't come down to what I need.

I'm looking for the best compromise setup, meaning this car is street driven, but my only requirement for street manners is no squeaks from the suspension.

I'd like something adjustable, I will do a few track days during the summer and would like to dial it up but leave it softer for longer trips.

Eventually I'd like to do bigger wheels so a 2.5 inch spring might be a good idea as long as it doesn't interfere with adjustability.

At the same time I'd probably be replacing bushings also. From what I've read there are only a few available, either stock or poly's that are hard enough you don't want to drive it and cause the CD's to skip. The R1 suspension already does that

From my Miata experience a company made poly's in two sets, one called Blue and one called Green, the Blue's I believe were poly but still left a good street ride.

My interior is rattle free and I'd like to keep it that way, if you know how an R1 rides I'd be willing to go with a 'worse' ride with shocks set on high, but would like a slightly softer ride when turned down.

I do not want to give up any of the current handling and the only thing I'd like to tune out is the wiggle in the rear which may very well just be the suspensions current condition.

I've seen setups from 799 to 2599, quality and me liking the result is more important than cost to a particular point.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

rynberg

Given your uses for the car:

1. Replace any worn out bushings in the rear with OEM bushings -- if they are actually original at 137k, I guarantee most of them will be shot.

2. Pick up a set of lowering springs, such as H&R or Eibach. Get a set of Konis, they are comparable to R1 shock at full soft (some say they are a hair softer) and adjust to VERY HARD. The only wheel size limitation with this setup will be that you can't run 10" wide wheels up front -- not a big hardship for most of us...

If you want more adjustability with the ride height, you will need coilovers. I suggest you spend some time researching this option before asking any questions about it. For your purposes, I think a coilover setup will be overkill (and more expensive to boot).

FYI, my car is a daily driver that is tracked fairly often. I think it's a very good compromise -- soft enough for street driving and can firm up very nicely for the track. The only thing I wish I had was a slightly higher ride height.

NoOne

Thanks for the info.

I'd actually like to lower mine just a bit, it looks kind of 4x4ish.

My R1 spoiler scrapes pretty often but there is alot of compliance in the front end and I'm hoping the new setup with tighten it up.

Is there something else comparable to Koni's? We had them on my wife's Miata and we both didn't really care for them. The adjustments always seemed to be off, there was more degree's of adjustment from shock to shock and it was tough to get them where I wanted.

I prefered the QA1's I had on my Camaro since the adjustment was knotched, you knew exactly where you were on all corners instead of guestimating.

This is assuming the adjustment is the same as the Miata Koni.

rynberg

No, the Konis don't have notches, but I just adjust them in 1/4 turn intervals anyway, which is pretty easy to do. There aren't many options for adjustable shocks for the FD -- Tokico, Koni, and GABs. The Tokicos don't have the quality of the Konis or GABs, and the GABs ride hard by anyone's standards.

If you want a controlled lowering with notched adjustments, you will have to look at full coilover setups.