Can we talk about suspension (again)?

Hi all,

I've had my 308 GTS QV for several months now and have been enjoying it around town and in the canyons. A few weeks ago, however, I bottomed out on a tight downhill turn because the suspension is so soft. The car bounced up off the asphalt and the front end got so light that I thought the outer front hub had broken off. It hadn't -- the front end just rebounded so far that there was no weight on the front wheels and the steering wheel was useless at that point.

Anyway, this experience made me realize that, while the car is really pleasant to drive over LA's rough road surfaces, the car is just plain dangerous on spirited canyon drives. So, time to stiffen up the suspension with some coilovers. I don't want the car to drive like a '70s Cadillac anymore, but I also don't want it to be race-car stiff either -- I have other cars with stiff suspensions that I take to the track and they are no fun on the rough roads around here. So, I'm looking for the "Goldilocks" solution.

I have researched the internet and this forum (!) and have seen various solutions described. One of the most popular has been the QA-1 with the "paperweight" extender. I like the idea of not having to cut up the front control arms but I wanted to hear from folks who have these coilovers to see how they like them and how they've held up over time. In addition, I'd love to hear from folks who've tried other coilovers and why.

In addition to hearing about the different brand options, I'd also like to get some advice about spring rates. As I said, the stock suspension is far too soft for me. The last time I drove a car this soft was my mom's Oldsmobile in the '80s. However, I don't want it to be crashy either. So, I'm basically looking for spring rates that provide a taut, sporting feel that is appropriate for canyon carving that, at the same time, is compliant enough to absorb the shocks of uneven road surfaces. Any suggestions?

It seems there are two basic camps on spring rates (at least for the QA-1s): 300/250 front/rear, or 400/350 front rear. Since I'm accustomed to relatively stiff suspension, I'm leaning toward 400/350, but I would like to hear the impressions of folks with this setup. How does this setup deal with uneven road surfaces? I suppose that the relatively high-profile tires you get with 17" wheels provide some inherent compliance, so maybe stiffer is not bad. I'm also wondering how much a difference spring rates make on ride quality vs. shock setting. I read in a thread on this forum that the shock setting has a much greater impact on ride quality than spring rates. Is this true?

Thanks in advance to all who are willing help, and sorry for the long-winded post!

Dave

 

Sounds like several folks are running QA-1s at 400/350 and they are still compliant enough for road driving. I'm thinking I might give that a try. As someone said, I can always change out the springs if I don't like them.

For those who have the QA-1s, how much of a difference is there between the softest and hardest shock settings? I have adjustable coilovers on one of my other cars and, while there is a noticeable difference between softest and hardest settings, it's not night and day different (they're both pretty firm).

 

Good to hear that you can tune these to a great extent using the adjustment knob.

What spring rates are you running? I saw a chart from the Unobtanium site last night saying that the 400/350 set up is a "track only" set up. Specifically, they said:

Road/Track: 250/225, 300/250, 350/300, or 375/325

Track Only: 400/350 or 450/400

I'd be surprised if 250/225 would be firm enough for track driving (not that I'm planning on taking this car to the track). Sounds pretty soft for hard cornering at speed.

 

Great! I'm accustomed to stiff suspension so hopefully 400/350 will be compliant enough for me. Also, the high-profile tires have to help in this department too.

Going to order the QA-1s with 400/350. I will report back my impressions for anyone who would like to hear them. Thanks to everyone for your input!

 

Great. Parts ordered. Can't wait to get these on the car.

 

Got all the parts yesterday! I originally thought I'd just give them to a local shop and let them do the swap, but now I'm thinking I may do the installation myself. I'm not an expert mechanic, but I'm pretty good with my hands and have done other minor car projects, like installing new brakes, etc.

I have a few questions about the install for our resident experts:

1. I don't currently have a press to switch out the QA1 bushings with the Unobtanium bushings. I'm fine with buying a bushing press for this purpose, but I'm not sure which would work best. Any suggestions? It'd be great if I could just order a press from Amazon or another online seller.

2. I know you need to compress the front springs to get the spring cap and "paperweight" upper eyes on the front coilovers. I will try to find a shop that can do this for me. I am wondering, however, do I need to compress the stock springs to get the old suspension off the car? Also, do I need to compress the QA1 springs to get the coilovers on the car?

3. Finally, I bought QA1 bump stops too. They consist of a rubber stop and a flat washer. Am I correct that the washer goes between the upper eye lock nut and the rubber stop at the top of the piston shaft? I ask because the rubber stop has a bore that looks like it could accommodate the lock nut so I'm not sure if the flat washer is actually necessary.

Thanks!

 

So a spring compressor is required to remove the old springs, to install the new coilovers, or both?

I'm not concerned about the cost. I am concerned about safety though.

 

Okay, great. Didn't realize the stock springs were mounted on the stock shocks. I assumed they were independent. Thanks.

 

Great! Thanks for the pic. I just need someone to help me with installing the spring caps on the front QA1s (need to compress the springs to do this and I'd rather have someone else do it) and I should be all set.