Hey guys,

I have a 98 Camaro V6 with around 180,000 miles. Ever since I got the car, I knew the suspension has definitely seen better days. The car seems to sag and sit lower than it's supposed to and it doesn't take much force to grab the rear and bounce it up and down. When I go over bumps, it's pretty loud and everything feels loose. However, it feels to me like the shocks are fine since if I press down on the rear it comes back up once and settles.

So that makes me wonder that the springs are shot. Is that possible? I thought springs weren't supposed to go bad unless they break?

 

have a look under there,,, are the shocks orange? probly needed changing 5 years ago. lol. dont go cheap on shocks they dictate the suspension quality. bilsteins are the least expensive that will perform good. strano has some good choices Strano Performance Parts - Parts Search i see he has some koni's for 395 and the hd bilsteins for 495 and slp bilsteins for 385 all prices for 4 shocks.

 

If it sits low then the springs are surely shot as they dictate ride height.

 

springs can be a safety issue too ,when you get an inspection there supposed to check them ,unless you live in a state there is no inspections ,had t bird had 3 broken spring ,makes a big difference to replace them ,if you hear noices its probley atleast one spring ,in my case I did not even know until they said you got 3 broken springs ,it was from dukes of hazzered move or 2 that did it for me,car only had 46.000 miles but its age is why an the way I was driving it to did not help

 

stock springs do not lose ride hight for many years. both my 93s have not had an issue. measure from the ground to your fender at the center of your wheels. should be in the area of 26 inches. almost all aftermarket springs do sag some faster than others

 

First off miles is a terrible way to judge a suspension. Spring and shock life is based on cycles. Cycle would come from pot holes, sudden stops, hard accelerations etc.. Most of the life info online is based on miles on the car so that is all we have to work with so think of it as average.

I have a 1996 V6 with 235k. I doubt your original Decarbon shocks and spring will fail a safety inspection (which is the bounce test you described) unless they are leaking. My car would breeze though a safety inspection but it has not had a good ride in a long time. The online consensus is 80-100,000 miles and the Decarbon rides go to crap.

So it sounds like you need shocks and springs but even then the car is not going to feel tight. There are a lot of little things that make a car feel tight. When I decided I wanted to tighten up my steering it took wheel bearing, tie rod ends a rack and a rag replacement rag joint in the steering linkage. No one of those items failed a safety inspection but combined they cause the steering to feel sloppy. I got lucky because my ball joints and top bearing plates had no play. The 32mm sway bar upgrade was nice but I wonder if I had just replace the bushing if it would have been almost as nice.

If you are not worried about handling then I would go with any name brand gas charged system. They should work as wel or better than your original shocks. I would not advise changing springs without changing shocks. When you have an older shock and you change the ride height they tend to start leaking.

 

good stuff gorn when comparing to a car with all highway miles for sure better then this ,I often think about people who drive there cars like on a road for suv s ,just your average dirt road with many pot holes ,I would think its not very good for any sports car , ,any one cruing along 30 miles per hour down those kinda roads Is no different then driving in suv or 4 wheel drive ,I drive for like 5 to 10 miles per hour even slower ,if I choose to ride on those bad roads ,I try to avoid them ,but many drivers go right down them not thinking about what its doing to the car ,they just want to get home,an how I found out the hard way was when I broke all those springs ,I am sure they were worn ,but it did not help .an since then I avoid road with hug pot holes an dirt roads unless there well taken car of ,couse even big 4 wheel drives that ride in the bad lands ride on top of the rocks to avoid a broken shock or spring ,some think there all the same ,to me they just don't think ,just like I was not thinking when I drove the 94 t bird into a ditch did 360 hiting a few pot holes ,an the result is damage ,one can tell a car that has been driven on crap or dirty rocky roads ,there is a lot more paint chips an faded paint on the rocker panels ,so my point is some drive these sports cars the same as an suv ,,an that's not the one I want to buy ,had 04 blazer 39.000 had worn struts from the day I bought it ,you could only tell when you got on a bumpy dirt road ,but someone drove the dog crap out of in in the woods ,last time I trust any sales guy to say some old guy an his wife traded it in ,I don't see myself buying another car or truck from a dealer ,now when there are lots of fine cars out there ,in the private market

 

Thanks for the advice guys! I ended up getting both the shocks and springs from Summit, they came in the mail yesterday and I'll put them on tonight. I decided to go the cheap route and got Monro-matic shocks and Summit Racing springs. They had good reviews and I figured it'll be better than what I have now. I'll let you guys know how they are! Thanks!

 

sounds good ,most important thing is anything is better then the old stuff that was there ,I think monro is fine ,as good as stock ,I seen a stock set up oem spring struts shocks they wanted $1200.00 not includeing shipping I seen some kyb struts for my 95 the same 180.00 for the front is a great price there gas but its ok ,I will buy my springs separate ,/? how much were the springs there ,are you using lowering springs ,I want to keep stock highth,kyb makes a set that is adjustable too around 95.00 each ebay

 

You have the tools to safely change the front springs? you know the car will need alignment after the new front shocks are installed? Below give you an over view, under no circumstance should let the weight of the assembled spindle be supported by you brake hose. Even the weight of just the caliper is a no no.