1. Quad shocks-are these dealer only and if so what dealer gives us good pricing?
2. Shocks-time for new ones but want to improve over stock while retaiing a nice ride. Shocks seem to be getting quite expensive, any suggestions?
3. Springs-same as shocks but the Ford Springs at Jegs for
$139.99 look good model "B" with 200/300 lb/inch variable rears and 425/530lb/inch variable fronts. Anyone use these "Sport springs"? Are the numbers better than stock but not too harsh?
4. Strut tower bar. They have BBK's, $125. for black or $169. for chrome. Anyone using BBK strut tower bars? I have a JLT CAI and fitment is a concern.
5. Stock sway bars seem plenty beefy at least the front. Has anyone changed their bars?
6. Wheels/tires-I am staying with 17" and ordered FR500's from wheelreplicas.com along with another set of Sumitomo's, 275/40 and 315/35's. The sport springs lower the front 1 1/8" and the rear by 3/4". Anyone see an issue with those drops? ANY info is appreciated. This convertible forum is sorely lacking in any technical info or experience. Are all of us unmodded in the handling area? Thanks, mark

 

I have the Maximum Motorsportsfour corner coil-over conversion with Bilsteins and it's worth every penny unless you're just planning on going in a straight line. I think this is by far the best handling package out there, but it does cost. And the Hypercoil springs with the coil-over package are just fantastic. They do a decent job of providingexcellent body-roll prevention whilekeeping the ride fairly decent. (Be sure to consult with MM on the proper spring rates for what you're trying to do.) I once owned a Lotus JPS and the handling on my 94 GT vert now comes close to being that good. I also put in the MM K-member brace and aluminum steering rack bushings, which helped, too. And the best part is that you can totally get rid of the quad shocks if you use the MM rear lower control arms. (I did.)

The MM coil-over also gives you the ability to adjust your ride height (independently front and rear) at any time. I found this to be necessary, since the car handles best lowered about 1.5 inches, butmy catsscrape on parking garage ramps if I lower it more than 3/4 inch. So I settled for lowering 1 inch and let the cats rub just a hair. (I have the Catco 2.5" stainless cats and h-pipe on BBK shorty headers with a Borla cat-back.)

I have the chrome BBK strut tower brace. As a brace it works great, but it's the only BBK component that I've ever been less than 100% satisfied with. The reason is that the chrome is a bit thin where the brace mounts to the firewall and I do get a bit of rust staining there.

For stab bars, I got the Eibach bars to replace the stock. They are both a lot stiffer and also lighter than the stock. They installed in about 1/2 hours all by myself. Lining up the front bar was a bit more trouble than the rear because you kind of need 3 hands to twist things into place, if you don't have a lift available.

I have 17" 95 Cobra R wheels with Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 tires. 255/40 front and 275/40 rear. They work great with the rest of the suspension in the dry or wet, but the only word for snow or ice is "Don't". These are stiff tires and the trick is to run with 35 psi in all four tires, or the center rubber won't be on the road.

Hope this helps your thinking. Good Luck!

 

Great info THANKS! I was beginning to think no vert guys had done any upgrades and afterall besides toop issues handling is the only difference from a coupe. Sounds like you have a great set-up but most likely more than my blood cares to give.
I'll check MM after church. I was just thinking Ford super sport springs-$140. Probably KYB GR-2's as I have used them before. The strut tower bar but that thing is a bit pricey too from what I paid for other cars. how does it mount to the firewall as that has always been a question?
Even the stock FAT sway bars can be improved upon enough to replace them? wow. I have a friend Rose who drives me around a lot and she loves a well handling car. She likes the mustang more than an '82 vette I had but I did get the back end of the vette's suspension done and added a sway bar as it came without one. As far as thoose quad shocks I would think they help on rough roads where the tire is not just going up and down but the axle front to back a bit. I'll contact MM but the sway bars and BBK strut tower bar I did not think a lot ablot. Thanks for the response again. mark

 

Glad to help. Yes, I have put some good bucks into my 94, but I've also been working on it for about 7 years now a little at a time. Beware of the Addco sway bars -- I got a pair, found them to be of poor quality and finish (some rust already when new)and they had parts missing. I returned them unused. The Eibachs were not that much more and they are great. I noticed a lot more precise steering after installing them. I would do them as a pair, or you may not like the handling characteristics with mix and match because the body roll will be different front and rear.

The BBK strut tower brace mounts to exactly the same points as the stock one did on my 94. Your 99 may be different. At the firewall it bolts to the same two holes in the body seam that the original does. I don't know if it's much of an improvement over the original or not, but I needed to do it to make room for the big Trick Flow intake plenum I put on mine. The stock brace goes right through that area, the BBK goes around it. I would bet that the stock brace does about the same thing as the BBK. I would not have changed mine if I didn't need to make room for the plenum.

All the quad shocks do is keep the axle positioned properly in turns. They do zilch for the ride and handling. I've never actually known of anyone who had to replace them. I tossed mine because they rubbed on the new springs slighlyafter I did the MM coil-overs.

I've never used KYBs, only Bilsteins and Konis, so I can't be much help there. Good Luck.