After Reading Every Post on Springs/Shocks Combo's I'm.....

[jwcurry]

.....going with, Bilstein Sports in front and HD's in the rear.

Along with the linear ST's in front. (or maybe Eibach's).....

No, no....ST's. That's still a tiny bit of a toss-up.

I have a combo of new urethane & rubber bushings to go into my early 70.

I'm planning on doing some spirited driving alng with some autocross. I hope its not too harsh.

Going to use the combo of Sports/HD's in order to utilize the extra travel in the Sports. I do NOT want to bottom out. Also, I have a fibergalss airdam I do not want to lose so....I can't lower the car too much.

Man alive....I read and read and read. Searched the archives, wrote out pros/cons on pieces of paper. This is what I came up with.

Anything obvious or totally stupid I'm missing before I start ordering?

Thanks,

Jerry Curry

Salem, OR

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[c.d.iesel]

go with Sports or H.D. as a matched system -

do not mix as you are thinking.

You will not bottom with either.

....unless your YUMPING yer car?

[Beaver's02]

I just installed the following. ST (silver gray) linear springs, Bilstein HD, Noltec urethane bushings, ST front and rear anti-sway bars, and a Noltec adjustable camber/caster strut top. The overall lowering of the ST springs is not too much and seem to match well with the Bilstein HD, but if you plan on going lower in the future the Sports are probably a better match. The Noltec bushings are very nice. Not harsh or noisy at all. They have a very informative website (www.noltecsuspension.com). The ST anti-sway bars are adjustable in the rear, which I have on the middle position, but will adjust next for more rear roll stiffness. The Strut Top is very nicely made, very solid, but probably over kill for my application (sprited street).

I'm planning on installing rear urethane bushings (control arm, cross menber, differential mount) soon, but I'm trying to decide between adjustable or non-adjustable control arm bushings (the ST rear springs with #3 spring pads give a very slight negative camber)

Hope this helps. Good luck with your suspension.

[AlCanuck]

Jerry,

I agree with the others. Use a matched set of shocks all around. The Bilstein HD's with ST springs will be fantastic.

Beaver,

Just looked at your sig, and noticed the other car in your fleet. I came home from the hospital in a 65 Tiger. My dad bought it new at the auto show here in Vancouver, circa 1966. Was a Rootes Group show car, and this was it's last stop. Neat car with a bunch of cool stuff like clear plexi hood for the show circuit, Shelby wheels, etc. Dad sold it in the 70's, but I sure wish he kept it. Any pics of yours?

Al

[canadamatt]

I have (and still am) run HRsprings with Bilsports in front and Bil HD's in the back, and like how it feels. I orginally had Bilsports all around, but the back end was a bit too harsh. Put on the HD's in the rear and it made the rear-end more stable. Note our local track is pretty bumpy as well though.

All things considered, I like the front Sport / rear HD combo better than Sports at both ends.

Matt

[ferrwrench]

I had Eibachs on my 74 with KYb's (wish I had gone with the Bilstein's) I liked the eibach's though. Sold the car, now my buddy stu deals with the bounce.

[DaveB]

hehehe... Is any of this making you change your mind once more Jerry? It's such a confusing area to make informed decisions about, seeing that it's mostly butt-dyno judgments rather than true numbers. I'm getting the sense that ST all around might not be such a bad thing; I'm leaning that way... at least until I read the next thread!!

[_z_]

heh

Clearly the solution is to buy every combination of spring and shocks and butt dyno each set

[jwcurry]

......."butt-dyno", that made me laugh. Everyone has a differing

opinion and a preference.

I do know I can't lower the car too much because of my air dam and because I actually don't like the look of an overly lowered car. Also, I'm thinking an 02 riding on the ground is damn near an invisible object to an SUV....a.k.a. speed-bump.

Of all the reading I did in the archives and what-not, what struck me were

the following:

a) a point an 02'er made that Bilsteins work better with linear springs.

This made sense to me as I thought about it an engineering sense.

Bilsteins sports are better with substantive lowering springs.

c) folks that mentioned bottoming-out issues with HD's due to the

"travel distance". This was mentioned more than once and frequent

posters like John Weese even comment on it. Folks also mentioned that the back end of the car was too loose with HD's. That concerns me as the roads are great here in Oregon.

I'm thinking "bottoming out" issues become more crucial with springs that drop the car even further than ST's.

So, I'm going to go with ST's and either:

1) HD's all around

2) Sports in front, HD's in the rear

Still have to decide. between those two options. One good thing, HD's are relatively speaking, a cheaper option.

Jerry

[Napes]

every time I see one of your posts I wonder, where in the hell is Langlois?

[jwcurry]

1) Roads AREN'T great in Oregon, once you get off the interstate.

2) ST spring are a relatively cheap option....as springs go.

[Squatch Pads]

I've got everything you want just awaiting final tear down.

ST springs, Bilstein Sports, Adjustable sway bars.

[DaveB]

hey now... If Mr. Curry turns these down, I might want to take his spot in line for the springs and sways!

[heinrich]

Hey Jerry,

I've got urethane everything, HDs and H&R springs. I was very concerned about rubbing from lowering the car, but I've been pleased to find that there is none at all (I'm running 195/65-14s). The ride is good. There is a bit too much stiffness for my taste because of all the urethane, especially in the rear (I also used the urethane subframe mount inserts); but the shock/spring combo is good, I think. You're welcome to take my car for a drive at the next meeting if you want and see how it feels (if it's not a moot point then). Sounds like plenty of people are happy with the ST springs as well though.