Need some suspension advice

[Robert Deis]

On Sat, 29 Dec 2001, jason snider wrote:
> <good ride hwy, awful ride back roads>
> Is this mainly due to the stock shocks being underdamped?

Underdamping will result in a bouncy ride over rough roads. With a soft
spring you'll feel the bouncing and get sea-sick, but with a harder spring
it may just feel like terrible vibration.

> I'm mainly curious as to whether a set of
> Bilsteins/Konis would combat the harshness felt with H&Rs.

Getting neutrally(<-- right term?) damped through stiffer shocks should
help a lot becasue it will stop the bounciness/vibration.  Depending on
how rought the roads are, though, the spring may just be too stiff. I
don't have my springs yet, so I can't really judge..

> Or, would I
> possibly be better off goin with the stock
> springs and aftermarket shocks.

Better than your current setup, yes. Better than H&R plus a stiffershock,
I can't say- see above.

> Either way, I don't think there is any reason to use the stock shocks.

Concur. I'm *very* pleased with my Koni sports over stock springs. I'm
looking for a stiffer spring to reduce the roll I get on freeway onramps
and brake dive.  My current setup is very nice around town, though it's
very overdamped, which sometimes feels strange on really rough road.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Rob Deis                  "Let the people know beforehand what the law
  MiB3347                      is and what they are to expect."
  rdeis at io.com                              -- 18th Congress, Rec. 75