Re: TQC ?'s

[Dave Lawson <dlawson@ball.com>]

Andrew,
>>
>>  I drive by a 1983/84 TQC all the time.  The other day, I saw the owner
>> working on the car and so I stopped to talk to him.  We had a great
>> conversation and he asked me to ask the net a few questions.
>>       The car has about 130,000 miles, looks good (except for a BIG
>> scratch, where his wife drove into a mailbox), has a callaway cam, a K24
>> turbo, and 215/50/15 tires.  His questions are regarding the suspension.
>> He wants to replace the suspension with an aftermarket setup.  What are
>> your ideas?  Be as simple or as extreme as you want.  I want to give him
>> a few ideas.  Thank you!

My 83 TQC has Eibach progresive springs, Bilstein struts with Treser 
valving, urethane control arm bushings from Sportwheels on all 4 corners and 
I replaced the following with new dealer components, ball joints, wheel 
bearings, upper strut bearings, rubber mounts for front and rear sway bars 
and 1 rear tie rod. I did my suspension 1 year ago. This work transformed my 
car from wallowing/shakey steering to a very controlled ride with no 
steering problems. BTW, my 83 has the "early" style suspension. One addition 
I would recommend but have not yet installed is the Sportwheels oversized 
sway bars. These really help in controlling the body roll.

>I have the Eibach variable rate springs with Koni sport shocks and am
>not all that happy with it. I had a set of Suspension Techniques springs
>years ago (they finally sagged out) that I liked a lot better.
>
>In all fairness, I drive rough roads a lot (I live in a pretty rural
>place) and I get more suspension travel than most. I wish that I had
>either the constant rate springs or stock. I would be willing to sell
>me stuff if this fellow wants it. It might work better for someone who
>mostly drives smooth roads.
>
>Any other feelings out these? Would someone with the Bekius setup like
>to comment?

I agree with Bruce on the Eibachs, I really don't like them. I haven't spent 
any more time or money on the suspension at this point, but I think my setup 
is somewhat bouncy. It also really picks up and transmitts road seams. I 
knew with going to a sport setup I would be trading off some ride comefort, 
but my opinion is the progressive springs aren't my solution. With some 
prodding I got the specs for the springs from the tech engineer at Eibach. 
First the springs aren't really progressive, as in having non-linear(curved) 
response, but are really a 2 stage spring. The first stage is wimpy and the 
rate is less than the stock spring rate. The second stage is about 20% more 
than stock.

If I were to do it over again, I would go with a straight linear stiffer 
spring. I don't like the transitions between the stages of the Eibach 
spings. I have not yet rode in John Bekius' car with his setup. I know he 
has some custom Eibach linear springs which are stiffer than the 2nd stage 
of the pro-kit springs. He is also using some custom Bilstein struts which 
are valved stiffer than mine. He likes it alot, but others say it is way too 
stiff.

Has anyone got any other experience with different springs on a TQC, H&R, 
Spax, Jamex, ??

I look forward to hearing others experiences.
 -
Dave Lawson  dlawson@ball.com