New Suspension Setup ideas/help
03-04-2015, 05:20 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
New Suspension Setup ideas/help
First off I'll start with the fact that I want to make the move from coils to bags. Yes I know, but I've always wanted to do this. I'm not to familiar with all the parts that a air suspension kit has compared to a coil suspension kit. What I mean is like I "think" that coils have the actual spring which the strut is through, and bags have a air spring that replaces all of that, having their own spring strut set up thing going on. What I wanted to know was what parts on the suspension remain the same and what parts are different. Maybe somebody has a list somewhere or can say a few things.
Secondly, the control arm...
When turning slowly I get that ever so familiar "popping" sound that we all know and hate. I've been doing some reading and came across THIS that sums up what I'm experiencing pretty well. Since I probably need to replace the control arm, bushings and maybe the sway bar, its bushings and the sway bar links, I was wondering what you guys thought of replacing these parts and any performance parts that can be used as a replacement that are better.
(I'm new to suspension in general so please be detailed in your response).
Also I'd be looking for performance related parts when it comes to replacing things. I'd rather not just buy OEM parts that will break or go bad again. I plan on making this a performance track car.
Giving myself plenty of time though cause school is using up most of it!
Secondly, the control arm...
When turning slowly I get that ever so familiar "popping" sound that we all know and hate. I've been doing some reading and came across THIS that sums up what I'm experiencing pretty well. Since I probably need to replace the control arm, bushings and maybe the sway bar, its bushings and the sway bar links, I was wondering what you guys thought of replacing these parts and any performance parts that can be used as a replacement that are better.
(I'm new to suspension in general so please be detailed in your response).
Also I'd be looking for performance related parts when it comes to replacing things. I'd rather not just buy OEM parts that will break or go bad again. I plan on making this a performance track car.
Giving myself plenty of time though cause school is using up most of it!
03-04-2015, 11:12 PM
#3
New Member
Thread Starter
I'm looking for some information on the two setups that people have used on their Cobalts. Maybe someone will see this that either has them or knows someone who can share some info.
I feel like your biased on this subject and hate everyone who has bags.
Is there a reason?
03-05-2015, 10:43 PM
#5
New Member
Thread Starter
The other question that I had though that people haven't said anything about yet is the control arm bushing question. Do you know anything about those?
03-06-2015, 06:46 AM
#6
Senior Member
Just sayin, my car handles better on bags then it did on springs, but not as harsh as coils
Coils would infact handle better I agree but to say bags handle like **** is ignorant
Coils would infact handle better I agree but to say bags handle like **** is ignorant
03-06-2015, 09:54 AM
#10
well what spings were you using ???
there is a reason why most prefer yyz+koni setup over coil-overs, JP included.
and i have not yet seen one person post up anything about racing their car on bags... just saying.
03-07-2015, 05:53 AM
#11
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Originally Posted by C_A_D88
Contact John Powell about his control arm bushings, the best out there
03-09-2015, 12:17 PM
#12
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Yeah I'll post some links just learned about this in my hipo steering and suspension class.
The kit that I learned about has rapid leveling during cornering it adjust on the fly based on weight load shifts and preset settings pretty neat stuff.
The kit that I learned about has rapid leveling during cornering it adjust on the fly based on weight load shifts and preset settings pretty neat stuff.
03-09-2015, 03:17 PM
#13
New Member
Heres one company that does performance airbags that I found when I wanted airbags on my old car. AirliftPerformance.com
03-09-2015, 03:32 PM
#14
1. I cant see many paying close to 3K on a suspension setup for their cobalt.
2. for 3k your getting the "slam" version not a performance one like they offer for other cars.
3. Im sure the stats they posted are for the performance versions and not the "slam" version.
the topic is for a cobalt not a generalization.
2. for 3k your getting the "slam" version not a performance one like they offer for other cars.
3. Im sure the stats they posted are for the performance versions and not the "slam" version.
the topic is for a cobalt not a generalization.
03-09-2015, 04:05 PM
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High quality performance based airride isn't going to be cheap especially if you want it to perform better than coils. The company that I'm familiar with is Ridetech. Here's and example of the kit they provide for a 2010+ camaro. It's not cheap but it's they're top of the line performance kit.
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03-09-2015, 08:09 PM
#16
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Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Fsanti87
Heres one company that does performance airbags that I found when I wanted airbags on my old car. AirliftPerformance.com
Originally Posted by yellowsupercharged06
1. I cant see many paying close to 3K on a suspension setup for their cobalt.
2. for 3k your getting the "slam" version not a performance one like they offer for other cars.
3. Im sure the stats they posted are for the performance versions and not the "slam" version.
the topic is for a cobalt not a generalization.
2. for 3k your getting the "slam" version not a performance one like they offer for other cars.
3. Im sure the stats they posted are for the performance versions and not the "slam" version.
the topic is for a cobalt not a generalization.
Originally Posted by Shane H
High quality performance based airride isn't going to be cheap especially if you want it to perform better than coils. The company that I'm familiar with is Ridetech. Here's and example of the kit they provide for a 2010+ camaro. It's not cheap but it's they're top of the line performance kit.
Haven't looked yet but do they make a Cobalt one, lol.
03-09-2015, 09:50 PM
#19
I will chime in on this.
now while i wouldnt say bags are a 100% waste of time money and effort. i would never run them on my personal cars though.
cost...... for what bags cost you can buy nearly the best set of coilovers on the face of the planet by companies such as moton, ast, penske, ohlins etc etc.
performance......while bags can help performance to some degree(depending on whos kit you buy) almost ALL performance cars are on coilovers and i dont mean pos racelands or anything like that. hell even ridetech runs coilovers on their track oriented cars and they produce and develop air bag setups. most bags cannot compress and rebound like a properly valved shock and to gain the most performance you need to be able to adjust it to the track. if bags were REALLY better then coilovers you would see f1, indy car, leman series, continental and the koni challenege series running bags but to my knowledge they dont.
comfort..... this is where a good bag setup will beat a coilover setup. no coilovers ride comfortably and a lot of bag setups dont but the good ones definately can.
for the cobalt only 1 good set of springs exsist on the market unless you have custom ones made. powells yyz springs are it. end of story. i have had almost every set on the track and they suck completely with the exception of the pedders. those were ok however mine wore out prematurely. the rest were nothing but sub par. on the lsj they were an improvement but on lnf strust the lnf stock setup was better. on konis its a different story.
springs and strut setups are 100x's easier to maintain then coilovers and last longer usually.
now while i wouldnt say bags are a 100% waste of time money and effort. i would never run them on my personal cars though.
cost...... for what bags cost you can buy nearly the best set of coilovers on the face of the planet by companies such as moton, ast, penske, ohlins etc etc.
performance......while bags can help performance to some degree(depending on whos kit you buy) almost ALL performance cars are on coilovers and i dont mean pos racelands or anything like that. hell even ridetech runs coilovers on their track oriented cars and they produce and develop air bag setups. most bags cannot compress and rebound like a properly valved shock and to gain the most performance you need to be able to adjust it to the track. if bags were REALLY better then coilovers you would see f1, indy car, leman series, continental and the koni challenege series running bags but to my knowledge they dont.
comfort..... this is where a good bag setup will beat a coilover setup. no coilovers ride comfortably and a lot of bag setups dont but the good ones definately can.
for the cobalt only 1 good set of springs exsist on the market unless you have custom ones made. powells yyz springs are it. end of story. i have had almost every set on the track and they suck completely with the exception of the pedders. those were ok however mine wore out prematurely. the rest were nothing but sub par. on the lsj they were an improvement but on lnf strust the lnf stock setup was better. on konis its a different story.
springs and strut setups are 100x's easier to maintain then coilovers and last longer usually.
03-10-2015, 01:23 AM
#20
New Member
Thread Starter
I will chime in on this.
now while i wouldnt say bags are a 100% waste of time money and effort. i would never run them on my personal cars though.
cost...... for what bags cost you can buy nearly the best set of coilovers on the face of the planet by companies such as moton, ast, penske, ohlins etc etc.
performance......while bags can help performance to some degree(depending on whos kit you buy) almost ALL performance cars are on coilovers and i dont mean pos racelands or anything like that. hell even ridetech runs coilovers on their track oriented cars and they produce and develop air bag setups. most bags cannot compress and rebound like a properly valved shock and to gain the most performance you need to be able to adjust it to the track. if bags were REALLY better then coilovers you would see f1, indy car, leman series, continental and the koni challenege series running bags but to my knowledge they dont.
comfort..... this is where a good bag setup will beat a coilover setup. no coilovers ride comfortably and a lot of bag setups dont but the good ones definately can.
for the cobalt only 1 good set of springs exsist on the market unless you have custom ones made. powells yyz springs are it. end of story. i have had almost every set on the track and they suck completely with the exception of the pedders. those were ok however mine wore out prematurely. the rest were nothing but sub par. on the lsj they were an improvement but on lnf strust the lnf stock setup was better. on konis its a different story.
springs and strut setups are 100x's easier to maintain then coilovers and last longer usually.
now while i wouldnt say bags are a 100% waste of time money and effort. i would never run them on my personal cars though.
cost...... for what bags cost you can buy nearly the best set of coilovers on the face of the planet by companies such as moton, ast, penske, ohlins etc etc.
performance......while bags can help performance to some degree(depending on whos kit you buy) almost ALL performance cars are on coilovers and i dont mean pos racelands or anything like that. hell even ridetech runs coilovers on their track oriented cars and they produce and develop air bag setups. most bags cannot compress and rebound like a properly valved shock and to gain the most performance you need to be able to adjust it to the track. if bags were REALLY better then coilovers you would see f1, indy car, leman series, continental and the koni challenege series running bags but to my knowledge they dont.
comfort..... this is where a good bag setup will beat a coilover setup. no coilovers ride comfortably and a lot of bag setups dont but the good ones definately can.
for the cobalt only 1 good set of springs exsist on the market unless you have custom ones made. powells yyz springs are it. end of story. i have had almost every set on the track and they suck completely with the exception of the pedders. those were ok however mine wore out prematurely. the rest were nothing but sub par. on the lsj they were an improvement but on lnf strust the lnf stock setup was better. on konis its a different story.
springs and strut setups are 100x's easier to maintain then coilovers and last longer usually.
Definitely good points made here. I've always had in the back of my mind the idea of coil overs cause I need something adjustable. Now I just don't know what to do.
Does any one have any recommendations for the "best" set of bags and coil set-ups.
Company's that make some reliable high end stuff.
Want to see what some other people have that they like.
Thanks again.