Best comfortable suspension for cruising - Lateral-g Forums

455T/Akid · #1 10-11-2008, 04:17 PM

what's the best most comfortable riding suspension out there? I'm looking for a suspension that will turn my car into a totallly crisp handling car. It's a '79 T/A..I've heard of AirRide Technologies but I wanna know what you guys think from all your different experiences. I hate how I can feel every bump I go over on the road, I want a suspension that rides where I dont have to worry about going over a bump at 40 mph instead of having to slow down every time I do. Where I can drive down a bumpy road and barely feel a thing.. It is an F-Body

nowukno · #2 10-11-2008, 07:12 PM

softer spring,but stiffer than stock a good pair of shocks and larger sway bars,the only car i know of that will go over bumps at 40 mph and barely fill it is a hover craft (spell check) .Air Ride might get you close

455T/Akid · #3 10-14-2008, 05:03 PM

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ProdigyCustoms · #4 10-14-2008, 09:43 PM

A 4 link (Prodigy Bar or Air Bar prefered) but any good 4 link in the rear will make the rear ride nice. Up front some adjustable shocks like QA1 or Vari Shock and some good springs will do. If you want to lower it and maintain ride,look into lower arms or spindles that will lower it and retain a full spring.

Air Ride is something else though. I just get more impressed everyday with air. I would put the ride of Project EmptyNest up against any other lowered car for ride quality. I HATE rough riding cars. The only tPro Touring car I ever road in that was low that rode better is Project Prodigy with a full chassis and independant suspension, coil overs and double adjustable QA1s. I put a big emphasis on ride quality in our builds, especially our personal builds.

Marcus SC&C · #5 10-15-2008, 12:14 PM

First thing to check is subframe bushings and bushings in general. A lack of strutural integrity will degrade ride quality a lot. Also check to see that the rear leaf springs aren`t rusted togeter etc. which binds them up. `79 TA isn`t normally a rough riding car at all. They`re long,heavy and have pretty decent suspension. To get a ride where you can`t feel bumps at 40mph though I suggest a Bently Arnage or Maybach. Of course they cost a few hundred grand more than the TA... A link rear suspension like the G Bar generally will improve ride quality as well as reduce weight quite a bit on these cars. Up front it`s a function of spring rate and more so shock dampening. The shocks are the biggest factor in ride quality so don`t skimp and choose wisely. Adj. shocks will let you fine tune the ride to your liking. Personally I`d go front spring in the 550 lb/in area, adj. Varishocks (DA if you really want to dial them in perfectly),G-Bar in the rear with 175lb/in springs, subframe connectors and solid subframe bushings. The more solid the chassis the better the suspension can do it`s job. Beyond that consider a set of MasterCraft suspension seats. They`re super lightweight,super comfy and soak up bumps really well. They`re ususally used for Baja racing so the tiny tiny bumps we run into with street cars are nothing. Mark SC&C

455T/Akid · #6 10-16-2008, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProdigyCustoms

A 4 link (Prodigy Bar or Air Bar prefered) but any good 4 link in the rear will make the rear ride nice. Up front some adjustable shocks like QA1 or Vari Shock and some good springs will do. If you want to lower it and maintain ride,look into lower arms or spindles that will lower it and retain a full spring.

Air Ride is something else though. I just get more impressed everyday with air. I would put the ride of Project EmptyNest up against any other lowered car for ride quality. I HATE rough riding cars. The only tPro Touring car I ever road in that was low that rode better is Project Prodigy with a full chassis and independant suspension, coil overs and double adjustable QA1s. I put a big emphasis on ride quality in our builds, especially our personal builds.

can you give me a little more insight on Project EmptyNest? suspension specs? So the best suspension for a comfortable ride is a good 4 link and tubular control arms up front with coil-overs? Or is AirRide the best option? btw I have solid body bushing's, Moog UCA n LCA bushings, leaf spring bushings, leaf springs, coil springs all new & installed...including new adjustable KYB shocks and I still do what I posted on the original thread which is why I'm here asking what you guys think

ProdigyCustoms · #7 10-16-2008, 08:31 AM

Well, I probably confused that a bit saying how good the Air Ride was then comparing it to the coil over set up in Project Prodigy. Nothing I have seen will beat the ride quality of a extremely rigid full frame welded to the body with independent suspension at all 4 corners. We are also talking about 1000s of hours of fabrication. So if you are a super talented fabricator or have a big bank, Full frame / independent is probably not going to be a option for you. I cannot help but wonder how Project Prodigy would ride with Air Springs though, HUM!

So staying with a stock modified configuration with Project EmptyNest. We like to get the body and frame together as one the best we can with a subframe eliminating as much deflection between the body and frame eliminate shake, which transfers into the seat of your pants. Yours is not a convertible, but convertibles suffer very badly from this "cowl shake". So on Emptynest we put the subframe in solid with no bushings (which lowered the car almost a inch without screihng with the suspension), DSE frame connecters welded in, and we made a roll bar / back brace system to eliminate more twist / cowl shake. Once the body and frame were rigid, we used a Speedtech subframe and Prodigy Bar rear with shockwaves. Ride quality would be the same with a stock subframe to. Control arms will mean nothing for ride quality, it will be all in the spring shock combo up front. In the rear, the Prodigy Bar frees up the rear end movment by liberating the rear end, allowing it to move more freely then leaf springs do.

Again, assuming you want a performance suspension, and a cool lower stance, (you would not be here if you did not), you have to be careful with component selection to achieve ride / stance / handling. You can do it with heavy lowering springs front and rear, but every lowered leaf spring car I have rode in that handled good rode horrible! Same for massive front springs. Then if the suspension is stiff and the car to chassis relationship is mushy, every bump signal is amplified by the time it gets to the seat of your pants, or your back!