Chassisworks Suspension Regrets. (My Experience)

[Dipped]

A while back I was faced with the predicament of selecting a complete front and rear suspension system for my 1968 Firebird. After taking advise from a trusted vender, I decided to go with the Chassisworks system. They were local and offered what on paper appeared to be a good system for my car. I opted for their "works" package. Front sub frame with all related suspension and steering components. X brace/sub frame connector with driveshaft loop. Rear G-Link with double adjustable shocks at all four corners.

Once the system was installed, I purchased a set of Boze forged Clutch wheels. 19x10 rear with a 285/30/19 and 18x8 front with a 235/40/18. After driving the car around and getting a feel for the new set up I noticed an issue. When driving on the highway the front suspension would bottom out with the slightest pavement grade incline/decline. I reached out to Chassisworks with my issue. They requested pics of the car. Upon reviewing the photos they concluded the car was too low. They also stated my tire sidewall height was too aggressive.

This perplexed me as my car was significantly lower with the previous set up. 3' drop rear leafs 1.5' drop front spring with spc upper arms, hotrods to hell lower arms with recessed spring pockets. Both with tall Howe balljoints and Bilstein shocks at all four corners. Zero rubbing zero bottoming out and superior highway ride quality. Those components along with the stock sub frame were undoubtedly heavier than the new Chassisworks products I had installed.

Chassisworks recommended I take my Firebird to Grace Body Shop in South San Francisco for an inspection. I make the trip out to Grace. The owner is a great guy however his evaluation was the car was too low and it would be an expensive issue to correct. At this point I'm pretty frustrated. I spend a considerable amount of money and the car sits higher and performed poorer during highway driving a than my initial set up. The parts looked sweet but didn't offer the ride quality I was expecting.

I decide to have stiffer front springs installed as there was no way I was going to raise the car from it's current height. I purchase new springs from Chassisworks and had them shipped directly to Able Chevy in Rio Vista CA. For those who aren't aware Able is a rare breed amongst Chevy dealers. It's run by race enthusiasts. The service and parts Director is an avid highly knowledgable driver who recently won the Optima challenge. Both of the owner's sons race. Their lead tech Chad is the most capable individual I've even encountered. About an hour into the swap I get a call from Chad. I'm thinking "oh no". Upon entering the service bay he presents me with one of my quality Chassisworks front shocks. With the compression turned up to 16 out of 16 he precedes to compress the shock effortlessly with his bare hands. Aside from the terrible ride quality this shock was also responsible for the following: Large scrapes on my freshly powdercoated sub frame, large dent/scrapes on the front of the exhaust tube, damage to the lower control arm. All three of the damaged components were located on the corner with the faulty shock. The "your car is too low" diagnosis was muthbusted when my 2.6" of bump travel was initially measured by the Able Chevy Tech.

At this point my car is taken apart with the reason behind my suspension issue right in front of me. The Chassisworks facility is located about an hour north east of the Chevy dealer so I decided to take the shock up there and get things ironed out. If one were to survey most parts companies I'm confident if/when a customer (who purchased a COMPLETE system) shows up on their doorstep during business hours with one of their failed components they would kick it into high customer service gear and make things right. Not Chassisworks! They acknowledged the shock was faulty. They understood my car was on a rack with the front suspension taken apart awaiting a fix.

Their solution is why I will never recommend Chassisworks or TCP products. The rep offered to either sell me a replacement shock or repair My existing failed shock. Really? Yup really. Repairing the shock required sending it out (2+ week turnaround). I should have been issued a replacement shock on the spot AT THE VERY LEAST. And based on the damage Inflicted as a result of the shock to my frame, exhaust and LCA being issued a replacement lower control arm in addition to the shock would have been known as taking the next level of after sale product support. That approach is what I call "doing the right thing." Instead Chassisworks opted to collect $275 from me for a replacement shock and sent me on my way.

Able installed the new front shock. The car has not bottomed out since. The car now rides quite well. I have to assume front shocks are valuable to Chassisworks to were if by chance one fails they allow them to completely destroy a relationship with one of their customers. There's two things going on in northern California. A drought and an area infested with automobile enthusiasts with massive amounts of disposable income. I drive my car no less than 3 days a week. It gets a lot of exposure. Potential Chassisworks customers? I run errands, take cruises, go to shows/meets/Cars & Coffee and once I upgrade my cam, track events. I'm often approached by individuals loaded with inquires. When it comes to wheels I have nothing but positive feedback regarding my experience with Zac at Boze Forged. Brakes? Matts Classic Bowties along with Bear are awesome to work with! Hyrdaboost? Jim at Hydratech is second to none. Have a taste for Carbon components? Manal at Anvil Auto will take great care of you. Unfortunately when the topic of suspension is brought up I disclose the details of my negative experience with Chris Alston Chassisworks. I'm left with no choice but to advise against patronizing Chassisworks. You can produce a quality product but if you don't stand behind it in the unfortunate event things go wrong the outcome is far more costly than just doing the right thing.

I'm sure Carl (who is a great guy) or whom ever from Chassisworks opts to respond to this thread will come up with a crafty PC justification for their poor handling of my issue. Operations are run and managed by Chris Alston's daughter. Fact. Said daughter has proven to me with how she decided to handle my issue that she doesn't believe in the whole "do the right thing" concept. It's quite shocking. No pun intended.

[Chassisworks]

I remember when you came in to pick up the complete suspension system back in 2013. Haven't heard from you in a few months. Glad to hear you're back on the road.

I believe the key to this situation would have been getting the correct springs on the car prior to any shock damage occurring. The photos were helpful only in identifying a general ride height issue, but without the measurements we requested from you earlier this year we could only guess at a spring rate. Even the 2.6" that you cited in your post leaves the question of whether the measurement was taken at the shock or at the wheel. The reason we request the actual installed and ride height spring lengths is to avoid any confusion and to make the correct recommendation. We use the amount of compression travel available and the loaded spring data to figure out how many spring rate steps you would need to avoid bottoming out. But regardless, glad to hear that Abel Chevrolet got you sorted out with the stiffer springs and that you're back on the road.

Sorry that the shock replacement didn't work out as you had hoped. But at a year or year and a half past the purchase date we offered to repair the shock at no charge. Unfortunately a repair didn't fit your timeframe, so a single shock from inventory sold at a discount was our next best solution.

Speaking frankly, as a manufacturer we can't simply replace every $350 shock that been on a car for 12-months. Especially without verification that the entire suspension system was correctly installed and setup. And as a fellow car guy, if your car is having an issue such as a grinding noise, tires rubbing, or suspension bottoming out, figure out what the issue is and get it fixed right away. Continuing to drive it when something isn't right only leads to part failures and expensive repairs.

Call me if you want to get that extra shock fixed. I still might be able to work out a no charge repair.