Suspension questions, Advice needed.

Venom351R

Founding Member
Apr 27, 2002
4,548
41
98
MAINE
I have narrowed it down to what suspension I want. Im going w/ the Tokico Illuminia 5 way adjustibles but should I get them w/ new springs or are my FMS C Springs good enough for what I want. Im not building a radical suspension set up and I dont plan on doing any road coarse racing. I just want something that has good manners on the street and will help me out at the track.Where I plan on getting the coil overs the price diffrence is $115 for the ones that come w/ the springs in the Kit VS the ones that have no springs. So is it worth spending the extra $115 to get the springs that they have made for the kit or are my FMS C springs just fine for what I want ?


Also I want to get a set of Upper/lower rear control arms how much diffrence is there between diffrent kinds. Such as I see UPR aluminum ones for $200 and some from like blue oval industries for $150 that are listed as heavy duty ULCA but not made from aluminum. Is this something you should only stick w/ brand names and spend the extra money for the more expensive ones is this one of the parts you can buy the less expensive one and still get the same results as the higher priced ones? Both have polyurethane bushings.
 
  • Sponsors (?)


first off, the springs that come with the coil overs are not teh same dimensions as the FMS springs you have right now.....they are MUCH smaller in diameter, and there are many more coils depending on the spring rate.....ill try to get some pics to compare the difference......also you cant use the tokico 5 way's in the front with coilovers...you need threaded shocks to attach the coil over kit to....then the spring slides over the shock....

about the control arms, it really shouldn't matter which ones you get unles your trying to save weight and every pound counts :D if you are going to be racing the car though, i'd suggest gettin adjustable lowers, so you can set the pinion angle for better launches.....

good luck at the track on saturday meng :flag:

also would you be able to specify wut coil over kit you wanna get?
 
stprorolla49 said:
first off, the springs that come with the coil overs are not teh same dimensions as the FMS springs you have right now.....they are MUCH smaller in diameter, and there are many more coils depending on the spring rate.....ill try to get some pics to compare the difference......



so w/ that said is it better to stick w/ the springs that are in fact made for the kit in order to get the best results and pefrormance of the shocks?
 
Striped5.0 said:
so w/ that said is it better to stick w/ the springs that are in fact made for the kit in order to get the best results and pefrormance of the shocks?
can you show me teh kit you wanna get? maybe im just totally confused with your post, but i think you may not see the difference in the coilver springs vs. the regular coil springs.....
 
stprorolla49 said:
can you show me teh kit you wanna get? maybe im just totally confused with your post, but i think you may not see the difference in the coilver springs vs. the regular coil springs.....


Thats what Im wondering b/c its $565 w/ the springs VS $420 w/ out the springs so Im just wondering if the springs that come w/ the kit are needed or If I can get by and get the same results w/ my FMS C Springs that I have now.
 
stprorolla49 said:
those arent coil overs...those are just tokico adjjustable shocks and struts a dn new springs....


Whats better to get, a setup like that or a coil over set up? I dont know the diffrence at all between coil overs VS adjustible shocks. I know coil overs are adjustible as well but whats the advantage?
 
Striped5.0 said:
Whats better to get, a setup like that or a coil over set up? I dont know the diffrence at all between coil overs VS adjustible shocks. I know coil overs are adjustible as well but whats the advantage?
coil overs are basically a threaded shock that theres 2 retainers on each end, and teh spring fits between the retainers....since the shaft of teh shock is threaded, you can adjust one of the retainers to go up or down, changing ride height and suspension geometry.....for drag racing and street use, coilovers would probably be better because you can adjust it at the track......its all a matter of what you want.....the tokico's are adjustable too,a nd would be fine for teh track, but i think the coil overs would be better......

also sry fi it takes a few minutes to reply, my internet DSL connection keeps drifint in and out on me :nonono:

lemme find you a coil over kit so u can see teh diff........
 
stprorolla49 said:
lemme find you a coil over kit so u can see teh diff........


I can see the diffrence between the coil overs and the reg adjustible struts. I was just looking on the tire rack at there suspension kits. Ebiach ( SP ) had a nice coil over kit just a little pricy. Whats some good coil overs to go with and do you know of any places that sell them a little cheaper.
 
ok heres a pic of a coil over setup minus the shock it goes on....
1195.jpg

and heres the whole assembly...this is a rear coilover, but the front looks just about the same....
1850-1.jpg
 
Striped5.0 said:
I can see the diffrence between the coil overs and the reg adjustible struts. I was just looking on the tire rack at there suspension kits. Ebiach ( SP ) had a nice coil over kit just a little pricy. Whats some good coil overs to go with and do you know of any places that sell them a little cheaper.
yea the coil over kit i just posted is from PA raing where Paul (killercanary) got his from....im just lookin for the shocks to go with it now......
 
stprorolla49 said:
yea the coil over kit i just posted is from PA raing where Paul (killercanary) got his from....im just lookin for the shocks to go with it now......



I just checked out there site. Guess Id have to call them and find out what kind of set up I should go w/ as far as what shocks and what spring rate and what not b/c Im dumb when it comes to this stuff. I really dont want to break the bank on this either. Over all I just want the car to handle better b/c my suspension is old and warn out by now but I wanted to go w/ something that was a nice set up and help me out at the track as well.
 
Striped5.0 said:
I just checked out there site. Guess Id have to call them and find out what kind of set up I should go w/ as far as what shocks and what spring rate and what not b/c Im dumb when it comes to this stuff. I really dont want to break the bank on this either. Over all I just want the car to handle better b/c my suspension is old and warn out by now but I wanted to go w/ something that was a nice set up and help me out at the track as well.
yea i totally hear ya on that one man :D if you want somethng simple, just get a set of nice adjustable shocks and struts like the tokico 5-ways u showed me before, and keep your FMS c springs.....

if you wanna get coil overs, keep your FMS c springs in back, get a set of drag shocks in the back that are adjustable such as lakewoods, or koni's, and then get a set of coil over shocks for the front, and a coilover kit with the springs of teh correct rate.....

whatever you choose man good luck with it, and i hope you get into the 12's on saturday nite :nice:
 
I view coil overs for real avid drag cars, not the ocational(sp?) strip car imo. I would just stick with the adjustable Tokico Illuminia's and the springs you have now. For the LCA's steeda has the best street/strip ones availiable imo. Pure poly bushing will cause binding and sphircal(major sp?) on a street car will tranfer more noise and vibration to the cabin. They will also wear out faster then polys. Well steeda came up with a dual (or tripple) stage poly bushings that's softer on the outside to prevent binding and harder towards the center to help plant the tires. Read the article on www.stangpro.com called "the strong arm" they give a better description.
 
stprorolla49 said:
yea i totally hear ya on that one man :D if you want somethng simple, just get a set of nice adjustable shocks and struts like the tokico 5-ways u showed me before, and keep your FMS c springs.....



I think I may go that route. I can always change springs from the FMS ones later on if I want to. I think a coil over set up is going to end up being a little out of my price range b/c I want to get U/L CA's as well. I could see if I was going to do a lot of serious drag racing or some road corse racing but I think for mild track duty during the summer months I will do fine w/ a Illumina's VS the coil overs which may not give me much more of an advantage for what I'll be using them for and the frequency.

wytstang-

I agree w/ the more radical or drag set ups for the coil overs. I think my better bang for my buck would be the illuminas for what they will actually be used for and the frequency.