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I bought some qa1 single adjustable shocks front and rear for my 79. The original shocks dropped out of the bottom of the control arm on the fronts. Obviously with the adjustable dial, the shock can't just be installed and bolted back in from the bottom of the control arm.
To the guys that have these adjustable shocks, did you just bolt them up inside the control arm with the spring instead of outside? Crossed my mind to cut out a slot in the control arm for the adj. dial to slide through but might weaken that pocket a little. Any thoughts?
I used a half round file and clearanced the lower control arm access hole just enough for the dial on the shock to fit through,...maybe 1/8". It didn't take much at all. Then bolted the shocks in as normal. Looks like you car sits pretty low. If you decide to mount the shock on top of the arm, you may have a travel issue where the shock bottoms out.....not a good thing.
Lucky my fingers fit to tweak the dials. If you're fat fingered....not sure how you'd adjust them.
Last edited by The Money Pit; Aug 23, 2016 at 09:46 AM.
I used to spill my coffee in my lap hitting the pot holes on the way in to work,...and with only 550 lb front coils. I couldn't imagine what it's like with stiffer springs.
On the other hand, I did bottom my seven qt kick out pan on a set of rail road tracks once.....Guess I could take my bump stops out too and get better gas mileage from the weight loss.
I used to spill my coffee in my lap hitting the pot holes on the way in to work,...and with only 550 lb front coils. I couldn't imagine what it's like with stiffer springs.
On the other hand, I did bottom my seven qt kick out pan on a set of rail road tracks once.....Guess I could take my bump stops out too and get better gas mileage from the weight loss.
I just never thought that you could compress the spring enough to ever even hit a bump stop. So i removed them
what kit is this and are you using stock a arms. Have been thinking coilover setup for a minute saving up for rear coilovers was thinking about doing fronts also but the rear needs more attn and I want to get rid of leaf spring also because I have 19x10s in the back and removed tire carrier so it doesn't look right but not fully convinced in tubular front a arms even though look cool it all comes down to dollars and cents.
Right now I have all four shocks set at three clicks from the lowest setting. Jury is still out on the rear setting. There is a slight rebound on really rough roads, so they may need one more click. I ran them set at five clicks for years,...and decided one day for no reason to just try three. Huge difference in ride.
I used to spill my coffee in my lap hitting the pot holes on the way in to work,...and with only 550 lb front coils. I couldn't imagine what it's like with stiffer springs.
On the other hand, I did bottom my seven qt kick out pan on a set of rail road tracks once.....Guess I could take my bump stops out too and get better gas mileage from the weight loss.
Just a little perspective, my 550 front springs with Bilstein HD's and rear 360 composite with Bilstein Sports with the 255/60/16 Radial TA's road fairly hard. When I switched to 255/45/17 ZR tires with the same setup, the ride was very smooth, firm but not stiff. A neighbor with a Lexus LS460 commented a few years back at how well my 78 rode..borderline smooth but slightly firm but no where harsh like you are describing. I do believe that great shocks like the Bilsteins with great modern high performance tires enable C3's to ride really nice. No experience with QA1 shocks but from what you guys are saying, they appear a step up from the Bilsteins.
FWIW-Mass market shocks like AC Delco, Monroe, Gabriel, and KYB's to me are all junk and are not a good comparator for the QA1's since all these shocks will make the car ride way too soft with poor wheel control or bounce all over the rode especially with the stock 255/60/15 crap tires that are available for our cars....I have had KYB GR-2's (2001 Pontiac Grand Prix) and KYB Gas A Just (on the 78 C3) and they were worthless. The Gr-2's on the GP replaced the stock Delco Struts (all 4) at 80,000 miles and were suppose to be a step up from the Delcos (slightly stiffer than the OEM's) and the car immediately rode Softer than the Delcos and floated on the rode. The GR-2 Struts were mounted with the OEM springs so the poor ride was 100% attributed to the KYB GR2 struts being used with the OEM springs.
I may consider the QA1's down the line since recently I cut 1 coil off the front 550's for a ride adjustment and the ride has gotten much stiffer (probs in the 600 range now with those coils) but still not as stiff as my 2010 C6Z06 or Lexus IS350 F Sport but more like my Chrysler 300 with Mopar front strut tower brace, stock springs, Bilstein Struts/shocks with 245/45/18 ZR tires....
I like the QA1's and what I read...
Last edited by jb78L-82; Aug 26, 2016 at 07:45 AM.
The QA-1 single adjustable shocks I have are in my opinion very good shocks to begin with, and the adjustability is a very wide range. If I turn the shocks to full 10 clicks in my hands I can not even move the piston. But one click is very easy to move it.
Prior to the QA-1's I had Monroe GasMatics with no adjustments possible, and the Vette road like a dump truck. I did consider changing springs to soften the ride, but then would have had to deal with ride height issues. I love the stance I have now, and even if I did go coilovers,...it would end up sitting right where it is now.
When I put the QA-1's on, I had no idea where to start for adjustments, and just tried 5 clicks on each as a guess. Every road you drive on is different. The turns, bumps and dips,...so picking just the right setting isn't as simple as driving around the block. Then the fact I only drive the Vette once in a while,.....took me a long time before I decided to change the setting on the shocks. If I set the rear one click tighter,....I think I'll have the best overall ride,....for me.
I don't have experience with the single adjust because I have the dual adjust. I ask the part number so I could see the compressed and extended height.
On a single adjust you have all the choices 18 in all or something like that. Are the high numbers more rebound than compression?
QA1 Adjustable Shock install, fronts
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