i jumped on the van steel group purchase bandwagon (hang on dan, this may be a bumpy ride) and bought the smart struts. i was never sold on the idea of smart struts from the beginning for two reasons: 1) the example commonly referenced in the ad is always a '63 which has a slightly different design than the sharks to begin with. 2) i like the corners. the car sees alot of track time and having the loaded tires increase negative camber and the unloaded tires decrease camber is a preferable condition.
i debated about purchasing the set for a while and commented with other members here on this very forum about my concerns. one member, who will remain nameless, pushed me over the edge with the comment, "i've never seen as used set for sale". sounded like good logic to me so i went ahead.
i recieved the struts last week. keep in mind my set will be different from most due to the different differentials but work the same. anyway, the fit and finish is really good. nice, beefy steel brackets and rods. i like it. it looks cool anyways. :thumbs:
so here's where things get a bit more techincal. since i was doing this install and i wanted a fair comparison i took some measurements. these are by no means scientific but they're pretty dang close. in the original configuration (stock struts) with the suspension at full droop and no spring pressure i affixed my little magnetic angle gauge, making sure it was level. i then raised the trailing arm up until it contacted my bump stop (stops have about 3/4" shaved off since the car is lowered), re-leveled the angle gauge and noted a total travel of ~4.5*. keep in mind, that's from full droop. how many times have you cornered hard enough to get the inside tire to full droop? back to the story....
so i installed the S/S brackets and rods. :smash: i repeated the same experiment with the cam bolt in the upper most position and then at the lower most position. the results were 3-3.5* total camber change in the upper position. in the lower position, it was approximately 1.5* total change. now keep in mind the design retains the use of a cam bolt for the position of the inner pick-up point but unlike the factory assembly where that is your camber adjustment, this cam bolt adjusts the, err, 'parallel-ness' of the strut to half shaft relationship. the more parallel, the less camber change you'll see. this condition would be more desirable in a drag race configuration where you would want the tires to stay as parallel as possible. not really what you would want in the corners though.
total installation time was ~2.5 hours. now that was using air tools and absolutely NOTHING in my car is rusted in place. figure if your using hand tools, count on at least half a day. if you have never disturbed the rear suspension components, just start the night before with the penetrating oil and keep your calander open. ;) all in all, a very easy, straight forward install. although i don't care for it when the supplier doesn't include ANY instructions (i.e. torque specs, which end is which). after all, not everybody who will install these things has had their suspension apart three or four times. :skep:
i set the cam bolts to the upper most mounting point, for the reasons described above (and to compensate for some crappy exhaust routing from an old, ill-designed exhaust system) and set initial camber at 1* negative. i then stroked the suspension travel prior to reinstallation of the spring and what i got was ~ +1* positvie at full droop, -1* at ride height, and just a hair over -2* fully compressed.
and now for what you've all been waiting for: driving impressions. i must say, i cannot discern a difference. granted, my suspension is far from stock and the more modified the overall suspension is, the more it will mask the benifit from any one single change. even so, i felt NO difference in regular street driving. i tried a couple of hard corners and the rear felt just a little more compliant but i'm unsure if it really was or i just wanted it to be. i will reserve ultimate judgement for my next track excursion. anxiously awaiting...
:cheers:

 

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although i don't care for it when the supplier doesn't include ANY instructions (i.e. torque specs, which end is which). after all, not everybody who will install these things has had their suspension apart three or four times.
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Everyone should have received a catalog. Torque spec are on page 9. Each strur was labeled right and left and each end came mounted to the SS bracket. If you did not receive a catalog and want one for the torque specs let me know and i'll get one right out to you.

 

I also bought them as part of the group purchase, and love 'em. My car was still essentially stock in the rear with the F-41 spring, good trailing arm bearings and fairly tight inner yokes. While it worked OK before during what I consider agressive twisty road driving (enough to get the tires complaining and the brakes good and hot), I got a lot of squirming from the rear end that I attributed to lots of deflection in the strut bushings and the resultant unwanted camber change. Now, with 1" longer spring bolts, new KYB's, the struts set at the lowest point on the cam and 1 degree negative camber, I feel it is MUCH improved. Granted, until I get it on a track for some lap time comparisons, it's all seat of the pants, but I have a sensitive seat! I still need to brace the front upper control arms and reduce my body roll somewhat, although I may find it's better the way it is after I experiment with different roll bars.

The install was straight forward, but I had the luxury of a drive-on rack with air jacks inside the rails to lift at the frame. This basically allowed me to leave the spring hooked up and just remove the shock mount/strut pin to replace the strut assembly. Even with slight rust, it only took a couple of hours including the time it took to glass bead and paint stuff.

Hans

 

thanks, dan. i did not recieve a catalog.
i want to clarify a couple of things about this product.
1) the rods themselves are worth the price asked. the elimination of the cam bolt as the primary adjustment and switching to the DOM rods is worth what they're asking.
2) my car is far, far from stock. because of that, several other modifications i've made have masked the short comings of the original suspension. i'm sure there will be a noticable gain to a stock suspension car.
3) if you drag race regulary, i can see this product being a MUST for improving your launches. like i said above, when the adjustment cam bolts are in the their lower most position, i got less than 1* total camber change. this would be a huge advantage to the stock configuration when the tires tip in as the rear squats.
i stand by my evaluation so far at least in the way i drive my car. also, like i said, i will reserve ultimate judgement until such time as i can put it on track and really wring it out. the only time i've really had a complaint about my rear suspension is right at the edge, it feels really twitchy. i cannot duplicate this during city driving so at this point my evaluation is incomplete.

 

I wasn't doubting your judgement at all. Each person knows their vette in their own way and thats cool. I will also send you out a catalog today. :thumbs:

 

I agree completely. Until you are at the limit, one has no idea how a change actually affects the handling. What track do you typically use? My "local" track is Sears Point, but Thunderhill is close as well, and now that my car is what I consider safe to run at speed (well, a soon as I install a rollbar), I can't wait. It's been a long time...

Hans

1977 Can Am series Talon tire & suspension specialist
pole qualifier @ Mid Ohio - our shining moment
1982 GT-3 Datsun 510 #34 SF region - trans, brake, tire man
1983-84 GT-4 National Run-offs #34 510 finished 6th, DNF
1985 S2000 tire & suspension dude - called the driver "crash"

'Racing is life - everything else is just waiting for the next one'

 

Wrencher - Maybe we could meet up at the next Thunder Hill event.

Gary - The SS really do a good job of holding the trailing arms in place. I really noticed the change. When you whip the car back and forth like auto-X the rear just felt planted to me.

 

I'd love to meet up and see how yours runs. You get that engine problem resolved? I've got to pick up my used 'vert hatch to cut for the roll hoop, so I can legally run with most groups. It's ironic that they would let me on using a hardtop, which is just fiberglass! Go figure.

Hans

 

gkull, i will try some more radical maneuvering to see what happens with it.
my 'home' track is the bragg-smith track in pahrump, NV. i have probably 5 or 6 hours on that track and know it pretty well. i don't think i'll get the opportunity to drive it for a while though so it looks like final conclusions will go unknown for a while.

 

clutchdust - Your next move is a racing seat and cage! :smash:

Racing seats and 5 point harnesses help you feel what the car is doing. My molded fiberglass Sparco seat just holds me in place. In fact you can't really move your part of the car. I have trouble reaching my dash three toggle switches. My seat is bolted to the flush floor without tracks and all the way back to the battery wall. I screwed with it and wedged it to get it as far back and as low as possible. I need all the room I could get because of the roll cage and helmet. I originally bought two of the Sparco Ultra race seats. Then I realized that it effectively made for no rear interior access. So I left the folding stock seat on the passenger side.

My seat is not adjustable so shorter people like my 5'8" daughter can't reach the petals. So it stopped her from asking to use it to go race her friends with hot rice cars.

Wrencher - Just tell me when your ready :steering: My motor will be broke in soon so I can start beating it again.

 

clutchdust - Your next move is a racing seat and cage! gkull

If you have ever ridden with him you will know that he needs a cage and two racing seats!

Garys car handles really well and the 17" wheels and tires from the c-4 really plants his car.

Hey Gary how much is a used set of SS worth? I've never seen a set for sale.....LOL JIM

 

I got in on the purchase and have installed them. I drag race every week so they were great for me. Installation was not so easy. On my 1980, a ridge on the rear end did not let the brackets fit, I ground off about 1/8 inch of the ridge. Also my spindle ends were not machined deep enough, so I had to grind a small flat spot on the top edge of the strut. Last Saturday night they
worked great. Also, when my struts arrived, they both were the same (pre-assembled for the same side) a call to Van Steel said the shippers were probably careless and for me to switch one rod on its bracket. Anyways, I'm pleased with them. JamieJ

 

:confused:
I have had my SS for a little over a year, but had ordered from Ecklers, as I was ordering other things I could only find in their catalog at the time. They hadn't sent instructions so I called VB&P and talked to a tech rep. He faxed the instructions to me but he also told me that the left and right markings only reference the threading on the rod ends, NOT the actual side of the car. Not sure about for an 80, but my 79 has offset holes for the bracket and it would only mount one way. I specifically remember that comment about the threads because I had thought it was nice of them to label the left and right side, and then he set me straight.


[Modified by Captain Morgan, 11:28 PM 5/16/2003]

 

You're statement concerning this products use on the drag strip is right-on. I bracket race my car regularly. I put smart struts on my car and initially set them to the stock alignment specs. Not much change, the car still spun the tires pretty bad. A call to VBP for some specific alignment specs did the trick. 60' foot times dropped just over .2 seconds, 1/4 mile down .3 seconds, and here's the strange part, I picked up almost 2 mph. In my case $$ very well spent :party:


[Modified by stalker, 9:56 AM 5/17/2003]

 

All I ordered was the adjustable strut rods, I installed them in an afternoon on a friends lift.
My 20 years old original strut rod bushings were almost completely gone, with the new rods an poly bushings, the vette handles totally different. It feels way more solid in the corners, and there is a ton less wandering on the rutted interstate at 75mph.

I don't know if or when I will order the smart bracket, for now I am shooting for all new front end parts, and an alignment. till then I am smiling because it handles better already.

Thanks Dan. :seeya